The Texas A&M Sports Network team of Andrew Monaco and Will Johnson preview the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl on this edition of RTIC Cooler Talk from inside NRG Stadium.
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Andrew Monaco: Thanks for joining us, RTIC Cooler Talk, our podcast here on Studio 12. With Will Johnson, I'm Andrew Monaco as we preview the Texas Bowl, the Fightin' Texas Aggies and Oklahoma State.
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Will, you talked about stopping the run and for good reason. Chuba Hubbard, number one in the nation. Things that I'm thinking about also…this Oklahoma State team, when you think Big 12, you think wide-open offense. Hasn't Mike Gundy kind of gone against the curve? We're going to see a tight end. We're going to see a big running game. You will see that balance. That's a lot of things we talk about for SEC contests.
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Will Johnson: And Chuba Hubbard makes it difficult on a defense himself, but I actually think the offensive line for the Cowboys is pretty good. The times I've watched them, he's had some holes to run through, but you've always got to like the Aggie defensive front. They've been there all season long. They've been able to stop the run. How many times do we talk about playing clean? Well, here to close 2019 that might be the most important part of the game. Linebackers have got to play clean. You've got to occupy Cowboy blockers up front. Let Anthony Hines, let Buddy Johnson roam free. That's what made them the two leading tacklers on this team for the entire season. Got to be a continuation to close 2019.
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Monaco: I've loved the way they have played, and they've benefited by Justin Madubuike and Bobby Brown and at times Demarvin Leal in the middle, those defensive tackles. Justin Madubuike's going on to the NFL, great decision for him. Jimbo has raved about him. I would be a lot more worried if we didn't have Jayden Peevy taking over for him at that DT. And I thought Bobby Brown at the end of the year was really coming on and playing some of his best football. You and I have talked about this time and again, I've always liked that defensive line. And you're right, they've got to be the key to make those linebackers make all those tackles. Buddy Johnson and Anthony Hines have been outstanding in that role, playing in concert with that D-line.
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Johnson: It doesn't come as a surprise, Justin Madubuike's decision to go to the NFL. We kind of thought he might the entire season long. Some were surprised he's not playing in the bowl game, but if that's Justin's decision, to go on to the NFL, I like that a guy that's going to be here next year is occupying that spot for this bowl game--to get them a little more experience against a team that can really run the football. In the end, I like the full decision by Justin Madubuike. If he's going to go, give somebody else that chance who's going to remain with this program. A guy like Jayden Peevy, who we love so much, Jimbo loves so much. But you know, how do you look at these bowl games? I think it's a good mix of closing 2019 overall as a team here, because you want that taste of the LSU game out of there and you want a better visual of this team than what we last saw. And, there's so many young guys on this team, you can't help but look at this is the start of the 2020 season, which we all have high expectations for.
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Monaco: More reps, and it's hard to call them freshman any longer with 12 games and an SEC schedule. But you get the 15 more practices, you get one more game. I love what Jimbo Fisher said during his media availability. Are we keeping score? Because if we're keeping score, we're going to play. And I love that mentality. Also, during the media availability, we heard from a lot of leaders. We heard from Kellen. We heard from Jhamon. We heard from Buddy. We heard from Keldrick Carper. I like that this team has always faced up to their blemishes. They want to erase LSU. But they know the way to erase that last game is by playing well in this one.
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Johnson: They haven't hidden from that score. They didn't say, don't watch the tape and just get it out of mind. They have not hidden from what happened in Baton Rouge.
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Monaco: I like that part of the growth. We're going to talk a lot about that because I think this team has grown since Texas State, and that's why I want to see them play so well to cap off a season in which there was growth. And to you, peeking ahead to 2020, to be ready--because now they know how to prepare to win. Jimbo says it, right? You don't hope to win. You prepare to win. And I think they've learned that this season.
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Johnson: Here's one final thing I'm going to throw at you that will matter on the 27th, A&M and Oklahoma State, I see it happen with Big 12 teams a lot. They can look bad on first and second down, but they're really good third-down offenses because they have good quarterbacks now. We believe Oklahoma State's quarterback's going to play. They are minus a really good receiver in Tylan Wallace, but they've got good receivers. The Cowboys are like any other Big 12 team. They could look bad on first and second down, you get them behind the chains, but they can find somebody on 3rd and 9, on 3rd and 12. A&M has to be successful defensively on third down and get off the field, then let the offense do what they do--ball control--and keep that Oklahoma State offense on the sidelines. Third down's going to be huge in this game.
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Monaco: Because as Jimbo always talks about, your third-down success comes from your first and second. I know they're dynamic and they can throw, but you want Oklahoma State in third and long, correct? Because it plays into the defense. There's only so many options there for the offense, and the defense can get better. And we've loved that back end of the Aggies this season. They covered well, whether it's Myles Jones, whether it's Debione Renfro, whether it's Demani Richardson, whether it's Keldrick Carper and Leon O'Neal. That's becoming a strength. And then execution, as Jimbo always says.
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Johnson: Never stops. We've liked the work they put in so far to prep.
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Monaco: We are at NRG Stadium. December 27th, we do it. 5:45, we kick. Fighting Texas Aggies and the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. We'll join you at 4:30 all along the network with our CHI St Joseph Health Pregame Show. This has been RTIC Cooler Talk.
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Andrew Monaco: Thanks for joining us, RTIC Cooler Talk, our podcast here on Studio 12. With Will Johnson, I'm Andrew Monaco as we preview the Texas Bowl, the Fightin' Texas Aggies and Oklahoma State.
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Will, you talked about stopping the run and for good reason. Chuba Hubbard, number one in the nation. Things that I'm thinking about also…this Oklahoma State team, when you think Big 12, you think wide-open offense. Hasn't Mike Gundy kind of gone against the curve? We're going to see a tight end. We're going to see a big running game. You will see that balance. That's a lot of things we talk about for SEC contests.
Â
Will Johnson: And Chuba Hubbard makes it difficult on a defense himself, but I actually think the offensive line for the Cowboys is pretty good. The times I've watched them, he's had some holes to run through, but you've always got to like the Aggie defensive front. They've been there all season long. They've been able to stop the run. How many times do we talk about playing clean? Well, here to close 2019 that might be the most important part of the game. Linebackers have got to play clean. You've got to occupy Cowboy blockers up front. Let Anthony Hines, let Buddy Johnson roam free. That's what made them the two leading tacklers on this team for the entire season. Got to be a continuation to close 2019.
Â
Monaco: I've loved the way they have played, and they've benefited by Justin Madubuike and Bobby Brown and at times Demarvin Leal in the middle, those defensive tackles. Justin Madubuike's going on to the NFL, great decision for him. Jimbo has raved about him. I would be a lot more worried if we didn't have Jayden Peevy taking over for him at that DT. And I thought Bobby Brown at the end of the year was really coming on and playing some of his best football. You and I have talked about this time and again, I've always liked that defensive line. And you're right, they've got to be the key to make those linebackers make all those tackles. Buddy Johnson and Anthony Hines have been outstanding in that role, playing in concert with that D-line.
Â
Johnson: It doesn't come as a surprise, Justin Madubuike's decision to go to the NFL. We kind of thought he might the entire season long. Some were surprised he's not playing in the bowl game, but if that's Justin's decision, to go on to the NFL, I like that a guy that's going to be here next year is occupying that spot for this bowl game--to get them a little more experience against a team that can really run the football. In the end, I like the full decision by Justin Madubuike. If he's going to go, give somebody else that chance who's going to remain with this program. A guy like Jayden Peevy, who we love so much, Jimbo loves so much. But you know, how do you look at these bowl games? I think it's a good mix of closing 2019 overall as a team here, because you want that taste of the LSU game out of there and you want a better visual of this team than what we last saw. And, there's so many young guys on this team, you can't help but look at this is the start of the 2020 season, which we all have high expectations for.
Â
Monaco: More reps, and it's hard to call them freshman any longer with 12 games and an SEC schedule. But you get the 15 more practices, you get one more game. I love what Jimbo Fisher said during his media availability. Are we keeping score? Because if we're keeping score, we're going to play. And I love that mentality. Also, during the media availability, we heard from a lot of leaders. We heard from Kellen. We heard from Jhamon. We heard from Buddy. We heard from Keldrick Carper. I like that this team has always faced up to their blemishes. They want to erase LSU. But they know the way to erase that last game is by playing well in this one.
Â
Johnson: They haven't hidden from that score. They didn't say, don't watch the tape and just get it out of mind. They have not hidden from what happened in Baton Rouge.
Â
Monaco: I like that part of the growth. We're going to talk a lot about that because I think this team has grown since Texas State, and that's why I want to see them play so well to cap off a season in which there was growth. And to you, peeking ahead to 2020, to be ready--because now they know how to prepare to win. Jimbo says it, right? You don't hope to win. You prepare to win. And I think they've learned that this season.
Â
Johnson: Here's one final thing I'm going to throw at you that will matter on the 27th, A&M and Oklahoma State, I see it happen with Big 12 teams a lot. They can look bad on first and second down, but they're really good third-down offenses because they have good quarterbacks now. We believe Oklahoma State's quarterback's going to play. They are minus a really good receiver in Tylan Wallace, but they've got good receivers. The Cowboys are like any other Big 12 team. They could look bad on first and second down, you get them behind the chains, but they can find somebody on 3rd and 9, on 3rd and 12. A&M has to be successful defensively on third down and get off the field, then let the offense do what they do--ball control--and keep that Oklahoma State offense on the sidelines. Third down's going to be huge in this game.
Â
Monaco: Because as Jimbo always talks about, your third-down success comes from your first and second. I know they're dynamic and they can throw, but you want Oklahoma State in third and long, correct? Because it plays into the defense. There's only so many options there for the offense, and the defense can get better. And we've loved that back end of the Aggies this season. They covered well, whether it's Myles Jones, whether it's Debione Renfro, whether it's Demani Richardson, whether it's Keldrick Carper and Leon O'Neal. That's becoming a strength. And then execution, as Jimbo always says.
Â
Johnson: Never stops. We've liked the work they put in so far to prep.
Â
Monaco: We are at NRG Stadium. December 27th, we do it. 5:45, we kick. Fighting Texas Aggies and the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. We'll join you at 4:30 all along the network with our CHI St Joseph Health Pregame Show. This has been RTIC Cooler Talk.
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