WTKA Roundtable 9/17/2026: The Otter, The Weasel, and The Rat

Things Discussed:

• Offense: The things they did made sense; that's an unusual thing for us. I'd take all five WMU starters over Oklahoma's. Huge respect for Venables.
• Defense: You could tell Jay Hill learned to coach at Weber State not the NFL.
• Can we run a 3-3-5 as a base? Only if you can get away with it. Jay Hill put on a coaching clinic.
• Lea'ea gets his laurels. He balled out in 19 snaps. Have to see if this holds up for Iowa because the true freshman RG was their best IOL. Only a few of those were runs. Might work as a 3-3-5 end because Nichols isn't quite there yet vs the run.
• Hat tip to Rocky Beers. That dude can play ball. Put Chase Taylor in hell all game, got Bracy too.
• Offense: execution was much better. Bryce is Vince Young-level runner. Hiter was ruining some of the zone reads by seizing the ball.
• Issues with guards: some of that is OU DTs are great. Issues with kickouts: some of that was OU is super aggressive.
• Manuel Beigel: plays heavy, doesn't combo through guys. Promising but not a pass protector. A year away from being not just a Rhino.
• Difference this year is they were willing to run Bryce and willing to take a shot downfield.
• Bryce progression: big step forward but they were still giving him half-field reads. Sometimes didn't have anybody because Venables knew the stopgap was coming. Comp for him was Vince Young, who redshirted as a freshman. Being rich doesn't suddenly change the fundamental rules about developing a quarterback.
• UTEP gameplan? System defense, so you have to climb and get to your second block. Keep having Bryce carry the ball.