Brian Smith
American football coach, born 1980
247
APPEARANCES
47
PODCASTS
Nov 6, 2026
Tyler WojakHOST
What do you see when you see a team go from beating USC handily and then the next week getting humbled by Iowa on the road? What is that team? What do you make of that?
Brian SmithGUEST
Think about how many teams in the last three weeks went from a super high to a super low.
10 MINS LATER
Brian SmithGUEST
Now, he could play in different spots, and I'm sure the University of Miami will move him around.
Brian SmithGUEST
But in a basic three-wide set, you have your normal slot and you have your normal field receiver.
Brian SmithGUEST
You can't really guard him with one guy, but you put the other players the other side.
Ryan HaringsHOST
What do you see when you see a team go from beating USC handily and then the next week getting humbled by Iowa on the road? What is that team? What do you make of that?
Brian SmithGUEST
Think about how many teams in the last three weeks went from a super high to a super low.
6 MINS LATER
12 MINS LATER
Brian SmithGUEST
Yeah, like they're going to get, and I'm not suggesting this, but it will happen.
19:00
But what, what has the play calling situation been like for him at Florida state?
speaker_5ADVERTISER
Probably
Brian SmithGUEST
This is something that all coaches have to deal with, especially in team sports like baseball.
Brian SmithGUEST
there's going to be some contract guys that you probably want back that may think about switching teams and MLB.
22 MINS LATER
speaker_0ADVERTISER
I guess
Brian SmithGUEST
The thing about this recruitment, I don't think it's about money anymore because the money is insane from all the schools.
11 MINS LATER
Ryan HaringsHOST
And now that that was working, I think it's going to be easier to bolt on a little bit more in the passing game.
Brian SmithGUEST
We'll talk a little bit more about that after the break, but here's the stat to kind of Just puts it in perspective.
10 MINS LATER
Brian SmithGUEST
know what I mean? So hopefully I'm guessing right there, but watching Penn State's O-line, again, what little I have, this is not an expert opinion.
Brian SmithGUEST
And I've never met an offensive coordinator that's told me, you know, Brian, I'd rather be in second and eighth than second and five.
Brian SmithGUEST
They're not very good at running the football in obvious downs, short yardage, goal line, anything else.
8 MINS LATER
Jacob GoinsHOST
Like, this season is madness, but I think it did help Indiana because a loss doesn't kill you.
12 MINS LATER
Brian SmithGUEST
They threw everything at him, but Notre Dame, with all their money and their staff, they should have caught one of those.
37:07
Believe me, this is not me sitting here saying that Oregon looked good over the weekend.
Brian SmithGUEST
You can't lose your offensive tackle, your pass rusher, your corner, your quarterback.
Brian SmithGUEST
Not saying Ohio State doesn't have a good player behind him, but O-line is about chemistry.
17 MINS LATER
Brian SmithGUEST
but that's not a Penn State D line, even in the stratosphere, with what I saw under Franklin.
Brian SmithGUEST
Even when they're tired, you'd have somebody for PSU just go out there and smoke somebody, get a sack and then change the direction of a drive.
Zach SeykoHOST
It, it, it's a grandiose mistake, but it becomes the mistake because, okay, instead of a touchdown finishing the drive, you settle for a field goal after that onside kick because you get the football to start the second half at the 50 yard line.
Brian SmithGUEST
but that's not a Penn State D line, even in the stratosphere with what I saw under Franklin, especially the edge players.
Brian SmithGUEST
Even when they're tired, you'd have somebody for PSU just go out there and smoke somebody, get a second, and change the direction of a drive.
Zach SeykoHOST
It, it's a grandiose mistake, but it becomes the mistake because, okay, instead of a touchdown finishing the drive, you settle for a field goal after that on-side kick because you get the football to start the second half at the 50-yard line.
Brian SmithGUEST
I was wrong, and Florida State smacked them in the mouth on both sides of the ball, had 10 sacks.
Brian SmithGUEST
So I would imagine that Daniels and company are gonna try to run the ball on everybody.
Brian SmithGUEST
Um, but nonetheless, they have to find a way to create some tur- like, road environments, and that's...
Brian SmithGUEST
If you struggle for any reason in the first quarter, it's probably gonna be with turnovers.
Brian SmithGUEST
Um, but nonetheless, they have to find a way to create some turn- like road environments, and that's, that fan base is bananas.
Brian SmithGUEST
If you struggle for any reason in the first quarter, it's probably gonna be with turnovers.
Brian SmithGUEST
They all but tell you what's coming if you get into the, like the, the minutiae of what reading keys and all that.
Zach SeykoHOST
So how do you think recruits are looking at Penn State and Matt Campbell right now?
Brian SmithGUEST
The only holdback that I see, and it's because they're so short, is they run so much 12 personnel.
Brian SmithGUEST
That won't go over great with receivers, I'm guessing, but that's kind of in vogue across college football.
Isaac ShadeADVERTISER
that.
Brian SmithGUEST
But when edge rushers or a stud receiver commits somewhere, you know it's an important player because the recruits, like you'll be standing with the group, they'll say a kid's name, but they won't use his last name.
21 MINS LATER
Ryan HaringsHOST
You've got to be feeling pretty darn good if you're a Badger fan or if you're Luke Fickle, right?
Zach SeykoHOST
The, the Wisconsin loss in a vacuum in your mind, what was your initial reaction, your take? Uh, i- is it worse than the, "Okay, yeah, this could've been a good team with the easy schedule," but now you're starting to think, "Hey, maybe they're, they're barely batting 500"?
Brian SmithGUEST
I think the expectations and where they will fall are somewhere in between the people that are crying in their, in their morning coffee and what the original expectations were.
Brian SmithGUEST
But, like, you can't have a receiver drop a touchdown pass with 10 seconds to go in the back of the end zone.
Brian SmithGUEST
There are a lot of things that have to go right for a team that doesn't have as much talent as it did before, like not near as much, especially at the skill spots.
23 MINS LATER
Zach SeykoHOST
You can be the, you can be the guy that wins that game." So how, how do you think recruits are looking at, at Penn State and Matt Campbell right now?
Brian SmithGUEST
Speaking of back, what do we do with Oregon? You could officially make a ranking right now of your five weirdest teams of 2026 to date.
Brian SmithGUEST
And then we're also going to discuss for the length of the show in some capacity, but definitely the first segment.
Brian SmithGUEST
Desmond Stevens, he's the guy, if you haven't seen it, have you been under a rock that had a rather...
Zach SeykoHOST
What is Penn State truly losing here? And do you have more concerns now that they won't be able to win some of these games over the course of his injury timeline?
Brian SmithGUEST
I have some concerns if teams are able to play with elite corners and you can man up and put the extra guy in the box.
Brian SmithGUEST
Like Penn State, the last I saw was like a nine-and-a-half point favorite over Wisconsin.
Brian SmithGUEST
I mean, I don't know if it should be that much, but they're definitely the better team, even without Kobe, in my opinion.
Brian SmithGUEST
And Wisconsin's not a team that's going to just, you know what, we're going to play cover one, single high, or cover zero.
17 MINS LATER
Zach SeykoHOST
What is Penn State truly losing here? And do you have more concerns now that they won't be able to win some of these games over the course of his injury timeline?
Brian SmithGUEST
I have some concerns if teams are able to play with elite corners and you can man up and put the extra guy in the box.
Brian SmithGUEST
Like Penn State, the last I saw was like a nine-and-a-half point favorite over Wisconsin.
Brian SmithGUEST
I mean, I don't know if it should be that much, but they're definitely the better team, even without Kobe, in my opinion.
Brian SmithGUEST
And Wisconsin's not a team that's going to just, you know what, we're going to play cover one, single high, or cover zero.
10 MINS LATER
Zach SeykoHOST
I do wonder if they dare Penn State to throw the football again and and tried without without Kobe Howard to see if you're going to get those same kinds of explosives.
Tyler WojciakHOST
So have you noticed any differences in Notre Dame's approach to the 2028 class compared to the previous two cycles?
Brian SmithGUEST
It's small, but Notre Dame has reached a point, and this shouldn't be surprising, and it's a good trend for Notre Dame.
Brian SmithGUEST
Their roster is loaded enough now where it's not just good enough to be great on film.
Brian SmithGUEST
They want to make as many evaluations physically as they can on the player on the field.
32 MINS LATER
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