WTKA Roundtable 9/11/2025: I Mean…What?

11 snips

Sep 11, 2025

Craig Ross, a frequent guest known for his insightful takes on college football, shares a fascinating look into the origins of the term 'Sooners' and Oklahoma's land rush. He critiques Michigan's conservative strategies during their recent loss, calling out their decision-making and defensive struggles. The discussion highlights the challenges facing the freshman quarterback and the need for more dynamic offensive strategies. With a deep dive into player performances, Ross emphasizes that Michigan’s issues are fixable, offering hope for future games.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Origin Of The 'Sooners' Name

Craig explains the origin of the word "Sooner" from 1889 land runs where cheaters grabbed stakes early.
The name honored those who gamed the system after the U.S. seized land from Native Americans.

INSIGHT

Conservatism Cost Michigan Momentum

Brian argues Michigan played conservatively and repeatedly made safe decisions instead of trying to win.
He says Oklahoma intentionally removed freshman-QB comforts and Michigan lacked an aggressive counterplan.

INSIGHT

Defense Underperformed Across The Board

Seth and others note multiple veteran defenders played below their norms, producing uncharacteristic missed tackles and coverage errors.
They attribute the collective poor showing partly to injuries and a freshman corner forced into action.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Things Discussed:

Story time with Craig: Where the name Sooners comes from: it's the guys who cheated to get to the land stolen from the Indians.
Oklahoma: Ultraconservatism made it feel like they're not trying to win this game. Every time they got to a decision point they made the conservative call. They ran on 3rd & 6, got four yards, and kicked a field goal. They punted rather than give ZVADA a shot at a 55-yarder. They kicked (and missed) a FG with 3 minutes before the half on 4th & 2 instead of trying to end the half.
You've got 7 guys on the LOS and the CBs are off: you have to take that.
Probably going to be a blip: you have to have a lot of confidence in your defense to play the way Oklahoma did.
Michigan's gameplan: do all the things you do with a freshman QB. Oklahoma's gameplan: take away all the things people do with a freshman QB. It felt like a Dantonio Quarters where they have a safety who only cares about your run game and our disjoined offensive gameplans from years past where we don't have a plan to deal with aggression.
Defense: Every vet played worse than his norm. Didn't know how to fit their gaps vs a +1 run game.
Brian: That's the +1 run game. They ran Mateer 19 times—that is going balls to the wall.
PFF scores: We don't agree with them. Grades for OL: Crippen and Norton were okay, Efobi okay, Sprague 2 big bads, Gio was good until he got hurt, Z-Marsh is not ready—Klein was a big loss as a blocker.
Underwood: worse on the review than we thought. He missed some early reads and then Oklahoma sped him up. Also had major fetters on from his coaching staff. Once they're more confident in what they're seeing they'll trust him more. He can't read a smash route right now, so it's a pickle.
Disappointed with Chip: You're supposed to be the guy who Malzahns our offense.
Sam: they're playing the 2023 Penn State game. Difference in that game was Michigan had the top two defenses in the country. But that 2nd defense is on the field: Benny, Guy, Moore, Hausmann: That's the 2nd team!
Defense: Predictable response: put 12 personnel on the field and go 4-wide. Wink needs to learn he can get away with regular-ass nickel unless they have impact blocking TEs. When you're missing tackles and chips and have vets busting there's too much on them. "Too much" may have been Game 2 with injuries piling up at cornerback, Barham out for a half, and playing in Oklahoma.