Speaker 1: Welcome to the solid verbal.
Speaker 2: Ill for me, I'm a man, I'm forty.
Speaker 1: I've heard so many players say, well, I want to
Speaker 1: be happy.
Speaker 2: You want to be happy?
Speaker 1: For Dake Edith state is that whoo whoom?
Speaker 2: And now then and tie, Welcome back to the solid
Speaker 2: verbal Boys and girls. My name is Ty hilden Brandt,
Speaker 2: joining me as always and actually actually seated directly to
Speaker 2: my left. Yeah, the man the Nith, Dan Rubinstein, sir,
Speaker 2: how are you?
Speaker 1: Life is good? You came all the way to my apartment.
Speaker 1: We're in Brooklyn right now to record because we're double recording,
Speaker 1: so by the time you listen to this, the other
Speaker 1: episode where we are recording is going to be up
Speaker 1: or we'll be up soon.
Speaker 2: I believe that's R.
Speaker 1: Charley. Yeah, we're recording in New York. One because we
Speaker 1: like each other, we like hanging out, we're pals. And
Speaker 1: two we're recording our nineties Internet and Computers completely in
Speaker 1: one thousand percent off topic show with Bill Barr. Well,
Speaker 1: that's right after we record this, That's right. So we're
Speaker 1: knocking at least two shows out in one one sitting
Speaker 1: and life is good. We're doing Pack twelve South Pack
Speaker 1: twelve Seuth and the Mountain West West. I believe I
Speaker 1: do like that there's a west in Mountain that's that's fun.
Speaker 2: It sounds like you're It's not quite legends and leaders fun,
Speaker 2: it's in the same vein.
Speaker 1: But yes, I'm excited to get out to the West Coast.
Speaker 1: I have a lot of Packed twelve South thoughts. It
Speaker 1: is a division that has gone through some changes recently,
Speaker 1: both for the better and for the more comical and mysterious.
Speaker 1: So I'm I'm happy. I'm getting a little hungry. We're
Speaker 1: gonna eat it soon, getting to be that time of day,
Speaker 1: but I'm ready. I have a lot of thoughts. I
Speaker 1: this was my initial thought because I like to think
Speaker 1: about the divisions. We talked about Fatlantic, We talked about
Speaker 1: the Southeastern Conference East in terms of the missing Olsen twins,
Speaker 1: not missing, but other Olsen twin. I I in my mind,
Speaker 1: I was trying to think about what the PAC twelve
Speaker 1: South represents to me, and I was just cycling through
Speaker 1: Mike Tyson's punch out opponents because there is that clear hierarchy.
Speaker 1: Sure of Mike Tyson was a use aka mister dream.
Speaker 1: I want to say if the game didn't have the
Speaker 1: license for him, but there's a path to beat mister
Speaker 1: dream slash Mike Tyson. And so I could only get
Speaker 1: as far as saying, I think Khalil Tait is don
Speaker 1: Flamenco don Flamenco. Yeah, just that one huge uppercut. I
Speaker 1: don't know what else Arizona has that scares me, but
Speaker 1: that uppercut is quite the upper.
Speaker 2: With their defense being King Hippo, I'm assuming, yes, you're
Speaker 2: going the defense is King the pants fall down.
Speaker 1: If you wanted to talk me into Khlil Tap being
Speaker 1: Great Tiger with that like that quick disappearing act kind
Speaker 1: of thing, the morphin around that, I that I could
Speaker 1: be on board with.
Speaker 2: The disappearing act was a little challenging, yes for Great Tiger.
Speaker 1: But but that big thing to me is everybody has.
Speaker 1: Everybody's not one note, but there is that comical vulnerability
Speaker 1: that everybody I think in the South has, maybe outside
Speaker 1: of us A Chip Kelly with the soda Popinski tan oh,
Speaker 1: there is a lot of soda Popinski.
Speaker 2: There's a little bit helly, right, Yeah, there is Welcome
Speaker 2: back to the show. Yeah, forget you can get in
Speaker 2: on our live show action if you're out in the
Speaker 2: Chicago Land area against August the eleventh, at seven pm
Speaker 2: Central daylight time. We'll be going for about two hours,
Speaker 2: after which we're going to hang out at a bar.
Speaker 2: See what happens with one and a half drink.
Speaker 1: Dan hashtag tenders with Tye.
Speaker 2: That's right. If you want to get in on the action,
Speaker 2: tickets are still available, you can go to soliverbotickets dot com.
Speaker 2: That'll redirect you to the ticket buying site again at
Speaker 2: Chicago's historic Vidim Theater August the eleventh. If you're going
Speaker 2: to be around, or if you've got friends that are around,
Speaker 2: that's just like college football, you don't have to be
Speaker 2: a listener to the show. We're going to do our
Speaker 2: best to put a show together that works for everybody,
Speaker 2: even if you're just a low level college football fan.
Speaker 2: Want to see what this is all about. It'll be
Speaker 2: a fun night. Check us out. You can all the
Speaker 2: relevant information again soliverbletickets dot com, as well as our
Speaker 2: Facebook page, our Twitter account, our Instagram account, and of
Speaker 2: course by subscribing to our newsletter, which you can find
Speaker 2: at soliverbl dot com or by going to that Facebook page. So,
Speaker 2: as Dan mansed, we got a lot to discuss here
Speaker 2: as it relates to the six teams of the PAC
Speaker 2: twelve South. We're also going to go through the Mountain
Speaker 2: West Western Division, and we are recording another show right
Speaker 2: after this. We will have to talk out when we're
Speaker 2: going to post that Bill show. Yes, but we are
Speaker 2: going to post that show at some point, like we've
Speaker 2: been doing each and every year with Bill Barnwell in
Speaker 2: the latter stages of July. First, we did EMO. Last year,
Speaker 2: we did the big one where we talked about ninety.
Speaker 1: Sports video games.
Speaker 2: YEP. This year it's going to be broader all things
Speaker 2: nineties Internet, which is I think a real wheelhouse topic
Speaker 2: for all of us.
Speaker 1: Maybe we'll just focus on nineties Internet and how it
Speaker 1: affected our love life. Maybe that's the direct Probably not that,
Speaker 1: but that'll be an element. Anyway, I'm excited to talk
Speaker 1: PAC twelve Pack.
Speaker 2: Pack twelve South is where we're starting now. You you
Speaker 2: are the resident PAC twelve officionado between the two.
Speaker 1: I'm the only Pack twelve fan in New York. I'm
Speaker 1: the last I'm the only living PAC twelve.
Speaker 2: Boy, and you're an endangered species. You're from this part
Speaker 2: of the country, so you really truly understand what this
Speaker 2: what this signifies in that area of the country.
Speaker 1: It just means a little, a little, a little bit. Yeah,
Speaker 1: people have better things to do. Yeah, there's a lot
Speaker 1: to do on the West coast.
Speaker 2: As you look at the PAC twelve South, what is
Speaker 2: your general broad overview? What's your takeaway?
Speaker 1: So to Pop Penski right that there is this weird
Speaker 1: cycle because I remember having a very similar conversation when
Speaker 1: I was at I went to PACK twelve Media Days
Speaker 1: in twenty twelve, and there was the infusion of Rich
Speaker 1: rod at Arizona. The addition, I think Todd Graham was
Speaker 1: just for you know, Mike Leach was was super new
Speaker 1: to the conference, and there was this idea of like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, we have these new coaches doing exciting
Speaker 1: new things, and maybe this will be the spark that
Speaker 1: propels the PAC twelve into a broader national conversation. Now
Speaker 1: we have Herm Edwards doing it, which is a little
Speaker 1: different context wise than Todd Graham. It was a lot
Speaker 1: of like, Ah, Todd Graham's going to stay here at
Speaker 1: Arizona State. There was that big offensive mastermind in Rich
Speaker 1: Rodriguez coming to Arizona. Now there's the big offensive mastermind,
Speaker 1: Kevin Sumlan coming to Arizona. Jim Moore was relatively new
Speaker 1: and it was like, oh, NFL experience didn't really work out,
Speaker 1: but he's at UCLA. Chip Kelly, NFL experience didn't really
Speaker 1: work out, but he's at UCLA. So there is kind
Speaker 1: of a cyclical nature to how we talk about the
Speaker 1: PAC twelve and a rising attention across the country. But
Speaker 1: because there are so many unknown factors in the PAC
Speaker 1: twelve South, because of new quarterback at USC, new coach
Speaker 1: at UCLA, super fun quarterback at Arizona, but new coach
Speaker 1: Arizona State, you know, tearing it down to the studs
Speaker 1: and starting over with an ESPN guy. Totally normal, totally
Speaker 1: totally normal. And so that one thing that isn't cyclical
Speaker 1: is Skoyle Whittingham's just hanging out, just chilling, developing big dudes,
Speaker 1: just collecting a paycheck.
Speaker 2: Winning eight nine games, Yeah, going.
Speaker 1: To a goal. So there's sort of like the more
Speaker 1: things change, the more things stay the same.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I looked at it and it's so different to
Speaker 2: me because Sam Darnold's gone down, USC still has a
Speaker 2: ton of talent. USC is clearly, I'm sure you would
Speaker 2: agree the top dog in the PAC twelve South, but
Speaker 2: it's it's a much different setup this year. We're not
Speaker 2: in this vein where we're going to be talking about
Speaker 2: USC as I don't think a national championship contender. We're
Speaker 2: used to USC being that top ten team with a
Speaker 2: lot of potential, a lot of promise. The potential still
Speaker 2: there in fairness, but I don't know if anyone's talking
Speaker 2: about USC is like a ten win team right right now.
Speaker 2: It could happen, for sure, it could happen. They've got talent,
Speaker 2: but that to me, it really echoes on down through
Speaker 2: the rest of that division where we just don't really
Speaker 2: know what to expect. There are some new coaches, there's
Speaker 2: some exciting players. Utah just hanging out will probably win
Speaker 2: their fair share of games, but.
Speaker 1: A much much as that game is in Salt Lake City,
Speaker 1: the Utah USC game, which we know what's going to happen,
Speaker 1: all its terrifying twenty seven twenty six Utah, right.
Speaker 2: My point is that it's just like a lot lower
Speaker 2: stress this year, yeah than I think I've been accustomed to.
Speaker 2: As we've been previewing.
Speaker 1: These yes USC specifically, there is there there always seems
Speaker 1: like oh, they're replacing their entire defense, or they're replacing
Speaker 1: their entire offensive line, or they only have fifty two scholarships.
Speaker 1: Everything is always it seems to be like dramatic off season.
Speaker 1: You know, see Sarcusians fired in the middle of the season.
Speaker 1: Lane Kiffen is, you know, let go. There's always like
Speaker 1: this dramatic element to USC. And in the way that
Speaker 1: we say, you know, the acc joke free, USC is
Speaker 1: drama free for the most part, like it doesn't seem
Speaker 1: like there's you know, there was not crazy coaching changes there.
Speaker 1: You know, quarterback obviously, you know Sam Donald leaves early,
Speaker 1: but there the quarterback depth is pretty good at least
Speaker 1: with decent talented quarterback. Just don't screw up. Give the
Speaker 1: ball to some talented playmakers behind a good offensive line.
Speaker 1: USC's offense should once again be at the top. And then
Speaker 1: I mean, they lose Tyson Hilton to Tennessee, but it
Speaker 1: was you know, tem Martin's.
Speaker 2: But they kept Clay, They kept Clay.
Speaker 1: They kept Clay and kept Clay, and so well there's
Speaker 1: Clay and Clancy, but keeping Clay is a big deal.
Speaker 1: And then on defense up front, a lot of these
Speaker 1: guys have rotated in. There's a ton of blue chip talent,
Speaker 1: which is the least surprising thing about USC. And they
Speaker 1: were a little bit shaky at times against the run
Speaker 1: last year, but look at their schedule. Who's running all
Speaker 1: over USC this year? Who is taking advantage of you know,
Speaker 1: no Rasheem Green China and Wosu was one of the
Speaker 1: great underrated defensive players last year and he's gone. It's
Speaker 1: super disruptive. But you'll see. I don't believe Washington State
Speaker 1: is going to run a ton. You know, they go
Speaker 1: to Stanford, that's going to be a mess. That's going
Speaker 1: to be tough to stop Bryce Love for four quarters.
Speaker 1: But Colorado Utah, I think Zach Moss is fine, Arizona State,
Speaker 1: I'm not terribly worried about Oregon State, cal Ucla, Notre
Speaker 1: Dame will probably have a decent running game by that
Speaker 1: at the time, that runs a long.
Speaker 2: Defense and defense that will test this USC offense for sure.
Speaker 2: But I think you're right, and given the talent, given
Speaker 2: the fact that the schedule is for the most part
Speaker 2: pretty good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a tougher. You know, going to Stanford to
Speaker 1: Texas early is a quick wake up call for whoever
Speaker 1: starts a quarterback.
Speaker 2: But yeah, beyond that, not bad. Yes, it's workable, and
Speaker 2: it'll certainly give them a chance to enough runway to
Speaker 2: put together a good campaign far and away the top
Speaker 2: team in the Pactwell, South know the way you can
Speaker 2: look at it.
Speaker 1: So here's here's the quarterback issue. Obviously people have and
Speaker 1: we are included in that. JT. Daniels declared recommit. What
Speaker 1: am I looking for? He enters USC a year early,
Speaker 1: he reclassified sure and has the clear highest ceiling most
Speaker 1: talents you know, would have been the nomber one quarterback
Speaker 1: perhaps or probably like the a top four quarterback in
Speaker 1: last year's class as a junior was. It was a
Speaker 1: pretty talented class with Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence. But
Speaker 1: it's clear that he will eventually be the starting quarterback
Speaker 1: sooner rather than later. If he doesn't start out, I
Speaker 1: assume it could be uh, Matt Fink or Jack Sears.
Speaker 1: Probably Fink has a little bit more experience in the offense.
Speaker 2: Now, listen, Matt Sink was six for nine. Yeah, think
Speaker 2: what I say?
Speaker 1: I think Sink?
Speaker 2: No, no, Matt think excuse me? Yeah, six for nine
Speaker 2: passing last year.
Speaker 1: That's true. Throwing that out there six nine. So the
Speaker 1: only real concern I would have about USC is USC
Speaker 1: how do they shoot themselves in the foot in that
Speaker 1: one dumb game they like not to say Utah is disappointing,
Speaker 1: but they barely get by Utah last year at home,
Speaker 1: I believe, and I think it was Troy Williams starting,
Speaker 1: not Tyler Huntley. They beat him by a point. And
Speaker 1: it's it's can USC make, you know, make its way
Speaker 1: through the Pac twelve unscathed or whatever? Because they're probably
Speaker 1: gonna win the Pack twelve if it's not for Washington,
Speaker 1: who I don't believe they play this year, which is nice.
Speaker 1: It's how will USC acquit itself nationally? It's what do
Speaker 1: they look like against what should be a pretty good
Speaker 1: Texas defense? And if they win the Pac twelve and
Speaker 1: either end up in the playoff or end up in
Speaker 1: a New Year's Bowl game, what do they look like
Speaker 1: after looking abysmal against Ohio State this past bowl game
Speaker 1: and abysmal against Alabama the year before.
Speaker 2: So here's my big operative question about USC. I'm looking
Speaker 2: at the depth chart now, I'm looking at what USC
Speaker 2: brings back on both sides of the football. They're pretty
Speaker 2: good up front, at least on offense. Yeah, oh, definitely,
Speaker 2: four or five linemen are back. That's a good foundation.
Speaker 2: There are questions about the quarterback position. Whoever that quarterback
Speaker 2: ends up being will probably be just fine. Yes, in
Speaker 2: the grand scheme of things. They've got a good running
Speaker 2: back and Stephen Karr not quite as explosive as what
Speaker 2: they've had, but still versatile, serviceable. He will give them
Speaker 2: numbers and they're fine out wide, as they always are
Speaker 2: at USC. The offense will be far and away better
Speaker 2: than most other offenses, not just in the conference, but
Speaker 2: probably in the country because they're USC. My questions are
Speaker 2: on defense upfront, a little new, all right, what are
Speaker 2: we dealing with upfront? We'll have to figure that out
Speaker 2: as we go along. But the back half of that
Speaker 2: defense is actually in pretty good shape. So even though
Speaker 2: we're not talking as much about USC this year, and
Speaker 2: maybe that's because of the quarterback position, I don't know,
Speaker 2: this is still a team that's in a really good spot.
Speaker 2: They're going to win a bunch of games, and they're
Speaker 2: gonna get better as the year goes on, which is
Speaker 2: what scares me as a Notre Dame fan. Knowing that
Speaker 2: the last game of the year is against Notre Dame
Speaker 2: at home. What will USC look like by that point
Speaker 2: in the season. That's terrifying to me. It's always terrifying
Speaker 2: to me when the last game of the year is
Speaker 2: in LA against USC, but particularly this team, which feels
Speaker 2: like it has a lot of room to grow. That's
Speaker 2: a scary proposition.
Speaker 1: Here's the great news again, if you're a USC fan,
Speaker 1: because everything is pretty much great news, there's a good
Speaker 1: chance you live in southern California or environs and you're
Speaker 1: recruiting super well. You have consistency when you look at
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks that they will face this year, I all
Speaker 1: can go through the quarterback situations and you can tell
Speaker 1: me if you're scared about any of these guys throwing downfield.
Speaker 1: And USC has gotten after the quarterback pretty well, and
Speaker 1: they return a bunch in the secondary. I know Jack
Speaker 1: Jones was kicked off the team, but other than that,
Speaker 1: they've recruited super well. There unlv and Armani Rogers. He's fun,
Speaker 1: he's a dual threat. He's not beating anybody deep consistently.
Speaker 1: Stanford's pass game I don't think has been anywhere near
Speaker 1: where it should be Texas. I don't think they're beating
Speaker 1: a ton of teams deep, especially early on. I like
Speaker 1: the receivers, but I don't think they have that the deep.
Speaker 2: That play is not a strength for Texas.
Speaker 1: No, not at all. Washington State's breaking a new quarterback situation.
Speaker 1: Khalil Taate, Yes, because there's that threat of run. He
Speaker 1: should be a to pop some Steven Montes, Tyler Huntley.
Speaker 1: They've struggled throwing downfield a lot recently, Arizona State and
Speaker 1: many wil Niquil Harry. Yeah, I'm scared of that.
Speaker 2: That's fun.
Speaker 1: I'm scared of that. Oregon State, no Cal at this point, No,
Speaker 1: especially no Demetrius Robertson. You seel like Will Spae, Wilton
Speaker 1: Spade not necessarily and Brandon wimbush Ian book. Right now,
Speaker 1: it's hard to say you should be threatened downfield?
Speaker 2: Do I prefer dual threat?
Speaker 1: Yeah? But yeah, so, I think it's very difficult to
Speaker 1: imagine USC losing fewer than or excuse me, losing more
Speaker 1: than two two and a half games, as say, two
Speaker 1: to three games. Yeah, and that's if everything goes wrong.
Speaker 1: I think they go nine and three.
Speaker 2: I think that's fair. Yeah, I think that's fair.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So ten and two feels about ten and two
Speaker 1: eleven and one, even if quarterback is simply pretty good.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, that's USC again ten and two a year ago,
Speaker 2: starting over in some respects this year, but still in
Speaker 2: a very very good spot as we.
Speaker 1: End healthy Porter Gustin too, I'll get after it.
Speaker 2: As we enter twenty eighteen. Sure, all right, where do
Speaker 2: we want to go next?
Speaker 1: Then?
Speaker 2: After USC? It feels to me like the natural logic
Speaker 2: would take us to.
Speaker 1: Utah, Colorado. Oh, let's go to Utah. Let's go to Utah.
Speaker 1: Let's talk big heavies.
Speaker 2: Utah, all right, big ugly quarterback situation is not bad now.
Speaker 2: I feel like I say that every year. It's it's
Speaker 2: not bad. It's an underhanded compliment if you want to
Speaker 2: call it that, but it's not bad, right it it
Speaker 2: he Tyler Huntley was hurt a little bit last year.
Speaker 2: Correct when he played, and when he got things going
Speaker 2: in a good direction, it was it was pretty serviceable.
Speaker 2: He started the season really well, started the season right.
Speaker 2: When he came back later in the year was a
Speaker 2: lot better. But Utah, I think has a good quarterback situation,
Speaker 2: better than a lot of other teams in the country.
Speaker 2: So I'm fine with Utah and where they stand.
Speaker 1: With Huntley, there's a lot of promise in a way
Speaker 1: that I don't think has existed sit in Salt Lake City,
Speaker 1: not just because of Hunting in the way he started
Speaker 1: out last year. He had the huge game I think
Speaker 1: it was San Jose State. It wasn't against huge opponents,
Speaker 1: but he had a ridiculous game against UCLA and I
Speaker 1: think was good against I want to say Wazoo. So
Speaker 1: there is there's a lot of promise there. He struggled
Speaker 1: against Oregon. But the reason I say promise is if
Speaker 1: anything happens with him, if he's not cautious in the
Speaker 1: way because he is a dual threat like he should
Speaker 1: have been last year. Jack Tuttle is the probable backup,
Speaker 1: and Jack Tuttle is somebody I think he committed to
Speaker 1: Kyle Whittingham early at quarterback blue chip from southern California
Speaker 1: and just turned away everybody to stick with Utah. And
Speaker 1: I think a lot of people are genuinely not surprised
Speaker 1: but impressed that Utah was able to reel in a
Speaker 1: high level quarterback talent in a way that they really
Speaker 1: have sure, So quarterback situation is great. They replaced a
Speaker 1: lot on defense, But I'm just I'm not going to
Speaker 1: worry about Utah defense. I'm just not.
Speaker 2: No, you never worry about Utah defense because, as you said,
Speaker 2: Kyle Whittingham is just hanging out there, finding a way
Speaker 2: to put together a beast defensive line like he does
Speaker 2: every year, right and hold teams down. I'm really curious
Speaker 2: about this offense now. I'm not enamored with their situation
Speaker 2: out wide. However, they do have Zach Moss, a returning
Speaker 2: running back and a pretty experienced offensive line that he
Speaker 2: can run behind. Yep. Combine that with a good quarterback.
Speaker 2: I think all things considered, Utah has in a pretty
Speaker 2: good spot offensively. And that's not something I'm used to saying. Like,
Speaker 2: we usually don't have a lot of nice things to
Speaker 2: say about Utah as an offense. Maybe they've got one
Speaker 2: or two studs that were going to follow throughout the
Speaker 2: course of the year, But I don't know the last
Speaker 2: time I really felt this way about a Utah team,
Speaker 2: just looking at it and being like, yep, they'll be
Speaker 2: able to.
Speaker 1: Move the ball. Yeah, I'm still not convinced because of receiver.
Speaker 1: I know They get Britain Covey back, and that's a
Speaker 1: big deal. He took his LDS mission. But the game
Speaker 1: changers at receiver just don't seem to be there for Utah.
Speaker 1: They bring in Darren Carrington last year as a grad transfer,
Speaker 1: and that was a nice addition, but it was not
Speaker 1: indicative of where Utah's offense is going because I don't
Speaker 1: think they have the talent at receiver yet. But if
Speaker 1: Jack Tuttle, if you know, Tyler Huntley is really good
Speaker 1: this year, maybe that changes. And I like their offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator a lot. Troy Taylor came to them from Eastern
Speaker 1: Washington running the Boat Baldwin wide open systems, so I
Speaker 1: think that's still a move that's going to pay dividends.
Speaker 1: I love Bradley and Ay he is one of the
Speaker 1: better and more underrated defensive linemen in the country. He
Speaker 1: is just he is this year's whoever Hunter Dimmick whatever,
Speaker 1: right exactly, he is that guy. I think he led
Speaker 1: them in sacks last year. In any case, Utah and
Speaker 1: defense is one of those things there's very few unworriables,
Speaker 1: not definitely, not a word in college football. We're like, yeah,
Speaker 1: they're gonna get it figured out pretty quickly. Schedule is
Speaker 1: pretty nice. They go to NIU, which is it feels trappy,
Speaker 1: it feels dangerous, you know, with an offense that's not
Speaker 1: like dominant to go against that defense. I'm not writing
Speaker 1: in a win there. But I think they miss Washington,
Speaker 1: I believe right. I know they get Washington earlier after NIU.
Speaker 2: See here. Oh here's the thing.
Speaker 1: So I don't love their schedule.
Speaker 2: Well, I agree with you that the non conference schedule
Speaker 2: is okay, Yeah, all right at Northern Illinois, maybe a
Speaker 2: little trappy Weber State the Thursday to start the season.
Speaker 1: They finished with the.
Speaker 2: They've got the Holy War, which is always kind of
Speaker 2: a tricky game. But they didn't really draw the correct
Speaker 2: straw in terms of who they're getting from the north. Yes,
Speaker 2: that's true, because I see Washington on here. I see
Speaker 2: Stanford a road game against Stanford on here. I see
Speaker 2: Oregon late in the year on here. Their PAC twelve
Speaker 2: North component of the schedule is not doing them any favors.
Speaker 1: No, it looks like they miss Oregon State and Cal
Speaker 1: which is not who you want to miss. No, not generally,
Speaker 1: not who you want to miss. So, yes, their schedule
Speaker 1: is rough. I'm not thinking b why he's going to
Speaker 1: be tricky. I probably not, probably not. Defensively, they may improve,
Speaker 1: but I am I'm not fully sold on that. The
Speaker 1: big thing is Utah consistency. It's tough to go to
Speaker 1: Salt Lake City. This is something we try to say
Speaker 1: every years. It's a loud place, it's trappy, it's at altitude.
Speaker 1: The Utah's in that zone where teams like USC or
Speaker 1: Oregon or whoever think they can just walk in and
Speaker 1: be more talented than and then they just sort of
Speaker 1: get whooped up a little bit. And so I am
Speaker 1: I am looking forward to watching Utah. It's hard to
Speaker 1: see them with this schedule winning more than seven or eight.
Speaker 2: That being said, yeah, if you replay each of our
Speaker 2: last ten years of pre exact game, it's the exact same. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's the exact same Because I'm going through I'm the
Speaker 2: same exercise. I'm counting out all right, when and when
Speaker 2: I get to seven, Yeah, that I feel pretty good about.
Speaker 2: In my head, that means nine.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: From Utah and Kyle that always means at least eight
Speaker 2: maybe nine.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Utah's sort of puts the no in November though,
Speaker 1: where you get super excited about them through Halloween, and
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden like heh yeah, they're seven
Speaker 1: and five, eight and far Like, it's just I don't
Speaker 1: think they have the depth necessarily. I don't think they
Speaker 1: have these special players on it that will be the issue. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the special players on offense, I think is going to
Speaker 1: be the limiting factor.
Speaker 2: All right, from Utah, then let's go to Arizona.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's do it. Let's talk about a special offensive player.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about a special offensive player. You and I
Speaker 2: had an informal discussion before we hit record. Mm hm,
Speaker 2: who's the best player in the Pac twelve South?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's probably Khalil Tate, But there are other people
Speaker 1: that I could see making a case by you, like
Speaker 1: Nikhil Harry might be the most single most talented player
Speaker 1: at his position, not just in the conference, but in
Speaker 1: the country. There are players like that, Chase Lucas also
Speaker 1: at Arizona State, Bradley in a Utah. We'll see what JT.
Speaker 1: Daniels or Stephen Carr, any of the guys on USC
Speaker 1: Porter Gustin bring to the table. UCLI, I don't see
Speaker 1: a special player right now. I am I am curious
Speaker 1: but yes, I think Khalil Tate right now is he's
Speaker 1: got to be the no brainer, pure talent.
Speaker 2: He's at least your no brainer Heisman candidate in.
Speaker 1: Kid gains averaging fifteen yards per carry like it was stupid.
Speaker 2: Right the PAC twelve right. So in and of himself,
Speaker 2: Khalil Tate makes Arizona interesting. There are other components that
Speaker 2: make Arizona even more interesting. They've got a new coach,
Speaker 2: Rich Rod was unceremoniously relieved of duties yes late in
Speaker 2: the process, and they go to Kevin Someone. Is Kevin
Speaker 2: Someone a different coach than Rich Rodriguez? I feel, I
Speaker 2: mean they're different physically different people, but it feels like
Speaker 2: mostly the same kind of thing. Our question, our persistent
Speaker 2: question on this show since they announced that he was
Speaker 2: going to be the guy, is how much different is
Speaker 2: this really going to be? How much different will this
Speaker 2: team look from what we're used to seeing now the
Speaker 2: last couple of years under Rich Rodriguez.
Speaker 1: So someone brings in coordinators he's either worked with as
Speaker 1: recently as last year or recently as in a few
Speaker 1: years ago. Marcel Yates he retains from rich Rod's staff
Speaker 1: as defensive coordinator running the four two five he had successful.
Speaker 1: I think the talent level on Arizona's defense has been
Speaker 1: super disappointing. Like I don't think it's up to par
Speaker 1: as for competing for the Pac twelve South recently. They
Speaker 1: had a couple of years, you know, you remember Scooby
Speaker 1: Wright destroying worlds, running that sort of fun, interesting, unpredictable
Speaker 1: three three five under Jeff Castile, where that defense was
Speaker 1: a nice compliment to the offense. They were fast and
Speaker 1: unpredictable defense, like Colin Schooler, who was probably a freshman
Speaker 1: All American last year. And I think it's older brother
Speaker 1: plays or yeah, I think older brothers at Oregon. And
Speaker 1: I really like the idea of Arizona having a fast,
Speaker 1: fun defense with what there should be able to recruit
Speaker 1: from southern California, but the talent isn't there yet, especially upfront.
Speaker 1: The good news is even if they're giving up thirty
Speaker 1: eight forty one points, they're probably scoring forty five points.
Speaker 1: They can drop a bunch of those digits. And it's
Speaker 1: Khalil Tate. You know, he got beat up near the
Speaker 1: end of last season and wasn't as effective, But effective
Speaker 1: Khalil Tate is about the scariest thing in the country
Speaker 1: outside of Bryce Love.
Speaker 2: Maybe we have seen Kevin Someone in a situation fairly
Speaker 2: recently where he had a dynamic quarterback. He just wrote
Speaker 2: that uarters.
Speaker 1: That's going to be the talking point is can Kevin
Speaker 1: Someone do for Khalil Tate what he did for Johnny Manzil.
Speaker 2: He was successful for a finite moment in time. He
Speaker 2: was very successful having a dynamic player at quarterback, who
Speaker 2: could run, who could throw, who could just make things interesting.
Speaker 2: And so as Khalil Tate goes, so will Arizona's offense.
Speaker 2: Probably so will Arizona's team, and probably will I think
Speaker 2: this new look Kevin someone Era, given where Texas A
Speaker 2: and M was when he.
Speaker 1: Left here, here would be my concern about that line
Speaker 1: of talking. Speaking I don't know English. Johnny Manzel had
Speaker 1: an NFL offensive line in front of him. Arizona does
Speaker 1: not have that in front of They're fine, but they
Speaker 1: don't have it in front of the.
Speaker 2: Tate whatever receiver Mike Evans.
Speaker 1: Ryan Swope like, there was serious, serious talents surrounding Johnny Manziel,
Speaker 1: Which is not to say that it wasn't Johnny Manziel
Speaker 1: doing it, but it was Johnny Manzel taking advantage and
Speaker 1: being put into a situation to maximize his own talents.
Speaker 1: I like the Arizona receivers. There's no Mike Evans. I
Speaker 1: like Sean Brown and Tony Allison, They're not quite Mike Evans.
Speaker 1: I like JJ Taylor a whole bunch. He's one of
Speaker 1: my just in terms of watching a player, JJ Taylor.
Speaker 1: He's tiny, He's got one of the most ridiculous first
Speaker 1: steps of any running backs in the country. He's going
Speaker 1: to get beat up and that might be soak and wet.
Speaker 1: That's that's sort of a concern of mine. So that
Speaker 1: almost makes what Khalil Tate's ceiling more impressive to me,
Speaker 1: because he is that one man wrecking where we saw
Speaker 1: it against Wazoo last year, we sagt against Colorado and
Speaker 1: UCLA and USCA putting up stupid numbers. He is a gamer.
Speaker 1: I am. I'm not sold on the Johnny Manzel progression
Speaker 1: of just absurd every week.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I and look, I don't mean to draw
Speaker 2: a direct comparison between the no, but it's really they're
Speaker 2: different players. But Kevin someone's been in that situation where
Speaker 2: he's had a really dynamic player at quarterback, and he
Speaker 2: was able to use that to his advantage. It actually
Speaker 2: kind of fell apart when Manziel left. Yeah, he needs
Speaker 2: that guy a quarterback. Just to remind people of Khalil
Speaker 2: Tate's numbers form a year, please.
Speaker 1: I'm ready.
Speaker 2: You know this has no real bearing on what happens
Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen, but just a tip of the hat
Speaker 2: to Khalil Tate.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: Fifteen hundred and thirty yards on the ground with twelve
Speaker 2: touchdowns and.
Speaker 1: He didn't start this season that court. You know, we
Speaker 1: didn't start the season playing quarterback at Brandon Dawkins did.
Speaker 2: And sixty two percent of his passes completion fifteen hundred
Speaker 2: and ninety one yards passing in fourteen touchdowns, nine interceptions.
Speaker 2: They'll need to improve upon, sure, all right, but still
Speaker 2: a dynamic player, really fun player to watch if you care.
Speaker 2: As we've been framing this out on all of our
Speaker 2: previews shows, if you if you are looking for a
Speaker 2: reason to care, just broadly about the PAC twelve South,
Speaker 2: Khalil takes a pretty big one. Yeah, get used to
Speaker 2: that name if you're not already familiar with it.
Speaker 1: Absolutely stay up late for Khalil Tate's that's my bumpers.
Speaker 1: I like that very good. Yeah late for Tate. I
Speaker 1: don't have too much to add other than it worries
Speaker 1: me that whenever you have to say, oh, the defense
Speaker 1: has to improve to below average, that is troubling because
Speaker 1: they were a bismal last year.
Speaker 2: And well, let me let me ask you this question
Speaker 2: because at the last show when we talked about the
Speaker 2: Big twelve, Yeah, we were throwing out numbers. Top forty
Speaker 2: seven for Oklahoma would be good, top forty five for
Speaker 2: someone else, top sixty eight, top what would be good
Speaker 2: for Arizona?
Speaker 1: Given I think they finished around ninety fifth and S
Speaker 1: and P plus defense. So you're asking me what the
Speaker 1: defense needs to finish. Give the offense enough runway to
Speaker 1: win games more often than not, because you know they
Speaker 1: feel six and six, seven and five ish to me,
Speaker 1: they need to have they need to feel the top seventy.
Speaker 2: Seventies, Yeah, seventy seventy five, somewhere.
Speaker 1: In that range. And schedule wise, quarterback wise, I know
Speaker 1: they miss do they miss Washington? They do miss Washington,
Speaker 1: miss Washing so that's nice. But they do have Oregon.
Speaker 1: They have Oregon at home. They go to Wazoo BYU Houston,
Speaker 1: Southern Utah, Oregon State to d USC to start out
Speaker 1: the season at Houston. I would be pretty worried about
Speaker 1: that was a close game recently. And I really like
Speaker 1: Derek King at quarterback. If we're talking about a special
Speaker 1: quarterback or potentially a special quarterback who can take advantage
Speaker 1: of a lackluster defense, Derek King maybe that name. And
Speaker 1: otherwise road trip wise, going to Oregon State to Wazoo
Speaker 1: to UCLA. Going to the UCLA is not all that difficult,
Speaker 1: but it just isn't I schedule is fine. I just
Speaker 1: it's faced out pretty well. For being honest, tape gets hurt.
Speaker 1: It's just it to me, it's too much. I know
Speaker 1: people are talking about Arizona as a wild card in
Speaker 1: the South. It's too much on his shoulders eyes, that's true.
Speaker 1: And even if you know Johnny Manziel got hurt, there
Speaker 1: were other options for Texas A and M and Nolman Zone.
Speaker 1: You're you're always going to get above average offense. But
Speaker 1: that's literally always above average, and that's for better or worse.
Speaker 2: Well, as khuil Take goes, so will Arizona. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: think that's fair to say, let's stay in the state
Speaker 2: of Arizona, let's and let's talk about ASU. ASU went
Speaker 2: seven to five a year ago. They have also changed
Speaker 2: out their coaching situation. I think you described it accurately
Speaker 2: at the top of the show, where they've ripped it
Speaker 2: down to the studs and entrusted it. Now the rebuild
Speaker 2: to a guy from ESPN. Yep, Herm Edwards who came in,
Speaker 2: was a bit confused in his introductory press.
Speaker 1: I don't know what Herm is like. I don't know
Speaker 1: what Herm is doing in that Like, I don't know
Speaker 1: what he's saying, but I don't know what. Like is
Speaker 1: he crazy or crazy like a fox? Yeah, that's the thing, right,
Speaker 1: Is he just dressing up obvious things in a weird
Speaker 1: way to just have fun with it. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not ready to say what Herm
Speaker 1: Edwards is doing is all that different or weird? He's
Speaker 1: just dressing it up different.
Speaker 2: If Herm Edwards would have left his post at ESPN
Speaker 2: and announced to the world maybe on Twitter, I am
Speaker 2: going to go on a motivational speaking tour.
Speaker 1: The most sense, I would scroll past it on Twitter
Speaker 1: without thinking because like, yeah, of course, of.
Speaker 2: Course, right, he's a very very cogent, powerful influential speaker.
Speaker 2: He grabs your attention. Sure that has to stand for something,
Speaker 2: maybe very little thing as it relates to coaching. I
Speaker 2: don't know what else he's doing here, though, I think
Speaker 2: he could probably motivate the troops his strategy of upending
Speaker 2: the existing model and starting anew at asu as you know,
Speaker 2: maybe it's the most revolutionary thing to hit college football
Speaker 2: in a decade.
Speaker 1: I think he's just describing something that already exists in
Speaker 1: a different way.
Speaker 2: He's pulling an apple, is what he's doing.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, absolutely, he's making a big deal over removing
Speaker 1: the headphone jack when other places had removed the headphone
Speaker 1: jack already. But he with his platform and going on
Speaker 1: TV all the time, and you know, having that big personality,
Speaker 1: it feels different and wacky, when in fact he's probably
Speaker 1: just talking about it in a slightly different way. Here's
Speaker 1: the great news for herm Edwards. He does have an
Speaker 1: offensive and defensive coordinator after losing both his offensive and
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator after staying after saying they were going to stay,
Speaker 1: So that would have been what Phil Bennett and the
Speaker 1: new coach at Louisiana. What's its face? Billy Napier, Right,
Speaker 1: So I apologize to Louisiana. What's its face? Great news.
Speaker 1: Manny Wilkins is an underrated national quarterback, probably a top
Speaker 1: fifteen quarterback in the country, twenty quarterback in the country.
Speaker 1: Really good. The running game I don't think is going
Speaker 1: to be all that great, But I really like the
Speaker 1: combination of Nikhil Harry and Kyle Williams. I think that's
Speaker 1: one of the better duos in the country, mostly because
Speaker 1: of Nikhil Harry, but also because it gives them options downfield.
Speaker 1: The line in front of him, I think is pretty good.
Speaker 1: And Arizona State on the other side of the ball,
Speaker 1: they're going I believe they're going to a three three five. Correct,
Speaker 1: That's correct, They're going to a three three five And
Speaker 1: they may have the single best cover corner in the
Speaker 1: conference in Chase Lucas. So in terms of pieces, in
Speaker 1: terms of what Herm Edwards can do, and we're not
Speaker 1: necessarily only talking about this season going out and recruiting.
Speaker 1: Look what we helped do, whether it's we or the
Speaker 1: previous staff, whatever. Look what Chase Lucas has been able
Speaker 1: to do and thrive with at Arizona State and Tempe.
Speaker 1: You know, look at what we're able to develop. Look
Speaker 1: at Manny Wilkins is you know, by all accounts like
Speaker 1: has a great story, a great dude, whatever, and he's
Speaker 1: thriving in Tempe. So there are down to those studs.
Speaker 1: There are studs.
Speaker 2: There, there are actual studs. And to your point, just
Speaker 2: to build upon what you said about the receiving corps,
Speaker 2: it's not just us that feels good about that receiving cores.
Speaker 2: They were so confident in their own receiving corps. Jalen
Speaker 2: Henry or excuse me, Jalen Harvey, who was their third
Speaker 2: leading receiver, was moved to defense. That's how good they
Speaker 2: feel about their depth on thet the I thought you
Speaker 2: were trying to say Jalen Strong and I was get
Speaker 2: all mixed up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but no, your.
Speaker 2: Jalen Strong would be a great addition as well. But
Speaker 2: this is a different one, and they've moved them to
Speaker 2: defense because they feel pretty good about their depth out
Speaker 2: at the wide receiver spot. So this is, as you said,
Speaker 2: a team being ripped down to the studs with at
Speaker 2: least studs on which they can build something moving forward.
Speaker 1: Now, tricky, tricky September. Yeah, Michigan State, San Diego State,
Speaker 1: and Washington are three of the best twenty defenses in
Speaker 1: the country, and they have them in a row, two
Speaker 1: of which on the road. San Diego State. Who san
Speaker 1: Diego State just relaxes and beats pack twelve teams. That's
Speaker 1: what San Diego State does. Michigan State should have a
Speaker 1: very good defense, Washington should have an excellent defense. Beyond that, though,
Speaker 1: it's still pretty tricky. They have Stanford and USC in
Speaker 1: sort of consecutive weeks.
Speaker 2: Let's look at the back half of this freaking schedule.
Speaker 2: Look at this schedule. They get a bye week on
Speaker 2: October thirteenth. What will you do on your bye WEEKDN
Speaker 2: just chill, may play some video games.
Speaker 1: Go for a run, I mean Phoenix and Tempe finally
Speaker 1: becomes like inhabitable right thirteen.
Speaker 2: But then after that Stanford, by the way, also off
Speaker 2: a bye week, going into their matchup on a Thursday
Speaker 2: night in Tempe October eighteenth. Yeah, the following week at USC,
Speaker 2: the week after that back home against Utah after that
Speaker 2: kind of awesome let down, look ahead Sandwich or just
Speaker 2: a regular sandwich spot at home November tenth against UCLA,
Speaker 2: who maybe pretty fisty, like figure it out by then
Speaker 2: Wi Man, come on, here we go. And then ASU
Speaker 2: closes out the season on the road, back to back
Speaker 2: at Oregon at Arizona rivalry game. That's a tough freaking schedule.
Speaker 1: And that's going to be a pretty good Oregon defense.
Speaker 1: A week before Khalil takes the.
Speaker 2: Over under for wins for ash was four and a half.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say it's safe to say they're not
Speaker 1: going to a bowl. I can't see it. I just can't.
Speaker 1: It's too much.
Speaker 2: If they beat you TSA, that's one not beating Michigan State.
Speaker 1: It's at home, it's in Tempe.
Speaker 2: I don't think they're beating them that early.
Speaker 1: Michigan State is traditionally under Mark d Antonio, a grower
Speaker 1: rather than a shower.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm talking fair enough, but you know
Speaker 2: I count these up here. Getting to five is tough.
Speaker 2: I be inclined to go under.
Speaker 1: Okay, so they could San Diego State. I think they're
Speaker 1: hiring their Their new defensive coordinator was last year San
Speaker 1: Diego State defensive coordinator. So maybe there's like a little
Speaker 1: bit of an edge there. So we give UTSA on
Speaker 1: the road. It's not terribly difficult to play at San
Speaker 1: Diego State, one two, Oregon State, Colorado and they sneak
Speaker 1: either Utah, Ucla or Arizona. Maybe that's five. I have
Speaker 1: them at five and seven.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so no bowl. I don't know we're in agreement here,
Speaker 2: No bowl. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go three and nine,
Speaker 2: four and eight. Wow, Okay, how do you get the five?
Speaker 2: Five is a tough, tough, tough ask.
Speaker 1: So if if my my level of success is generally
Speaker 1: determined by the combination of quarterback and defense, and I
Speaker 1: think they have a good quarterback, and I the defense
Speaker 1: is probably below average, So that doesn't feel like.
Speaker 2: A bowl no to me, not a bowl team. All right,
Speaker 2: let's go to UCLA. Let's get this cat out of
Speaker 2: the bag. Here. A lot of news in the off season, right,
Speaker 2: Jim Morric gone.
Speaker 1: Twelve million dollars.
Speaker 2: Who will UCLA turned to to fill that void to
Speaker 2: take the program forward?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: Carl Derell It is our boy, Charles chip Kelly.
Speaker 1: Charles Kelly.
Speaker 2: Have we agreed that we will refer to him as
Speaker 2: Charles chip Kelly all season long?
Speaker 1: We have to. We've made the commitment in June.
Speaker 2: So we just steer into it at the you don't
Speaker 2: have to I am.
Speaker 1: I've been the one saying it, I know, but I'm
Speaker 1: the bigger jackass of the two of us, so and
Speaker 1: I'm more committed to beating a dead horse than I
Speaker 1: will say anybody that has ever had or been on
Speaker 1: a college football podcast. So, okay, I like to hire
Speaker 1: a lote. I like Charles schip Kelly and what his
Speaker 1: ceiling should be in Westwood, he will recruit better. But
Speaker 1: I think in a similar fashion, like I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: surprised if u CLA brought in that level of three
Speaker 1: four star rather than four or five star like some
Speaker 1: of Jim Morris's classes, because I think they're going to
Speaker 1: be more judicious and they you know, Chip Kelly is
Speaker 1: that reputation with his staff, like taking a lot of
Speaker 1: time to do background research on recruits and stuff like that,
Speaker 1: So I think he's going to find quote unquote his guys. Sure,
Speaker 1: I know Chris Peterson has the the OKG are kind
Speaker 1: of guys. Okg's guys. Chip Kelly has that very similar mindset.
Speaker 1: So I think UCLA is going to populate that roster
Speaker 1: really well in the long term. But we're talking about this.
Speaker 2: Here, talking about this yere and for this year. I
Speaker 2: think the questions that I have about UCLA are more
Speaker 2: about where they're headed in the future. I think if
Speaker 2: you're a UCLA fan, maybe if you're a USC fan
Speaker 2: wondering what UCLA is going to be like in conference,
Speaker 2: in your side of the conference a couple of years
Speaker 2: from now, what you want to watch for at the
Speaker 2: end of this year is does it look like they're
Speaker 2: building towards something. Does it look like they're headed in
Speaker 2: a positive direction? It will take them a couple of
Speaker 2: years to implement this system to bring in the our
Speaker 2: kind the guys, if you can call him that. For
Speaker 2: the short term, though, what kind of a canvas do
Speaker 2: we have here? And furthermore, what will that system look like?
Speaker 2: This has been our question all throughout the off season.
Speaker 2: We know what Chip Kelly looked like at Oregon, we
Speaker 2: know what he looked like in the NFL. What kind
Speaker 2: of system now will we see at UCLA. Will it
Speaker 2: be such where he's trying to use his personnel to
Speaker 2: the best of their ability and build a system around them,
Speaker 2: or will it be truly we're starting from scratch. We're
Speaker 2: going back to what I know and we're able to
Speaker 2: recruit guys and trying to apply guys that fit my system.
Speaker 1: So Chip Kelly has always been a let's figure out
Speaker 1: what works with what we have. He has always been
Speaker 1: that way. That's why he initially went to that system
Speaker 1: at New Hampshire and brought it to Oregon. The important
Speaker 1: thing if you're a UCLA fan and it's going to
Speaker 1: be kind of a rough season, even winning games, it's
Speaker 1: not going to be pretty because I don't think the
Speaker 1: talent level is fully there. We talked to Bruce Felman
Speaker 1: about this earlier in the summer. He went to some
Speaker 1: practices and up close, he's just like, they have a
Speaker 1: little bit of a ways to go. The great news
Speaker 1: if you're a UCLA fan, and I sell this to
Speaker 1: you as an Oregon fan who has spent a lot
Speaker 1: of time watching Chip Kelly work his magic. Chip Kelly
Speaker 1: made a lot of decidedly non NFL quarterbacks look really good.
Speaker 1: Right now, UCLA has a true freshman coming in Dorian Robinson, Thompson,
Speaker 1: Darrin Thompson, Robbs etr excuse me, DTR Devin Modster, who
Speaker 1: started a couple games last year and looked pretty good
Speaker 1: against Kansas State at times. When I say at times
Speaker 1: it was good first half, it was a terrible second half.
Speaker 1: And Wilton spake. Now if we run through some of
Speaker 1: the names that I got to watch at Oregon, so
Speaker 1: Jeremiah a solely what NFL team is he playing for?
Speaker 1: I will yeah, he was kicked off of that team.
Speaker 1: Justin Roper as a fifth string shredded South Florida in
Speaker 1: the Sun Bowl and was totally serviceable. Justin Roper is
Speaker 1: not as talented as any of the people in the
Speaker 1: UCLA's quarterback room. Darren Thomas left a year early. Was
Speaker 1: not a great move, but Marcus Mariota was coming in.
Speaker 1: Darren Thomas arguably after Marcus Mariota, Oregon's most successful quarterback ever.
Speaker 1: Haven't heard the name Darren Thomas in a long time.
Speaker 1: So the good news is Chip Kelly is going to
Speaker 1: put whoever starts at quarterback in a favorable position. The
Speaker 1: receivers are pretty good. I've been on the Theo Howard
Speaker 1: train forever. I don't know he'll actually be good, but
Speaker 1: he has the talent and has the speed. I know.
Speaker 1: They bring in Chase Coda from up in Oregon. He
Speaker 1: is like an Oregon legacy and a big deal was made.
Speaker 1: He was a big time recruit. So there is some
Speaker 1: talent receiver. I don't love their offensive line. I like
Speaker 1: a couple of guys on defense more in the back end.
Speaker 1: Darnay Holmes calbass is high should be a really good
Speaker 1: cover corner for UCLA. And we'll see with Jalen Phillips
Speaker 1: came in with a lot of hype. But I am
Speaker 1: a huge fan of Jerry Asinarro, their defensive coordinator, although
Speaker 1: he hasn't actually been a full fledged defensive coordinator in
Speaker 1: a long time. I like their staff a lot. I
Speaker 1: like what's happening in Westwood. I am not positive and
Speaker 1: we've talked about this before. This is a long term thing.
Speaker 1: Is Chip Kelly two thousand and nine chip Kelly right now?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I hope so. For UCLA's fans, entertainment fan, sure, But
Speaker 1: UCLA's schedule is.
Speaker 2: It's Oklahoma on the road Week two. That's not favorite.
Speaker 1: Fresno State has maybe the best defense in the Mountain West. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I love their middle linebacker.
Speaker 2: Let me read through this quick. Yeah, they open up
Speaker 2: against Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: A quick preview. Their middle linebacker Fresno State. I think
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Allison whoa.
Speaker 2: Okay, continue next week at Oklahoma, next week home against Fresno,
Speaker 2: than a bye at Colorado, Washington at cal Arizona, Utah
Speaker 2: on a Friday at Oregon at ASU, USC and Stanford.
Speaker 1: It just does not there. There are no two weeks
Speaker 1: in there unless you want to. Like even Arizona and
Speaker 1: Utah both at home, it's you're still dealing with a
Speaker 1: lot in those two games, UCLA will.
Speaker 2: Pull an upset on Somebody.
Speaker 1: Give me the team on the road that UCLA is
Speaker 1: most likely to be, well, it will be a definite
Speaker 1: dog against that they'll upset.
Speaker 2: It could be Arizona State.
Speaker 1: You think that, I don't think that. Well, no, okay,
Speaker 1: they're on the road against Arizona. Say, I don't know
Speaker 1: if they'll be a don't know if they'll be a dog.
Speaker 1: But yeah, no, I'm saying a clear better situation is
Speaker 1: it Oregon? No, it's hard to I know, I don't
Speaker 1: know if they're a dog against the road. So any
Speaker 1: of the teams, so like, they could beat Utah, I
Speaker 1: think they could be a home dog against you. They
Speaker 1: could beat Utah, could beat Utah.
Speaker 2: Okay, So transition year for UCLA. There's no harm in that.
Speaker 2: I think you look for reasons to be optimistic.
Speaker 1: That's Halloween week, by the way, Utah. So it's deep,
Speaker 1: deeper into the season where they couldn't rhythm and understanding.
Speaker 2: All right, I'm not prepared to make a true prediction
Speaker 2: here on UCLA transition here. Yeah, I say that I'm
Speaker 2: not a bowl team, not with the schedule.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think they will be on that
Speaker 1: quest for six late. I think the conversation could be
Speaker 1: you know, they could end up being five and six.
Speaker 1: After the USC game.
Speaker 2: You're like, oh, if they beat Stanford at home, Kelly,
Speaker 2: have a Stanford problem.
Speaker 1: And now we've got about an hour's worth of Colorado
Speaker 1: to talk about, right, we have a lot to deep
Speaker 1: dive on the the monteesmobile.
Speaker 2: Yeah, are you on the Montese mobile.
Speaker 1: He feels like the most average pack twelve quarterback where
Speaker 1: it's just like, oh, he's gonna be really good, really average.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Stephen Montes.
Speaker 1: It's like one step forward, one and a half steps back.
Speaker 2: The I mean the backfield could be fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Trevon McMillan, the Virginia Tech graduate transfer, Yeah, they
Speaker 1: could be fun.
Speaker 2: It's a rough schedule.
Speaker 1: It's very difficult for me to find a reason to
Speaker 1: care about Colorado. Wow, it's very like this was one
Speaker 1: of the of the teams we've discussed Power five teams Colorado, if.
Speaker 2: Not even for our boy Rich and in Bolder, longtime listener.
Speaker 1: Is he in Boulder? I know he went to Colorado.
Speaker 1: It's tough because in previous years there were defensive players,
Speaker 1: especially that defensive backfield. These past few years has been really,
Speaker 1: really good. They've populated the defense with a lot of
Speaker 1: junior college guys. They were got awful against the run
Speaker 1: last year, and it's hard to imagine this defense being
Speaker 1: at all scary in any sort of improved way from
Speaker 1: where they were last year. I Jane McIntire has been
Speaker 1: around at receiver for a while, Mike McIntyre's son. But
Speaker 1: I am I am finding difficulties. Let me let me
Speaker 1: read a caption for you here please.
Speaker 2: Okay, So I gave away the game a little bit
Speaker 2: on the first previous show we did when we talked
Speaker 2: about the acc Atlantic excuse me for Atlantic.
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you.
Speaker 2: I did buy the Phil Steel magazine, the Real Steele Dossier,
Speaker 2: as I've referred to it, and I like going through
Speaker 2: this because you know, say what you want. We've made
Speaker 2: fun of Phil Steele's website, and we've made fun of
Speaker 2: the publication. But there's a lot of stuff in here,
Speaker 2: and he clearly puts the work in and the whole work,
Speaker 2: and it is a great reference for idiots like Dan
Speaker 2: and I who you're looking at a magazine right now too.
Speaker 2: We need to try and get.
Speaker 1: It's fair, it's home and garden rights, absolutely true, but
Speaker 1: we need to try and port as much of this
Speaker 1: into our brains as possible.
Speaker 2: What I do like about Phil Steele, He's always very optimistic.
Speaker 2: He's not cutting anyone down in these publications. Here's what
Speaker 2: he says about the Colorado offense.
Speaker 1: No, Phil, here's what I says.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna read now. I'm gonna read the last two sentences.
Speaker 2: I like the replacements at running back and wide receiver,
Speaker 2: while the offensive line should be more stable despite the law.
Speaker 2: Is this unit underperformed last year and could actually top
Speaker 2: last year's numbers? Is that not the most optimistic spin
Speaker 2: on where Colorado's at offensively?
Speaker 1: It also doesn't really say much.
Speaker 2: No, it doesn't say anything, but it's optimistic, is my point.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And who's to say they underperformed, Like maybe they
Speaker 1: just performed. Maybe that's just.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know, but it's kind of
Speaker 2: a compliment, kind of not kind of doesn't say much
Speaker 2: of anything, and it actually encapsulates how I feel for
Speaker 2: Colorado pretty accurately. I just don't know.
Speaker 1: I see four to five wins for Colorado this year.
Speaker 1: I think they take a step back. I just yeah,
Speaker 1: as a program, Yeah, look.
Speaker 2: At this freaking schedule. Colorado State at Nebraska, New Hampshire, UCLA,
Speaker 2: ASU at USC at Washington homecoming.
Speaker 1: So Colorado could beat Nebraska in week two, they could.
Speaker 1: Nebraska might be starting a very inexperienced quarterback.
Speaker 2: At Arizona, Washington State Utah at closing it, closing out
Speaker 2: the year. There might be for.
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not putting it past Colorado to throw
Speaker 1: some junk at junk. Yeah, yeah, to throw some like
Speaker 1: what's the the old Mariners Jamie Jimmy Moyer. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: not throwing some MacIntyre junk out the window as being
Speaker 1: a possibility, Like I I I could see them maybe
Speaker 1: winning the first three, winning the last couple and Oregon State.
Speaker 1: That gets you to six right, So that would be
Speaker 1: Colorado State, Nebraska, New Hampshire, last couple of Utah and
Speaker 1: going to col Oregon State's a home game in the
Speaker 1: middle of the year. That gets some to Bowl eligibility.
Speaker 1: That's that's some Jamie moyerdge. Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 2: I'm not what you're saying.
Speaker 1: I'm saying some Necros, some Phil and Joe Nicro, some
Speaker 1: you know, some knuckles, some junk, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: You know, when they bring in like a shortstop in
Speaker 1: the fifteenth inning when they've used up all the relievers
Speaker 1: and the shortstop randomly throws like a couple killer curveballs.
Speaker 1: I'm not putting it past Colorado because I think McIntyre
Speaker 1: is a good coach. I just talent wise on both sides.
Speaker 2: Sides. So does this make Mike McIntyre college Football's Gabe
Speaker 2: Kapler sort of What I'm hearing here.
Speaker 1: Is that was did he come in and throw good pitches?
Speaker 2: No, he brought guys in early this year to throw
Speaker 2: those pitches.
Speaker 1: Yes, that's my answer.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, yeah, it's they're not too high in Colorado. No,
Speaker 2: I think it's like McIntyre friend of the show, absolutely.
Speaker 1: Friend of the show. But bowl game is gonna be
Speaker 1: a stretch, all right?
Speaker 2: Shall we dance with the Mountain West West Division?
Speaker 1: Mountain West West?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Fresno State, San Diego State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii, and
Speaker 2: San Jose State.
Speaker 1: Here is some fantastic news. There are a number of offensive, fun,
Speaker 1: offensive talents in this division, and there are only of
Speaker 1: these six teams two good defenses. So they're gonna be numbers,
Speaker 1: They're going to be fun play. I think Armani Rodgers
Speaker 1: not an accurate quarterback by any stretch, but in terms
Speaker 1: of you know, he's a big dude who strides like
Speaker 1: he will put together he like, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you'll be watching the bottom line on ESPN and it'll
Speaker 1: say you and LVQB Rmani Rodgers rush for two hundred
Speaker 1: and fourteen yards, Like what?
Speaker 2: What? Who?
Speaker 1: Here's the great news about the actual good teams in
Speaker 1: this division. Fresno State returns a ton on the really
Speaker 1: good defense, although their coordinator from last year goes back
Speaker 1: to the CFL, which is not a phrase we say.
Speaker 2: A lot about.
Speaker 1: Really don't usually say that now, but Jeff Tedford has
Speaker 1: done a very very good job. Marcus mcmay in the
Speaker 1: Oregon State transfer has done a good job for them.
Speaker 1: San Diego State, if there is a name, it's Juwan Washington,
Speaker 1: who we mentioned way earlier in the spring. He could
Speaker 1: be with a really good offensive line and experienced offensive
Speaker 1: line in front of him, the new Donnelle Pumfrey, Rashad Penny.
Speaker 1: Because they San Diego State just keeps turning particular back
Speaker 1: baby right right, so rocky long defense, really good running back.
Speaker 1: San Diego State is going to threaten ten wins again.
Speaker 1: They just are. That's It's one of the more underrated
Speaker 1: national consistent stories with San Diego State right now is
Speaker 1: that they are just a threat for double digits every
Speaker 1: year with that combination. Beyond that Nevada, I'm not buying Hawaii, sorry,
Speaker 1: nik Rolovich. No. San Jose State, Eh, nothing there for me.
Speaker 2: Maybe interesting skill talent we have in our sheet here
Speaker 2: for yeah, San Jose State.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're healthier. San Jose State has fallen off since
Speaker 1: what David fails. Mike McIntyre, it's a deep cut. They've
Speaker 1: fallen off significantly. I'm not in on the Spartans, although
Speaker 1: still San Jose the home of my favorite torta in America.
Speaker 2: Your favorite torda.
Speaker 1: And the name of the restaurant is the least creative
Speaker 1: and thus one of my favorite names for It's just
Speaker 1: a bakery that has really good torta, Mister Torta. It's
Speaker 1: literally called Mexico Bakery, and you should go there if
Speaker 1: you're in the San Jose area.
Speaker 2: All right, well, there you go, Pack twelve South Mountain
Speaker 2: West West in the friggin' books. Thanks for listening to
Speaker 2: the show. Don't forget. You can find our live show
Speaker 2: if you're going to be in Chicago August the eleventh.
Speaker 2: It is the same weekend. I check this up as
Speaker 2: the Big ten ten K.
Speaker 1: Five K, ten K, ten K. I guess that would
Speaker 1: make sense.
Speaker 2: If it's a big ten, big ten K, you gotta
Speaker 2: go ten right.
Speaker 1: And ten K is six miles six yeah, yeah, six
Speaker 1: point two miles. And I like that the conversion big
Speaker 1: ten fourteen teams ten k six point two miles. I
Speaker 1: know it's a different system. It's a different unit of length.
Speaker 1: It's the metric system. I like that. There's number of confusion.
Speaker 1: I like that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you for that, no problem.
Speaker 1: I'm glad to add nothing.
Speaker 2: So maybe maybe you're running in the race. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't know. Maybe you're looking for something to do.
Speaker 2: You're gonna be in Chicago the night before because these races,
Speaker 2: they're always early. Coming out to the live show. Come
Speaker 2: to the soliverble tickets dot com tickets still available, Good
Speaker 2: seats still available. Come on out, meet meet the for ballers,
Speaker 2: meet us.
Speaker 1: The Rubinstein contingent at this show.
Speaker 2: You've got to know. You've got a small army coming in.
Speaker 1: My wife is from Chicago, So if you are at
Speaker 1: all interested in being around Rubens, my parents are coming.
Speaker 1: Yeah from la. I don't know why this would be
Speaker 1: attractive to you, but I think you should come. I
Speaker 1: think you should come to the Chicago Live Show. If
Speaker 1: you're in Toledo, if you're in Madison, if you're in
Speaker 1: I'm trying to Mattoon, Illinois.
Speaker 2: Matun Yeah, hometown will Each Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. If you're you gotta come out to the live show.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have a great time.
Speaker 2: If you're in Canada, drive down.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, come to Yeah, it's not Canada's not
Speaker 1: that far.
Speaker 2: It's only like a twenty five hours ride from Toronto.
Speaker 1: What doesn't It's like Hamilton. What's the city right, Regina,
Speaker 1: I believe is right by Detroit. Okay, it comes down there.
Speaker 1: You can get certain parts of Canada. Chicago not that long.
Speaker 1: I never thought I'd say Regina on the show.
Speaker 2: But here we are solidverble tickets dot com.
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Speaker 1: I yeah, Subreddit are slash Solid verbal. We keep these
Speaker 1: conversations going. It gets even weirder. I'm now regretting. It
Speaker 1: feels like King Hippo played nose tackle for Utah. It's
Speaker 1: entirely possible comparison because there is that island, the Islands,
Speaker 1: and a lot of the recruiting for Utah.
Speaker 2: Oh well, on that note, for that guy seated again
Speaker 2: to my left, Dan Rinstein, for myself, Tie Hildebrand. We
Speaker 2: will catch you all in a few days. Talks, more
Speaker 2: conferences here in the build up to the twenty eighteen season.
Speaker 2: In the meantime, stay solid, Peace,