1 00:00:02,919 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to the latest edition of Get Off My Pylon 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:09,039 college football podcast, part of the College grad Aroon Coast 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,199 to Coast podcast network. This is your host, Matt Zemmon. 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,920 Do check out College grad Aeron Coast to Coast at 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,960 Apple and the other places where you listen to your podcasts. 6 00:00:20,519 --> 00:00:25,600 Also on Twitter at Gridiron Coast covering the acc You 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:31,079 have Jason Powers with his Florida Football Insiders podcast covering 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,560 college football in the state of Florida, and the various 9 00:00:33,679 --> 00:00:36,600 other podcasts which are part of the College Gradiron family 10 00:00:37,119 --> 00:00:39,359 of college football podcasts. You want to check all of 11 00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:42,880 them out. College Grade Aron Coast to Coast so we 12 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,719 focus on western college football in the United States, and 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,560 naturally after the weekend that was two games at the 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:55,920 forefront of the national conversation in the West. USC and 15 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,119 Penn State go to overtime. We'll have something on that 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,520 in a bit, but the main event and it lived 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,000 up to the billing. You could say it exceeded the billing. 18 00:01:03,359 --> 00:01:07,560 Ohio State in Oregon Attson Stadium in Eugene. It felt 19 00:01:07,599 --> 00:01:10,120 like a heavyweight fight, It felt like a game. It 20 00:01:10,159 --> 00:01:12,840 looked like a game between two of the top three 21 00:01:12,879 --> 00:01:15,560 teams in the country. Felt like a game that's going 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,000 to have a rematch at the Big Ten championship game 23 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:24,040 in Indianapolis, Oregon thirty two, Ohio State thirty one. Plenty 24 00:01:24,079 --> 00:01:29,760 of layers to peel away from this game. One of 25 00:01:29,799 --> 00:01:34,680 the points of discussion about the end of that game 26 00:01:34,879 --> 00:01:39,959 was Dan lanning Nut seeming to indicate not directly saying it, 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,840 but seeming to indicate that, yes, he intentionally had twelve 28 00:01:43,879 --> 00:01:47,840 men on the field as a penalty. I'm going to 29 00:01:47,879 --> 00:01:50,920 devote a separate get off my pylon just to that 30 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,640 one play. But I'll give you the cliff notes version here. 31 00:01:55,239 --> 00:02:00,840 It does reflect an evolved thought process, all right, Like 32 00:02:00,959 --> 00:02:03,359 you know, at the very end of the game, go 33 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,200 ahead and have twelve men on the field. Much as 34 00:02:06,439 --> 00:02:09,800 you know if you're trying to defend a two point 35 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:15,520 play or if you're trying to defend like a a 36 00:02:16,759 --> 00:02:21,840 fourth and goal that you know, there are certain situations 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,759 in which, okay, you know, commit pass interference, right, you know, 38 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,159 like if you're if you're beaten on a play at 39 00:02:28,199 --> 00:02:30,840 the very at the very end of a game, committing 40 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,879 pass interference can save you the game and you get 41 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,439 another shot on defense. You know, those kinds of endgame 42 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,080 conversations don't come up very often, and so, you know, 43 00:02:42,159 --> 00:02:46,599 Dan Lanning, I give them credit for thinking about this. However, however, 44 00:02:48,159 --> 00:02:51,199 the play was at the Ohio State or the Oregon 45 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,840 forty three yard line, that five yard penalty. You know, 46 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,599 the real discussion here is apparently Ohio State doesn't have 47 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,360 a kicker that right and Day trusts from fifty five 48 00:03:02,479 --> 00:03:06,000 yards out. And you know, in the NFL these days, 49 00:03:07,039 --> 00:03:10,319 we're seeing kickers boom through, you know, fifty five fifty 50 00:03:10,319 --> 00:03:16,639 seven yard field goals like they're nothing. And Dallas's kicker, Aubrey, 51 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,000 you know, he's making sixty yarders like they're nothing. The 52 00:03:21,039 --> 00:03:23,879 thing that's not being talked about enough is Ohio State 53 00:03:23,879 --> 00:03:28,759 apparently doesn't have a kicker that can reach the goalpost 54 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,199 from fifty five yards out. So, you know, all the nil, 55 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,400 all the resources that Ohio State was devoted to recruiting 56 00:03:35,719 --> 00:03:39,199 didn't include a kicker for big moments such as that. 57 00:03:39,199 --> 00:03:41,479 That that's something that we need to note. And the 58 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:47,240 other point is be precisely because the ball was in 59 00:03:47,319 --> 00:03:50,639 Oregon territory, not that far away from field goal range, 60 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,639 Let's not give Dan Lanning too much credit. Okay, he 61 00:03:54,879 --> 00:03:58,439 was thinking ahead, and I've given him credit for that 62 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,000 just now. But like that, if Ohio State did have 63 00:04:02,039 --> 00:04:05,639 a kicker like that penalty could have proved decisive. And 64 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,879 the other part of this, obviously, is that if Will 65 00:04:07,879 --> 00:04:12,759 Howard slides or gives himself up just a couple seconds earlier. 66 00:04:13,759 --> 00:04:17,399 His slide began with like one and a half maybe 67 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,600 two seconds left. By the time his slide was completed, 68 00:04:20,639 --> 00:04:23,000 the game was over. I'm not saying there should have 69 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,839 been one second on the clock, no, But if Will 70 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,319 Howard does slide just a little bit earlier, if he 71 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,959 slides at the thirty one instead of the twenty nine, 72 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,480 Ohio State does have a play. And so the buck 73 00:04:36,519 --> 00:04:40,839 guys really did watch that. The end of that game 74 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,680 was more about how Ohio State failed than how Oregon was, 75 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:50,160 you know, being so brilliant. Okay, Lanning was thinking ahead. 76 00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:53,439 But I'm not sure that's the best application of that 77 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,720 automatic twelve men penalty. Probably a better application is if 78 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,480 Ohio State needed a touchdown right then you have the 79 00:05:01,519 --> 00:05:04,399 twelve men on the field, you have that extra body 80 00:05:05,759 --> 00:05:08,720 in the end zone, you get just a five yard penalty. 81 00:05:09,199 --> 00:05:12,560 So you know, if you're disorganized, you know, then you 82 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,879 can go back with eleven men and then reorganized. Also, 83 00:05:17,199 --> 00:05:21,000 the other idea is, you know, let's say the ball 84 00:05:21,079 --> 00:05:23,120 was not at the Oregon forty three. Let's say the 85 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,800 ball was at the fifty, or maybe it was just 86 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,199 slightly on Ohio State side of the field. Then I 87 00:05:30,199 --> 00:05:33,120 would say, wow, that's a perfect application of the twelve 88 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,959 men penalty because in the five yard penalty doesn't get 89 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,079 Ohio State into field goal range. But Landing kind of 90 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,360 played it close with this, and there were still six 91 00:05:45,399 --> 00:05:49,639 seconds left after that penalty, such that Ohio State did 92 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:51,680 have a chance to get several more yards. And again 93 00:05:51,759 --> 00:05:55,040 Will Howard did get several more yards, but he slid 94 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,839 way too late. So it was more about Ohio State 95 00:05:57,879 --> 00:06:02,079 failing than Oregon succeed. But we'll get we'll go deeper 96 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,560 into that one play on a separate standalone edition of 97 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:07,959 Get Off My Pilon. That's something that you're going to 98 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,000 see at Patreon later this week, so keep an eye 99 00:06:12,079 --> 00:06:14,439 on that. I'll be tweeting it out at my Twitter account. 100 00:06:14,439 --> 00:06:18,279 Matt Zemeck separate standalone episode on that one play at 101 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,560 the end of Ohio State organ plenty more to say 102 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:26,480 about Buckeys and Ducks. And the one thing we really 103 00:06:26,519 --> 00:06:29,639 have to drill down and emphasize here, and this is 104 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,240 where Dan Lanning again deserves a lot of credit, is 105 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,079 Oregon's offensive line. Oregon's offensive line kept Ohio State's defensive 106 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:43,800 line at bay. The big reason that Ohio State was 107 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,439 number two entering this season. It was not the offense, 108 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,399 it was the defense. This was supposed to be a 109 00:06:49,439 --> 00:06:53,759 skull crushing Ohio State defense, and an Oregon offense which 110 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,920 looked very pedestrian in the first few weeks of the 111 00:06:56,959 --> 00:07:01,199 season against Idaho and then against Boise State, looked very average. 112 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,360 In those early season games, Oregon really developed and specifically 113 00:07:05,439 --> 00:07:09,120 on the offensive line. Oregon's offensive line came ready to 114 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:15,240 play neutralized Ohio State's defensive line. Ohio State fans, obviously 115 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:18,240 they're upset at Ryan Day for losing yet another big game. 116 00:07:19,759 --> 00:07:23,000 You know, Day didn't coach that poorly. And if Ohio 117 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,279 State doesn't get called for that offensive pass interference, which 118 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,560 you know, this is the thing I keep Let's just 119 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,240 briefly deal with that offensive pass interference penalty. Two things 120 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,879 one I don't think it should have been called. Three things. 121 00:07:38,439 --> 00:07:40,600 One I don't think it should have been called. Two. 122 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,480 The Penn State USC game, in terms of pass interference 123 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,920 was officiated completely differently from Oho State Oregon. In Ohio 124 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,240 State Oregon, every little thing was being called. In Penn 125 00:07:51,279 --> 00:07:55,639 State USC, practically nothing was being called wildly and consistent, 126 00:07:55,759 --> 00:07:59,000 and so you did not get any consistency from Big 127 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,120 Ten officials in those two featured Big Ten games on Saturday. 128 00:08:03,399 --> 00:08:05,480 And if you're a USC fan, and of course I'm 129 00:08:05,519 --> 00:08:09,120 at Trojan's wire, you just have to be going, you know, 130 00:08:09,319 --> 00:08:13,720 bonkers over how USC could not buy any kind of 131 00:08:13,839 --> 00:08:18,920 call with significant contact from Penn State defensive backs. And meanwhile, 132 00:08:18,959 --> 00:08:23,279 Oregon is getting every little touchbow against Ohio State. So 133 00:08:23,439 --> 00:08:27,079 Oregon gets the gets the call, USC doesn't. Part of 134 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,279 that part of a miserable day for USC. That's kind 135 00:08:30,279 --> 00:08:32,480 of a tangent, but it is worth noting that the 136 00:08:32,519 --> 00:08:37,200 officiating on pass interference in Ohio State Oregon was very tight. 137 00:08:37,759 --> 00:08:40,679 That was part of that late pass interference call on 138 00:08:40,759 --> 00:08:45,399 the Buckeyes, And again I don't think it was past interference. 139 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,519 But here's the third point. I've you know, if you 140 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:51,679 follow me on Twitter, you know that i've recently the 141 00:08:51,759 --> 00:08:55,440 last two years or so have finally gotten hooked on 142 00:08:55,519 --> 00:08:59,039 soccer now. The Premier League in particular, just just didn't 143 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,480 feel a soccer with something I'd ever really know that 144 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,960 much about. Why invest my time kind of an object 145 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:11,000 of curiosity. I decided to go deeper these past few years. 146 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,679 I've become hooked on the game, the drama. I won't 147 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,879 say I'm like a tactical you know, insider now, I'm 148 00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:20,679 not gonna say anything like that, but like I do 149 00:09:20,759 --> 00:09:23,840 have an appreciation, much more of an appreciation for what 150 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,440 goes into winning soccer now that I've you know, you know, 151 00:09:28,519 --> 00:09:31,039 spent plenty of time, you know, studying the Premier League 152 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,840 and the fixtures and table and all that. One of 153 00:09:34,879 --> 00:09:38,360 the big lessons I've learned from the Premier League is that, 154 00:09:38,519 --> 00:09:41,159 like when you have a one goal game or a 155 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:45,960 tie game eighty sixth eighty seventh, eighty eighth minute and 156 00:09:46,039 --> 00:09:48,679 a game gets decided, whether it goes from a tie 157 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,799 to a win and loss, or from you know, one 158 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,399 team having a sure win that becomes a draw. You 159 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,600 have these big swings at the top of the table 160 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,799 with Arsenal and Liverpool and Man City. One of the 161 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,159 central lessons I've learned is that you know when a 162 00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:12,480 questionable penalty gets called in like the eighty eighth minute. 163 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,840 The calls are often bad, but you can certainly see 164 00:10:16,879 --> 00:10:19,559 an element of the play in which you know the 165 00:10:19,639 --> 00:10:23,440 defender in the penalty box, he's sticking out his arms, 166 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,919 sticking out his leg. You have to let that go 167 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,279 in the eighty eighth minute, right, you know, like the 168 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,320 in the tenth minute or the thirtieth minute, it might 169 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,600 be a little different, But in the eighty eighth minute, 170 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,480 you're either trying to protect that lead or you're trying 171 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,519 to protect that draw. You want to make sure you 172 00:10:40,519 --> 00:10:44,120 don't lose that you at least get a point instead 173 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,679 of none. Like you just can't stick out that leg, right, 174 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,799 you can't stick out that arm. You can't give the 175 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,480 ref a reason to call a penalty. And again the 176 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,679 call might be bad. But if you just didn't stick 177 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,919 out your arm, if you didn't stick out your leg, 178 00:11:00,519 --> 00:11:03,039 the ref has no chance to call a penalty. But 179 00:11:03,039 --> 00:11:05,480 if you stick out that arm, you stick out your leg, 180 00:11:06,039 --> 00:11:09,080 stick out your hand, you at least give the referee 181 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,360 a chance to make a bad call. So the soccer 182 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,519 and the Premier League have really drilled down that idea 183 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,200 for me. They've really hammered home that particular point, and 184 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,000 that's what's going on with that Ohio State offensive pass 185 00:11:23,039 --> 00:11:25,960 and furnace. Again, I don't think it was a good call. 186 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,320 Thought it was TICKI ten, all right, But the Ohio 187 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,799 State receiver did not need to put his hands out, 188 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,759 and the Oregon defensive back sold the play, sold the 189 00:11:36,799 --> 00:11:40,440 action like it was a flop. Like I'm Ohio State fans, 190 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,039 if you're listening to this, I think it was a flop. 191 00:11:43,399 --> 00:11:47,360 But the hands were extended, so I'm not calling it 192 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,360 a foul. I'm just saying the hands being extended, like 193 00:11:51,639 --> 00:11:55,240 Ohio State was at the Oregon twenty eight, you're well 194 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,840 within field goal range, so you obviously do want to 195 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,000 get closer make the field goal more manageable. But if 196 00:12:02,039 --> 00:12:04,960 you're a receiver running a route, you can't have your 197 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,919 hands extended like that, not in that situation. You know, 198 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,679 if the ball was at midfield, okay, and you're not 199 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,840 in field goal range yet, then maybe you do need 200 00:12:15,879 --> 00:12:20,799 to push off discard to get separation, because you absolutely 201 00:12:20,879 --> 00:12:24,600 need to get the reception and get into field goal range. 202 00:12:24,639 --> 00:12:27,960 But if you already are in field goal range man. 203 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,840 You just cannot have your hands and arms out in 204 00:12:31,919 --> 00:12:35,200 front like that. And the Oregon dB to you know, 205 00:12:35,399 --> 00:12:39,360 sold the call, sold the flop. The official bought it again. 206 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:44,279 It wasn't past interference, but the Ohio State receiver created 207 00:12:44,279 --> 00:12:47,279 the visual impression that he was pushing off. I don't 208 00:12:47,279 --> 00:12:50,480 think he did, but he gave the impression. And so 209 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,000 when the organ defender flops, there comes the yellow laundry 210 00:12:54,519 --> 00:13:00,000 and the game completely changes. So like these are timeless lessons, 211 00:13:00,039 --> 00:13:02,879 these are lessons about what you need to do in 212 00:13:02,919 --> 00:13:06,480 a given moment, in a given situation. And Ohio State 213 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:08,960 just wasn't smart. And we saw Will Howard, you know, 214 00:13:09,519 --> 00:13:12,600 just starting way too late on his run. You know, 215 00:13:12,639 --> 00:13:14,799 if he was going to run the ball, he needed 216 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,879 to give himself up earlier than he did. You know, 217 00:13:17,919 --> 00:13:19,919 he wouldn't have gotten an extra two to three yards, 218 00:13:19,919 --> 00:13:22,879 but he would have gotten some yards, you know. He 219 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,320 Will Howard wanted a forty five yard field goal or 220 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,480 forty six yard field goal, so he slid at the 221 00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:31,000 twenty nine. You know, you just got to slide at 222 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,480 the thirty one, pal and be willing to live with 223 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,039 a few more yards. You know, forty eight yards forty 224 00:13:37,159 --> 00:13:40,519 nine yards on the field goal attempt instead of forty six. 225 00:13:40,919 --> 00:13:46,559 Ohio State just was not situationally aware and that goes 226 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:52,840 into the end of that ballgame and that pass interference penalty. 227 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,200 One final thing, and you know, I know we're focusing 228 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,639 on the West, so like we should be focusing more 229 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:01,679 on Or but you know, we're talking about this game 230 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,519 and what went down and whyatt went down, and of 231 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,600 course Oregon's down the Big Ten. If Oregon and Ohio 232 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,679 State do have a rematch in the Big Ten championship game, 233 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,559 and you know, Ohio State versus Penn State, that might 234 00:14:13,639 --> 00:14:17,000 be the game which determines which team does play Oregon 235 00:14:17,879 --> 00:14:21,320 in that rematch. But you know, the Buckeys or the 236 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,519 Nitney Lions, it looks like Oregon versus Penn State or 237 00:14:24,559 --> 00:14:29,120 Ohio State. You know, Iowa's in the mix still after 238 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:33,480 beating Washington. But if it is Oregon and Ohio State 239 00:14:33,519 --> 00:14:35,919 in a rematch, if Ohio State does beat Penn State 240 00:14:36,639 --> 00:14:39,559 and you do have a rematch with Oregon, the game 241 00:14:39,639 --> 00:14:41,639 is going to be decided by the Oregon offensive line 242 00:14:41,639 --> 00:14:46,080 against the Ohio State defensive line. And as upset as 243 00:14:46,279 --> 00:14:50,360 Ohio State fans are at Ryan Day. They're also upset 244 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,159 at Jim Knowles, the Ohio State defensive coordinator whose unit 245 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,399 you know did not really rise up. But even more 246 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,639 than Jim Knowles, the other Ohio State assistant coach who's 247 00:15:00,639 --> 00:15:03,720 really in the crosshairs right now for Buckeye fans is 248 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:08,480 Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson is the defensive line coach and 249 00:15:08,519 --> 00:15:13,720 the anger from Ohio State fans at Larry Johnson. That 250 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:18,840 is also a testament to how well Oregon's offensive line played, 251 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,159 and it's a testament to how that Oregon offensive line 252 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:26,960 so mediocre against Idaho and Boise State. That group has 253 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,440 come a long way in the next several weeks since 254 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,240 the start of the season. So, you know Oregon and 255 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,759 Dan Lanning, you know, when they have a bad game, 256 00:15:38,279 --> 00:15:40,759 and like it's not as though like they've been dominating 257 00:15:41,679 --> 00:15:45,200 throughout the whole season, like they started very slowly, But 258 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,159 when they have a bad game, they get things fixed, 259 00:15:49,039 --> 00:15:52,399 they do make adjustments, they get their house in order. 260 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,039 That's why Dan Lanning's doing such a good job that 261 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,960 when something bad happens, a problem gets fixed. That's a 262 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,879 big reason why. And Dylan Gabriel, you know, Dylan Gabriel 263 00:16:02,919 --> 00:16:05,039 did not play great football the first several weeks of 264 00:16:05,039 --> 00:16:08,440 the season. He played great against Ohio State. He was 265 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:13,360 definitely at a higher level. Oregon fixes problems, and that 266 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,960 really is the story of the Ducks win overall House 267 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,759 State by so many talking points from that game. And 268 00:16:20,799 --> 00:16:22,879 again you're gonna get more on that twelve men on 269 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:26,000 the field penalty and a separate standalone edition of Get 270 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:31,480 Off My Pylon over at Patreon. Now, this notion of 271 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,679 Oregon fixing problems, it's really the perfect segue into that 272 00:16:35,799 --> 00:16:38,360 other big Big ten game with a West Coast flavor, 273 00:16:38,759 --> 00:16:42,039 Penn Stay at USC in the coliseum, Penn State wins 274 00:16:42,039 --> 00:16:46,840 thirty three thirty in overtime. And so USC, unlike Orgon, 275 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,000 is not fixing problems. You know, USC has labored under 276 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,960 some very specific burdens and shortcomings this season under Lincoln Riley. 277 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,360 And when when something bad happens that USC, the problem 278 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,759 does not get fixed. It might get slightly improved, but 279 00:17:05,799 --> 00:17:08,640 the problem does not get fixed. The problem does not 280 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:13,640 get nipped in the bud it lingers. And so with USC, 281 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:16,440 you know, it seemed at the start that some problems 282 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,200 were getting fixed against Penn State because USC had been 283 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:23,119 a terrible first half team this season. Finally we saw 284 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,039 USC play a good first half in USC. Bad first 285 00:17:27,039 --> 00:17:31,000 half against Michigan, bad first half against Wisconsin, bad first 286 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,880 half against Minnesota, and you would see USC play really 287 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,160 well in the third quarter. Then you know, didn't play 288 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,079 great in the fourth quarter against Michigan or Minnesota, and 289 00:17:42,079 --> 00:17:44,480 that's why the Trojans lost those games. But USC was 290 00:17:44,519 --> 00:17:47,799 an excellent third quarter team in all three of those 291 00:17:47,799 --> 00:17:51,640 games Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. So USC would play a bad 292 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,000 first half, would make good halftime adjustments, would come out 293 00:17:55,079 --> 00:17:57,920 roaring in the third quarter, and play a really strong 294 00:17:58,039 --> 00:18:01,799 fifteen to twenty minutes like USC from halftime to the 295 00:18:01,839 --> 00:18:05,920 ten minute mark of the fourth quarter, lights out against 296 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:10,279 all three teams over the previous few weeks Michigan on 297 00:18:10,319 --> 00:18:15,039 September twenty one, Wisconsin September twenty eight, Minnesota October five. 298 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,640 USC owned the first twenty minutes of the second half 299 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,799 in all three of those games, so USC was making 300 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:27,720 the halftime adjustments. So in this Penn State game, US 301 00:18:27,759 --> 00:18:32,119 he finally plays that elusive quality first half it had 302 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,160 been searching for. Up twenty to six. Drew hour of 303 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,880 Penn State looked terrible. Penn State's defense looked soft. USC 304 00:18:40,039 --> 00:18:42,799 was able to begin to run the ball against Penn State. 305 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:46,359 So USC had everything going its way. And so you think, Okay, 306 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,640 this has been a good second half team, it's been 307 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,599 a great third quarter team. Finally USC's putting it all together, 308 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,599 Finally us he's going to play that complete game that 309 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,599 the Trojans have been struggling to play. Nope, you know, 310 00:19:00,839 --> 00:19:04,440 just when USC finally plays the good first half, the 311 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,240 team gets blown out in the in the third quarter, 312 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,839 gets outplayed in the second half. So what does that 313 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,400 tell you? What does that tell you about USC? That 314 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,279 whatever the program does, whatever the team does on the field, 315 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,160 the bad cancels out the good. You know that USC 316 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,720 basically is able to play well in spots, but it 317 00:19:24,759 --> 00:19:28,400 can't play that complete game, can't play with any consistency. 318 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:33,079 If good habits emerge for a twenty or twenty five 319 00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:36,920 minute block of time, they're not carried through to the end. 320 00:19:37,839 --> 00:19:40,519 Either Either we have to see the Trojans play a 321 00:19:40,559 --> 00:19:43,160 bad first half or they finally get it right in 322 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,279 the second half, or if they start well as they 323 00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:48,519 did against Penn State, it doesn't carry through. It doesn't 324 00:19:48,559 --> 00:19:52,279 continue for the whole game. And so you know, you 325 00:19:52,319 --> 00:19:54,559 could say that USC is just a few plays away 326 00:19:54,599 --> 00:19:57,240 from being six and zero. But how many other teams 327 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,359 can can say that? How many other teams are we're 328 00:20:00,559 --> 00:20:04,079 muttering to themselves right now, Well we could be undefeated 329 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,519 except for this play in that game or that play 330 00:20:07,559 --> 00:20:11,359 in the other game. No, no, no, no. Winners do not 331 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,960 talk that way. Winners do not say, well, if we 332 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,000 just made a couple of plays, we'd be great. That's 333 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:22,079 the whole point. Winning teams make the final plays. Winning 334 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,599 teams finish the job. Winning teams leave no doubt. And 335 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,359 one of the talking points I've had for USC all 336 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:33,440 season long, if you lead by ten or fourteen points 337 00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:36,599 late in the game, one or two bad calls won't 338 00:20:36,599 --> 00:20:40,759 sink your ship. You know, if you lead by two possessions, 339 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,240 that really bad call. And I mentioned this earlier, like 340 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,000 USC got some terrible calls from the Big Ten officiating 341 00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:50,960 crew on pass interference, like mackay Lemon of USC wide 342 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,480 receiver clearly got interfered with late in that Penn State game. 343 00:20:54,839 --> 00:20:57,880 No call, again, it was a bad call. No one's 344 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,839 disputing that. But I'm not here for the excuses. I'm 345 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,880 not here for well, we got screwed by the refs. 346 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,680 You know, if the refs had made better calls, would 347 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,839 have won. Hey, USC had a fourteen point lead, if 348 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,400 USC had maintained that lead, if it had played well 349 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,680 in the third quarter, that had maintained consistency over the 350 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,880 course of a full game you had, those calls late 351 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,359 in the game wouldn't have mattered. And so us He 352 00:21:23,559 --> 00:21:26,480 is always playing within the margin of air where one 353 00:21:26,559 --> 00:21:31,319 bag call swings the needle in the wrong direction, and 354 00:21:31,559 --> 00:21:35,200 USC should be good enough it that one call doesn't 355 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,960 determine the outcome of its games. And you just can't 356 00:21:38,039 --> 00:21:42,839 keep playing games close to the vest one score, one 357 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,920 possession at the very end of the fourth quarter, and 358 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:51,039 USC is playing to the competition every week two. USC 359 00:21:51,279 --> 00:21:54,920 was definitely better this week against Penn State compared to 360 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,160 how it was against Minnesota. The loss to Penn State 361 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,839 is obviously a stinger in the fact that USC blew 362 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,400 a fourteen point lead is obviously cuts deep. But in 363 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,160 many ways this game, you know, USC playing a solid, 364 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,000 a flawed, but generally solid game against Penn State. This 365 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,440 game shows how poorly us He played against Minnesota and Michigan. 366 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,319 You know, Michigan lost at Washington. Michigan's not very good. 367 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,960 Michigan can't throw the football. USC really had no business 368 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,400 losing that Michigan game, and it had no business losing 369 00:22:25,839 --> 00:22:28,279 to a Minnesota team, which you know, if we look 370 00:22:28,319 --> 00:22:31,240 at the past weekend of results outside of the you know, 371 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,799 the feature games, Minnesota barely beat Ucla. Minnesota needed a 372 00:22:35,839 --> 00:22:39,359 touchdown with twenty seven seconds left to beat Ucla, So 373 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:44,160 basically Minnesota beat USC and Ucla in the last minute. 374 00:22:44,519 --> 00:22:47,559 So Minnesota beat USC and Ucla pretty much in the 375 00:22:47,599 --> 00:22:51,160 same way with the same degree of difficulty like for 376 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:55,039 USC to lose to that Minnesota team. A Minnesota team 377 00:22:55,039 --> 00:23:00,960 which almost lost to Ucla and Ucla is very probably 378 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,279 the worst team in the Big Ten. I mean, Northwestern 379 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,160 is in the discussion, Purdue is in the discussion, but 380 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,240 Purdue actually put up a fight against Illinois. Purdue scored 381 00:23:09,279 --> 00:23:14,720 forty nine points at Illinois, so Purdue might actually be 382 00:23:14,759 --> 00:23:19,799 getting a little bit better. Minnesota barely beat Ucla, and 383 00:23:19,839 --> 00:23:22,759 yet USC lost to that Minnesota team. So this Penn 384 00:23:22,759 --> 00:23:28,079 State game magnifies how awful it is and was that 385 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:33,920 USC lost to Minnesota just absolutely no business losing that game. 386 00:23:34,519 --> 00:23:36,559 And so for the Tropans to be three and three 387 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,759 with losses coming to Michigan and Minnesota like that is 388 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,839 drastic underperformance. And I know that USC doesn't have an 389 00:23:44,839 --> 00:23:48,680 elite roster, and I know USC doesn't have an elite team. 390 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,920 That's why USC lost to Penn State. But you can't 391 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,799 really say the same thing against Michigan and Minnesota. Those 392 00:23:54,799 --> 00:23:59,200 are two dramatically flawed teams, and USC couldn't be either 393 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,920 of those guys like US, he should not going to 394 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,240 say US he should be six and zero, but US 395 00:24:04,279 --> 00:24:06,920 he should be five and one, And for the Tropans 396 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,759 to be three and three, like, you can whine about 397 00:24:09,799 --> 00:24:13,039 bad calls in close games all you want, but this 398 00:24:13,599 --> 00:24:20,240 team has definitely underachieved, and that, like that point I 399 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,680 don't think can really be debated. You know, this is 400 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,000 a competitive sport. If you're continuously losing close games late, 401 00:24:28,799 --> 00:24:31,559 it's not just like, oh, the ball bounced the wrong way. No, 402 00:24:31,759 --> 00:24:35,200 there were tangible things you could have done, and specifically 403 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,519 with its USC team. To drill down a little deeper, 404 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,400 if you look at all three of the Trojans' losses 405 00:24:41,799 --> 00:24:44,920 so far this season, you can point to an offensive 406 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,119 possession that went wrong precisely when the Trojans had a 407 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,000 chance to win against Minnesota. It was that drive early 408 00:24:52,039 --> 00:24:55,920 in the fourth quarter, second and five at the Minnesota 409 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,519 thirty six. Just getting a field goal would have given 410 00:24:59,599 --> 00:25:02,759 USC a ten point lead. USC led seventeen to ten. 411 00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:06,319 The offensive line gets blown up on two straight plays, 412 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,880 the second of which produces an interception. Minnesota drives down 413 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,880 the field, USC's defensive line picks up an injury to 414 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,359 Anthony Lucas Minnesota scores ties. The game then goes ahead. 415 00:25:17,759 --> 00:25:20,920 You know, the offensive line failed precisely when USC was 416 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,640 on the verge of winning that Minnesota game. The USC 417 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,279 offensive line failed got blown up by Michigan's front four 418 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,920 when USC led Michigan twenty four to twenty, had the 419 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,839 ball with five minutes left. If the offensive line steps 420 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,079 up on that drive and USC gets two first downs, ballgame, 421 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,079 but the offensive line faltered. And then against Penn State 422 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,119 at the end of regulation, and then in overtime, offensive 423 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:51,920 line gave up pressure on Miller Moss the pass rush 424 00:25:52,079 --> 00:25:54,680 was able to, you know, make life more difficult for 425 00:25:54,799 --> 00:25:59,799 USC's quarterback, and the Trojans don't get points on either 426 00:25:59,799 --> 00:26:02,680 of those drives, and they lose a ballgame to Penn State. 427 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,880 USC's offensive line had its moments against Penn State. You know, 428 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,640 play well for about twenty five thirty minutes, but that's 429 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,920 the point. USC is a thirty minute team, the offensive 430 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:17,279 line included, and in the biggest moments, USC shrinks instead 431 00:26:17,279 --> 00:26:20,200 of rises, and that's why the Trojans are where they 432 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:24,000 are at three and three. Okay, sough about USC, and 433 00:26:24,039 --> 00:26:27,240 we've also done Ohio State. Oregon also ducked in a 434 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:32,599 word about Ucile Minnesota. Other games of note, so Washington 435 00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:35,400 part of our focus on western college football in the 436 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,720 United States. Washington goes to Iowa, and so once again 437 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,440 we have a team that's traveling multiple time zones and 438 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,480 gets throttled and the Huskies just can't put it together 439 00:26:46,079 --> 00:26:49,960 on offense. And we saw once again they drove seventy 440 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,200 three yards early in the game did not get points. 441 00:26:53,279 --> 00:26:56,240 And that has just been happening so often to the 442 00:26:56,279 --> 00:27:00,279 Huskies this season. It's really kind of crazy how much 443 00:27:00,279 --> 00:27:02,920 of a broken record it is for Jed Fish. He 444 00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:05,759 watches his offense move the ball down the field, but 445 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,319 they can't finish a drive in the red zone, the 446 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,200 field goal unit fails. Washington has one of the worst 447 00:27:11,279 --> 00:27:15,640 kicking units plays kicking units in college football. So just 448 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:19,640 the Husky just keep blowing scoring opportunities early in games, 449 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:24,160 and like the house is going to fall down when 450 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,480 that stuff keeps happening early in games. That's just not sustainable. 451 00:27:27,519 --> 00:27:31,319 And we saw the Huskies lose steam after that. I 452 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,039 wul taking over. The Hawk guy's hammering the Huskies in 453 00:27:35,079 --> 00:27:38,640 the second half. Like Washington just has to, you know, 454 00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:41,519 solve these problems. We talked about, you know, USC not 455 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:46,279 fixing problems. Whereas Oregon does fix problems, Washington is very 456 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,640 much along there with USC. It's a team and a 457 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,920 coaching staff that's not fixing problems, the same problems that 458 00:27:54,079 --> 00:27:57,640 keep propping up week after week. That's why Washington is 459 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:03,720 mired and mediocrity, losing to Iowa as it labors into 460 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:09,440 the middle third of its Big Ten season. Okay, other 461 00:28:09,519 --> 00:28:13,960 Western college football teams, we have to look at the 462 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,440 Big twelve game presented to you by the Pac twelve 463 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,839 Utah and Arizona State last Friday, and so you know, 464 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,880 cam Rising, it's sad, but it's just what else is 465 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,599 there to say at this point, cam Rising just can't 466 00:28:28,599 --> 00:28:32,599 stay healthy, and Utah being the Big twelve favorite depended 467 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:36,880 on cam Rising being healthy, being himself, you just don't 468 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,079 have that same team with the Utes. But you know, 469 00:28:40,119 --> 00:28:44,079 as much as Cam Rising is, cam Rising's lack of 470 00:28:44,119 --> 00:28:47,160 health is responsible for Utah not being very good right now. 471 00:28:47,759 --> 00:28:50,920 The Utah defense, you know, was able to pick up 472 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,240 the slack, you know, win at Oklahoma State a few 473 00:28:53,279 --> 00:28:56,160 weeks ago. That Utah defense was not able to pick 474 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,240 up the slack against Arizona State, the Sun Devils were 475 00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:02,759 able to run ball really well. Uh you know, so 476 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:07,200 Kenny Dillingham, the work that he's done with that team, 477 00:29:07,359 --> 00:29:10,480 especially on the offensive line, and like, the offensive line 478 00:29:10,599 --> 00:29:12,960 is the nerve center for a football team. Like we 479 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,359 have to just put that out there. I mean you 480 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,160 probably already sense that, but you know, the offensive line, 481 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,160 whether it's for better or worse, it's really the heartbeat 482 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:26,039 of these teams that we analyze. Arizona State's offensive line, 483 00:29:26,039 --> 00:29:29,279 which was crushed by injuries a year ago, so much 484 00:29:29,279 --> 00:29:32,359 better this year under Dillingham. Uh. The Sun Devils do 485 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,680 not have a dynamic passing attack, but they're able to 486 00:29:34,759 --> 00:29:38,119 run the game. They're able to get big home run 487 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,240 rushing plays, and so that's why ASU is, you know, 488 00:29:42,359 --> 00:29:46,599 just about to clinch ball eligibility. A tremendous success for ASU. 489 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,000 And let's see if the Sun Devils can make a 490 00:29:49,079 --> 00:29:51,839 run at the Big twelve championship game. They're definitely in 491 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:55,519 the mix right now with Ohio State or Ohio State, 492 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,680 Iowa State being out in front in that Big twelve 493 00:29:58,759 --> 00:30:02,519 race BYU as well well, but Arizona State is in 494 00:30:02,519 --> 00:30:06,160 the hunt. An amazing job by Kenny Dillingham in the 495 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,960 desert this season with Utah. Now you know, Utah's big 496 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,400 goals are basically dashed and it's just unfortunate that Cam 497 00:30:14,519 --> 00:30:22,440 Rising could not stay healthy. Colorado. Colorado had a brief 498 00:30:22,559 --> 00:30:27,880 lead over Kansas State, and you know Kansas State earlier 499 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:31,920 in the year at BYU controlled most of the first half, 500 00:30:32,319 --> 00:30:35,000 then committed a bunch of mistakes, fell behind, and the 501 00:30:35,079 --> 00:30:40,720 game unraveled for the Wildcats. We were seeing something similar 502 00:30:40,759 --> 00:30:44,640 against Colorado. The difference being that whereas Kansas State faltered 503 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:49,000 in the first half against BYU, Kansas State faltered in 504 00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:53,119 the second half against Colorado. And so late in the 505 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,960 game Colorado is up by four. Kansas State was staying 506 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,880 at another really bad loss, but the Wildcats were able 507 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:04,680 to rescue themselves this time, and so Colorado came close 508 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,119 to stealing another win. You know, Colorado stole one win 509 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,119 against Baylor hail Mary touchdown at the end of the 510 00:31:10,119 --> 00:31:13,279 game to force overtime and then beat the Bears in 511 00:31:13,319 --> 00:31:16,160 the extra period. Well, not this time. Colorado was not 512 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,519 able to steal another win. I give Colorado and Dion 513 00:31:19,559 --> 00:31:22,119 Sanders' credit, like they've been better and more competitive than 514 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:28,079 I thought they would be. But the weakness in Colorado's 515 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:31,519 line play on both sides of the ball catching up 516 00:31:31,559 --> 00:31:33,359 with the Buffs, and you have to think that that's 517 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,680 going to continue to happen. The main thing for Colorado 518 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:40,759 get to a bowl game, get those bowl practices, give 519 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:46,240 coach Prime a chance to develop the roster, teach technique, 520 00:31:46,799 --> 00:31:53,000 grow some better habits for the off season. That's obviously 521 00:31:53,039 --> 00:31:55,319 going to be important. But of course, you know in 522 00:31:55,359 --> 00:31:58,759 twenty twenty five, Calao's not going to have Shader Sanders 523 00:31:59,519 --> 00:32:02,440 at quarter. He's going to head off to the NFL, 524 00:32:02,519 --> 00:32:05,559 one would think, So that's going to probably place a 525 00:32:05,599 --> 00:32:09,000 limitation on what Colorad can do next year. So it's 526 00:32:09,039 --> 00:32:11,440 important for Colorado to be able to shrug off this 527 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:15,160 Kansas State loss, look at the good things SeeU as 528 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,960 doing and make sure you clinch Bowl eligibility in the 529 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,440 coming weeks. So it's a missed opportunity for Colorau, but 530 00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:26,880 also in many ways reality check, like you can't keep 531 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,440 expecting to steal games late with rallies. Kylora is gonna 532 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,400 need to get on top of these games a little 533 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,319 bit more often, kind of like how it did against UCF. 534 00:32:36,279 --> 00:32:39,640 But that's been the exception more than the rule, and 535 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,960 so Colorad still has some work to do to clinch 536 00:32:43,119 --> 00:32:48,200 Bowl eligibility and make the improvements that Deon Sanders is 537 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:54,480 hoping for in Boulder. Elsewhere in western college football in 538 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:58,960 the United States of Boise State, Ashton gent and the Broncos, 539 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,640 they went at why but it was a struggle. You know, 540 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:06,359 the Hawaii treated that game as its super Bowl. You know, 541 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:08,839 that was the game where Hawaii went all in. You 542 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:14,000 saw a great effort from Hawaii on defense. Boise State 543 00:33:14,079 --> 00:33:18,160 was stuck at thirteen points deep into the second half. 544 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,880 Boise State is finally able to put together a late 545 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,519 touchdown drive to turn a thirteen to seven game into 546 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:27,960 a twenty one to seven game. But man, it took 547 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:33,920 a long time for Boise State to get going. It'll 548 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:35,880 be interesting to see, you know, is that a sign 549 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,680 of any kind of erosion mid season weakness for the 550 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,799 Broncos as they pursued the Group of Five championship in 551 00:33:43,839 --> 00:33:47,359 a spot in the college Football playoff. Obviously, Boise State 552 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,240 and UNLV are going to play each other. That's gonna 553 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,200 be a point of focus in the Group of five race. 554 00:33:53,279 --> 00:33:55,240 Of course, you also have Army and Navy in the 555 00:33:55,319 --> 00:33:58,599 hunt for the Group of five. That's a fascinating talking point. 556 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,160 But in terms of you know, the Western in the 557 00:34:00,279 --> 00:34:04,920 United States, Boise State and UNLV are the two central 558 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:08,760 points of focus. And so UNLV and Barry coach Barry Odom, 559 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:11,800 they're gonna look at that Boise State Hawaii film and 560 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,000 look at things that Hawaii did to slow down the 561 00:34:15,039 --> 00:34:18,920 Boise State offense. It's gonna be an interesting plot point 562 00:34:19,079 --> 00:34:25,119 when UNLV and Boise State eventually do meet. Elsewhere in 563 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:27,000 Western college football. We also have to touch on the 564 00:34:27,039 --> 00:34:30,519 Arizona Wildcats. They get crushed by BYU, BYU having a 565 00:34:30,559 --> 00:34:35,280 great season, unbeaten in the Big Twelve and Arizona has 566 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,880 been ordinary. Arizona has been mediocre. The offense scores just 567 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,559 nineteen points. You know, Noah Fafita, Teturoy McMillan coming back, 568 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:48,039 as you know, presumably one of the elite pitch catch 569 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,679 combinations in the United States. But like they they don't 570 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,639 have a lot else around them, and defenses have been 571 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:57,679 able to take away the deep shot. They've been able 572 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:04,039 to take away a significant measure of Arizona's offensive potency. 573 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,559 And so what we've said earlier on this podcast over 574 00:35:07,559 --> 00:35:10,800 the course of the season is just worth saying again. 575 00:35:11,079 --> 00:35:13,360 And it might seem like a broken record, but like 576 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,239 it's just the obvious truf that's out there just can't 577 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,519 be ignored. While Jedfish did not bring Fafita and McMillan 578 00:35:20,559 --> 00:35:24,199 to Washington, which is what he ultimately wanted to do, 579 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,000 it's what he ultimately hoped to do, he still did 580 00:35:27,039 --> 00:35:32,199 bring a lot of players from Tucson to Seattle, and 581 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:36,280 those players, those role players, part of that supporting cast. 582 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:40,320 It turns out that Arizona is missing those players more 583 00:35:40,519 --> 00:35:44,280 than the Wildcats hoped would be the case. Even though 584 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:48,400 the Wildcats kept their star quarterback and their star receiver. Yeah, 585 00:35:48,559 --> 00:35:51,719 the supporting cast really mattered, and the erosion of the 586 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:57,199 roster has still been significant enough to drag down the Wildcats. 587 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,760 The replacements that Brent Brennan I had to bring in 588 00:36:01,519 --> 00:36:05,519 haven't been up to the same standard. That's why Arizona 589 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,320 is where it is at this point in the college 590 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:13,880 football season. So obviously you can tell a lot going 591 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:16,199 on in Western college football in the United States. Are 592 00:36:16,199 --> 00:36:21,719 really compelling games, some really interesting plot points. That pretty 593 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,119 much rounds out our show for this week. But before 594 00:36:24,159 --> 00:36:28,280 we go, as always college football fans, the season is 595 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,519 now at it's midpoint. Lots of big games ahead, whether 596 00:36:32,559 --> 00:36:38,360 it's you know, Arizona State in Colorado in the Big Twelve, 597 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,400 you know, chasing their season goals, or whether it's Oregon 598 00:36:42,559 --> 00:36:45,000 closing in on a college football playoff and playing some 599 00:36:45,039 --> 00:36:47,320 of the bigger games that are coming down the pike 600 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:51,079 later in the year, like Oregon's at Wisconsin. That should 601 00:36:51,079 --> 00:36:54,079 be a really interesting game. Let's see how cold the 602 00:36:54,119 --> 00:36:58,719 weather is in Madison for that game. Oregon Michigan as well. 603 00:36:59,639 --> 00:37:02,639 So any interesting games still left in the season, which 604 00:37:02,679 --> 00:37:05,840 is basically at its midpoint, we want to make sure 605 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,199 that you take advantage of how to get into a 606 00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:13,280 big college football game at an affordable price with an easy, 607 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:17,280 painless purchasing process. And you do that by going to 608 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:20,880 ticket smarter and their mobile app. So buying college football 609 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,320 tickets online requires trust. Ticket Smarter as partnered with more 610 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,760 than one hundred universities and twenty four conferences as an 611 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:32,000 official ticket resale marketplace. 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So check out the selections and 625 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:22,039 pricing now with tickets Smarter and remember our code Gridiron 626 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,960 two to two, think smarter at ticket Smarter, go to 627 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:30,159 ticket smarter dot com or the ticket Smarter mobile app. 628 00:38:30,559 --> 00:38:33,400 So that's all for this week's College Gridiron Coast Coast 629 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,840 episode of Get Off My Pylon coming Western college football 630 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,800 in the United States. This is Matt Zenk. Thanks for listening. 631 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,679 We will see you next week.