West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Lee & Grant Benson
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West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Opinion and analysis of Oklahoma Sooners football from the viewpoints of a local media member and an OU fan living outside The Sooner State. New episodes every Thursday during football season.

  1. Ep. 360 - Venables Gets the Dreaded "Vote of Confidence"

    6 DAYS AGO

    Ep. 360 - Venables Gets the Dreaded "Vote of Confidence"

    Lee tells us what's coming up on the show today before the guys briefly talk about OU's upcoming primetime kickoff against Alabama (0:00). Joe Harroz and Joe Castiglione gave Brent Venables a vote of confidence this week. For some reason the discussion leads Lee to think of former Tennessee HC Butch Jones (7:40). Joe Castiglione stopped short of committing to Brent Venables for next season (17:45). Turns out that OU giving Venables a new contract in June increased the Venables buy-out. This move looks horrible in hindsight and it's another reason why Grant is concerned about the future of OU (21:30). Lee found a former head coach that may end up being a very close comp to Brent Venables' time at OU (30:40). We look back at all the other notable head coaching hires from the 2022 cycle. It's pretty easy to tell if each team has found their guy, or not (38:00). Some brief CFP rankings talk. Grant's not loving the way this season is playing out (54:00). Taking a look at the SEC slate as well as a brief look back at the 2020 OU defense (56:30) before making our picks against the spread. Games include LSU-Florida/Nebraska-USC/Arizona St.-KSU/Tennessee-Georgia/Kansas-BYU (1:02:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 20m
  2. Ep. 359 - It's Over. We Just Don't Know When it Will Be Made Official.

    NOV 10

    Ep. 359 - It's Over. We Just Don't Know When it Will Be Made Official.

    OU's loss to Missouri was more of the same as the Brent Venables era looks to be coming to a close. The only question is, "When?" | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 29m
  3. Ep. 358 - Elevated Expectations for Night Game at Missouri

    NOV 7

    Ep. 358 - Elevated Expectations for Night Game at Missouri

    In the opening take, Lee talks about something very serious that impacts everybody who listens to this show. Please listen to this critical message. Then Grant joins to talk about getting after it a little too much bending the elbow and how to combat a hangover (4:30). Grant gives his thoughts on the OU-Maine game. Jovantae Barnes and Xavier Robinson are discussed. Jackson Arnold's play and the defense as a whole (7:30). Will Jalil Farooq and/or Deion Burks play against Missouri? Grant's got the SEC Availability report hot off the press. Jovantae Barnes is questionable. The O-Line is back to being injured (20:15). What's the most intriguing storyline for OU-Missouri? Missouri may start a backup QB in the game, which should be a chance for OU's defense to have a good time. Are both fanbases not expecting their team to win (32:10)? Is it a problem that people are asking if this is the most important game for Brent Venables since he's been at OU (44:10)? The CFP Rankings are out. Let's assess the projected matchups (53:15). Looking at the SEC slate. If Florida's QB was healthy, it may be interesting vs. Texas. SC-Vandy is a tough handicap, and would Josh Heupel run it up on Jeff Lebby (59:00)? We make our picks coming off a good week for Grant. The games are Georgia-Ole Miss/ISU-Kansas/Michigan-Indiana/Colorado-Texas Tech/Alabama-LSU (1:05:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 27m
  4. Ep. 357 - Barnes Continues Hot Play as OU Gets Back in Win Column

    NOV 3

    Ep. 357 - Barnes Continues Hot Play as OU Gets Back in Win Column

    Oklahoma picked up its 5th win of the season beating Maine 59-14 Saturday. Lee talks about the offensive explosion, this new version of Jovantae Barnes, Jackson Arnold continued his solid play, and a big picture look at OU's defense that doesn't bode well for Brent Venables. Plus we read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    56 min
  5. Ep. 356 - Let's Play the O-Line Blame Game

    OCT 31

    Ep. 356 - Let's Play the O-Line Blame Game

    In the opening take, Lee tries to find out the correct degrees of blame for OU's offensive line being terrible. Then Grant joins to give his thoughts on the offensive line and push back on some of the points Lee made. As much as we didn't want to do this, we do a long segment on the offensive line, previous recruiting classes, Bill Bedenbaugh's coaching ability, and how much blame Lincoln Riley deserves (8:00). Grant says OU being bad is boring. Brent Venables had a long press conference this week that didn't amount to much. We got some injury updates at least, Lee brings up his injury conspiracy theory again, and Grant takes another victory lap over his Jacobe Johnson take from weeks ago (37:15). We do a thought exercise involving OU losing to Maine. No, we don't want OU to lose to Maine. I'm sorry but we really like Curt Cignetti (46:00). What's the most boring result in the OU-Maine game? Grant tells us what he wants to see in this game and he goes all the way in on DeMarco Murray so get your popcorn (55:10). We thank listeners for their 5-star podcast reviews (59:00). SEC talk focuses on Grant laying out why Hugh Freeze should be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (1:03:50). We make our picks against the spread. Games include Ohio State-Penn State/Ole Miss-Arkansas/Minnesota-Illinois/Oregon-Michigan/Texas A&M-South Carolina (1:10:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 35m
  6. Ep. 355 - OU Shows Surprising Life, but Comes Back to Earth in Loss

    OCT 27

    Ep. 355 - OU Shows Surprising Life, but Comes Back to Earth in Loss

    Definitely a tale of two halves in Oxford this weekend. OU went into halftime enjoying a 14-10 lead over one of the better teams in college football, but the Sooners came back down to earth in the final 30 minutes. What went right? What went wrong? Jovantae Barnes had his best game as a Sooner. Jackson Arnold played solid and does seem to have a lot of potential. This OU's best game running the ball this season. The offensive line can't pass block, but somehow they were able to run block pretty well. As always we read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 17m
  7. Ep. 354 - Sooners Face Daunting Task Following OC Shake-Up

    OCT 24

    Ep. 354 - Sooners Face Daunting Task Following OC Shake-Up

    Lee strikes a negative tone to start the show, which Grant calls him on. Early thoughts on what to expect when OU plays Ole Miss this Saturday (0:00). Brent Venables talked for the first time about firing Seth Littrell. How is OU going to deal with recruiting offensive players during this time (8:00)? What will Venables be looking for in his next OC? Lee has a bit of a problem with what Venables said. We look back to what we were thinking when Seth Littrell was hired (19:50). Early look at who could be candidates for OU's OC job (30:20). Venables wanted a new voice, new perspective, new strategy and game planning when it comes to offense. Will we notice? What can Kevin Johns bring to the table now that he's an assistant coach (36:00)? We found out Gavin Sawchuk is injured. Why can't OU just totally change their offense moving forward? It can't get any worse right? The running back room is still not good (43:10). Grant's got a lot of good stuff on Ole Miss. The Rebels are a damn good team (49:40). What's the blueprint for an improbable OU victory (1:00:30)? Thanking listeners for their 5-star reviews (1:08:10). A brief look at the SEC slate (1:11:40) followed by our picks against the spread. We pick Boise State-UNLV/Notre Dame-Navy/BYU-UCF/Missouri-Alabama/LSU-Texas A&M (1:13:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 28m
  8. Ep. 353 - Seth Littrell is Gone. Should Venables be Next?

    OCT 22

    Ep. 353 - Seth Littrell is Gone. Should Venables be Next?

    Lot to talk about today. Grant wants people to stop saying "is this rock bottom?" (0:00). What does it mean for the future of the program now that Seth Littrell has been fired? Do you have any confidence that Brent Venables can find the right offensive coordinator? (6:00). The rest of the episode is essentially us talking about why it's over for Brent Venables (16:00). We go to the WoE Facebook page and X to read listener "3-word reviews" and comments before wrapping up the show with final thoughts (58:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

    1h 12m
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4.7
out of 5
193 Ratings

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Opinion and analysis of Oklahoma Sooners football from the viewpoints of a local media member and an OU fan living outside The Sooner State. New episodes every Thursday during football season.

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