This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jakin Salis on Fox Sports
fourteen fifteen, houred by Nova Insurance Services Ensure Your Most Prized Possessions, katz
R two, SAD and I Heeart Radio Station The Good Afternoon. Everybody,
Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fiftie. I'm Steve
Rivera, you're Jenkins. As we start our show on Wednesday. A lot
of stuff going on nationally and locally. Good show today and some stuff not
going on. Stuff not going on, like a back pop TV deal.
We could have said that for three hundred sixty seventy days. Another day we
should have like a little countdown. No, we don't need one with x
X. We don't. We don't need one, like you like the marks
on the jail sales. But I feel like I don't need that. I
don't need that in my life. Will you get it by August? No?
I don't you know at this No, you know, I didn't.
I mean by the first game, maybe you think they'd want to get it
out of the way, But everybody thought they were gonna want to get it
out of the way by Friday or last last Friday of last year. Yeah,
but you know, it's up on me today in a couple of days.
Um so, Actually, one of our guests today, John Wilder,
Well, uh, that'll be one of the topics. But you know,
I'm you know, I'm gonna guess. I mean, he probably knows more
than you and I do, but he probably doesn't know enough to be able
to say this or that is happening. Sure, I'm sure he's I asked
him. I don't know two months ago, months ago already how big this
story was in his lifetime. He says, the biggest, the biggest because
of what's gone on and the ramifications of bigger conferences, long term ramifications,
and well, it's the baby that never wants to get birth. Yeah,
it's it's changing college athletics and not just football, right, it's changing all
of college athletics. So it is a big deal. And if if you
know, people want to poop with that and say, well, you know
it's there, nobody's nobody's you know, carrying cancer or solving the hunger problem.
I get it. But from a sports standpoint, and particularly a college
sports standpoint, this is a big story as there's been in a lot of
years if it maybe ever, But yeah, okay, I agree with that,
but it's kind of being not diminished, but it's being prolonged for what
all the wrong, wrong reasons, but it sounds like okay enough for anyone
Once it kind of diminishes the impact of the story. Well, this thing
with the PAC twelve is the last piece. It's got to fall into place
for the current situation to settle, right, right, and then for people
to stop talking about the Big twelve is gonna get the owner schools and ACC
is doing this that if the PAC twelve settles its deal here and the PAC
twelve is gonna hold together, now we stop for a couple of years,
right right, and eventually we can move forward after this, and then then
you know, and then the next round. I think it's where you start
to see some of the consolidation that we've been talking about for a decade,
which will be not immediate, but sometimes you know, I just read another
analysis of it the other day that said that they you know, we always
say, well there's gonna be four super conferences, they're saying three. You
know, this one analysis I read set at three that the Big ten and
they and the SEC will expand some more, and then all that everything else
that's left well will be a third you know, and that that it would
be a combination of acc So how old do you think you're gonna live too?
Don't ask me that, Okay, I don't want to make that kind
of a prediction. Okay, let's say seven. Let's that got twenty more
years, eighty three? Okay, bull crap, just because I'll say seventy
five for me or sixty ten, I don't really care. I don't will
it happen in our lifetime? Will happen in our life? Something will?
Yeah, But the scenario you just had three huge conferences or something like that,
Yeah, I think that'll happen in the next ten years next as as
we get through all the current uh ten years grant of rights and teach is
good, yeah, because it's already kind of moving swiftly except for this.
Yeah, all these conferences are gonna are signing these deals that are good until
you know, twenty thirty, twenty thirty one. Yeah, that's when the
next round of this is gonna happen. So ye know, yeah, that's
okay. I'll give you ten years. You'll be seven ten years and well
in seven years, let's say it happened in twenty twenty thirty, I'll be
seventy. Okay, seven sixty, you do. Let's get some mesh.
But I'm gonna feel and look a lot like I do now. So I'm
gonna feel a lot and look a lot like Oh yeah, yeah. I
don't think I'm not gonna changing much anymore. This is it. You're like
Loot looked like he was sixty when he was. You know, I was
looking at myself in the mirror, and I told my wife I need some
plastic surgery. I gotta get this thing and under my chin fix. What
did she say? She stopped beating? No, go, she goes,
I need to get mine fixed too, do your wife you Felix? Great?
Yeah, she looks, but uh no, you stopped beating the steet
toes and blah blah blah. And I had some some some goldfish yesterday.
I love both and I can do those all day long. Yeah, it
says, well, I need to have light pulsuction. Well, if I
just stop beating, I'm going to pat myself under the channel. He's one
of those exercise things. And then at three fifteen, right, we have
Brad Alice Brad House a Wildcat Sports report. Yeah, there was still kind
of in the business, right there was? Was he at the news conference?
There was a news conference with the Kisha Johnson, the guy from Very
Impressive, A very impressive guy, graduate student, good body, nice,
tall, lean body. Obviously will help the program. Right, Um,
let me ask you this because he was kind of asked of him. He's
a leader, you know, a leader guy, senior guy, helped them
probably get to the final four, among others. Um, how much weight
do you Okay, this is just two dudes in a room, how much
would you give him and love for coming on the show, coming on the
team program and being having that final four experience doesn't mean anything. I think
it means something when they get to the point of they get like into the
tournament and they're in the sweet sixteen or or or the lead eight, Okay,
that's when it means Okay, so what does it mean? It just
means you got a guy in the locker room who who can tell the other
guys what to expect the guys. That helps the guys. No, Steve,
I think it helps. I think I think especially they didn't know they
just played. They didn't play the ninety eight. They should have known.
They didn't know, and they I know. I'm not saying it fixes everything.
I'm just saying it helps. Anytime you have knowledge like that, it
helps. Now, is it gonna make you get Is it gonna get you
into the final four? No, you still gotta go on the court and
play the games. But but when when you're sitting there and you're hanging around
with your guys and they're saying, oh, yeah, we're gonna see it's
gonna be like this, It's gonna be like that. Final four is awesome.
You know, we we got to do all this, We got to
do all that. Those kinds of things. Either you know, they they
you know, these guys put this in the back of their brain when the
time they think about it, and maybe it motivates them a little bit.
I think, is it Is it a difference maker in terms of, oh,
we're gonna get to the final four because we got two guys who have
been there? No? Yeah, yeah, no, no, no.
But but I'm a believer that, uh, Gordon Geckel thing, the most
valuable commodity is information. Okay, right, okay, but this is knowing
what to expect or what might be come in your way always helps. I
don't disagree with that. In basketball though, it's and he kind of said
this today, it's in basketball you never know. It's so fluid. No,
I'll give you my my defense. Arizona went to the tournament. Your
previous year went to Sweet sixteen. It had had no influence on this year
past the first round. I don't know if Princeton went to I don't know.
I could have checked. I don't remember actually if they went to the
tournament the year before or the year before, if they had any guys with
with the experience. It's how you play that day and whether you have influencers
that are older or younger. Made eight was the perfect example here lash the
previous year met ZIP two win in the title. I hear you. I'm
what I'm saying. I'm not saying that having that information puts you. You
know what I'm saying. It's just having that maybe on a given day,
you're a little more relaxed because you kind of know what to expect. I
think those two those things the thing those two dudes do. But if Jay,
if you're gonna tell me, we're in a ball field and you've you've
gone four for five against the picture and you come Steve, okay, you
know you're one for two or whatever. He's throwing this. He's throwing this.
That's a little bit different. You know, you you've seen it.
This is what I'm seeing, and this is how i'mitted. That's kind of
different. Yeah, and it's kind of the same where you know, Okay,
we've been here. This is what you're expect to big, good crowds,
yeada YadA. But the dudes, no, okay, ask any of
the guys, not Caleb Love and not Keisha Johnson. If they think what
those guys experience is helping them, and they're gonna say, yes, they're
gone, then then it does help, of course, And it does help
because they no, but it no, but it gives that guy just a
sliver more maybe confidence and information as they move along during the season. I
get I get that, but I don't. I don't don't believe that totally.
It's like being a leader. It's like being a leader, jay Um,
and we disagree on certain things, so you kind of know who the
leader is, right and a team, whether everybody does, and you have
your own leadership inside you, right, do you actually okay, the leader
tells you do this or it's like the Northwestern stuff, you have leaders who
might have been part of this. So what do you do? Listen to
the leader or you say d V and say shut the hell up. It
depends on what kind of a leader you are. Right, there weren't enough
there obviously weren't enough leaders at Northwestern to just stop what the hell is going
on? OA, And I think that's very talent. But but again it's
just I don't disagree with you, because I don't disagree with you. That's
why you ask the question. I think it's both. I think it's partly
my stuff and your stuff because if if they've been there, done that,
they know, they know, but it doesn't always work, and you know,
and okay, let's go back to the ninety eight ninety eight example.
Maybe maybe the knowledge, okay, made them think it was going to be
easier than it was. You nailed it, right, nailed it. But
what I'm saying, but but what I'm saying is that having the knowledge doesn't
hurt. No, no, no, I don't think it hurts. I'm
not saying that. I'm not saying that because I agree with you. I
agree with you, But how much of an impact does it have? I
think that's subjective. You really don't know. Well, you know we won
the game, because we've been here before, we have proof that that's not
the case for a lot in basketball alone. Well, but it's a it
can be a factor, but it's not always a factor that puts you over
the top. Sometimes it's it's just a factor and you still didn't quite get
there having that knowledge, or you just played that day right, right.
But no, I don't I don't think it hurts. I think I think
it helps. I think it helps the locker room. Uh, you know,
if you have to have a couple of guys who who maybe on that
day, maybe they're in an Elite eight game, and on that day,
maybe they're not as nervous as the next guy, and they played better than
the next guy because they've they've arrians that that those are that That's kind of
what I'm talking about. Yeah, no, I kept that. I get
that. But I also think that players play, Yeah, players play big
moments or whatever. They just are living for this moment because they they're used
to it. Yeah, but think of Okay, think of all the Super
Bowls that Tom Brady, you know, Okay, Okay, do you think
he was nervous in the last last five of them? Probably not, And
probably the way he carried himself helped other guys carry themselves better because they knew
they had a guy who had been through that a good example. And I
liked, I liked the defense of what you're saying. I don't disagree with
you, because they knew that he's capable of getting them there and knowing what
to do right. But that that also he kind of fed off that they
fount off him. But yeah, but then there was also a good,
good example. There was also guess what, they didn't win the Super Bowl
even though they had a good example, good example. Both sides, Yeah,
both sides. Yeah. I think it's a circumstances of the events of
that day. And I use everyone in basketball this year with Princeton, they've
been there, only what they all happened. I think they just didn't play
well. I mean, I just think it can't hurt. I mean,
how many guys are left on the San Diego State basketball team that got to
the Final four. A bunch of them. But guess what they still got
to go out there and win games, regardless of the experience they had,
And just because they were there doesn't get them there again this year. They
might not. They could be so bad they don't even get in the tournament.
Yeah, you know who's gonna be a good team to see about the
FAU. Yeah, a team, the entire team comes back, right,
and let's see what the pressures. See if they pull in in Arizona ninety
eight and and have a and and don't finish it because the expect take But
see, the other thing that in your defense is how much pressure does FA
you have on itself? But how much are they putting on themselves as much?
Because of that? As much knowledge as you're talking about, you could
have it all the knowledge could in that regard can can work against you.
That there's a little bit about you ever study too much for test? I
know you can say no, no, there's that theory you Honestly, there
have been times where I thought, you know what, how much stop?
Yeah, just stop? You got us much as you're gonna get Colin,
and I go go take the test and I get that. That's kind of
example I did that. I'm surprised, but you know what to say.
You you have all this knowledge, but now you have to apply to that
game. There's another team that's saying, I don't care what you know.
This is what I'm gonna do. Let's see, I did that because there
was a time when I had I had to get off probation. So I
did. I did do well on some tests to you through you get at
the disdain in school. Oh, parents don't know that, they don't know
that. They're probably nonetheless. Okay, cool, let's let's figure this out.
So Brad Alice here in about to five minutes, right and then and
then will I guess at the first gonna have some clips right while we picked
we picked up a clip. We'll have a conversation about this about DeAndre Ayton,
okay, because look, you know, he's an Arizona guy. Regardless
of the fact that he was here six months. He's an Arizona guy.
People claim we you know if Arizona fans claim him for better or worse?
Right, Um, there's a clip that came out from an interview he did
with the TV station in the Bahamas where where he's from. You obviously there
that I think is uh, a little telling about what about what's going on
over there. So we'll play that for everybody. The fact that he acknowledges
is it. Yeah, how can you? How can you not know that?
People think that you're seeing it every day. He even sounded like me,
he's very contrade about it or whatever. He's bummed about that they feel
this way about Yeah. Yeah, you know, he's like, man,
I'm trying hard out here. People people are saying I'm not. So we'll
see what. We'll play that because it's a it's a very interesting a little
it's like a thirty second clip, but it really tells you a lot about,
you know, kind of what's happening in his head. So all right,
let's take our break. We're gonna come back. We're gonna have Brad
Alice from Ourcatt Sports support. We'll just talk to some general you have a
stuff with him, probably mostly football, So stick around. For more than
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We'll put the work in for you. This is I on the Ball
with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Subscribe now to
the podcast on the iHeartRadio a app just surgeony I on the Ball. Hey,
welcome back to him the Ball here at Fox What's fourteen Cookie? I'm
Steve Rivera, He's Jackon's goss knowing the phone. We have Brad Alice from
Wellcat Sports Report. Are you doing, Brett doing great? Great? Great?
Great to have you on the anticipation of the PAC twelve media day.
What are you looking forward to most? I guess I'm looking forward to seeing
how they skirt the issue of no media deal, because I think it is
a big deal that they don't have anything ready doing out. I think it's
bad for the league and bad for their imagery and hopefully something's growing. But
otherwise, I think it's gonna be a really interesting league. I think the
top three or four teams are really really good, and the middle of the
league is fascinating because I think you could take everyone from maybe nine to five
or four and mix them in a bag and pull an aim out. He
might be just as accurate as the media and coaches pull. Yeah. I
was wondering because we talked about this yesterday with Jane. I would assume you'd
have Arizona maybe seven, eighth or ninth in the league, even though that
you anticipate them to be better than the past. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
talking about this with someone else, and I think, you know, there
are there are four teams that I think are clearly better, and then you
start getting in that murky area of Oregon State in UCLA, UM and so
probably after them, So I think, yeah, you think you're looking at
six, seven, eight, um. You know, Washington State I think
is in that in that category too. So my guess is they will be
in the lower half. But but certainly I think there's a separation after you
get you know, those bottom teams of Stanford. Uh. You know,
I think Colorado might get some votes, even though I don't think they roy
deserve it. I think a SU looks like they're on the downwards and so
really kind of cal Arizona and Washington State may be battling for that that seventh
or eighth position. So uh, there were there were two guys that were
put on the second team All Pac twelve. A bunch of guys in uh
in uh honorable mention preseason, a bunch more than last year, but still
really nobody in you know, first team consideration. You had Jordan Morgan,
who's considered, you know, possible first round draft pick at Jacob Collin who
came back, you know what led the league. I think in receiving last
year. I mean, we're you know, is it is it going to
take a while affair Zoner to start seeing guys you know, in better position
than that, or is it just that the talent this year is so good
because the league is so good, that they're kind of not quite there yet.
Yeah, it's accommodation. I think anyone who didn't vote for Savina for
at least second team is foolish. Um he might be long term, potentially
the best, one of the best two or three linemen in the conference.
Um. I understand not putting Jordan Morgan on the first team coming off to
the injury, but that's the guy who was at one point projected as the
first rounder. To me, the one that I think is a real disservice
is having Singer on the first team and Cowing on the second team, when
I think you could argue that they will be flip flopped if they were both
wearing Arizona uniforms. But for the most part, you know, I had
people ask me like, what do you think about you know, Jacob Monu
and being on there. I'm like, well, you know, he's he's
a starting linebacker on one of the worst defenses in the league. So yeah,
you're gonna have to win games, improve it to people. You know,
Arizona was improved last year, but when they lost, they lost pretty
one sided. So you're gonna have to win more games and be in more
games to get that kind of respect. And you know, if you're an
Arizona player, use it as use disrespect or perceived disrespect as motivation and chip
on your shoulders. So when you do play a guy who you don't think
it's as good as you, who's on that list, you gotta beat them.
Yeah, let's stay on that side of the ball. There's no question
that they'll have to improve on that area. They did, like you said,
last year, but now they're gonna have to keep opponents into the mid
thirties. Arizona's offense can score, where can they come up with the better
defense? O'kay? The position that I like is the two interior defensive line
positions. I think they go a legit five or six deep there. I
am worried about the edge rushing. I think the linebacking corps is solid with
the potential to be really good if some of the young players are levit Igasua
are as good as advertised, if Justin Flow can stay healthy. And I
like the cornerbacks. You know, I am worried about thy as I mentioned
the Russians. I'm worried about the safety position. So some guys are going
to have to develop or step up, or some of these transfers who you
know, we're okay at their former school are going to have to play a
lot better, you know. Looking at guys, you know, like the
the two cornerback transfers, the two defensive back transfers. Looking at a guy
like Oran Patu is buying at Cal but it's going to have a bigger role
at Arizona. But I am encouraged by the guys they have brought in on
that interior defensive life. Most notably, you have Norton from Georgia, who's
who's a solid players. You have the kid from Indiana who I think as
a potgially really good. When you mixed them with some of the guys you're
bringing back from last year, we're not playing two hundred and fifty pound defensive
tackles anymore, and that I think is vital for Arizona not to just get
you know, the ball stuff down their throat. You know, one of
the things that we hear a lot is the defense only has to be a
little better, not a lot better. But how much little better does it
need to be for them to say, win six or seven games, you
know, to not be getting blown out the way they got blown out last
year. I mean, you know, obviously some areas one are the most
critical things. I think one things is just a flow has to say healthy
if he's going to be as good as everybody says he can be. But
you know, how how much better do they need to get? Probably ten
points a game? You know, you subtract ten points, and you subtract
a couple of those long drives lighting games or late touchdowns, and Arizona has
a chance to win some of those games with the ball in their hand as
opposed to chasing points late. You know, you look at the cow game
where they couldn't make a stop in the second half. You look at the
Washington game where they were in it for a while but just couldn't make a
stop in the second half. You know that you win one of those and
you went bowling last year. Yeah, so yeah, I don't think it's
a huge margin, because I do think the offense will be will be better
as well. Um, but you know, the blanket thing would be to
say ten points. Really you have to make a few plays per game,
get a key pick here, get a key stop there, and suddenly you're
driving with a chance to win. So we talk about this to the excitement
of the of the season. Um, we haven't seen this in a while,
obviously, never seen the summer in time, maybe a little a time
or two in the Rodriguez tenure. What do you what do you get out
there publicly or since Yeah, I think I think we're we're we're rich rod
era of excitement, which is certainly nothing like stoops heck, nothing even like
the end of the tomy, beginning of the Macavic era, where I think
Tucson was a football town waiting to happen, and it never happened. I
don't know if it ever will now. Um yea, you know, they
haven't been to the highs of what they did. They've certainly been consistently the
better product for now thirty years. But I think, yeah, I think
people optimistic. You know, when Elijah Rushing to mid Arizona, I heard
from it from people I've never heard about football before. You know, people
are talking about the wide receivers and talking about you know, Jaden de Laura
good and bad, but they're talking about them. You know, people are
talking about whether Jet Fish will stay at Arizona, and you know when it
was the last time fans were clamoring for their coach to stay at Arizona football.
So I think it's a good thing, you know, whether you know
they missed that window of really being a place that can consistently put fifty thousand
people in the stands. I'm fortunately, I think they are, but I
think they can get a growing and solid fan base. And there's you know,
I think we've long said there's thirty five thousand dedicated Wildcat fans you need
to add about ten or fifteen to that bandwagon and you're in good shape.
Yeah, I think those crowds of twenty thousand are probably we probably gone go
ahead and tell what you said. Well you probably didn't, but I'm like,
I can't believe you just said that Arizona may never get to be uh
you know, say again that it's a football town. Right. There was
just gonna just continue, Yeah, I was, I was gonna hang up
the phone. Well, I would say this, and back when I worked,
you know, in the daily grind of the media as opposed to the
weekly grind of the media, I already thought Two Sons was a football town
when you look at people like the NFL. They liked high school football,
they like the WOW, they liked Ludelson's teams because they were good. But
this wasn't a basketball town. And I don't think that's the same as it
was. I think, you know, when you talk to people, people
like the Suns, they liked the NBA. This the guys my age and
I would say ten years younger who grew up with Arizona basketball are now one
of the best fan bases in college basketball. I mean, Steve can attested
this. You know, Jay, you probab Into. You go to Las
Vegas for the PAC twelve tournament, what do you see, Wildcat fan It
looks like every fan base other than maybe Kentucky. You go to the NSA
tournament, there's gonna be five thousand Wildcap fans. They're a legitimate big boy
fan base, which they really weren't even in the height of the lud Olson
era. It was that older fan base that had money. But you didn't
have a bunch of guys in their thirties, you know, saving up their
work money to go to the PAT twelve tournament. Now you do and the
guy and I think football missed that. I think there's a lot of people
who like you of a sports who like football. But unfortunately, and maybe
I'm wrong again, you get to one Rolls Bowl or whatever the Bowl Arizona
feeds into now with the playoffs, and maybe you changed that. But I
really think you had an opportunity in the Stokes era, especially where this team
was just clamoring for a football winner. I can tell you if you remember
the Lewis Holmes Gaylong recruitment when I worked at a different radio station, if
people knew I was on they would call an hour before my shift started to
talk football recruiting. You know, they were asking for my home phone number
so they could call it ask for a who was homes update for it could
being Carrie update. And unfortunately, I think that we may just have missed
that window. I hope I'm wrong. I completely hope I'm wrong. But
I think you know, again, when you're looking at guys from thirty five
to fifty my age, they're diehard. You have a basketball fans now,
and that's where they're putting their money. I'm not too sure that's a fair
assessment, Brad. In terms of Vegas, if you put every home game
in Vegas, even though they have to travel six hours, they would fill
up because it's Vegas. That's part of the charm. If you if you
have you ever been there at twelve o'clock or midnight, one o'clock in the
morning, they're still dancing in the You know this, Ja, we talked
about this. It's now and it's crazy. Yeah, and you said something
that I know, no, no, that that's my point. But I
think other fan bases could do that and dun't because they're not Arizona Basketball fans.
You know, you see Utah fans. You don't see five ten thousand
ASU fans, even though it's a two hours shorter drive. Different you don't.
You don't. You don't see USC bands there, at least when I
went there. You don't see Washington fans. Um, you have a fan
base for basketball is just a different It's it's an elite fan base now.
It didn't used to be. It used to be your blue hairs and some
crazy students. It's a leak fan base now and that's just not true of
you of a football right now. But it will become one, I hope.
So I just somehow I think they may miss to win. That.
I will say about the basketball fan though, that I and I've said this
all the way back to the eighties, that they're Arizona basketball fans. They're
not college basketball fans, right right right, And I still believe that,
even though maybe a a little more knowledgeable. But they're Arizona fans, you
know. I mean I said that because the last time Arizona hosted an NCUBAA
tournament here they had trouble selling tickets because local fans weren't going. But I
believe that. But I also agree with you too that Arizona was they seemed
so close in the rich rot Era during the stops are even towards the end
of I mean, Tommy Eric even the stuops there, it was just right
there. And then they lost it. And then someone came in and just
stepped on olive and said on fire. And now you know here we are
trying to get out of that. So I agree with you on all of
that. Let's let's talk a little bit about the PAC twelve as a whole,
because you know, Steve and I spent a segment of the show a
couple of days ago trying to find six wins for Arizona. Well, I
think this Arizona team is going to be way better than last year's team.
It's hard to find six wins and get them to a ball. They're gonna
have to win a couple of games that we that you might not expect them
to win because the rest of the league is so dang good. And I
think there's there's you know, Arizone's got three can't win games in Utah,
Washington and USC and so then they've got you know, three games that they
absolutely should win in in a su Colorado, and Stanford. So then there's
four that says you got to win probably three of those two maybe two of
those to get yourself to a bowl game. If you win to your two
of your non conference games, I mean this league is going to be harder.
So they may go five and seven again and be a lot better than
they were last years. When I'm saying no, I think you're right.
I think I've talked to me much that this team could win anywhere from four
to seven or eight games, and you could convince me of any of the
four. Um, you're right, those three games at the top are daunting.
Um I would say that, yeah, they're they're I don't want to
say impossible, because we've all seen Arizona pull these bird wins out. But
that also means they're probably losing a game to you know, a teammate shouldn't.
But those middle games are the ones that are fascinated. You know.
Again, I've said there's five or six games that are pretty equal, you
know, whether it's UCLA, whether it's Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona,
Cal maybe forgetting one there too, but they're all pretty equal. So
it's whoever can win more of the toss up games. You know, can
you pick off Mississippi State because they're breaking in a new offer M daunting task
absolutely, So yeah, they're gonna have to win some games like that.
You know, they're not going to have to not be upset by an ASU
team that's playing at home and maybe playing for that's their season. So it
is a daunting task. And again, I think we have to look at
this as a whole. Do they look better against USC? Do they look
better against Washington? And maybe not even winning those games, but certainly yeah,
you got to point to I think most fans are not being except five
and seven, even if holistically and stylistically it looks better. Well, and
then you got the factor that the USC and Washington games are back to back.
I mean, that's going to be really good. And again and Arizona
has traditionally in recent years not matched up well with Washington. Yeah, you
know they've they've been okay against USC, but Washington has just really more often
not had their number recently, just like they have matched up somewhat well with
Utah of late. You know, remember that game two years ago where they
almost beat them during the COVID season. Um, and had no business even
being in that game because they barely beat cow what the week before we had
no players. But that being said, Utah's really good, Yeah, cows
are. Washington's really really good. USC's really really good, Oregon's really really
good. Okay, Yesterday, Stephen I made a bet and we try to
pick a champion, and we both picked different teams. And the bet is
that one of ours if one of our teams win. If one of our
teams does not win the championship, it's no blood. Steve took USC.
I took Washington. I picked first. I too, I took Washington.
I think I think Washingtons affectall champion this year. Where's your head on that?
I like thinking outside the box. I like Washington too. I think
Washington maybe better one to twenty. USC's better one to fifty, one to
sixty. But that top of that, you Washington, you know, I
like Panics a lot. He's not as good as Caleb Williams, but he's
close. That wide receiver crew is I'm really good. We've seen what Washington
has stocked out on defense the last few years. My whole thing is if
Kaylin the Boor is as good a coach as he looked like at Fresno.
Then I think Washington is really good because again I think USC has a lot
of talent, but Lincoln Raley somehow couldn't run the table in the Big twelve.
No, yeah, I have my doubts about LinkedIn round in USC,
they're gonna be really good, they're gonna win ten or eleven. But yeah,
I kind of like Washington as the outside the box uh pick there,
like how you think, well, I'm glad that you can take you you
both, you can take that box and living it after after I would submit.
See, it's not like you made a bad pick. It's not like
I think it's gonna be cow. I mean, USC's really really in.
USC's a safe thick, But I just kind of liked Washington the way they're
made up. Yeah, I went with Chalk. It was obviously yeah,
okay, but I brot Thanks about Chamber. I appreciate it anytime guys take
off bro Alice well Kat sports authority. Yeah that was fine. Yeah,
I love you know, we're gonna have to be picking the brains of all
these guys that we uh that we you know, you get them on here
and say okay, whatn't you? What are your thoughts now as we're headed
to media day and practice starting. Brian Jeffrey's out here. Maybe lamont love
it. You'll get tomorrow. Yeah, Yogi Rothmorrow back football animals. Yeah,
we got it. Yeah, yeah, I can't mess that up.
All right, stick around, we'll be back. We'll take your cost five
to zero four one six four. If you're an Arizona man's basketball fan,
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Jacan Solids they have their I on the Ball on Tucson sports station Fox Sports
fourteen fifty. Okay, welcome back to I'm the Ball here on Fox Sports
Court Team coup be on Steve D's Jay, do you have about twelve minutes
in live minutes if you guys want to give us a quick call here talking
about whatever you want, football or just around the corner. Jay's happy about
that. Yeah, you know, I'm happy that we're talking about football,
right It's I know, we're still talking about TV deals, We're still talking
about Jane deloran Is off the field stuff. We're talking about Northwestern football and
stuff. But we're starting. You know, we spend some time with Brad
Alls talking about games and how anything're gonna win. You were asking, um,
you know the Washington in USC back to back games, what happened right
right? See, because that four game stretch I think is not so much
a gauntlet but it's a gauntlet for Arizona because they have to prove a lot
in that stretch. Yeah, it's it's it's two games that if you're marking
them down today, you're marking them is lost. Okay. So okay,
let's go for the first one. Okay, Well, let's even go a
week before that, because you've got your three non conference games. Let's just
say we keep saying you gotta go to Stanford. That's a game you gotta
win. Two and two, even though it's on the road. No.
Three and three and one, that's a game you gotta win, even though
you're on the road. Yeah, that was my most bad mess. So
let's say you're three, you're three and one. Now you got Washington at
home, you go to USC, you go to Washington State, and then
you got to Oregon State. And so that's these four games that and then
that in after Oregon, say you got UCLA. Okay, so that's a
stretch of five games. Shutch the five games. Let's go to the four
okay. So you're two and one right going into the four, right,
three one, three and one? Okay, So then you play USC first.
You said Washington first, Washington first, Okay, that's a lost,
Right, that's a lost. It should be okay, So, but it's
at home, you get an atmosphere game or whatever you just picked. I
think it's a lost. You just picked to win. No, No,
I think it's a lot. Okay, Okay, I think it's a lost.
Just Washington the win the league. They can't afford to lose the Arizona.
Yeah, no, I that's why I think it's a lost. But
I'm just gonna say it's you know, it could be that unexpected win because
you're playing at home, get the right atmosphere, you know. Let's say
you got a you know, let's say Arizone is three and one and and
and and the networks say, hey, this is gonna be a fun game.
Let's put it on at a good spot. Google spelled Pollyanna. Hold
on, look who's picture of the show it. It's a lot. Okay,
So okay, let's see how they survived that and then they okay,
this is another one. How do they survive this game? Whether they play
well or and they play usc sometimes play Look, you know, from a
physical stamp physically, in terms of getting beat up physically, right, you're
more fearful of the Washington game than the USC game. USC. They don't
scare me as the terms of this. You know, this line is gonna
pound the crap out of you, and you're gonna come out of that all
banged up. You know, you may lose that game because they beat you
because they got better players, right, Okay, So let's go on two.
But I think I'm more concerned about how they come out of there,
if they're not demoralized or or physically okay or whatever. Because now the two
games that we talked about that were not must wins but very capable of winning,
that could switch that they need to get one one of the next two,
and this is and they put the next one where Oregon State at home
home. So okay, an organ stain is going to be much better allegedly,
Uh Paul, yeah, next, next one, next alleged Okay,
So let's say, okay, it's it's we're gonna know by that time and
the circumstances of the events of the previous two will kind of show you how
good this team can be. Is Dolora okay? Is a team Okay?
And then if they can survive Oregon State, let's assume they do be Oregon
State. Now you've got to go on the road to play. Then you
have ult Washington State, they have Washington They're at USC at Washington State,
Oregon State at home. See it again at USC at Washington State. Okay,
Oregon State at home. Okay. So the Washington State game is the
first crucial and that's on the road, and Dolora goes home, right,
goes back, I should say, And we saw what happened last year here
try to do too much and played horribly. Yes, and now the circumstances
of this year are there's no nothing different, you know. Yeah, No,
well you hope he's a year older, he's a year more mature,
he handles it better. Um, but who knows. Plus, but you
got the fact that it's at Washington State as a which came to you feel
more comfortable between the Washington State and Oregon State. Washington State because because I
mean, look, because of because of who I am as an Arizona fan,
okay, and that every time everybody thought Arizona was gonna be really really
good, they weren't. Hey, The times that they were really really good
came out of nowhere, right, So that's what Oregon State as a program.
I don't even think I would put them at the same level as Arizona.
Maybe recently they have been, but long term, historically long history of
the two programs, Arizona has been a better overall programs. Okay, But
what I'm saying is that Oregan's organs hearing it. Oh, we're gonna be
really good. Every Jonathan Jonathan Smith is really good. Organ states this organ
states that they're over under his eight and a half. That's a that's a
perfect I want to program like when Oregon State, like in Arizona, like
an a su gets all full of itself and doesn't get to where they think
it's gonna get to, and they might not be very good. You sure,
I've accused you of this for a long time. You overanalyze all this
stiff the wonder you ask for other people for advice. I don't I like
the theory of what you're doing. But that's way overthinking it. Because organ
State, it's gonna be good. It's gonna be good. Maybe they're over
unders. If eight and a half was Arizona's number, you would be googling,
goggling over Arizona. But I'd probably take the under. But that's okay
because because of the history. I'm an Arizona fan, your history, you're
realistic. I mean, we're all excited. Uh you know in ninety four
when Arizona's on the cover Sports Illustrated they're going to play Penn State and we
did a big party to watch a game and stuff like that. In the
little piece of the back of my mind, I thought, man, you
know, because we're Arizona. You know, the Arizona never gets to be
that team, and it hasn't. That's right that you know the ninety eight
season. Who thought that was gonna happen? Right then what happened in ninety
nine? They crapped all over themselves, right you know. The twenty fourteen
team and everybody coming back I under Solomon, all the guys coming back and
in twenty fifteen. So so where do you for you, how do you
feel now about this team? Yeah, given what you just said, because
you're your background and you put a lot of stock in like I know,
but this team, because but this team, there's still a lot of people
saying they're gonna suck. So I don't think they're gonna be all full of
themselves about how great they're gonna know this is the board chip on their shoulder
guards right right, because they have no choice and that and to me,
that's when an Arizona team thrives us again the world. Everybody thinks we're gonna
suck, So we're not gonna suck. You've been think, I know.
I think there was a lot of that last year. Yeah, right,
yeah, yeah, there was a lot of that last year, right right.
And do you think even the twenty fourteen team had that, Steve,
I mean, of course they went up to Oregon to pay to play Marcus
Mariota and those guys. There wasn't a chance. And normally Steve my group
for that game would have had a watch party, which the Oregon game up
there would have had a watch party. It was a Thursday night, nobody
did. I just sat on my couch and watch that game in disbelief that
Arizona was gonna win this game. Yeah, I think, uh. And
then weeks later it was nice. Well they lost the USC the next week,
yeah right, And then they got killed by Oregon later in the year,
and then they got yeah, then they got killed in the in the
and and at no time and no time did anythink Arizona was champion. I
thought Oregon is gonna I don't know that Oregan's gonna kill him, but Oregon
is not gonna lose this game. And they did. But anyways, going
back, you know you got you got the Washington USC, Washington State organ
state. Then you got UCLA at home, that UCLA at home. Let's
say things don't go well, okay, USC at home is a chance to
kind of redeem yourself. Or let's say they do go well. Now your
CLA at home becomes a chance to keep it, you know, keep the
ball rolling. And then you close out with Colorado. You're tiny a su
two out of three. You know you should win two out of three there.
So if you had, if you had some money and and and I
give you this option, would you bet one hundred bucks every game on Arizona?
You write money line? Money line for twelve Gamesould I pay them to
win? Because one they're gonna be underdog in a bunch of those games,
So you're gonna get good odds money line. Okay, And the worst thing
you're gonna do is go six and six, five and five and seven.
Yeah, you lose. I think you, and I think if you go
five and seven, some of the odds that you're going to get on the
money line pay, we'll pay. So I if I if I'm beat,
if I have twelve hundred dollars to put one hundred dollars on each game,
I'm betting Arizona to win. Okay, So go to the list again,
and well, I'll tell you about we'll talk about whether they'll be favorites or
not favorite favorite, Okay, and you'll there will be a line and that'll
be two two. W will be minus two hundred or something. Mississippi State
negative yeah, minus, they'll be plus something. No, they'll be plus
plus plus U TAP they'll be minus something, right, Stanford they'll be minus
something. Washington they'll be plus something, big number, A big number.
USC they'll big plus a big plus three hundred something, Washington State plus a
plus maybe plus one hundred one twenty okay, or maybe minus one hundred minus
one plus. Yeah, Oregon State they're gonna be plus plus u c l
A. They're probably gonna be plus. Colorado they're gonna be minus can be
favored you tih they're gonna be an underdog an A SU probably be favored.
So I'm gonna say they're gonna be fair if you count the U. There
are any U game. Sometimes it's hard to find a line on a on
a on a game with an FCS tate, but Arizona Northern Arizona because the
last time I think you'll find a line on that. So I think Arizona
will be favorite in one, two, three, four, five games and
then Washington the Washington State game depend you know, depends on what the two
teams have done up to that point. I would think being on the road,
they're more likely to not be favorite in that game. So how many
games it will be? Five? Five, five? Save your money,
But I do if they pull off a win or two. Let's say let's
say Washington at at a plus three hundred or something. Thought the team you
picked it with at all? Well, whoever are your USC or Utah?
You tell us the home game, right, and and Brad May Brad House
made a good point, they do play well against Utah at home. Haven't
gone to those theories, baby, tightly, don't stop me now, all
right, we're gonna take a break for it to come back, and we're
gonna breaking news. Top of the hour, we'll be right back