1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:05,519 Check it out college football on the West Coast. This is Get Off My 2 00:00:05,719 --> 00:00:10,160 Pyline, a look at the PAC twelve and more, part of the College 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:16,359 Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network. Here's your host, that Zemma. Welcome 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,440 to the latest edition of the Get Off My Pylon College football podcast. This 5 00:00:20,559 --> 00:00:25,320 is your host, Matt Semmic. So this podcast which looks at PAC twelve 6 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:32,159 western college football in the United States. We've had a full PAC twelve conference 7 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,399 slate to finally look at three weeks of non conference games in which the PAC 8 00:00:36,439 --> 00:00:40,520 twelve did really well. But you know, there are a lot of cupcakes 9 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:45,640 in those first three weekends of PAC twelve football. USC playing Stanford and Nevada 10 00:00:47,119 --> 00:00:51,439 San Jose State. Stanford obviously a conference game, but you know, Nevada 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:56,840 and San Jose State were cupcakes. And Oregon playing Portland State in Hawaii on 12 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:02,520 and on non UCLA playing North Carolina sent and hey, North Carolina Central game 13 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:07,719 certainly did not prepare the Bruins adequately for Utah. Chip Kelly might have wanted 14 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:14,560 to beef up his non con schedule a little bit to get USC UCLA fully 15 00:01:14,719 --> 00:01:19,480 prepared for the youths. UCLA was not prepared for what was to come. 16 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,760 In Salt Lake City or should we say sack Lake City. The youths did 17 00:01:23,799 --> 00:01:29,319 their thing on defense under Kyle Willingham once again. But anyway, the non 18 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,000 con portion of the season is mostly over. Obviously at USC Notre Dame still 19 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,400 to come. But you know we're now in PAC twelve conference games in this 20 00:01:38,519 --> 00:01:44,799 final season of the conference's existence. So a lot to talk about after Week 21 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,519 four, and I think you have to start not with Colorado Oregon because you 22 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,760 know what Colorado discourse. We're gonna talk about this in a bit. Colorado 23 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:57,640 discourse has not been good. And it's probably understandable that the discourse surrounding Colorado 24 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,480 and Dion Sanders been way over the top. But let's just say it. 25 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,280 Colorado is not that good. And that's not a way of saying Colorad was 26 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,360 overrated. No, Calad was just not a nine win team. This is 27 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,599 a team that's gonna be a five or six win team, which you know, 28 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:17,240 if Colorad gets six wins and there's a really good chance because you think 29 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,599 Colorad is gonna beat Arizona State and it's gonna beat Stanford, So that's five 30 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,479 wins assuming Colorado wins those two and if Klara can get a sixth win somewhere 31 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,560 get to a bowl game, that's an amazing season for Dion. That's an 32 00:02:30,599 --> 00:02:36,360 amazing season for that program. But the idea that Colorado Oregon was this big, 33 00:02:36,479 --> 00:02:38,400 huge game, and I know that obviously there was a lot of hype 34 00:02:38,439 --> 00:02:42,719 around it, and obviously at Trojan's Wire, which I the site that I 35 00:02:42,879 --> 00:02:45,560 edit, like, I'm certainly gonna write about it a lot because that's what 36 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,759 people are interested in. But if whenever you asked me about the game, 37 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,479 whenever someone would ask me about that game, I'd say, Oregon's gonna blow 38 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:58,159 the doors off. It's exactly what happened. Like I'm not surprised at all 39 00:02:58,159 --> 00:03:00,879 by that. So that was like it was a game that got a lot 40 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,879 of hype, but it was never really a big, main event, showcase 41 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,520 game in the sense of like you felt that two heavyweight teams while we're taking 42 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:13,800 the field against each other. The real game where we start with the PAC 43 00:03:13,879 --> 00:03:17,120 twelve in Week four was Oregon State Washington State. This was the real big 44 00:03:17,159 --> 00:03:23,520 newsmaker, Oregon State. Let's remember Oregon State was the defense that really shut 45 00:03:23,599 --> 00:03:31,360 down USC and Caleb Williams. Last season, USC scored just seventeen points. 46 00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:37,919 It was a real slog. USC had just ten points in the first fifty 47 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,240 eight minutes of the game before Caleb Williams put together a great drive in the 48 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,479 closing moments to win that game. But Oregon State's defense had USC's offense figured 49 00:03:46,479 --> 00:03:54,560 out, and your USC did not come close to scoring that few points when 50 00:03:54,639 --> 00:03:59,360 Caleb Williams was healthy throughout the game. Now, USC scored just twenty four 51 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,599 against Utah in the Pact Wealth title game. That was with Caleb Williams being 52 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:10,319 hurt. So really, Oregon State by a considerable margin had the best defensive 53 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:15,319 performance against USC of any team last year. And one of the things that 54 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,360 I've been clear about saying this year is that USC's scoring at least thirty points 55 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:24,720 in every game. Last year's clunker against Oregon State, and Oregon State had 56 00:04:24,759 --> 00:04:29,480 a lot to do with that. The USC's you know, experience upfront on 57 00:04:29,519 --> 00:04:34,439 the offensive line, Caleb Williams having another year under Lincoln Riley. I just 58 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:40,120 don't see any team holding USC under thirty. Maybe Notre Dame is going to 59 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:46,000 be the exception on October fourteenth, maybe, but I really do think that 60 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,639 USC's gonna be able to score thirty points in that game. You know, 61 00:04:49,639 --> 00:04:56,399 Ohio States scored seventeen with a very very young, inexperienced quarterback at the controls. 62 00:04:56,439 --> 00:05:00,120 But you put an elite quarterback on an offense against Notre Dame, I 63 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:05,279 think US can score thirty. But all this is to underscore how great Oregon 64 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:11,639 State was on defense against USC last season, and Oregon State was great on 65 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:16,199 defense most of the time. You know that that was just a well coached 66 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:21,560 unit. It was a physical unit. It was a consistent group as well. 67 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:27,639 Like Washington did not have an easy time against that Oregon State defense, 68 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,360 Oregon did not have an easy time against that defense. I mean, Oregon 69 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,959 landed some shots and had some successes, but it certainly wasn't a smooth ride. 70 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:42,519 Over the course of sixty four minutes. Oregon State was able to contain 71 00:05:42,639 --> 00:05:46,240 each of those offenses, like, they didn't hit fifty. They didn't go 72 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:50,800 absolutely crazy the way Washington and Oregon are both going crazy on offense early this 73 00:05:50,879 --> 00:05:55,439 season. You know, Washington's making it look very easy right now in the 74 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:00,199 Pac twelve. But you know, Oregon State was hard to play against on 75 00:06:00,319 --> 00:06:05,759 defense last season. And so going up against Washington State in the PAC two 76 00:06:05,879 --> 00:06:11,079 championship game, you know, as everybody's been talking about two schools that really 77 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,839 deserved better, but both got a raw deal when the PAC twelve CEO group 78 00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:18,839 completely mismanaged the conference in the ESPN media rights deal and all that stuff. 79 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,879 So you knew it was going to be an emotional game. And emotions and 80 00:06:21,959 --> 00:06:28,560 adrenaline and college football we know this. They can lead young athletes to play 81 00:06:28,639 --> 00:06:32,240 beyond their capabilities. That can lift athletes to play higher, go faster, 82 00:06:32,439 --> 00:06:35,079 go stronger. You know, that's kind of the Olympic motto, you know, 83 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:40,160 higher, faster, stronger. Washington State went higher and faster and stronger 84 00:06:40,199 --> 00:06:44,920 in this game. Washington State really surprised me. Washington State really transcended what 85 00:06:45,079 --> 00:06:47,439 I thought this team and this offense were capable of. You know, when 86 00:06:47,519 --> 00:06:53,639 you look at Washington State, let's remember Washington State's offensive line was a problem 87 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:59,519 for the Cougars last year. Utah figured out that offensive line. Usc usc 88 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:06,680 held Washington State to fourteen points last season. That's how limited and inconsistent Washington 89 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:11,160 State's offense was. Washington State had some really good games, but also some 90 00:07:11,279 --> 00:07:16,079 real clunkers and the offensive line was the source of the Kugars problems. And 91 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:23,519 so you put together Washington State having struggled on its offensive line for much of 92 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:29,480 last season and Oregon State being so physical and so tough on defense and having 93 00:07:29,519 --> 00:07:32,240 a really good reputation on that side of the ball. I did not see 94 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:36,360 this one coming. I did not see Washington State being able to score thirty 95 00:07:36,399 --> 00:07:42,040 eight points on Oregon State. I thought that if this game was going to 96 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,920 break in Wazoo's direction, it was going to be because Oregon State's offense was 97 00:07:45,959 --> 00:07:49,480 a total mess. And now that offense wasn't great, like the Oregon State 98 00:07:49,519 --> 00:07:55,279 offense made a big rally late over the course of the full game wasn't tremendous. 99 00:07:55,319 --> 00:07:59,879 But really, this was more about This was not about dj Uyanglole Fay. 100 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,800 This was about Washington State and cam Ward absolutely smoking what looked like on 101 00:08:05,879 --> 00:08:11,160 paper to be a good Oregon State defense. Cam Ward behind a good offensive 102 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:16,279 line, an offensive line which had answers, it found solutions. Credit to 103 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:22,560 Jake Dickert for looking at this big problem on his roster and fixing it, 104 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,560 getting it shored up. I'm like, if this is the offensive line that 105 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:31,600 Washington State is going to carry through the rest of the PAC twelve season. 106 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,120 Cougars are a legitimate PAC twelve tith tender, folks, And as we look 107 00:08:37,279 --> 00:08:43,360 forward in this PAC twelve season after Wazoo's win over Oregon State, look at 108 00:08:43,399 --> 00:08:48,559 Washington State's schedule, there are a lot of games the Cougars should win. 109 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,240 There are a lot of soft portions of the schedule. Washington State does not 110 00:08:52,480 --> 00:09:01,200 play usc for instance, Washington State does not play Utah as well, so 111 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,080 the Cougars get a couple really big breaks on their schedule. Now they do 112 00:09:05,159 --> 00:09:09,440 have to go play Oregon, they do have to play Washington of course, 113 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,519 they have to play their northwest neighbors, just as they played Oregon State as 114 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:18,519 well. But they beat Oregon State. So when you look at Washington State's 115 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:20,720 schedule, the next game for the Cougars, they're off this week in Week 116 00:09:20,799 --> 00:09:24,799 five, but in week six, October seven, they go to Pasadena to 117 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:31,679 play the UCLA Bruins. If Washington State beats UCLA, look out because if 118 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:39,120 Washington State beats Ucla, then the Cougars have games against the middle and the 119 00:09:39,159 --> 00:09:45,279 bottom of the PAC twelve, plus the Washington and Oregon games. So if 120 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,120 Wazoo can beat Ucla on the road, and that's not going to be easy, 121 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,720 but if Wazoo can do that, they should be able to mop up 122 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,720 against the lower end of the PAC twelve. The way that they're playing, 123 00:09:56,759 --> 00:10:00,919 the talent they have, the offensive line play they're getting, Like, if 124 00:10:00,919 --> 00:10:03,440 they sustain that, they should be better than Arizona. They should be better 125 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:09,679 than Arizona State, Colorado, those other teams that they're playing later in the 126 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:16,639 season. If Wazoo beats Ucla, we're looking at a very realistic situation where 127 00:10:16,879 --> 00:10:22,120 if the Cougars can split, if they can just win one of the two 128 00:10:22,159 --> 00:10:26,600 against Washington and Oregon. Now that's not going to be easy, but just 129 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:28,480 win one of those two games. Don't have to win both, just get 130 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:35,600 one of them. Washington State would be eleven and one overall and would be 131 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:41,039 eight and one in the PAC twelve. If that's the case, Washington State 132 00:10:41,159 --> 00:10:45,679 is going to be in Las Vegas, most likely playing for the PAC twelve 133 00:10:45,759 --> 00:10:48,960 championship. How many called that before the season, very very very small number, 134 00:10:50,039 --> 00:10:54,559 but like that's how much Washington States win over Oregon State has changed the 135 00:10:54,639 --> 00:10:58,639 landscape of the PAC twelve race because Wazoo, as I just mentioned, not 136 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:05,240 playing USC or Utah softer schedule in certain pockets. And so if Wazoo can 137 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:11,320 figure out Chip Kelly and Dante Moore the way Kyle Whittingham and Utah did, 138 00:11:11,919 --> 00:11:16,720 like this season could get could become really special for Washington State. And just 139 00:11:16,799 --> 00:11:20,320 imagine Washington State getting to the Pac twelve title game as part of the Pack 140 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:26,799 two, being one of these two schools that was completely wronged by the PAC 141 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,080 twelve CEO groups mismanagement. And yet Washington State would have a chance in Las 142 00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:35,799 Vegas on Friday, December one to play for the Pac twelve Football Championship. 143 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,360 Oh what a story that would be. And now it's a lot more realistic. 144 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:46,159 Wazoo can beat ECLA on October seventh, like that becomes very very possible, 145 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:52,840 not probable, but very possible. So Washington State has created a whole 146 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,240 lot of excitement in the Pac twelve. The other really big game from Week 147 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:03,320 four Utah putting the clam on UCLA. And so before the season, one 148 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:07,440 thing I was saying in terms of any media appearances I did when talking about 149 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:13,919 pactual football and also in terms of my written coverage at Trojan's Wire was that 150 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:20,639 UCLA had one guy taking pretty much all the snaps as the starting quarterback for 151 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,879 each of the last five seasons. And that's unprecedented because you had the COVID 152 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:31,120 year of eligibility, giving guys a chance to play five years, you know, 153 00:12:31,159 --> 00:12:33,360 not talking about a red shirt, just an added year of eligibility. 154 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:39,240 So that was something entirely new in the course of college football history. One 155 00:12:39,279 --> 00:12:43,159 guy being able to start five straight years of a program. That was Dorian 156 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,240 Thompson Robinson at UCLA. You know, he was the starter, wasn't the 157 00:12:48,279 --> 00:12:52,080 starter at the very beginning of twenty eighteen, but he was the starter at 158 00:12:52,159 --> 00:12:58,399 quarterback for most of that twenty eighteen season under Chip Kelly. Then he was 159 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:05,120 the starter in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, and twenty 160 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:09,360 twenty two. So I don't care what the program is, even if it's 161 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,960 like Alabama or Georgia or some other dynastic power. When you have one guy 162 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:20,480 at quarterback for five straight years, it's gonna be an adjustment the year after 163 00:13:20,519 --> 00:13:24,960 that quarterback finally leaves. And that was my point of skepticism. I felt 164 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:31,360 that unless Dante Moore was you know, had Caleb Williams style intangibles, you 165 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,440 know, to go along with his talent. Unless Dante Moore was really, 166 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:41,120 really, really special, UCLA was going to struggle on offense this year. 167 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,399 And sure enough, Utah you know, at home in Salt Lake City, 168 00:13:45,399 --> 00:13:48,000 where it's so hard to win and it's so hard to play well because Kyle 169 00:13:48,039 --> 00:13:54,320 Woodenham coaches toughness and physicality into his teams so well, like, you get 170 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,000 consistency of effort from Utah at a level you don't from other programs. That's 171 00:13:58,039 --> 00:14:03,399 why the uts of one back to back pack twelve championships have made back to 172 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,440 back Rose Bowls. Like, coaching effort is a skill, and coaching effort 173 00:14:07,519 --> 00:14:13,679 is definitely something that that coaching staffs have to be able to do. And 174 00:14:13,759 --> 00:14:20,799 the great coaches do get the consistent effort from their from their players. Kyle 175 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:28,159 Winningham is tops He's he's top tier in that regard, and so that consistency 176 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,960 of toughness on defense was able to nearly shut out UCLA. And in a 177 00:14:33,039 --> 00:14:37,360 sense the game was fourteen seven, but really Utah's defense did shut out Ucla 178 00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:43,399 in the sense that Okay Ucla scored seven, but Utah's defense also scored seven 179 00:14:43,399 --> 00:14:48,879 on the pick six on the first play from scrimmage, So essentially Ucla UCLA's 180 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:54,679 offense scored a net of zero points plus seven on the late touchdown, but 181 00:14:54,799 --> 00:15:00,799 minus seven on the first play of the game. So Ucla def exposed. 182 00:15:00,799 --> 00:15:07,480 But also Utah just exhibiting a masterclass on defense and winning another game without Cam 183 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:13,559 Rising. So Utah's four and oh without Cam Rising. Once Cam Rising comes 184 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,080 back, you would think this offense is gonna become a lot better. So, 185 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,240 you know, hats off to Utah. We're doing what it has been 186 00:15:22,279 --> 00:15:28,559 able to do so far this season without Cam Rising. Oregon Colorado, now 187 00:15:28,559 --> 00:15:33,879 we've touched on the reality that you know Colorado is. You know, if 188 00:15:33,919 --> 00:15:35,960 Colorado gets six wins, it goes to a Bowl. It's an amazing season. 189 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,960 But now we also have to look at Oregon and give credit to Oregon. 190 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,639 I think the most impressive part of this performance for Oregon, it's not 191 00:15:43,679 --> 00:15:46,960 that Bownecks, you know, just torched Colorado in the first half, because 192 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,320 I think we all saw that one coming. But like I thought this was 193 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,960 going to be like a sixty three twenty eight game like Oregon winning by like 194 00:15:56,039 --> 00:16:00,320 thirty five forty points, but with Oregon just know, really rolling it up, 195 00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:04,240 kind of like what the Miami Dolphins did against the Denver Broncos. Kind 196 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,720 of thought it was going to be like that, uh, you know, 197 00:16:07,759 --> 00:16:12,080 maybe not seventy twenty, but like Oregon certainly scoring over fifty five sixty points. 198 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,840 But I thought Colorado was going to score in the hot mid to high 199 00:16:15,919 --> 00:16:22,320 twenties. I thought Colorado was gonna make it get its share of downfield offensive 200 00:16:22,399 --> 00:16:26,720 plays, you know, and score at least a little bit and make this 201 00:16:26,759 --> 00:16:32,159 more of a track meet. No, Oregon just absolutely throttled Colorado's offense. 202 00:16:32,639 --> 00:16:36,399 So that's a really encouraging sign for the Ducks. Because Oregon's defense did not 203 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:41,519 look all that good against Texas Tech in weeks two, you saw some significant 204 00:16:41,559 --> 00:16:45,799 improvements against Colorado. Now questions are gonna linger. You know, was Colorado 205 00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:51,600 just really that bad? And what about Colorado not having Travis Hunter. That's 206 00:16:51,679 --> 00:16:55,600 obviously a question we're going to continue to follow, you know, while Hunter 207 00:16:55,799 --> 00:16:59,600 is out, and we're going to measure Colorado now versus you know, how 208 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,839 color plays with Hunter returns to the lineup later in the season. But even 209 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,960 then, like, let's let's remember that Colorado when it beat TCU in week 210 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:15,400 one of the season, four different Colorado receivers had over one hundred receiving yards. 211 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:18,039 So it wasn't just the Travis Hunter show. Now, people will say, 212 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:22,000 and this is a good point, that Travis Hunter stretched the field such 213 00:17:22,039 --> 00:17:26,599 that the other receivers have more opportunities, Like, you have to acknowledge that. 214 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,640 So it's not as though, you know, the Colorado receivers without Hunter 215 00:17:30,759 --> 00:17:37,960 are going to dominate and there are going to have amazing statistical numbers the way 216 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:42,559 they did when Hunter was on the field, making their lives easier, giving 217 00:17:42,599 --> 00:17:47,319 them more open spots in the field to work with. So Hunter definitely matters 218 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:51,039 for the rest of the receiver group. But like the no one on this 219 00:17:51,599 --> 00:17:55,720 in this receiver room was able to break free against Oregon, So that much 220 00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:00,279 has to be said. To the extent that Colorado tried to hit big plays 221 00:18:00,319 --> 00:18:03,799 in the passing game against this Oregon defense, the Ducks were ready, and 222 00:18:04,079 --> 00:18:07,799 so you have to give Oregon credit there. It's gonna be interesting to see, 223 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,079 as you know, the season goes along, how much that Colorado Oregon 224 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:18,720 game was is and will be representative of how those two teams are and how 225 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:25,640 those two teams are going to play later this season. Like Oregon plays Washington 226 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:30,319 on October fourteenth, Oregon plays Stanford this week, that that's a layup for 227 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,680 Oregon. But you know that Oregon Washington game. When that game unfolds, 228 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,319 we're going to be using the Colorado game as a reference point. It's going 229 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:41,119 to give us more clarity about the balance of power in the conference and how 230 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,519 good or bad Colorado really is. And we really don't have a handle on 231 00:18:45,599 --> 00:18:49,519 that question, but I think we can all say, like, Colorado's not 232 00:18:49,599 --> 00:18:56,440 a conference title contender, like we know that much. But whether Colorado was 233 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,480 like a seven win team or a five win team, that means to be 234 00:19:00,519 --> 00:19:06,319 seen. It's gonna be interesting to see how Colorado evolves over the course of 235 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:08,440 the season. All Right, more in the PAC twelve and a little bit. 236 00:19:08,519 --> 00:19:11,960 But we also have to remind you that we're part of the College Gridiron 237 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:17,920 Coast to Coast podcast network, and we're brought to you by ticket Smarter at 238 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,799 ticketsmarter dot com and the ticket Smarter mobile app. And we have a couple 239 00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:26,400 of really exciting offers for you through our friends at ticket Smarter. This season 240 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:33,000 at College Gridiron Coast to Coast ten dollars off a purchase of one hundred dollars 241 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,519 or more, twenty dollars off purchase of three hundred dollars or more, and 242 00:19:37,559 --> 00:19:41,279 we have promo codes for that. 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So get in the 258 00:20:59,079 --> 00:21:03,640 game with tickets dot Com and the ticket Smarter and mobile app. And remember 259 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:11,839 the code LWS ten ten bucks off or one hundred dollars purchase LWS twenty for 260 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:17,759 twenty dollars off a purchase of three hundred dollars or more at ticket Smarter. 261 00:21:18,599 --> 00:21:23,519 So as we look ahead in the PAC twelve and look at more storylines from 262 00:21:23,559 --> 00:21:30,240 the conference, our attention is immediately refocused to a couple of showcase games this 263 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:33,079 upcoming weekend. In Week five, we start with the Friday game, and 264 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:37,359 not just because Friday proceeds Saturday, but because this is the big one. 265 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:42,359 This is the big one. In Week five Utah at Oregon State, so 266 00:21:42,519 --> 00:21:45,519 all eyes are going to be on Cam Rising still hasn't played for the US 267 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:52,839 this season, Obviously it would benefit Utah if Cam Rising could play. Even 268 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,119 if Cam Rising is not at one hundred percent, he's still a baller, 269 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,279 He's still the leader of this team. He's still the leader of this offense. 270 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:06,079 Utah needs him on the field. Utah needs Cam Rising if it wants 271 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:11,279 to be able to score what twenty eight thirty points a game? Forget about 272 00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:15,799 four, you forget about fifty. Utah just needs came Riding to score thirty 273 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,279 or twenty seven. Because you know, the youths with without Cam Rising, 274 00:22:19,839 --> 00:22:23,640 you know, they just have it rough. Nate Johnson, Bryson Barnes just 275 00:22:23,759 --> 00:22:27,519 not able to push the ball down the field. They're also injured at tight 276 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:33,480 end where they've been able to do so much damage. Grant Leafy like they 277 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:37,160 need him back as well, But they need cam Rising back most of ball 278 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,680 like he's the engine, he's the captain, you know, he he is 279 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,880 the field general who makes things happen for this team and this offense. So 280 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:49,000 even if he's not Cam Rising, just by returning he makes that Utah offense 281 00:22:49,079 --> 00:22:53,440 better. So, you know, if he can't play, it's hard to 282 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:59,880 see Utah finding enough offense to win at Oregon State if he can play, 283 00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:03,920 it becomes a matter of, you know, can he at least distribute the 284 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,440 ball to all of his receivers, can he get his teammates involved? Can 285 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:12,079 he give Utah at least enough balance to spread the field and get Oregon State 286 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:17,240 off balance enough? And Utah's gonna look at game film this week and he's 287 00:23:17,279 --> 00:23:21,680 gonna see what cam Ward in the Washington State offense was able to do, 288 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,279 striking down the field, finding weak spots in the Oregon State secondary, and 289 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,279 getting the level of offensive line play that you know was able to stand up 290 00:23:30,279 --> 00:23:34,480 to Oregon State's defensive line. So Utah, you know, if Cam Rising 291 00:23:34,559 --> 00:23:38,640 plays, even if Cam Rising is not one hundred percent, if they get 292 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:44,319 like eighty percent of Cam Rising, that could still be enough given the weaknesses 293 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,839 that we've seen from Oregon States defense. But if Cam Rising can't play, 294 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,599 this is going to be a slog for Utah. And keep in mind that 295 00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:56,440 after losing to Washington State, Oregon State's going to be desperate. Oregon State's 296 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,920 gonna be angry, like this is a game organ State absolutely cannot afford to 297 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:07,359 lose. If Oregon State goes to oh and two in the Pac twelve title 298 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,759 hopes are shot. I mean, we can say that Oregon State could still 299 00:24:10,839 --> 00:24:14,400 run the table, go to seven and two in Pac twelve play, but 300 00:24:14,839 --> 00:24:17,559 what are the odds of that? Because Oregan State has to play Oregon, 301 00:24:18,039 --> 00:24:22,279 organ State has to play Washington. Not likely to run the table with that 302 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,960 kind of a schedule. Organ State really needs to win this game against Utah 303 00:24:26,519 --> 00:24:33,039 on Friday, that wants to maintain any realistic, reasonable hopes of contending for 304 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:37,960 the PAC twelve championship. So in that context, in that situations, it's 305 00:24:38,079 --> 00:24:45,279 hard to bet against Oregon State. And with the mystery surrounding Cam Rising at 306 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,960 quarterback just not it's hard to think that Utah is going to find enough offense 307 00:24:52,799 --> 00:24:59,119 to solve organ State's defense. And let's also remind ourselves Research Stadium was under 308 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,960 construction, it was under renovation last year, so fans were only on one 309 00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:07,319 half of the field, one side of the field. Now you have a 310 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,640 fuller, bigger Research Stadium. It's going to be really loud Friday night in 311 00:25:11,799 --> 00:25:17,759 Corps Vallist. That's gonna be a hornet's nest for Utah to go into Oregon 312 00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:22,400 State being desperate, Oregon State being really frustrated, after the Wazoo performance, 313 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:30,359 So arrows indicators are pointing toward Oregon State winning that game over Utah. I 314 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,880 mean, and if UTAK can win that game without Cam Rising, let's just 315 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,200 call Kyle Winningham the PACT twelve Coach of the Year right now and we can 316 00:25:37,279 --> 00:25:41,759 be done with that. That would be absolutely phenomenal. But really, so 317 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:47,400 many question marks on the Utah side due to its offense. I mean, 318 00:25:47,839 --> 00:25:51,200 you can say at their question marks on the on the Oregon State side, 319 00:25:51,599 --> 00:25:56,599 particularly the defense, that's absolutely true. But really Utah can't keep winning games 320 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:02,559 with minimum output from its offense. The uths are are tempting the fates a 321 00:26:02,599 --> 00:26:06,880 little bit on that one. So I would certainly look at Oregon State as 322 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,319 the team that should be favored in that game, the team that should win 323 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,680 that game. Now, if Cam Rising plays and plays great, all right, 324 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:19,599 that's a counterbalance. But it's really hard to expect Cam Rising to play 325 00:26:19,759 --> 00:26:26,640 great after the long injury layoff, everything that he's been through. You know, 326 00:26:27,039 --> 00:26:30,920 I wouldn't be surprised if he plays, but I would be surprised, 327 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,000 I think if he plays great. But maybe the hope is for Utah. 328 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,279 You don't need a great game from Cam Rising. You just need a game 329 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,240 manager, a guy who can maybe throw a lot of short passes, but 330 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:47,559 it's still's confidence in all his teammates, and you talk can control the ball, 331 00:26:47,799 --> 00:26:53,799 limit Oregon State's offensive opportunities, and create a low possession game that's like 332 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,720 seventeen seventeen going into the final five minutes of the game. That would seem 333 00:26:59,759 --> 00:27:03,400 to me to be Utah's path to victory. All Right. The other really 334 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,000 big game, it's the Fox Big New Saturday game. It's the game where 335 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,160 you know everybody's going to be talking about it. It's the game where all 336 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,880 the talk shows are going to be, you know, camping in Boulder for 337 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:19,359 that game. It's USC. It's Colorado ten am, Breakfast with the Buffalos 338 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:25,240 in Boulder. You have Caleb Williams against Shreder Sanders. You're not going to 339 00:27:25,319 --> 00:27:30,039 have Travis Hunter there, and that's that's certainly a big limitation on Colorado and 340 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,240 what it is able to do. But nevertheless, it's the USC circus meeting 341 00:27:34,279 --> 00:27:41,799 the Deon Sanders Circus at fulsome Field and USC coming off a very ragged, 342 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:48,799 very poor performance against Arizona State. Arizona State got shut out by Fresno State. 343 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,319 In Week three, USC allowed twenty eight points to Arizona State. And 344 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:59,079 it's worth noting, yes, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham didn't call plays for 345 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,559 the Sun Devils the first three weeks of the season. He called plays in 346 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,680 this game, so he did things that USC didn't see on film. He 347 00:28:06,799 --> 00:28:11,079 did things that USC hadn't previously been able to study or look at. So 348 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:15,799 the dynamic did change, and Dillingham called a great game for Arizona State. 349 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,880 That much is true. But you look at this from the USC perspective. 350 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:27,599 Arizona State had four starting offensive linemen out. Arizona State was missing ten overall, 351 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:33,079 players who had started games were projected starters earlier in the season. This 352 00:28:33,279 --> 00:28:40,240 was a badly undermanned Arizona State team and with that little depth and that little 353 00:28:40,359 --> 00:28:45,559 frontline quality for Arizona State, USC should have been able to punch Arizona State 354 00:28:45,599 --> 00:28:48,119 in the mouth from the get go, and that did not happen. Now. 355 00:28:48,279 --> 00:28:56,759 USC began to accumulate sacks and pressures against Arizona State's offensive line midway through 356 00:28:56,839 --> 00:29:00,599 the second half, late in the third quarter, early in the fourth quarter, 357 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,440 But that's what we were expecting the whole night, but it didn't happen 358 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,279 the whole night. It only happened for about twelve to fifteen minutes in the 359 00:29:07,359 --> 00:29:12,200 first half. Arizona States undermanned offensive line was holding its own against USC. 360 00:29:12,519 --> 00:29:17,599 And that's why this game was only a six point game early into the fourth 361 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,480 quarter, and USC was favored by thirty five. And if the Trojans were 362 00:29:21,559 --> 00:29:26,000 sweating bullets, ASU had the ball down six with a chance to take the 363 00:29:26,119 --> 00:29:30,839 lead early in the fourth quarter before USC's pass rush finally began to generate a 364 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:36,319 little bit of consistency and put the game away. So you look at all 365 00:29:36,359 --> 00:29:41,720 the wobbles and all of the sloppy, undisciplined moments from USC against Arizona State 366 00:29:41,799 --> 00:29:45,559 on both sides of the ball, and now you put in that breakfast start 367 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,720 time, that body clock element. USC playing a game that's gonna start just 368 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:55,079 after nine am Pacific, it's gonna start at ten am, just after ten 369 00:29:55,119 --> 00:30:00,759 am in Boulder in the Mountain time zone. Is USC is going to be 370 00:30:00,839 --> 00:30:04,680 focused? Is USC gonna be prepared or are we gonna see this mentally rattled, 371 00:30:06,359 --> 00:30:11,759 unprepared team that we saw against Arizona State. I think the body clock 372 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:19,440 element and USC just showing a lot of weakness mentally. That's the one real 373 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:25,039 question for the Trojans heading into this game now. And the USC's favored by 374 00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:29,079 twenty three, is expected to win this game handily. But after what we 375 00:30:29,119 --> 00:30:33,680 saw against Arizona State thirty five point favorite leading by only six early in the 376 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:41,119 fourth quarter, is USC gonna going to be unfocused and sloppy on a continuous 377 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,680 basis? And you look at the defense with Alex Grinch, fourteen miss tackles 378 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:52,200 according to Pro Football Focus against Arizona State, and we saw Bryson Shaw and 379 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,039 Max Williams and Eric Gentry, guys in the secondary and in the linebacker unit 380 00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:02,200 missing tackles left and right being out of it looked a lot like the Cotton 381 00:31:02,319 --> 00:31:07,680 Bowl against Tulane when USC was just completely disorganized and completely outclassed on defense. 382 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:15,160 A lot of questions are going to persist about Alex Grinch's USC defense. And 383 00:31:15,279 --> 00:31:19,720 so you know Colorado after the bad showing against Oregon, if Colorado gets things 384 00:31:19,759 --> 00:31:23,680 fixed, if Colorado comes back with a really good performance, will that USC 385 00:31:23,839 --> 00:31:29,559 defense be ready? Will that USC defensive line be ready to take control of 386 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,519 Colorado's offensive line and just cave in that pocket so that Shander Sanders doesn't have 387 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,279 any time to throw, doesn't have any time to look down field and hit 388 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:45,519 big plays in the passing game. That's going to be a primary central question 389 00:31:47,039 --> 00:31:52,960 surrounding this USC Colorado game. The other patrowelve game in Week five, that's 390 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:59,440 worth noting. You have Cal against Arizona State. That's not particularly significant, 391 00:31:59,559 --> 00:32:02,519 and so have Oregon at Stanford that should be a layup. But Washington and 392 00:32:02,559 --> 00:32:07,720 Arizona and Washington nineteen point favorite in this game expected to dominate, and obviously, 393 00:32:07,839 --> 00:32:13,599 on paper, Washington is a much better team. But if you know 394 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,160 anything about Pac twelve football, if you have studied this conference for you know, 395 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,279 at least like a decade, you followed the rhythms and workings of the 396 00:32:22,359 --> 00:32:28,000 conference. You get a sense for the tendencies and the habits and the patterns 397 00:32:28,519 --> 00:32:32,160 of various schools in this conference. What's one thing that you know? You 398 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:37,160 know that when Washington plays a road game and the State of Arizona, things 399 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,400 off and get wild. Things often get crazy, things often spend sideways. 400 00:32:42,039 --> 00:32:45,599 Washington has not been able to beat Arizona State. That's not Arizona. But 401 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:51,880 Arizona State has not lost to Washington in Tempe since two thousand and one, 402 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,119 that's twenty two years. Washington's had a little more success against Arizona going down 403 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:02,279 to Tucson and the Old Pueblo, but the Huskies have still struggled in Tucson 404 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:07,039 over the years. They've won some games, but they haven't played well in 405 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:12,559 them. Like it always seems to be a root canal for Washington when it 406 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,720 goes to Tucson to play the Arizona Wildcats. And with this Arizona team now, 407 00:33:16,839 --> 00:33:21,640 Jaden Vilaura got injured against Stanford. Maybe he will be healthy enough to 408 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:27,200 play against Washington. If he does play. Let's remember Jaden Vlaura was at 409 00:33:27,279 --> 00:33:30,880 Washington State before he transferred to Arizona, so he knows the Washington Huskies really, 410 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:36,720 really well from his time at Washington State. You know, Washington, 411 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:42,400 if you play a best of seven series, Washington easily wins six. But 412 00:33:42,799 --> 00:33:45,599 this is just one game. This could be the one time that Arizona plays 413 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:52,960 really well against Washington. Knowing Washington's history in the state of Arizona, you 414 00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:55,559 know, this game has a chance to get really screwy, and that is 415 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:01,440 the lingering drama surrounding the Huskies who look eight, but when they step inside 416 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:05,960 the borders of the state of Arizona, things can get a little wacky. 417 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:10,079 And so that is something to keep in mind for that particular matchup in Week 418 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:15,159 five of the college football season, the second full weekend of Pac twelve play. 419 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:20,320 It's a very interesting place, the Pac twelve Conference, and you know 420 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,559 we have the really really big showdowns just around the bend in the middle of 421 00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:30,559 October right now. The key for these top teams try and stay focused on 422 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:36,039 the task at hand. Don't look ahead to the bigger showdowns. Just do 423 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,440 what you're supposed to do now in the Pac twelve Conference. Thanks for listening 424 00:34:40,519 --> 00:34:45,920 to this edition of to Get Off My Pilon College Football podcast, brought to 425 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:51,199 you by ticket Smarter. Find ticket Smarter at ticketsmarter dot com or the ticket 426 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:55,880 Smarter mobile app. Promo codes LWS ten ten dollars off an order of one 427 00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:01,880 hundred dollars or more, LWS twenty twenty dollars off a purchase of three hundred 428 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:07,159 dollars or more. We will see you for the next episode of the Get 429 00:35:07,199 --> 00:35:09,639 Off My Proloon College Football Podcast. Thanks for listening,