DMoney:
As we elevate to that national championship level, we had to elevate the guests. And this is one of my favorite accounts to watch, to learn from. Very entertaining, extremely informative, high energy. I know you guys love him because you’re always posting his stuff on CanesInSight. The Film Guy, Brooks Austin. Brooks, how are we feeling?
Brooks Austin:
I’m doing well. Look, DMoney, unfamiliar with your game to be honest with you, but you’re out here throwing hometown locations of Oklahoma Sooner quarterbacks that were formerly at Wazzu. You, sir, are a ball knower. You know ball. Oh my lord. My god.
DMoney:
Let me tell you about some shared ball knowledge. Do we pause for shared ball knowledge?
Mike Ryan:
Yeah, we might pause for that.
DMoney:
Texas A&M — we didn’t know each other. We’re meeting formally for the first time here, but we were at the Texas A&M game. I was on the field watching the Canes. You were doing all the content you do, field level, the Texas A&M DJ played a little David Allan Coe and we were singing our lungs out. Was that living?
Brooks Austin:
Kyle Field 103,000 with like 35 mph winds, but on a nice 65, 66-degree day, so the wind wasn’t cold. It was delightful. I would’ve liked some more points as an unbiased observer, but yeah, man. What a time.
Those people — I don’t know how you felt, DMoney — a little too nice. Like, real nice. I want hostility with my college football. I want to walk up in 103,000 and feel like, “They might tear this place down today.” I did not feel that way about them. I felt like they would shake my hand after I punched them in the face on the way out. It felt a little weird to me.
DMoney:
We were chilling. They didn’t bother us. But there was a kerfuffle involving our co-host and producer, Pete.
Peter Ariz:
There was an incident or two — fans shouting "bail bonds "and things of that nature.
DMoney:
Pete, your insult in response to that A&M fan was innovative.
Peter Ariz:
That was a separate incident because I guess there were multiple incidents there. I was walking up these tightly compact spiral cases and an A&M fan told me, “Hey, you might want to tie your shoe before you get up there.” I looked down — my shoe was tied — and I told him, “You should tie your female genitalia.” My shoe is tied.
Miek Ryan:
All right. Brooks Austin — ball knower, film guy. You do about as good a breakdown of video on the college game as anybody on social media. You’ve been around this program for this run. A lot of lobby bars with Brooks over the last few weeks. You’re crunching film. You’ve seen both these teams more than anybody in the media space. What is the early read on the tape telling you?
Brooks Austin:
I’m glad you lobbed this to me — and I see you got me in an ISO already. So if you boys will allow me, I’ll take you through the most interesting matchup in the weeds that I’m nerding out about. Comments already calling me a nerd. Let’s ball out. Let’s nerd it.
(PULLS UP WHITE BOARD)
Brooks Austin:
All right. Here we go. I heard you talking A-gap nonsense, Mike Ryan. You are a duo football team. That is the play you’re built off of. You run it out of pistol as well. You’ve seen Mark Fletcher line up directly behind Carson Beck in the shotgun. The priority in duo is to move people against their will, based off double teams — hence “duo.”
So we’re going to take the two down linemen and run them into the Mike. We’re going to take the nose tackle and run him into the Sam. We’re going to take our tight end and our H-back and create that crease in the B-gap. The reason it feels like it hits A-gap all the time is because your offensive line is moving people and moving mass tremendously on a downward angle — that 45-degree angle — getting combos up to the second level. Mark Fletcher gets downhill aggressively.
That’s what you do against normal teams that don’t create chaos — stunts, havoc at the line of scrimmage. Here’s the matchup: Indiana bases their entire system off of creating that chaos. They’re a big-time nut and tun stunt football team. They’re going to take their nose and wrap him underneath their tackle, take their tackle and wrap him underneath their nose — nut, tun, nut, tun. You’re going to get a ton of those stunts on Monday night.
Those same combination blocks become way harder when you don’t know where they’re going. Your two tight ends? Much harder when the end spikes across your face and the wheel arrives. Backside? Same thing. All that chaos.
On top of that, they let their Mike linebacker free roam — float — never really get touched. Guys like Aiden Fisher, played a ton of ball, real natural feel. And by the second and third quarter, they’ve figured out what you’re trying to do. They have experienced football players, very similar to Keionte Scott on your defensive side.
Good news: Ole Miss does a lot of this stuff in the run game and you handled it. You ran right down their throat — about seven yards a pop — running duo. Bad news: I didn’t think Miami pass protected all that well against Ole Miss, and Indiana’s a very similar concept. They’ll throw six bodies at the line, rush four, drop two — you never know who’s coming — and it’s all twist, wrap, stunt with intensity.
So that’s my primary concern. But you handled the stunts and nonsense from Ole Miss. Can you do it again in the run game? Can Mark Fletcher still hammer it for six or seven a pop?
Mike Ryan:
I’m fired up. I think my eyebrows are singed off. Wait — so we’re not actually running A-gap? We’re just pushing people?
Brooks Austin:
It’s duo and it lands in A-gap.
Mike Ryan:
So we’re just that good at duo that it looks like A-gap because we’re pushing it like the stunts and stuff you mentioned. That’s tough when you’re getting pushed off the line.
Brooks Austin:
We can’t move north and south until we find that first level. So all that chaos, you’ve got to gain depth, absorb it, then move it. If you’re on separate levels, they’re going to spike in between you. If you’re all levels, you’ll get spiked.
Mike Ryan:
In your best expert opinion — line of scrimmage, meaty men slapping meat — how does it actually play out? Indiana’s known for execution. If they want to do what they do, no one’s really stopped them. How and why can Miami stop them?
Brooks Austin:
Oregon ran the ball relatively well. They got put behind for turnover reasons, but in a vacuum on all-22 tape, they sustained positive results.
Why I think Miami can average four or five yards a clip is Mark Fletcher is 230 pounds. This is what took me back when I saw him in person the first time in College Station. On TV you see huge bodies, but in person you isolate it and it’s like, **** — he’s 6’2-and-a-half, 230, runs behind his pads, turns two-yard contact into six-yard gains. That’s efficiency. That’s all you’re chasing in national title games like this.
Go back to Shannon Dawson’s media availability before the Fiesta Bowl — he talked about Carson Beck’s legs being added and his willingness to take the ball down and run for three or four because it gets you “manageable counts.” You can live in second-and-five. You can’t live in second-and-11. You can live in third-and-four. You can’t live in third-and-nine consistently against this caliber.
DMoney:
Now I’ve got to ask you, Brooks. Usually when men are discussing "thick lowers," it might be at Dolphin Mall with the boys. You were talking about thick lowers on ESPN with Finebaum and on your channel. I’m looking at Miami’s defensive ends against Indiana’s tackles — it seems like a power advantage for Miami. How do you see that matchup?
Brooks Austin:
I listen to a lot of coaching clinics because I’m a nerd and I’ve got nothing else to do. Dan Lanning described it best: the defensive coordinator’s job is to find the donkey. There might be four stallions up there — find the one that isn’t and hunt the donkey for four quarters.
When I watch Indiana, there’s a clear donkey in pass protection: number 67, the right tackle. I would figure out every manageable way on obvious passing downs to get Rueben Bain and Mesidor on the same side and hunt 67. Miami’s been doing a great job lining their best threats up together, because if I’ve got Bain and Mesidor over there, you can slide three linemen that way — fine — one of those freaks is getting no help. That’s a problem.
We’ve got to make sure it’s the donkey. We’ve got to make sure it’s 67. He’s very gettable.
Mike Ryan:
Let’s shift to Indiana’s passing attack. Becker has caught on lately. Sarratt has NFL draft fanfare. Their bread and butter is that back-shoulder throw all day — Mendoza to Sarratt. How are Miami’s DBs equipped to stop it?
Brooks Austin:
They run 25% RPOs. A quarter of their plays are run-pass options. And it’s not 2014 Hugh Freeze RPO where it’s inside run and a bubble. This is full passing concepts off running concepts. They’ll marry wide zone so the O-line stays behind that three-yard cushion longer, and they’ll run full-on verts, 10-yard outs, switch releases — all kinds of stuff. So it makes playing the math really hard. You’re playing two plays against Indiana.
If I were defending them, I’d stick three-over-two outside all the time and play what I call “box light,” which I think Miami can do. I don’t need Keionte Scott as a nickel blitzer 12 times like you did against Ole Miss. Don’t need it this week. I need him in three-over-two on Sarratt and Becker/Cooper.
Man-to-man — I don’t know if it’s going to work. Oregon covered them relatively well; go look at those throws. There’s not a lot of space. This is ball placement, and this is winning at the catch point. Miami’s best bet is to stay in zone, let corners trigger aggressively, trust what they’re seeing, rally, tackle.
DMoney:
What I love about your channel — Film Guy Network — it’s the X’s and O’s, but it’s really the passion. You’ve been passionate about Malachi Toney, and not as a returner — as a blocker. Not catching guys, but attacking guys. What do you like about number 10?
Brooks Austin:
They do grown man stuff with him. I don’t know what he’s listed at. He looks like 5’10-and-a-half, 185, and they play him like he’s 6’5, 260. They will insert him on linebackers in duo. They’ll say, “Let Toney block and we’ll throw spit screens to the tight end.” That’s setting tone. They’re letting 10 put his face in people’s facemask and set tone.
Everyone watches him as a playmaker — he’s elite. His contact balance is insane. His strike zone is small as a ball carrier. We’ve got to protect the ball a little better, but if you make seven guys miss every game and fumble once in a while, I can live with it. And he’s great at the catch point, too.
But for me — his football player-ness is off the charts. I love watching him.
Mike Ryan:
Brooks — you tweeted earlier this week: no wasted downs for Indiana. If we’re counting on them not to execute, that’s not a path to victory. Miami’s best beats Indiana’s best, but Indiana is so good at dragging you into execution games. How do you think this plays out?
Brooks Austin:
We’re doing predictions tonight and it’s going to be a one-point prediction — that’s my way of telling you I have no idea. If I were a gambler, I’d take the nine points.
This feels like 17-14, 17-14 going into the fourth quarter with 12 minutes left — “let’s see who can win the football game.” Both teams are comfortable being boring and methodical. Both defenses make you earn it. They make you walk it down.
Miami’s quarterback is comfortable checking it down, going 14-play drives — “okay, baby.” He doesn’t press. He doesn’t get over-aggressive. He trusts the run game and defense. That’s how you win today.
What worries me is Indiana drags games into execution games. Most teams that are out-talented try to skew numbers — play fast, take 100 snaps. Indiana doesn’t. If they take 50 snaps offensively, they played a great game. They want a slog. They want third-and-twos. Miami is comfortable doing that, too.
So I feel good about the matchup. I don’t know who I’m picking. I’ll figure it out tonight. I’ll probably flip a coin.
Mike Ryan:
You cover the nation, but you’re based in Georgia — you’re familiar with Georgia and Carson Beck. Watching his progression — Mandarin High to now — some of the media narrative, some true, some not. From your standpoint, what do you see when you see Carson Beck?
Brooks Austin:
I’m not a narrative teller. You asked me about the football player.
From day one, snap one — even as a backup — the mechanics are chicken and rice. Clean diet. Same thing every day. You want to be accurate? Same mechanics every stroke. He’s always done that. He’s always processed the game at a high rate.
Two limitations I worried about: his unwillingness to add into the run game — he’s checked that off down the stretch — and the athletic progression. That throw to Keelan Marion before half — empty, switch release backside, he’s rolling right, pressure presses him, he gets both feet in the ground and throws a strike for a touchdown — a year ago, two years ago, he’s chunking it out of bounds. That’s progression.
I know he’ll play on time. I know he’ll be accurate. I know he’ll make good decisions. I could go through his interceptions and explain a lot of them — football explanations. He does try a little too hard sometimes and put balls at risk, but that’s him competing with ball placement because he knows he can do it.
DMoney:
Brooks, appreciate you. Anyone not watching his channel, check it out immediately — Film Guy Network. Anything you want to plug?
Brooks Austin:
I don’t need to plug anything. I do need to say this: my flight for South Florida leaves Friday morning and I want to be baptized in Miami. I’m a caffeine fiend. I’ve never had real cafecito. I need to be indoctrinated with South Florida. Whoever can baptize me, bring that on.
Mike Ryan:
Brooks, we got you. You’re going to be bathed in the neon red light of Allapattah and Los Rosas. We got you.
DMoney:
And we’re both married men, so the thick lowers will be more observational. We’ll take care of you. Appreciate you joining us. It’s going to be an awesome game.
Brooks Austin:
Y’all be good, boys. We’ll talk later.
As we elevate to that national championship level, we had to elevate the guests. And this is one of my favorite accounts to watch, to learn from. Very entertaining, extremely informative, high energy. I know you guys love him because you’re always posting his stuff on CanesInSight. The Film Guy, Brooks Austin. Brooks, how are we feeling?
Brooks Austin:
I’m doing well. Look, DMoney, unfamiliar with your game to be honest with you, but you’re out here throwing hometown locations of Oklahoma Sooner quarterbacks that were formerly at Wazzu. You, sir, are a ball knower. You know ball. Oh my lord. My god.
DMoney:
Let me tell you about some shared ball knowledge. Do we pause for shared ball knowledge?
Mike Ryan:
Yeah, we might pause for that.
DMoney:
Texas A&M — we didn’t know each other. We’re meeting formally for the first time here, but we were at the Texas A&M game. I was on the field watching the Canes. You were doing all the content you do, field level, the Texas A&M DJ played a little David Allan Coe and we were singing our lungs out. Was that living?
Brooks Austin:
Kyle Field 103,000 with like 35 mph winds, but on a nice 65, 66-degree day, so the wind wasn’t cold. It was delightful. I would’ve liked some more points as an unbiased observer, but yeah, man. What a time.
Those people — I don’t know how you felt, DMoney — a little too nice. Like, real nice. I want hostility with my college football. I want to walk up in 103,000 and feel like, “They might tear this place down today.” I did not feel that way about them. I felt like they would shake my hand after I punched them in the face on the way out. It felt a little weird to me.
DMoney:
We were chilling. They didn’t bother us. But there was a kerfuffle involving our co-host and producer, Pete.
Peter Ariz:
There was an incident or two — fans shouting "bail bonds "and things of that nature.
DMoney:
Pete, your insult in response to that A&M fan was innovative.
Peter Ariz:
That was a separate incident because I guess there were multiple incidents there. I was walking up these tightly compact spiral cases and an A&M fan told me, “Hey, you might want to tie your shoe before you get up there.” I looked down — my shoe was tied — and I told him, “You should tie your female genitalia.” My shoe is tied.
Miek Ryan:
All right. Brooks Austin — ball knower, film guy. You do about as good a breakdown of video on the college game as anybody on social media. You’ve been around this program for this run. A lot of lobby bars with Brooks over the last few weeks. You’re crunching film. You’ve seen both these teams more than anybody in the media space. What is the early read on the tape telling you?
Brooks Austin:
I’m glad you lobbed this to me — and I see you got me in an ISO already. So if you boys will allow me, I’ll take you through the most interesting matchup in the weeds that I’m nerding out about. Comments already calling me a nerd. Let’s ball out. Let’s nerd it.
(PULLS UP WHITE BOARD)
Brooks Austin:
All right. Here we go. I heard you talking A-gap nonsense, Mike Ryan. You are a duo football team. That is the play you’re built off of. You run it out of pistol as well. You’ve seen Mark Fletcher line up directly behind Carson Beck in the shotgun. The priority in duo is to move people against their will, based off double teams — hence “duo.”
So we’re going to take the two down linemen and run them into the Mike. We’re going to take the nose tackle and run him into the Sam. We’re going to take our tight end and our H-back and create that crease in the B-gap. The reason it feels like it hits A-gap all the time is because your offensive line is moving people and moving mass tremendously on a downward angle — that 45-degree angle — getting combos up to the second level. Mark Fletcher gets downhill aggressively.
That’s what you do against normal teams that don’t create chaos — stunts, havoc at the line of scrimmage. Here’s the matchup: Indiana bases their entire system off of creating that chaos. They’re a big-time nut and tun stunt football team. They’re going to take their nose and wrap him underneath their tackle, take their tackle and wrap him underneath their nose — nut, tun, nut, tun. You’re going to get a ton of those stunts on Monday night.
Those same combination blocks become way harder when you don’t know where they’re going. Your two tight ends? Much harder when the end spikes across your face and the wheel arrives. Backside? Same thing. All that chaos.
On top of that, they let their Mike linebacker free roam — float — never really get touched. Guys like Aiden Fisher, played a ton of ball, real natural feel. And by the second and third quarter, they’ve figured out what you’re trying to do. They have experienced football players, very similar to Keionte Scott on your defensive side.
Good news: Ole Miss does a lot of this stuff in the run game and you handled it. You ran right down their throat — about seven yards a pop — running duo. Bad news: I didn’t think Miami pass protected all that well against Ole Miss, and Indiana’s a very similar concept. They’ll throw six bodies at the line, rush four, drop two — you never know who’s coming — and it’s all twist, wrap, stunt with intensity.
So that’s my primary concern. But you handled the stunts and nonsense from Ole Miss. Can you do it again in the run game? Can Mark Fletcher still hammer it for six or seven a pop?
Mike Ryan:
I’m fired up. I think my eyebrows are singed off. Wait — so we’re not actually running A-gap? We’re just pushing people?
Brooks Austin:
It’s duo and it lands in A-gap.
Mike Ryan:
So we’re just that good at duo that it looks like A-gap because we’re pushing it like the stunts and stuff you mentioned. That’s tough when you’re getting pushed off the line.
Brooks Austin:
We can’t move north and south until we find that first level. So all that chaos, you’ve got to gain depth, absorb it, then move it. If you’re on separate levels, they’re going to spike in between you. If you’re all levels, you’ll get spiked.
Mike Ryan:
In your best expert opinion — line of scrimmage, meaty men slapping meat — how does it actually play out? Indiana’s known for execution. If they want to do what they do, no one’s really stopped them. How and why can Miami stop them?
Brooks Austin:
Oregon ran the ball relatively well. They got put behind for turnover reasons, but in a vacuum on all-22 tape, they sustained positive results.
Why I think Miami can average four or five yards a clip is Mark Fletcher is 230 pounds. This is what took me back when I saw him in person the first time in College Station. On TV you see huge bodies, but in person you isolate it and it’s like, **** — he’s 6’2-and-a-half, 230, runs behind his pads, turns two-yard contact into six-yard gains. That’s efficiency. That’s all you’re chasing in national title games like this.
Go back to Shannon Dawson’s media availability before the Fiesta Bowl — he talked about Carson Beck’s legs being added and his willingness to take the ball down and run for three or four because it gets you “manageable counts.” You can live in second-and-five. You can’t live in second-and-11. You can live in third-and-four. You can’t live in third-and-nine consistently against this caliber.
DMoney:
Now I’ve got to ask you, Brooks. Usually when men are discussing "thick lowers," it might be at Dolphin Mall with the boys. You were talking about thick lowers on ESPN with Finebaum and on your channel. I’m looking at Miami’s defensive ends against Indiana’s tackles — it seems like a power advantage for Miami. How do you see that matchup?
Brooks Austin:
I listen to a lot of coaching clinics because I’m a nerd and I’ve got nothing else to do. Dan Lanning described it best: the defensive coordinator’s job is to find the donkey. There might be four stallions up there — find the one that isn’t and hunt the donkey for four quarters.
When I watch Indiana, there’s a clear donkey in pass protection: number 67, the right tackle. I would figure out every manageable way on obvious passing downs to get Rueben Bain and Mesidor on the same side and hunt 67. Miami’s been doing a great job lining their best threats up together, because if I’ve got Bain and Mesidor over there, you can slide three linemen that way — fine — one of those freaks is getting no help. That’s a problem.
We’ve got to make sure it’s the donkey. We’ve got to make sure it’s 67. He’s very gettable.
Mike Ryan:
Let’s shift to Indiana’s passing attack. Becker has caught on lately. Sarratt has NFL draft fanfare. Their bread and butter is that back-shoulder throw all day — Mendoza to Sarratt. How are Miami’s DBs equipped to stop it?
Brooks Austin:
They run 25% RPOs. A quarter of their plays are run-pass options. And it’s not 2014 Hugh Freeze RPO where it’s inside run and a bubble. This is full passing concepts off running concepts. They’ll marry wide zone so the O-line stays behind that three-yard cushion longer, and they’ll run full-on verts, 10-yard outs, switch releases — all kinds of stuff. So it makes playing the math really hard. You’re playing two plays against Indiana.
If I were defending them, I’d stick three-over-two outside all the time and play what I call “box light,” which I think Miami can do. I don’t need Keionte Scott as a nickel blitzer 12 times like you did against Ole Miss. Don’t need it this week. I need him in three-over-two on Sarratt and Becker/Cooper.
Man-to-man — I don’t know if it’s going to work. Oregon covered them relatively well; go look at those throws. There’s not a lot of space. This is ball placement, and this is winning at the catch point. Miami’s best bet is to stay in zone, let corners trigger aggressively, trust what they’re seeing, rally, tackle.
DMoney:
What I love about your channel — Film Guy Network — it’s the X’s and O’s, but it’s really the passion. You’ve been passionate about Malachi Toney, and not as a returner — as a blocker. Not catching guys, but attacking guys. What do you like about number 10?
Brooks Austin:
They do grown man stuff with him. I don’t know what he’s listed at. He looks like 5’10-and-a-half, 185, and they play him like he’s 6’5, 260. They will insert him on linebackers in duo. They’ll say, “Let Toney block and we’ll throw spit screens to the tight end.” That’s setting tone. They’re letting 10 put his face in people’s facemask and set tone.
Everyone watches him as a playmaker — he’s elite. His contact balance is insane. His strike zone is small as a ball carrier. We’ve got to protect the ball a little better, but if you make seven guys miss every game and fumble once in a while, I can live with it. And he’s great at the catch point, too.
But for me — his football player-ness is off the charts. I love watching him.
Mike Ryan:
Brooks — you tweeted earlier this week: no wasted downs for Indiana. If we’re counting on them not to execute, that’s not a path to victory. Miami’s best beats Indiana’s best, but Indiana is so good at dragging you into execution games. How do you think this plays out?
Brooks Austin:
We’re doing predictions tonight and it’s going to be a one-point prediction — that’s my way of telling you I have no idea. If I were a gambler, I’d take the nine points.
This feels like 17-14, 17-14 going into the fourth quarter with 12 minutes left — “let’s see who can win the football game.” Both teams are comfortable being boring and methodical. Both defenses make you earn it. They make you walk it down.
Miami’s quarterback is comfortable checking it down, going 14-play drives — “okay, baby.” He doesn’t press. He doesn’t get over-aggressive. He trusts the run game and defense. That’s how you win today.
What worries me is Indiana drags games into execution games. Most teams that are out-talented try to skew numbers — play fast, take 100 snaps. Indiana doesn’t. If they take 50 snaps offensively, they played a great game. They want a slog. They want third-and-twos. Miami is comfortable doing that, too.
So I feel good about the matchup. I don’t know who I’m picking. I’ll figure it out tonight. I’ll probably flip a coin.
Mike Ryan:
You cover the nation, but you’re based in Georgia — you’re familiar with Georgia and Carson Beck. Watching his progression — Mandarin High to now — some of the media narrative, some true, some not. From your standpoint, what do you see when you see Carson Beck?
Brooks Austin:
I’m not a narrative teller. You asked me about the football player.
From day one, snap one — even as a backup — the mechanics are chicken and rice. Clean diet. Same thing every day. You want to be accurate? Same mechanics every stroke. He’s always done that. He’s always processed the game at a high rate.
Two limitations I worried about: his unwillingness to add into the run game — he’s checked that off down the stretch — and the athletic progression. That throw to Keelan Marion before half — empty, switch release backside, he’s rolling right, pressure presses him, he gets both feet in the ground and throws a strike for a touchdown — a year ago, two years ago, he’s chunking it out of bounds. That’s progression.
I know he’ll play on time. I know he’ll be accurate. I know he’ll make good decisions. I could go through his interceptions and explain a lot of them — football explanations. He does try a little too hard sometimes and put balls at risk, but that’s him competing with ball placement because he knows he can do it.
DMoney:
Brooks, appreciate you. Anyone not watching his channel, check it out immediately — Film Guy Network. Anything you want to plug?
Brooks Austin:
I don’t need to plug anything. I do need to say this: my flight for South Florida leaves Friday morning and I want to be baptized in Miami. I’m a caffeine fiend. I’ve never had real cafecito. I need to be indoctrinated with South Florida. Whoever can baptize me, bring that on.
Mike Ryan:
Brooks, we got you. You’re going to be bathed in the neon red light of Allapattah and Los Rosas. We got you.
DMoney:
And we’re both married men, so the thick lowers will be more observational. We’ll take care of you. Appreciate you joining us. It’s going to be an awesome game.
Brooks Austin:
Y’all be good, boys. We’ll talk later.
