1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: Check it out college football on the West Coast. This 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:08,000 is Get Off My Pylon, a look at the PAC 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,839 twelve and more, part of the College Gridiron Coast to 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:17,199 Coast podcast network. Here's your host, Matt zemon Okavin. 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,199 Speaker 2: Latest edition of Get Off My Pile on college Football podcast. 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:23,120 This is your host, Matt Zemmit. Get Off My Pylon's 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,120 part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network. 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:31,000 Find us on Gridiron Coast, on Twitter, and wherever you 9 00:00:31,039 --> 00:00:35,359 listen to your podcasts. It's available, but primarily Apple, Speaker 10 00:00:35,679 --> 00:00:38,399 and Spotify. Those are the main places where you can 11 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,520 find all your favorite college Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast shows, 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,960 whether it's Yards and Stripes on the Service, Academies, Pigskin 13 00:00:46,039 --> 00:00:49,920 and Burnt Ends, Noah Drury with Big Ten Paradigm, no 14 00:00:50,039 --> 00:00:52,960 he is going to be talking a lot about Penn 15 00:00:53,039 --> 00:00:55,759 State Indiana. I'm gonna be talking a lot about Oregon 16 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,880 and Iowa since Oregon the West Coast team is part 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,880 of the mix. But Noah with Big Ten Paradigm will 18 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,560 have a lot more on the Big Ten showdowns. The 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,280 throwers that were part of the past weekend in college football. 20 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,239 You have Jason Powers and the Florida Football Insiders podcasts. 21 00:01:12,239 --> 00:01:14,719 You know, the drum beat to get Mike Norvel out 22 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:16,920 of Florida State. It's going to be louder after that 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,200 lost to Clemson. So follow Jason Powers for that. Also 24 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:26,359 South Florida staying in the mix in the American for 25 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,760 the Group of five, a lot for Jason to talk to. 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,319 This has been a really interesting year in the state 27 00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:35,239 of Florida. So Florida Football Insider is a great podcast 28 00:01:35,599 --> 00:01:38,439 to check out. And then there's the All Sports Discussion 29 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,280 podcast on the ACC and the carnage and that acc 30 00:01:42,519 --> 00:01:45,319 wheel of destiny type flavor that we're so used to, 31 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,879 very much in evidence right now after Virginia and Louisville 32 00:01:49,599 --> 00:01:53,480 losing at home his favorite. So the All Sports Discussion Podcast, 33 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,680 we'll have plenty on that, Florida State, Clemson and the 34 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,519 other goings on in the So so many different shows 35 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,680 to give you a taste of what's going on in 36 00:02:06,719 --> 00:02:09,080 the different corners of the country, the different parts of 37 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,680 the larger national college football experience. There's a show for 38 00:02:12,759 --> 00:02:17,120 every vantage point and for every fan at the college 39 00:02:17,199 --> 00:02:19,919 grad down Coast to Coast podcast network. Of course, get 40 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,319 off my pilone we focus on college football in the 41 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,360 West and how it's gone this season. You know, we 42 00:02:26,479 --> 00:02:31,879 usually try and get the smaller, less noteworthy conferences out 43 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,800 of the way early, and then we basically wind up 44 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:36,879 talking about Big twelve and Big ten in the Western 45 00:02:36,879 --> 00:02:40,199 teams in those conferences. It's no different this week. Oregon 46 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,680 State in the two PAC loses to sam Houston State. 47 00:02:44,719 --> 00:02:46,639 Sam Houston State gets this first win of the year. 48 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,280 If you stayed up to watch that game on the CW, 49 00:02:50,719 --> 00:02:55,400 just an absolutely atrocious football game. The team's trading interceptions 50 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,560 in the final two minutes. You know, Sam Houston showed 51 00:02:57,599 --> 00:03:01,599 why it's an er to eighteen, throwing interception with under 52 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,960 two minutes left, Oregon State gets the ball at the 53 00:03:05,039 --> 00:03:09,919 twenty eight. Oregon State threw an interception just moments earlier, 54 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,319 but the Beavers take over at the twenty eight and 55 00:03:12,319 --> 00:03:15,120 you think, well, nope, Sam Houston is still not gonna win. 56 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:18,479 Oregon State can't miss this one up right, No, Oregon 57 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,199 State fails to even get a first down, gets five 58 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:26,159 yards and four plays. That's it. Oregon State also dropped 59 00:03:26,199 --> 00:03:29,719 a wide open fourth down pass at the Sam Houston 60 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,080 ten that would have been a touchdown. If that pass 61 00:03:33,159 --> 00:03:37,240 is caught. Oregon State out gained sam Houston State by 62 00:03:37,439 --> 00:03:42,879 over three hundred yards, still managed to lose, and sam 63 00:03:42,919 --> 00:03:47,879 Houston State got two special teams touchdowns for its twenty 64 00:03:47,919 --> 00:03:51,240 one points in a twenty one to seventeen win. So 65 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,479 just Oregon State worked really, really hard to lose that game. 66 00:03:57,039 --> 00:04:01,039 Just another embarrassment for the Beavers. And you know, let's 67 00:04:01,159 --> 00:04:05,360 just consider one thing. Oregon State beat Washington State at home. 68 00:04:05,439 --> 00:04:08,439 I mean, Washington State fans have to be going nuts. 69 00:04:08,879 --> 00:04:12,879 We couldn't beat this horrible two to eight Oregon State team, 70 00:04:12,919 --> 00:04:15,199 a team that lost to sam Houston at home. We 71 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,759 couldn't beat these guys, you know. So Oregon State, you know, 72 00:04:18,879 --> 00:04:22,399 its defense is actually playing really well, but the offense 73 00:04:22,439 --> 00:04:27,879 and special teams both absolute disasters. So a forgettable year 74 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,920 for the two pack Washington State and Oregon State. You know, 75 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,439 Washington State made those improvements but then lost to Oregon State, 76 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,680 and then Oregon State does this against sam Houston State. 77 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,160 So not a happy time in the Pacific Northwest for 78 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,800 those two schools the Mountain West. I've said it all season, 79 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,519 it still applies. The less set about this conference, the 80 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,839 better San Diego State was the one team that had 81 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,800 a real chance going into the weekend for the Group 82 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,720 of five championship. That's over done. The Aztec's not only lose, 83 00:05:01,759 --> 00:05:05,279 they get boat raced on the island, just getting absolutely 84 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,279 dismantled by Hawaii. So that's it for the Mountain West. 85 00:05:09,879 --> 00:05:13,519 No shot the Group of five champion and College Football 86 00:05:13,519 --> 00:05:17,639 Playoff representative is going to come from the American and 87 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,639 that several teams scramble at the top. The Mountain West. 88 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,839 Just an abysmal year. And now you of course have 89 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:29,639 realignment into a very new look Mountain West and a 90 00:05:29,759 --> 00:05:34,480 new look PAC twelve for twenty twenty six. It can't 91 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,639 really get much worse than it's been this year. And 92 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,199 that is a noteworthy story that realignment really has not 93 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,399 worked out for a lot of these schools that got 94 00:05:44,439 --> 00:05:49,920 broken up in the dissolution of the old PAC twelve 95 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,199 as we knew, it really has not worked on a 96 00:05:53,199 --> 00:05:56,680 pervasive level. That's a really interesting story to get into. 97 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:00,439 You have to wonder if there's buyer's remorse from a 98 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,759 lot of these schools. That's really a bigger issue than 99 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,920 what we have time for. But it's just worth noting 100 00:06:05,399 --> 00:06:08,879 that realignment in the West has not worked out on 101 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,240 a general level across the board, with maybe one or 102 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:17,439 two exceptions. Speaking of that realignment, now, CAL does go 103 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,160 to Louisville and upsets the Cardinals. Cal with an eighteen 104 00:06:20,199 --> 00:06:23,759 and a half point underdog, but the Bears defense dug 105 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,519 in like that game was really really close. Throughout the 106 00:06:26,519 --> 00:06:30,519 second half, Louisville continued to get good field position and 107 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:35,160 that CAL defense stood tall, getting pressure on the quarterback. 108 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,040 And Louisville's quarterback, Miller Moss he used to play at USC, 109 00:06:39,639 --> 00:06:42,839 so like he's seeing Cal play and yet he really 110 00:06:42,959 --> 00:06:45,399 wasn't up to it. Took some really bad sacks that 111 00:06:47,519 --> 00:06:51,480 hurt Louisville late in that game. And then Louisville gets 112 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:53,720 a field goal, a forty nine yard field goal. Like 113 00:06:53,759 --> 00:06:58,160 Louisville lost seven yards or excuse me, not seven yards, yeah, 114 00:06:58,519 --> 00:07:01,959 seven yards on its overtime possession, but is at least 115 00:07:01,959 --> 00:07:04,959 able to make the forty nine yard field goal. Calvin 116 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,480 gets the ball with a chance to win. Cal gets 117 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,839 stopped at the three and faces fourth and goal from 118 00:07:11,879 --> 00:07:15,399 the three down a field goal in overtime, and most 119 00:07:15,399 --> 00:07:17,959 coaches would just kick the ball and go to a 120 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,720 second overtime, Justin Wilcox of Cal decides to roll the 121 00:07:21,759 --> 00:07:25,959 dice and a little fake end route, then going back 122 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,319 out to the pylon. Here on get off my pilon. 123 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,879 Cal catches the ball just inside the pylon for a touchdown. 124 00:07:35,199 --> 00:07:40,639 So Brass balls stones onions from Justin Wilcox and Cal. 125 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,959 They get the twenty nine to twenty six win over Louisville. 126 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,839 Col's Bowl eligible. I've watched a decent bit of Cal 127 00:07:46,879 --> 00:07:49,360 football this year. I don't think that's a particularly good team, 128 00:07:50,079 --> 00:07:52,680 and so Justin Wilcox getting that team to a bowl, 129 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,160 that's that He's done some really good coaching this year 130 00:07:55,839 --> 00:07:57,639 given what he's had to work with. You know, Cal's 131 00:07:57,639 --> 00:08:02,680 receivers are bad. They drop so many any passes. Cal 132 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,199 needs to soup up that roster. You know, if Cal 133 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,519 wants to become like a nine or ten win program 134 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:12,040 needs some dudes. You know, a player acquisition is really 135 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:17,439 the thing. You know, Ron rivera longtime NFL coach coordinator, 136 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,040 he's the general manager in Berkeley. He needs to go 137 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:25,040 get some dudes. Uh. You know, Cal failing to become 138 00:08:25,079 --> 00:08:29,360 a top tier program, it's not just a coaching thing. 139 00:08:29,399 --> 00:08:31,720 In fact, I wouldn't say it's primarily a coaching thing. 140 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,360 Then cal needs players, uh, and yet Calus is able 141 00:08:36,399 --> 00:08:38,279 to go to a ball so justin Wilcock is doing 142 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,720 a really good job there. The other Bay Area ACC team, Stanford, 143 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:45,799 put up a fight. Defense played really well, but the 144 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:50,039 offense got sworned by a North Carolina defense that's actually 145 00:08:50,039 --> 00:08:54,159 playing really well right now. You know under Bill Belichick, Uh, 146 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,759 North Carolina has become a good defensive team. It's not 147 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,000 a good team overall because the offense is still pretty, 148 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:05,720 but that defense has become legitimately good. Stanford got ground 149 00:09:05,759 --> 00:09:11,519 into fine powder in its trip to Chapel Hill. So 150 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,840 that the you know, that's the outlook in the smaller 151 00:09:14,879 --> 00:09:19,679 conferences Mountain West two pac uh and the Bay Area 152 00:09:19,759 --> 00:09:22,679 teams from from the ACC. So now we go to 153 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,320 the two conferences that we always focus on more here 154 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,799 I'll get off my pilon, the Big twelve and the 155 00:09:27,799 --> 00:09:30,600 Big Ten. So the Big Twelve, you know, this was 156 00:09:30,639 --> 00:09:33,919 a simple story. BYU gets its butt kicked by Texas Tech. 157 00:09:34,799 --> 00:09:37,320 That game did not set up well for BYU, except 158 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:38,960 for the fact that you know, it was coming off 159 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,919 an idle week. So BYU did have two weeks to prepare. 160 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,240 But you know, we've talked about this, BYU falling behind 161 00:09:45,279 --> 00:09:49,240 by double digits on the road this season. Did it 162 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,960 at Colorado, did it at Arizona, did it at Iowa State. 163 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:55,720 You know, if BYU was going to continue to do this, 164 00:09:55,919 --> 00:09:59,120 it was bound to get smoked, bound to get burned. 165 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,120 That's exactly what it happened. There was no second half 166 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,399 rally this time. That Texas Tech defense kept by U 167 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,559 and quarterback Bear Bachmeyer in jail the whole way. And 168 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,039 bear Bachmeyer has had a really good season, but he 169 00:10:13,159 --> 00:10:16,639 is a freshman and going into Lubbock College game day, 170 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,840 you know, Patrick Mahomes on hand, just a carnival atmosphere 171 00:10:22,279 --> 00:10:25,279 in Lubbock. You know, that was a Lion's debt, and 172 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,519 it just figured that BYU's freshman quarterback, and BYU is 173 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:34,960 a team overall that you know, all those first half deficits, 174 00:10:35,399 --> 00:10:37,799 Texas Tech was gonna make b YU pay if that 175 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,840 pattern continued. It did continue. Texas Tech absolutely demolishes BYU 176 00:10:42,879 --> 00:10:46,240 in the game, which was never ever close. So that 177 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,159 game went as a lot of people expected it would. 178 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:53,840 And now the outlook of the Big Twelve is such 179 00:10:53,919 --> 00:10:58,679 that you know Texas Tech has a favorable schedule remaining 180 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,399 and would be it would be a big surprise if 181 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,480 Texas Tech is not one of the teams in the 182 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,840 Big Twelve Championship game playing for a spot in the 183 00:11:08,879 --> 00:11:11,279 College Football Playoff. The real intrigue is going to be 184 00:11:11,279 --> 00:11:15,679 that second spot. And so BYU after this loss, not 185 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,240 in a bad position, but no longer in the commanding 186 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,960 position that it had. But here's the thing, you're wondering, 187 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,039 what are the big games in the Big Twelve coming up? 188 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,399 Well later this month BYU Cincinnati, and the winner of 189 00:11:28,399 --> 00:11:33,200 that game, likely not guaranteed, but likely is going to 190 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,879 face Texas Tech in the Big Twelve Championship game. But 191 00:11:36,919 --> 00:11:41,440 here's now the plot twist in that BYU Cincinnati, it's 192 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,039 not this weekend, it's later in November. But you know 193 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:48,919 who wins that game, that's gonna determine whether Arizona State 194 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,799 and Houston, you know, the trailing teams also in Utah, 195 00:11:55,159 --> 00:11:57,360 whether those teams have a shot or tune you know, 196 00:11:57,519 --> 00:12:01,320 so which team wins that is going to affect tiebreakers. 197 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,480 Let's let's look at Utah. For instance, Utah a team 198 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:06,879 that being in the West, we follow here and get 199 00:12:06,879 --> 00:12:12,559 off my pylon. Utah beat Cincinnati, but Utah lost to BYU, 200 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,080 so you can do the math. Utah really needs Cincinnati 201 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,840 to win that game against BYU, and then Utah is 202 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,200 gonna need Cincinnati to lose elsewhere. But you know, so 203 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,120 very clear rooting interests in terms of the tie breakers, 204 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:32,039 and you know Utah and Arizona State trying to find 205 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,440 their way into the mix in the Big Twelve championship game. 206 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,440 It's unlikely that the Utes and Sun Devils will be 207 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,519 able to get that far because because of the losses 208 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:46,039 they've picked up, but if they want to have any 209 00:12:46,159 --> 00:12:50,639 chance down the stretch, the outcome of that BYU Cincinnati 210 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,200 game is going to be very influential, especially from the 211 00:12:53,279 --> 00:12:56,399 Utah side of things, in terms of the Big Twelve 212 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,320 tie breakers. If there is a three or four way tie, 213 00:13:00,039 --> 00:13:03,639 those tie breakers could shake things out for the opponent 214 00:13:04,399 --> 00:13:07,279 that's likely to face Texas Tech. Texas Tech with the 215 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,399 high ground, it's now Texas Tech with the inside track 216 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,039 in the Big Twelve. But BYU, Utah, Arizona State all 217 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:19,240 part of that jumble. BYU controls its destiny because if 218 00:13:19,279 --> 00:13:23,519 BYU beat Cincinnati like that, that would cement the Cougars 219 00:13:24,399 --> 00:13:28,440 atop the conference and earning a rematch with Texas Tech. 220 00:13:28,759 --> 00:13:31,720 But if BYU loses to Cincinnati, it becomes a little 221 00:13:31,759 --> 00:13:36,360 bit more fluid, and BYU loss, you know, would give 222 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:42,440 Utah some measure of hope for the remainder of the 223 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,480 Big Twelve race. So a lot of football still left, 224 00:13:45,759 --> 00:13:48,720 but those are some of the plot points to consider 225 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:55,519 in that conference. So on the field, Arizona beats Kansas, Arizona, 226 00:13:55,799 --> 00:13:58,679 you know, the defense continues to do the job for 227 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,960 that team. And I would say, you know, relative to 228 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,200 late August when we sat here pre season, what did 229 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,399 we think Brent Brennan was gonna do at Arizona this season? 230 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,080 In early November, I'd have to say that Brent Brennan 231 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:19,360 has exceeded a lot of Twusonians expectations that the folks 232 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,480 in Tucson, you know, we're nervous about how this season 233 00:14:22,519 --> 00:14:24,240 was going to play out. Didn't really come out of 234 00:14:24,279 --> 00:14:27,120 the gates roaring, But Arizona has showed that it's a 235 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,879 pretty resilient team. It's won a number of close games 236 00:14:31,399 --> 00:14:34,159 and let BYU slipway, and that might be the game 237 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,480 that Arizona fans really regret from this season. But for 238 00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:41,240 the most part, like Arizona has been pushed, Arizona has 239 00:14:41,279 --> 00:14:44,519 been tested. You know, that game was going Kansas's way 240 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,000 for a while, Arizona able to turn it around. So 241 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:54,919 you know, on balance, pretty respectable season from Arizona, and 242 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,080 now Arizona gets a crack at Cincinnati. That game is 243 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,960 going to be interesting. It's obviously it's going to be 244 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,399 important in the Big Twelve race. But I'd say Arizona 245 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:10,039 has not merely met, but slightly exceeded expectations this season. 246 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,559 Like the program has not fallen off the map, and 247 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,960 that was certainly a worry for some time and it 248 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,559 really hasn't materialized. So Brent Brennan has at the very 249 00:15:21,679 --> 00:15:25,679 least like he has stabilized that Arizona program after the 250 00:15:25,679 --> 00:15:29,159 departure of Jedfish to Washington. We'll talk about Jeed Fish 251 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,559 in a little bit, but you know, Arizona not no 252 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:38,159 meteoric rise, but also no collapse. The bottom has not 253 00:15:38,279 --> 00:15:42,399 fallen out. This has been a step forward for Arizona 254 00:15:42,679 --> 00:15:47,120 this season. The win over Kansas really just affirms that point. 255 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:54,960 In Tucson, so the other Big Twelve team we haven't 256 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,000 talked about Colorado. Colorado puts up a fight against West 257 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,240 Virginia but loses in Morgantown. And you know, coach Prime 258 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,799 Deona Sanders, he's riding with his freshman Julian Lewis. So 259 00:16:05,919 --> 00:16:09,240 Colorado is in a mode where it is preparing for 260 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,080 next year. And that's that's the wise course. You know, 261 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,320 this Colorado team just you know, the losses of Travis 262 00:16:16,399 --> 00:16:18,960 Hunter and Sdar Sanders to the Pros. It had every 263 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,399 bit the impact that a lot of people thought it would. 264 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,240 And the bus have been caught in between at quarterback 265 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,519 and you know they've been shuffling around at that position 266 00:16:29,399 --> 00:16:33,759 this season. They don't have the line play to compensate 267 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:38,320 for the limitations at quarterback. So yes, give give reps 268 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,759 to the young guy. Uh give you know, give him 269 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,000 a lot of film to accumulate and learn from and 270 00:16:45,039 --> 00:16:48,320 then go into next season, make some investments in the 271 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,159 offensive line, h in the transfer portal, and see where 272 00:16:52,159 --> 00:16:54,679 this thing can go. So this season has not gone 273 00:16:54,759 --> 00:16:59,720 the way Colorado and Coach Prime had hoped. So basically 274 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,919 on the season and letting the younger guys play. It's 275 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,920 the right call because you're now looking to twenty twenty six. 276 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,960 You're trying to turn the page. You're seeing what you 277 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,039 have with your younger players. It's the right move by 278 00:17:13,039 --> 00:17:16,319 Dion sanderws but in the short term, a lot of 279 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:20,720 paying for Colorado, another loss, another failure in a season 280 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:26,279 that has spiraled off the tracks. All right, so now 281 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,200 let's go to the Big ten and we'll get to 282 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,759 Oregon Island because that's the future presentation, of course, and 283 00:17:33,799 --> 00:17:36,640 we'll also get to Washington and that step on the 284 00:17:36,759 --> 00:17:41,079 rake lost to Wisconsin. Let's start with the smaller stories. 285 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,680 UCLA gets pounded by Nebraska. The final score was twenty 286 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,000 eight twenty one, but if you watch that game, Nebraska dominated. 287 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,680 The final score did not reflect the extent to which 288 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:59,319 Nebraska dominated that game. Nebraska gets a twenty eight to 289 00:17:59,319 --> 00:18:02,359 seven lead, was in control the whole way. You know. 290 00:18:02,519 --> 00:18:06,960 Nebraska's quarterback TJ Latif did not look good at all 291 00:18:07,759 --> 00:18:11,000 in relief of Dylan Reyola against USC one week later, 292 00:18:11,039 --> 00:18:13,640 he looked a lot better, but it was all because 293 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,039 Nebraska's offensive line was firing off the ball dominated UCLA's 294 00:18:18,079 --> 00:18:23,519 defensive line. UCLA, falling behind by twenty one, did not 295 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,559 quit in this game like it was. It was impressive 296 00:18:26,599 --> 00:18:30,480 that UCLA fought back and made this game as close 297 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,839 as it was on the scoreboard. But in many ways, 298 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,039 Nebraska completely owning this game the first two and a 299 00:18:38,079 --> 00:18:42,480 half quarters. It was as though UCLA had regressed back 300 00:18:42,519 --> 00:18:47,759 to that September level under Deshaun Foster. You know, UCLA's 301 00:18:47,799 --> 00:18:53,920 coaching staff has called some creative plays like UCLA did 302 00:18:54,279 --> 00:18:57,480 call up another fake punt. Ucla and under Tim Skipper, 303 00:18:57,599 --> 00:19:01,279 the interim coach, likes to do some real leave fun 304 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,279 special teams plays. There was an on side kick that 305 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,839 worked against Penn State. Like there seems to be a 306 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,039 fake punt or some kind of special team's trick play 307 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,799 in every game that UCLA plays under Tim Skipper saw 308 00:19:13,839 --> 00:19:18,160 another one Saturday night against Nebraska. So like that coaching 309 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:21,319 staff is still able to come up with some clever things. 310 00:19:21,839 --> 00:19:26,319 But UCLA, when it forged that three game winning streak 311 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:31,200 midway through the season, beyond the Bruins became respectable in 312 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,039 the trenches. You know. They they dominated Michigan State, they 313 00:19:35,039 --> 00:19:40,319 were good against Penn State, they held their own against Maryland. 314 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,400 UCLA's line play really improved in those three games. But 315 00:19:45,559 --> 00:19:48,519 when UCLA was awful. Back in September. It was just 316 00:19:48,519 --> 00:19:53,759 getting overpowered up front, and we're seeing that return in November. 317 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,480 We saw it against Indiana and we saw it now 318 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:02,160 against Nebraska. So that's kind of the reality for UCLA football. 319 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,920 The Bruins do not have elite line play. They too 320 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,519 easily get tossed around like rag dolls in the trenches. 321 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:16,559 That is where UCLA really needs to fortify and reinforce 322 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,240 its football program. The new head coach when he comes in, 323 00:20:21,759 --> 00:20:24,519 that has to be priority number one. Building from the 324 00:20:24,599 --> 00:20:28,640 inside in the middle between the hash marks in the 325 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,720 tackle box, and then building from outside. You know, the 326 00:20:31,759 --> 00:20:34,480 receivers and skill players are nice, but if you don't 327 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,079 have that foundation up front, the rest of it's not 328 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:42,079 gonna work out. UCLA is grossly inferior line play both 329 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:46,000 sides of the ball. Nebraska just push the Bruins around 330 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,000 for the vast majority of this game. That is where 331 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:52,400 UCLA needs to look in terms of finding a way 332 00:20:53,039 --> 00:20:55,680 out of the darkness. The other big news for UCLA 333 00:20:55,799 --> 00:20:59,440 was not so much the game against Nebraska, but reports 334 00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:03,599 on late Saturday early Sunday that the university is about 335 00:21:03,599 --> 00:21:07,319 to finalize the agreement to move to Sofi Stadium out 336 00:21:07,319 --> 00:21:09,759 of the Rose Bowl. There's a lease with the Rose 337 00:21:09,799 --> 00:21:12,839 Bowl that runs through the twenty forty three season into 338 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,920 the year two thy forty four for almost twenty years, 339 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,119 and UCLA is going to have to pay up to 340 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:20,519 get out of that. And let's keep in mind, ucle 341 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:25,039 is paying calimony, you know that ten million dollar penalty year. 342 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,039 These close to ten million dollars every year as a 343 00:21:28,039 --> 00:21:32,039 consequence of leaving for the Big ten, So sending money 344 00:21:32,039 --> 00:21:36,359 to Berkeley that's already on UCLA's tab. It's going to 345 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,039 cost UCLA to get out of this lease agreement with 346 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:43,599 the Rose Bowl Stadium. The Rose bul has sued UCLA 347 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,960 for wanting to break that lease agreement, so UCLA has 348 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:54,039 to reckon with the financing year and the overall penalties 349 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,359 connected to all of this. The Bruins might want to 350 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:02,880 go to Sofi Stadium next season and expedite this process, 351 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,839 but the dollars involved, the costs involved, might put the 352 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,039 brakes on that. So this is this should not be 353 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,960 seen as a done deal or a finalized situation. Uh, 354 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,680 there is some litigation and there is some money to 355 00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:23,799 be disputed and to be thought over. With the Rose 356 00:22:23,839 --> 00:22:28,240 Bowl stadium before before this thing actually happens. But let's 357 00:22:28,279 --> 00:22:31,200 just entertain for a moment the idea or the possibility 358 00:22:31,559 --> 00:22:36,039 that UCLA does play in Sofi Stadium next season twenty 359 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,839 twenty six. Uh, if I'm USC, and we're gonna talk 360 00:22:39,839 --> 00:22:42,359 about us scene a little bit here. If I'm USC, 361 00:22:42,519 --> 00:22:44,359 I'm going to schedule one game of year at the 362 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,200 Rose Bowl. So now I'm not gonna move from the Coliseum, 363 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,440 but I am going to schedule one game. Uh, so 364 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,160 that you know, the USC can be part of the 365 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,759 market in Pasadena and fans get to experience that. And 366 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,079 you know, the Rose Bowl has over ninety thousand seats, 367 00:23:01,079 --> 00:23:03,640 so like it's a chance for USC to sell a 368 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,799 lot of tickets, but at a different venue. Like you're 369 00:23:06,799 --> 00:23:11,599 not going to play your premium games at the Rose Bowl, 370 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,160 but something like Northwestern, you know, a mid or lower 371 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,519 tier Big Ten team one game a year, it would 372 00:23:18,559 --> 00:23:22,440 make sense. And I have a colleague at Trojans Wire. 373 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,359 His name is Ethan Enman. He's written a calm with 374 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,240 a lot of interesting ideas about you know what a 375 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,160 UCLA move away from the Rose Bowl could open up 376 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,359 for USC. One is that when the Olympics go to 377 00:23:35,599 --> 00:23:39,599 Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight, which is and you 378 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,920 know they're going to have to they're going to redo 379 00:23:42,079 --> 00:23:45,759 the track inside the LA Coliseum so that that venue 380 00:23:45,839 --> 00:23:49,240 might not be there for USC football in twenty twenty eight. 381 00:23:49,559 --> 00:23:52,400 USC could actually play football games at the Rose Bowl 382 00:23:53,079 --> 00:23:57,559 in the twenty twenty eight season. But there's more than that, Like, 383 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,400 if USC and either Stanford or want to revive their 384 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,440 old Pac twelve rivalry, they could play a non conference 385 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,680 game at the Rose Bowl. Would probably be really fun 386 00:24:08,839 --> 00:24:12,119 for both fan bases. That's something they could do down 387 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:18,039 the line, and so many other interesting things that USC 388 00:24:18,079 --> 00:24:22,839 could do with the Rose Bowl if UCLA successfully vacates 389 00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:26,160 and is no longer a tenant. A little history on 390 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:31,079 this in case you're interested. UCLA and USC shared the 391 00:24:31,079 --> 00:24:35,599 Los Angeles Coliseum for decades way back when they did 392 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,680 so through nineteen eighty one. UCLA moved to the Rose 393 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,519 Bowl became a tenant at the Rose Bowl Stadium beginning 394 00:24:43,559 --> 00:24:49,599 in nineteen eighty two. The UCLA USC football rivalry was 395 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,440 played in the Rose Bowl in the nineteen eighty two 396 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:59,279 season after being annually at the Coliseum every year for 397 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,359 quite some time. So this would be a forty three 398 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:07,759 year run coming to a close. And you know, if 399 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,079 UCLA is also able to make the move, it would 400 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,720 mean that, you know, this year, USC hosts UCLA at 401 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,319 the Coliseum, so next year they could play at Sofi, 402 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,559 and that would mean you know, a large seating capacity 403 00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:26,599 for the USC UCLA rivalry in Los Angeles. You know, 404 00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:32,079 last year twenty twenty four, UCLA hosted the USC game 405 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:38,519 and the Bruins still put tarps over large sections of 406 00:25:38,559 --> 00:25:42,000 seats at the end of the Rose Bowl Stadium. In Sofi, 407 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,279 presumably there would be no tarps and you could get 408 00:25:45,319 --> 00:25:48,960 a lot more fans in the building just for the 409 00:25:49,079 --> 00:25:52,759 USC UCLA football rivalry. That move to Sofi Stadium, if 410 00:25:52,759 --> 00:25:56,039 it happens, could actually be beneficial for the rivalry because 411 00:25:56,079 --> 00:25:59,720 tens of thousands of additional fans would be able to 412 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:05,039 buy tickets for that game and watch UCLA. Putting tarps 413 00:26:05,039 --> 00:26:08,480 over seats at the Rose Bowl has limited the overall 414 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,359 attendance for that game when it's played in Pasadena, So 415 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,359 the move to Sofi could actually enlarge the attendance significantly 416 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,119 just for the USC UCLA game. So a lot of 417 00:26:19,279 --> 00:26:24,640 scheduling and logistical possibilities open up if UCLA moves to Sofi, 418 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,200 but I'm not saying it's a good move, and I 419 00:26:27,559 --> 00:26:31,319 don't think it's a good move. UCLA. Abandoning tradition and 420 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,960 abandoning an iconic college football venue doesn't make sense to me. 421 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,359 And UCLA is not gonna just suddenly get a lot 422 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,000 more fans to Sofi Stadium just because it's a new 423 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:48,599 and modernized facility. UCLA football needs to actually be good. 424 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,240 That's how UCLA is going to get more fans. I 425 00:26:52,279 --> 00:26:54,440 think a much more sensible approach here would be to, 426 00:26:55,079 --> 00:26:57,640 you know, play most of your games at the Rose Bowl, 427 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,119 but sure play one or two games so Fi. You 428 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:06,000 know that's okay, But you don't want to be moving 429 00:27:06,079 --> 00:27:09,519 your whole program to Sofi every season. You want to 430 00:27:09,519 --> 00:27:11,000 be playing at the Rose Bowl, one of the great 431 00:27:11,079 --> 00:27:15,359 venues in sports. Does the Rose Bowl Stadium need renovations? 432 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,400 Is it old? Yes? No one's arguing that, and I 433 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,039 think the Rose Bowl Stadium wants to make some upgrades. 434 00:27:23,799 --> 00:27:26,119 So like the Rose Bulls willing to play ball there, 435 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,279 But I don't think you pack up and leave entirely. 436 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:34,079 That just seems shortsighted. UCLA losing what vestige of college 437 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,160 football tradition it already has. That's not the way to go. 438 00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:44,759 So a lot of difficult realities surrounding UCLA football. The 439 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,200 move to Sofi Stadium, if it happens, that's going to 440 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,480 be very big news and it's going to represent a 441 00:27:49,559 --> 00:27:53,799 very big change going into the twenty twenty six college 442 00:27:53,839 --> 00:27:57,799 football season. All Right, So that's probably more UCLA talk 443 00:27:57,839 --> 00:28:00,680 than you were probably prepared for, but that is a 444 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:06,759 pretty significant side story off the field for the Bruins. 445 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,640 Let's now move on to USC, and I'm not going 446 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:11,559 to talk a lot about the Northwestern game, but I 447 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,240 am going to talk about the play that has everyone talking, 448 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,880 and that's that fake punt. And so USC has a 449 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:22,400 punter who wears number eighty, but USC's third string quarterback, 450 00:28:22,519 --> 00:28:26,000 Sam Heward, he wore number eighty, and he was brought 451 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,119 onto the field for what seemed to be a punt. 452 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,680 You know, this was fourth down, so it seemed to 453 00:28:31,759 --> 00:28:35,519 be a punt. But Sam Heward throws a pass converts 454 00:28:36,039 --> 00:28:41,039 the fake punt. Now, the rule book says I'm not 455 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,799 directly quoting, but I'm just gonna you know, this is 456 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,559 the substance of the rule the College Football rule Book 457 00:28:47,559 --> 00:28:50,599 says you can't have two players playing the same position 458 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,759 wearing the same number. That is the rule. Okay. Now, 459 00:28:55,079 --> 00:28:57,680 so a lot of people will say, and I get it, 460 00:28:58,079 --> 00:29:00,000 that this was a penalty and should have been called. 461 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,240 It wasn't, but it should have been. I get that. 462 00:29:03,559 --> 00:29:06,759 I understand that. But I think USC and Lincoln Riley 463 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,240 just I'm just talking about this play and drilling down 464 00:29:10,279 --> 00:29:12,640 about the rule book because I am I am very 465 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,680 bigue on the notion that the college football rule book 466 00:29:17,039 --> 00:29:21,119 is not written. Well, it's not written precisely, and a 467 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,480 lot of rules just don't make sense and are very inconsistent. 468 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,440 There's gonna be another rule I'm going to talk about 469 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,599 a little bit later on the show when we get 470 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,640 to that Oregon Iowa game. But first, let's just chop 471 00:29:32,759 --> 00:29:36,519 up this rule about the two players playing the same 472 00:29:36,599 --> 00:29:42,519 position wearing the same number. That is illegal. But when 473 00:29:42,559 --> 00:29:46,799 we say that two players are both punters, Okay, how 474 00:29:46,839 --> 00:29:51,400 does that get defined exactly? You know, just because Sam 475 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,920 Heward lined up like twelve to fifteen yards behind the 476 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:01,480 line of scrimmage, does that make him, by rule, a punter. 477 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,799 Just think about that, all right, now? He lined up 478 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:11,200 generally where a punter would line up in a formation. 479 00:30:12,119 --> 00:30:15,559 But does that mean he is, as a point of fact, 480 00:30:16,039 --> 00:30:20,160 a punter, And you can say, yes, I'm not gonna 481 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,519 tell you that you're wrong. I'm gonna say though, that 482 00:30:22,759 --> 00:30:26,839 us he exploited a loophole here because the guy who 483 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,440 might have lined up where a punter normally lines up, 484 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,720 he didn't punt the ball, right, So you're not a 485 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:38,519 punter unless or until you punt the ball. You know, 486 00:30:38,559 --> 00:30:40,880 if I snap the ball to someone who's standing twelve 487 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,799 yards behind the line of scrimmage, all right, I might 488 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,920 think that he's likely to punt the ball, and of 489 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,960 course it's fourth down. But he has to punt the 490 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:54,279 ball to be a punter. Okay, so do you see 491 00:30:54,279 --> 00:30:58,319 what I'm getting at here? If two players wearing the 492 00:30:58,359 --> 00:31:05,640 same jersey number both actually punt in a game, that's illegal, 493 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,839 and no one's disputing that. There's absolutely zero argument. There's 494 00:31:09,839 --> 00:31:12,079 no way you can talk around that or avoid it. 495 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,039 Two players punted the ball, so two players can't have 496 00:31:16,359 --> 00:31:21,039 the same jersey number. But Sam Hewart, he didn't punt 497 00:31:21,079 --> 00:31:25,640 the ball. He threw a pass. And so one specific 498 00:31:25,759 --> 00:31:28,880 nuance here in terms of the rule book, is there 499 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,119 is no rule you know that part of the rule 500 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,319 book is defining players or defining you know, what makes 501 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:41,279 this situation applicable to a given rule or code or 502 00:31:41,279 --> 00:31:45,119 subsection whatever. You know. Definitions are part of any rule book, 503 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:49,079 and so to my knowledge, there's no definition in the 504 00:31:49,079 --> 00:31:52,640 college football rule book which says you are a punter 505 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:58,480 if you line up x yards behind the line of scrimmage. 506 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:02,480 I'm not aware of any rule saying that you have 507 00:32:02,559 --> 00:32:06,240 to line up more than five or seven or eight 508 00:32:06,319 --> 00:32:09,480 yards behind the line of scrimmage in order to be 509 00:32:09,559 --> 00:32:14,359 defined definitionally per the rule book as a punter. You 510 00:32:14,359 --> 00:32:17,240 know what if you have your quarterback find up ten 511 00:32:17,319 --> 00:32:20,000 yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of five. You know, 512 00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:24,079 not all shotgun snaps are the same length. Now, most are, 513 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:30,319 but I've seen teams use longer shotgun snaps. I've seen 514 00:32:30,359 --> 00:32:34,279 teams use shorter shotgun snaps. Are they all exactly four 515 00:32:34,359 --> 00:32:37,880 or five yards in length? I mean most of them are, 516 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,200 but not all of them are. I've seen longer and 517 00:32:42,319 --> 00:32:45,920 shorter snaps than the standard distance that we're used to. 518 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,920 So that reinforces the point because a guy is standing 519 00:32:50,039 --> 00:32:53,200 twelve yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of six. 520 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:59,200 Does that inherently make that player a punter? You know? 521 00:32:59,279 --> 00:33:01,960 And you can and again you can say yes, And 522 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,079 I would totally understand that line of reasoning that the 523 00:33:05,119 --> 00:33:07,839 working assumption is that he's gonna punk the ball if 524 00:33:07,839 --> 00:33:10,400 he's lined up twelve yards behind the line of scrimmage. 525 00:33:10,839 --> 00:33:15,839 But definitionally, in terms of the rule book, does it 526 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,920 make it so it's open ended like that. It does not. 527 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,240 The rule book does not nail down that, Oh, because 528 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,559 he's twelve yards behind the line of scrimmage, he has 529 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:32,240 to be considered a punter. I can snap the ball 530 00:33:32,359 --> 00:33:35,680 twelve yards behind the line of scrimmage and throw a pass, 531 00:33:35,839 --> 00:33:39,559 and that player's a quarterback, not a punter. Like, there's 532 00:33:39,599 --> 00:33:41,839 nothing stopping me in terms of how the rule book 533 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,559 is currently written to just say, hey, you know, it 534 00:33:45,559 --> 00:33:49,359 doesn't matter where my quarterback takes the ball behind the 535 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,200 line of scrimmage. If he's throwing a pass, he's a quarterback, 536 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:59,519 not a punter. So I think USC successfully exploited a 537 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,640 loop hole in the rule. This rule is not precise enough. 538 00:34:04,319 --> 00:34:07,640 I do think you shouldn't have players wearing the same 539 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,639 jersey to confuse the opposition, like there's no question Lincoln 540 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:16,880 Riley did want to deceive Northwestern and throw Northwestern off balance. 541 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:21,480 Like I'm not arguing that point, but what I am 542 00:34:21,559 --> 00:34:23,599 saying the rule needs to be a little bit more 543 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:27,079 buttoned down here. And if you want to say in 544 00:34:27,119 --> 00:34:32,079 the rule book for purposes of definitions and for purposes 545 00:34:32,079 --> 00:34:37,679 of identifying because positions of players, if you want to say, 546 00:34:38,079 --> 00:34:41,599 the quarterback cannot take a snap more than ten yards 547 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:45,119 behind the line of scrimmage. Otherwise he's a punter, you know, 548 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,000 and that way, you know, if you snap the ball 549 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:52,360 nine yards, well, then he's a quarterback who could punt 550 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,599 the ball if he wanted to. That's one possibility. But 551 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,800 I think actually the best way to reform this rule 552 00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:02,760 and to write the rule more precisely, I would do 553 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:06,159 it this way, that you can't have two players with 554 00:35:06,199 --> 00:35:10,679 the same jersey numbers who play more than one phase 555 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,000 of football, Like you could not have someone who plays 556 00:35:14,039 --> 00:35:18,480 offense and special teams you can't, And you can have 557 00:35:18,559 --> 00:35:21,599 someone who plays defense and offense, Like if you're a 558 00:35:21,639 --> 00:35:28,239 defensive lineman, you cannot then be a tackle eligible or 559 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:33,880 a full back. You can't you're not allowed. You know, 560 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,239 an offensive lineman could be a tackle eligible or could 561 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,960 be a fullback, but not a defensive lineman. So no 562 00:35:40,119 --> 00:35:45,800 Refrigerator Perry, right, no William Perry allowed. You know, just 563 00:35:46,199 --> 00:35:49,679 for the purposes of we're trying to close the door 564 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:55,119 on allowing coaches to deceive opponents with same jersey numbers 565 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,320 for multiple players and being able to trade them in 566 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,679 and out. You get to play just one phase of football. 567 00:36:03,679 --> 00:36:07,199 And some people would say, well, you can't have Travis 568 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,159 Hunter anymore. You know what, I'm okay with that, you know, 569 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:17,239 like the and actually strike that like Travis Hunter, He's 570 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,079 able to play both sides of the football, and you 571 00:36:19,119 --> 00:36:23,199 just have no one else wearing the same jersey number 572 00:36:23,199 --> 00:36:25,480 as he does. So actually you can. You can have 573 00:36:25,519 --> 00:36:31,239 two way players. It's just that you can't have double numbers, 574 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,760 you know, changing sides of the ball. You can't be 575 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,719 mixing and matching. So if you have a number seventy 576 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,119 two on defense, you can't have a number seventy two 577 00:36:41,199 --> 00:36:44,559 on offense. Is tackle eligible? That is the point. So 578 00:36:44,639 --> 00:36:47,079 I kind of got stuck a little bit there in 579 00:36:47,199 --> 00:36:50,199 making my argument, but that is where the rule book 580 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:54,079 needs to change. That you can't have double numbers switching sides. 581 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:57,480 You know, so if you have double numbers just on 582 00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:01,000 one side of the ball, okay, you can't have double 583 00:37:01,079 --> 00:37:03,920 numbers on different sides of the ball, so that you 584 00:37:04,039 --> 00:37:08,960 swap uh and create that kind of deception. That that's 585 00:37:09,039 --> 00:37:12,400 where that's where the rule book needs to be more precise, 586 00:37:12,599 --> 00:37:19,280 better defined. Just there are certain definitions and elements of 587 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:23,719 precision that need to be tended to, and USC exploited 588 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:27,559 the rule book because it's not fully buttoned down, fully 589 00:37:27,599 --> 00:37:30,360 precise on these various points. So that's my read on 590 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:35,440 the USC fake punt in spirit, you know, spirit of 591 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:39,960 the rule that the general principle. I don't like what 592 00:37:40,039 --> 00:37:43,760 Lincoln Riley did, you know, but I'm also going to say, 593 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,840 you know what, this is not technically illegal. It's not 594 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:51,400 technically a penalty because the definition of a punter, the 595 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:55,280 definition of a quarterback, and where players line up on 596 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,480 the field. You know, the rule book does does not 597 00:37:58,679 --> 00:38:04,440 drill really deep in creating an airtight seal. USC worked 598 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:08,039 around that airtight seal for what it's worth, all right. 599 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:11,440 So that's a play a lot of people have been 600 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:13,639 talking about. I had to get in my two cents 601 00:38:13,639 --> 00:38:15,679 on that one. Now let's move forward with the rest 602 00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:20,400 of our show here on Get Off My Pilot. Washington 603 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,480 at Wisconsin. Now, we have talked about this a lot 604 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,840 on our show this season, that the Washington Huskies, you 605 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:29,960 get them at home, they can be really good. Now, 606 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,320 of course Ohio State smothered them, but you know, Ohios 607 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:35,320 Date is the number one team in the country, its 608 00:38:35,519 --> 00:38:39,360 most pundits a choice to win the national championship. We 609 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,039 can kind of set that one aside. But we saw 610 00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:47,360 Washington's offense play horribly at Michigan. We saw Washington's offense 611 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:51,800 play horribly for three quarters at Maryland. Washington scored three 612 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,519 points in three quarters at Maryland before scoring twenty one 613 00:38:55,639 --> 00:38:58,920 in the fourth quarter to come back and win that game, 614 00:38:59,039 --> 00:39:05,639 or RaSE that massive deficit against the Terrapins. So this 615 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:10,199 offense has not been good at all on the road 616 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:16,159 this season. And so with Washington going to Wisconsin, going 617 00:39:16,199 --> 00:39:20,679 to Madison, let me tell you, I was not sure 618 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:23,119 that Washington was going to win this game going in 619 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:28,360 just because like we have not seen Jedfishes, Washington offense 620 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,719 play really well away from home in the Big Ten. 621 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,400 We haven't And so as bad as Wisconsin has been. 622 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:41,000 You know, Wisconsin's defense did play well against Oregon. That 623 00:39:41,119 --> 00:39:47,599 Wisconsin defense has shown some spine, some backbone in recent weeks. 624 00:39:47,639 --> 00:39:52,559 That defense is respectable. We know the Wisconsin offense is 625 00:39:52,599 --> 00:39:56,840 absolutely atrocious, and Wisconsin did manage just forty six passing 626 00:39:56,920 --> 00:40:03,280 yards in this game. But Wisconsin's defense is solid, and 627 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:06,719 there was no guarantee in my mind going in that 628 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,480 the Washington offense was going to have a good performance. 629 00:40:10,679 --> 00:40:15,519 And so here we are Wisconsin thirteen, Washington ten. The 630 00:40:15,599 --> 00:40:21,400 Huskies again just completely step on a rake away from home. 631 00:40:21,519 --> 00:40:26,400 This offense just cannot function away from Husky Stadium in Seattle, 632 00:40:26,519 --> 00:40:29,519 and so not only is Washington out of the college 633 00:40:29,519 --> 00:40:32,559 football playoff. That's one of the big stories of this game. 634 00:40:32,599 --> 00:40:34,880 Another big story, of course, is Luke Fickele getting a 635 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:38,599 big win at Wisconsin after the vote of confidence from 636 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,880 athletic director Chris McIntosh, who says that who said that 637 00:40:43,559 --> 00:40:45,119 Luke Fickle is going to be his coach for twenty 638 00:40:45,159 --> 00:40:48,719 twenty six. That's a notable story too. But here's the 639 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:53,719 other part. UCLA has a head coaching search and Jed Fish, 640 00:40:54,079 --> 00:40:58,360 who used to coach there at UCLA, has been prominently 641 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,559 mentioned as a possible candidate, and my read on the 642 00:41:01,599 --> 00:41:05,000 situation to this point in time has been that, you know, 643 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:10,360 leaks of rumors connecting Jedfish to the UCLA job more 644 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:14,280 a leverage play for Jedfish to just fatten up his 645 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:21,360 contract at Washington. So this performance against Wisconsin, this this 646 00:41:21,639 --> 00:41:26,400 stink bomb in Madison against the Badgers. I think the 647 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:30,320 the immediate read is UCLA probably doesn't need to go 648 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:35,639 for Jedfish. But the other part of this is Washington 649 00:41:35,639 --> 00:41:39,599 could sit there and say, you know what, after losing 650 00:41:39,639 --> 00:41:44,039 this game to Wisconsin, if if there are rumors of 651 00:41:44,159 --> 00:41:49,199 Jedfish leaving for somewhere else, fine, you know, Washington could 652 00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:52,840 call it Jedfish's bluff. Now, if Jedfish and his agent 653 00:41:54,039 --> 00:41:58,800 want to leverage a situation to get a fatter contract, this, 654 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,920 this lost to Wisconsin should tell the Huskies you know what, no, 655 00:42:02,599 --> 00:42:05,159 hold your ground, stand firm. You don't need to give 656 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:09,039 Jetfish more money. Not after that, not after that performance 657 00:42:09,039 --> 00:42:14,239 against Wisconsin. So counter intuitively, while this might seem to 658 00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:18,960 make Jetfish a much less attractive candidate for UCLA, and 659 00:42:19,039 --> 00:42:21,199 I think there's a lot to be said for that, 660 00:42:21,199 --> 00:42:25,280 that uclation should look elsewhere. There is also the possibility 661 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:33,320 that this makes Washington less inclined to pay more money 662 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:37,000 to retain Fish, in which case, you know, if there 663 00:42:37,079 --> 00:42:42,719 is a standoff in negotiations and Jedfish's agent wants more 664 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,320 money and Washington's not gonna give it, which I think 665 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:47,599 would be proned by the way, Washington shouldn't give him 666 00:42:47,599 --> 00:42:50,639 more money, not after seeing what we saw against Wisconsin. 667 00:42:51,519 --> 00:42:56,480 If there is a standoff and Jedfish is upset by 668 00:42:56,519 --> 00:43:00,960 that and he's upset enough that he wants to go 669 00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:04,559 to u C l A, Washington should let him. Washington 670 00:43:04,599 --> 00:43:07,719 should absolutely let him go. I'm sure Washington could get 671 00:43:08,079 --> 00:43:12,800 an elite head coach in the market now, you know, 672 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:19,320 probably not Laying Kiffin, probably not Brian Kelly, but Washington 673 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:24,199 could certainly find a prominent head coach, a quality head 674 00:43:24,199 --> 00:43:28,440 coach in this coaching carousel. I'm not predicting this is 675 00:43:28,519 --> 00:43:31,000 going to happen, but I am saying that if there 676 00:43:31,079 --> 00:43:35,880 is a standing off of negotiations and Jedfish thinks that, 677 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,239 you know, he he is expecting to get more money 678 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,800 as a result of you know, his camp leaking rumors 679 00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:46,400 about the UCLA job, if if that gets into a 680 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:51,000 stalemate and Jed Fish and his his agent are not 681 00:43:51,159 --> 00:43:54,559 satisfied with what they're getting for Washington, and this this 682 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:59,719 creates the possible flight to u c l A. Washington 683 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:04,039 should let that happen. And you know, if I'm looking 684 00:44:04,079 --> 00:44:06,559 at this from a UCLA viewpoint, you know, if I'm 685 00:44:06,559 --> 00:44:09,519 getting Jed Fish, am I getting the best candidate possible? 686 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:14,320 Lots of Jedfish plot points coming from this Washington loss 687 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,599 to Wisconsin. So that's definitely going to be a story 688 00:44:17,639 --> 00:44:20,199 to watch. The fact that Washington's not going to be 689 00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:22,599 in the College Football Playoff, you know, that means the 690 00:44:22,679 --> 00:44:27,679 Huskies regular season is done Thanksgiving weekend, so Fish will 691 00:44:27,719 --> 00:44:31,480 be open for interviews in early December. Like there's not 692 00:44:31,519 --> 00:44:33,880 going to be a Big Ten championship game, there's not 693 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,719 going to be a College Football Playoff first round game 694 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:41,440 to prepare for. Fish will be basically open to taking 695 00:44:41,519 --> 00:44:45,199 offers if other schools want to make them. So you know, 696 00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:47,039 in a few weeks time, that's going to be a 697 00:44:47,079 --> 00:44:49,639 really big story. It's going to be interesting to see 698 00:44:50,199 --> 00:44:54,000 if Jed Fish feels happy at Washington or if this 699 00:44:54,559 --> 00:44:59,400 creates a different dynamic that leads him to wander and 700 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,039 look at other programs such as UCLA. Could be some 701 00:45:02,159 --> 00:45:06,320 others out there that's going to be interesting to watch 702 00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:11,639 with Jedfish in the coming weeks. All right, so now 703 00:45:11,719 --> 00:45:14,920 we get arrived last. We go to the last story 704 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,039 because it's our featured story. It's not because it has 705 00:45:18,079 --> 00:45:20,320 a lower priority. You know, we work our way up 706 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:22,920 the ladder here on, get off my pylon. You've probably 707 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:27,519 noticed that by now that we start with the Mountain 708 00:45:27,559 --> 00:45:30,599 West and the two pac and Stanford and Cow and 709 00:45:30,639 --> 00:45:32,519 then we get into the Big twelve and then we 710 00:45:32,559 --> 00:45:35,719 get into the Big ten. And so usually our feature story, 711 00:45:37,159 --> 00:45:39,360 the biggest item on the board is the one we 712 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:43,039 arrive at last. So we have arrived at that point. 713 00:45:43,119 --> 00:45:47,360 Oregon Iowa, the Battle of eighteen sixteen. Oregon had the 714 00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:51,360 eighteen Iowa have the sixteen fascinating game played in the 715 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:55,119 rain in Iowa City, and you know Oregon plenty of 716 00:45:55,199 --> 00:45:58,239 rain up there in Eugene in the Pacific Northwest. The 717 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,440 Ducks probably felt very much at home, like that's a 718 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:06,320 typical Oregon November day, just moving over to Iowa. But 719 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:10,039 a wet ball, wet environment like Dan Lanning seemed to 720 00:46:10,159 --> 00:46:13,639 enjoy it like he's always up for a battle like that. 721 00:46:14,559 --> 00:46:17,159 An Oregon able to get on the right side of 722 00:46:17,199 --> 00:46:24,039 this lots to unpack here. One of the interesting dynamics 723 00:46:24,079 --> 00:46:26,480 of not just this Oregon Iowa game, but also the 724 00:46:26,519 --> 00:46:29,960 college football season at large is the way quarterbacks are 725 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,159 being talked about. Now. I referenced at the start of 726 00:46:32,159 --> 00:46:34,159 the show that you know, one of the college grit 727 00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:37,159 on the Coast to Coast podcast that has some overlap 728 00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:39,639 with what we do at Get Off my pylone is 729 00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:43,000 Noah Drury's Big Ten paradigm. He covers the Big Ten. 730 00:46:43,519 --> 00:46:46,440 We don't cover the whole Big Ten, but we cover 731 00:46:46,559 --> 00:46:48,480 the West Coast teams that are in the Big Ten. 732 00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:51,840 So when there's a significant Big Ten game involving a 733 00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,039 West Coast team, but we're going to talk about the 734 00:46:54,039 --> 00:46:57,440 Big Ten opponent on the other side to a certain degree. 735 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:02,320 USC is playing Iowa this coming weekend, so you know, 736 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:05,079 we're going to be thinking about and looking at the 737 00:47:05,079 --> 00:47:07,679 Hawkeyes in addition to the Trojans when we size up 738 00:47:07,719 --> 00:47:11,639 that game. But with Oregon and our focus on the Ducks, 739 00:47:11,639 --> 00:47:15,679 we also have to include our analysis of Iowa in 740 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:18,320 the mix. And you know, Earlier this season, we talked 741 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:22,800 about an Oregon Indiana game in which Fernando Mendoza figured 742 00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:26,599 pretty prominently. So there's there's a little bit of space 743 00:47:26,639 --> 00:47:30,159 here to talk about not just Oregon in particular and 744 00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,159 Dante more but also on a larger level, how quarterbacks 745 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:38,159 in the Big Ten and nationally are discussed. And so, 746 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:42,840 you know, this was predictable. Fernando Mendoza is being talked 747 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,679 about as a Heisman candidate because he had his quote 748 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:49,519 unquote Heisman moment against Penn State. Now this there's a 749 00:47:49,559 --> 00:47:51,760 tie into Oregon here, But just be patient with me 750 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:55,480 for a little bit. Uh, you know, I get it. 751 00:47:55,679 --> 00:47:58,079 I get why this was a Heisman moment for Fernando 752 00:47:58,119 --> 00:48:03,199 Mendoza for Indiana against Penn State. You know, comeback in 753 00:48:03,239 --> 00:48:05,760 the final minute, leads a big drive down the field, 754 00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:08,960 scores with thirty five seconds left. Yeah, Heisman moment. We 755 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,679 all understand that. But let's realize Fernando Mendoza through an 756 00:48:12,679 --> 00:48:16,840 interception which led to Indiana falling behind Penn State and 757 00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:20,760 needing that quote unquote Heisman moment in the first place. So, 758 00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:24,159 you know, it's one thing if you're involved in like 759 00:48:24,199 --> 00:48:26,920 a forty one thirty eight shootout, and you make that 760 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:28,840 final play at the end of the game, and you've 761 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,599 been awesome the whole game, and you're carrying this offense 762 00:48:32,639 --> 00:48:36,400 and this team on your back. You know, that, to 763 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:39,960 me is Heisman level quarterback play. This what we saw 764 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:43,519 from Mendoza against Penn State, not nearly the same thing, 765 00:48:43,599 --> 00:48:46,920 not nearly in the same universe. You know, he made 766 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,400 the clutch play at the end to win, but over 767 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:52,719 the course of the whole game was not outstanding through 768 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:58,000 a big interception like that shouldn't be a Heisman Trophy 769 00:48:58,039 --> 00:49:04,159 winning profile. You know, Mendoza threw an interception at Oregon, 770 00:49:04,719 --> 00:49:08,480 he bounced back led Indiana to go ahead touchdown after 771 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:12,639 throwing a pick six, but he still did throw a 772 00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:15,880 pick six. And he threw an interception in the in 773 00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:19,400 Indiana's road game at Iowa earlier in the season, and 774 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:23,840 he bounced back from that. So, yes, Fernando Mendoza makes 775 00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,880 winning plays, but he also makes big mistakes. And basically 776 00:49:28,039 --> 00:49:31,440 in his most important games this season, the dynamic, the 777 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,199 pattern has been Mendoza makes a really huge mistake that 778 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,159 imperils his team, and then he makes a really good 779 00:49:38,239 --> 00:49:43,639 play to rescue himself and his team. That to me 780 00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:47,239 is not a Heisman winner. That's a really mentally tough 781 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:51,719 and impressive football player, a winning player, a guy I 782 00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:54,039 want in my locker room. But that's not a Heisman 783 00:49:54,079 --> 00:49:58,119 Trophy winner. Heisman Trophy winners dominate. Heisman Trophy winners put 784 00:49:58,199 --> 00:50:02,440 up forty to fifty points against good teams. That's a 785 00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:06,400 Heisman winner. You know, I think of like Charlie Ward, 786 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:11,960 I think of Caleb Williams. I think of Danny Wirfol 787 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:16,800 at Florida nineteen ninety six. Those were Heisman quarterbacks. You know, 788 00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:20,320 they they were putting up huge numbers. They led their 789 00:50:20,519 --> 00:50:23,920 they led their teams with their offense. You know, those 790 00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:27,599 were offense first teams, and the quarterbacks were the central 791 00:50:27,679 --> 00:50:32,599 engines of great offenses. Those are Heisman quarterbacks. And so 792 00:50:32,639 --> 00:50:36,239 this leads me to a couple points. One is that 793 00:50:37,559 --> 00:50:40,880 have you noticed this in college football? Like we don't 794 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:45,960 see fifty two, forty five, forty eight, forty one, forty five, 795 00:50:46,039 --> 00:50:48,840 thirty eight games nearly as frequently as we used to, 796 00:50:49,159 --> 00:50:51,880 like with Lincoln Riley. Just just look at Lincoln Riley 797 00:50:51,880 --> 00:50:55,880 for a moment, Like he used to win at Oklahoma 798 00:50:56,280 --> 00:50:58,960 with you know, sixty six, fifty nine, fifty nine to 799 00:50:59,079 --> 00:51:03,480 fifty two, forty three, forty You don't see Lincoln Riley 800 00:51:03,559 --> 00:51:07,320 winning those kinds of games anymore. Scores of Lincoln Riley 801 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:11,400 USC games are much lower than they were at Oklahoma. 802 00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:13,400 And if you look elsewhere around the country, you know 803 00:51:13,559 --> 00:51:17,239 an Oregon Iowa fitting into this pattern. Oregon Iowa was 804 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:21,320 eighteen sixteen Oregon Penn State was a game played in 805 00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:24,000 the mid twenties. That game was like seventeen to three 806 00:51:24,159 --> 00:51:27,079 Oregon late in the third quarter, and so you know, 807 00:51:27,119 --> 00:51:30,920 those were defense first games most of the way, and 808 00:51:30,960 --> 00:51:33,239 then a quarterback comes in and makes a clutch late 809 00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:37,280 play such as what Dante Moore did at Iowa. You 810 00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:42,000 know that with that rope on Oregon's final drive to 811 00:51:42,039 --> 00:51:45,119 set up the field goal. But for the balance of 812 00:51:45,159 --> 00:51:50,719 that game, Dante Moore was not especially good. He wasn't awful, 813 00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:53,880 but you know, barely threw for over one hundred yards 814 00:51:54,079 --> 00:51:58,320 and he threw an interception to cost Oregon some points 815 00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:01,679 on a drive. He was isn't bad, but he wasn't 816 00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:07,119 especially impressive. You wouldn't say that Dante Moore played an 817 00:52:07,119 --> 00:52:11,880 elite game for most of that Saturday against Iowa, and 818 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:14,239 yet the way some people would talk like, oh wow, 819 00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:18,679 what a championship level drive, and what an amazing quarterback 820 00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:21,239 Dante More is and this is why the NFL scouts 821 00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:24,519 are drooling over him. You know, Dante Moore is a 822 00:52:24,559 --> 00:52:27,519 work in progress. I think that's fair to say, like 823 00:52:27,559 --> 00:52:31,880 he is not a finished, polished product, and he's getting 824 00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:34,440 the job done for Oregon, but he's getting it done 825 00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:36,440 in a way that's very similar to what we're seeing 826 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:40,559 with Fernando Mendoza and Indiana. Like those guys are winners, 827 00:52:41,239 --> 00:52:45,320 they do make clutch plays, but they're not playing dominant, 828 00:52:45,400 --> 00:52:49,440 elite football for most of the game. Like they make mistakes, 829 00:52:49,559 --> 00:52:53,760 there are some warts and limitations in their game. And 830 00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:57,519 I would broaden the focus beyond Dantey Moore and Fernando 831 00:52:57,599 --> 00:53:00,519 Mendoza to say that, like, this is not one of 832 00:53:00,559 --> 00:53:05,639 the better quarterback classes we've seen in college football, Like 833 00:53:05,719 --> 00:53:08,239 this is not a this you don't have Peyton Manning 834 00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:11,920 and Danny Wirfol, you don't have Charlie Ward, you don't 835 00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:16,360 have Caleb Williams, you don't have Marcus Mariota. The quarterback 836 00:53:16,400 --> 00:53:20,320 play is not close to what we have seen in 837 00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:24,199 the past in terms of great quarterback seasons and great 838 00:53:24,239 --> 00:53:29,199 college football offenses. You know, you know, Mac Jones doing 839 00:53:29,199 --> 00:53:31,480 a solid job with the forty nine ers, Like when 840 00:53:31,519 --> 00:53:35,719 he was quarterbacking Alabama in twenty twenty. That was a 841 00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:39,960 forty eight point per game offense and you had Alabama 842 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:44,760 beating Florida and Kyle Trask fifty two to forty six 843 00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:48,920 in the SEC Championship game. College football offenses and college 844 00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:53,280 football scoring were a lot higher a few years ago, 845 00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:57,079 but that has tapered off. I wonder how many people 846 00:53:57,079 --> 00:54:01,119 are paying attention to that. So I'm making all these 847 00:54:01,119 --> 00:54:03,400 different points, and it might feel like I'm rambling to 848 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:06,480 a certain extent, but I think you can get what 849 00:54:06,559 --> 00:54:11,280 I'm what I'm saying and what I'm trying to emphasize. Quarterbacks, offenses, 850 00:54:11,440 --> 00:54:15,599 point totals just not at a high level this year 851 00:54:15,679 --> 00:54:18,880 compared to what we've seen in seasons past. Why is 852 00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:23,920 the Heisman discussion focusing on quarterbacks as the best players 853 00:54:23,920 --> 00:54:27,039 in college football? Like as Fernando Mendoza the best player 854 00:54:27,079 --> 00:54:30,159 on his team. No, I think it's pretty clearly not. 855 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:35,639 Indiana's defensive line is the best unit on that team, 856 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:39,199 with Oregon, same same thing. Like that was a defense 857 00:54:39,280 --> 00:54:45,800 first game against Iowa. You know, Oregon's defensive front is 858 00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:49,679 really the unit that got the most work done for 859 00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:52,519 the Ducks in that game. Dante more is clearly not 860 00:54:52,599 --> 00:54:56,480 the best player on that Oregon team. He Now, did 861 00:54:56,519 --> 00:54:59,960 he make some important plays, did he make some important contribution, 862 00:55:00,239 --> 00:55:03,800 of course he did. But this idea that quarterbacks should 863 00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:07,719 be leading the Heisman this year, it's nuts. And you 864 00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:09,679 might say, well, Matt, you need to come up with 865 00:55:09,719 --> 00:55:13,719 some alternatives. Yeah, Caleb downs Ohio State. Like, that's an 866 00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:17,639 elite defensive player leading the charge for the Buckeyes and 867 00:55:17,760 --> 00:55:21,400 their defense. Like, that's where I'd start in terms of 868 00:55:21,440 --> 00:55:24,800 a Heisman Trophy candidate and a Heisman Trophy winner. The 869 00:55:24,840 --> 00:55:27,679 Heisman discourse this year has been odd, and that's because 870 00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:34,840 the discourse surrounding quarterbacks this season has been really odd. 871 00:55:34,880 --> 00:55:38,519 And so Dante Moore is part of that. Like Oregon fans, 872 00:55:38,599 --> 00:55:43,559 Oregon bloggers think he's amazing, he's awesome, all right, he 873 00:55:43,599 --> 00:55:47,239 made winning plays and like, I have to love the 874 00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:52,079 way Dante Moore shows toughness, resilience and poise under pressure. 875 00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:56,679 And in that regard, he and Fernando Mendoza are good players. 876 00:55:56,960 --> 00:56:00,159 They're winners. They're guys I want on my team. I 877 00:56:00,199 --> 00:56:02,119 want them in my locker room. I want to be 878 00:56:02,199 --> 00:56:05,880 with them in a foxhole. So I can praise and 879 00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:09,960 compliment Dante more. But I'm not gonna go overboard and say, wow, 880 00:56:09,960 --> 00:56:13,440 he's an elite quarterback. You know, the quarterbacks have not 881 00:56:13,519 --> 00:56:16,639 been special this year. And just to deviate from the west, 882 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:20,679 all right, Ty Simpson of Alabama very similar. You know, 883 00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:24,400 he's making winning plays, he's on a winning team. You 884 00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:27,039 know he has come through in some crunch time moments, 885 00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:31,039 but there's a lot of ordinary there, didn't You know? 886 00:56:31,320 --> 00:56:35,000 Was not great against South Carolina, not great against LSU. 887 00:56:35,559 --> 00:56:38,199 Just because he's the quarterback on a college football playoff 888 00:56:38,239 --> 00:56:42,360 contending team, that doesn't mean he's a Heisman top four guy. Like, 889 00:56:42,519 --> 00:56:45,920 surely he should be looking at defensive linemen and cornerbacks 890 00:56:46,239 --> 00:56:50,840 and linebackers and offensive lineman and maybe a receiver, maybe 891 00:56:50,960 --> 00:56:54,559 Jeremiah Smith, as the best players in college football. Are 892 00:56:54,599 --> 00:56:56,519 we really trying to say that in a year with 893 00:56:56,679 --> 00:57:01,719 a week quarterback class, the four or five Heisman candidates 894 00:57:01,719 --> 00:57:04,760 are all quarterbacks. See, that doesn't make sense that is 895 00:57:04,800 --> 00:57:08,360 inherently contradicting. You can't say this is a bad quarterback 896 00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:11,440 class and yet also say, well, the top five and 897 00:57:11,440 --> 00:57:14,960 the Heisman are quarterbacks. You can't because they're not the 898 00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:16,960 best players in the sport, and they're not even in 899 00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:20,159 many cases the best players on their own teams. So 900 00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:23,519 I'm really frustrated by the way the Heisman discourse has 901 00:57:23,559 --> 00:57:26,159 gone and Dante Moore at Oregon, though I know he's 902 00:57:26,199 --> 00:57:28,880 not talked about in the top tier of Heisman candidates 903 00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:34,280 the way that Mendoza and Julian Sayan and others are 904 00:57:34,559 --> 00:57:38,079 still like, there's so much attention paid to Dante Moore 905 00:57:38,880 --> 00:57:41,760 when you know he did not play a great game. 906 00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:44,599 I'm willing to say he had a great final drive. 907 00:57:44,760 --> 00:57:47,519 I would also say that, you know, the Iowa cornerback 908 00:57:47,559 --> 00:57:49,920 could have turned around and located the ball on that 909 00:57:50,159 --> 00:57:52,760 throw that Dante Moore made. I think it was a 910 00:57:52,800 --> 00:57:56,199 fearless throw, and Dante Moore had to throw that ball 911 00:57:56,239 --> 00:57:58,039 with zip to get it where he wanted to go, 912 00:57:58,440 --> 00:58:01,039 So it was still an impressive throw to a certain degree. 913 00:58:01,239 --> 00:58:04,960 But he also did get fortunate on that one. If 914 00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:09,079 the Iowa cornerback just makes the half turn and locates 915 00:58:09,119 --> 00:58:12,199 the ball decent chance that pass gets knocked down, and 916 00:58:12,239 --> 00:58:14,880 where are we then? And I would also add that 917 00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:19,320 Dante Moore had a wide open touchdown shortly after that 918 00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:21,719 Oregon could have scored a touchdown without having to worry 919 00:58:21,719 --> 00:58:24,960 about a field goal. And Dante Moore overshoots his receiver 920 00:58:25,079 --> 00:58:27,920 in the left corner of the end zone. So like 921 00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:31,719 that was a miss from Dante Moore. I think he's 922 00:58:31,719 --> 00:58:35,840 getting a little too much credit. But I think I've 923 00:58:35,880 --> 00:58:39,039 been clear in saying he's a winner. I want him 924 00:58:39,079 --> 00:58:41,039 on my team, I want him in my locker room. 925 00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:44,280 He shows poise, he shows guts. There's a lot to 926 00:58:44,400 --> 00:58:47,519 like about him, but overall, the overall body of work 927 00:58:47,719 --> 00:58:51,320 want I certainly wouldn't say he's a great quarterback. And 928 00:58:51,559 --> 00:58:54,000 if people think I'm picking on him, well no. I 929 00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:57,800 think Fernando Mendoza can be viewed and should be viewed 930 00:58:57,800 --> 00:59:00,079 in a similar light. I also think Jane maavas not 931 00:59:00,239 --> 00:59:04,039 necessarily that good at USC and I cover USC. So 932 00:59:04,199 --> 00:59:07,599 this is not a Dante Moore specific thing, just the opposite. 933 00:59:07,639 --> 00:59:10,599 I think Dantey Moore is just one example how the 934 00:59:10,719 --> 00:59:14,719 national discourse on a lot of quarterbacks has really jumped 935 00:59:14,760 --> 00:59:18,079 the shark this season, and you know, I don't have 936 00:59:18,119 --> 00:59:21,559 confidence that the discourse is going to correct itself and 937 00:59:21,599 --> 00:59:25,639 go in a better direction. But like the discussion surrounding 938 00:59:25,639 --> 00:59:28,960 the Heisman and the discussion surrounding quarterbacks this year has 939 00:59:29,000 --> 00:59:35,159 been very disappointing to observe and absorb. All Right, So 940 00:59:35,320 --> 00:59:39,639 one more thing about Oregon Iowa. I did say I 941 00:59:39,679 --> 00:59:42,639 was going to mention a rule from this game and 942 00:59:43,119 --> 00:59:47,519 another instance of why the college football rule book is terrible. 943 00:59:47,599 --> 00:59:51,719 It needs to be rewritten and revised. It's that safety 944 00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:54,559 that Oregon got early in the game. And if you 945 00:59:54,639 --> 00:59:59,360 remember that play, the Iowa punter very clearly just swiped 946 00:59:59,480 --> 01:00:02,079 at the ball at the one yard line, knocking the 947 01:00:02,119 --> 01:00:06,519 ball into the end zone. Now, I was under the impression, 948 01:00:06,679 --> 01:00:09,000 and this was an error on my part, but I 949 01:00:09,039 --> 01:00:11,679 was under the impression that you can't just bat the 950 01:00:11,719 --> 01:00:14,880 ball like that. You can't just try and swipe the 951 01:00:14,920 --> 01:00:18,199 ball out of bounds or away from a defender. It 952 01:00:18,320 --> 01:00:22,360 turns out that illegal batting, you know, that is a 953 01:00:22,440 --> 01:00:25,559 violation in the rule book. But the i legal batting 954 01:00:25,559 --> 01:00:29,280 only applies to in the end zone or trying to 955 01:00:29,320 --> 01:00:32,199 swipe the ball forward. You know, kind of the Ken 956 01:00:32,239 --> 01:00:35,800 Stabler Holy Roller for the Raiders against the Chargers in 957 01:00:35,880 --> 01:00:38,599 nineteen seventy eight. So you can't hit the ball forward 958 01:00:39,519 --> 01:00:41,800 to get a first down or to get a touchdown. 959 01:00:43,119 --> 01:00:46,440 So batting applies only to forward bats in the field 960 01:00:46,480 --> 01:00:49,000 of play or to anything in the end zone. But 961 01:00:49,119 --> 01:00:54,119 a backward bat, a backward swiping at the ball, hitting 962 01:00:54,119 --> 01:00:57,719 the ball at the one yard line, that's not a penalty. 963 01:00:58,199 --> 01:01:01,519 So to me, that's an inconsistency with the rule. If 964 01:01:01,559 --> 01:01:05,400 it's illegal to bat it forward for convenience purposes, it 965 01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:09,599 should be illegal to bat it backward for convenience purposes 966 01:01:10,320 --> 01:01:12,679 as well. And so why it would be legal at 967 01:01:12,679 --> 01:01:15,519 the one but not legal in the end zone? You know, 968 01:01:15,800 --> 01:01:19,679 like holding is a penalty at the one, holding is 969 01:01:19,719 --> 01:01:22,519 a penalty in the end zone. So I get why 970 01:01:23,519 --> 01:01:25,880 holding that the one is not a safety, but it's 971 01:01:25,880 --> 01:01:30,599 still holding and it's still called a penalty. But trying 972 01:01:30,639 --> 01:01:32,480 to swipe a ball at the one apparently is not 973 01:01:32,519 --> 01:01:36,519 a penalty. And Oregon did not have the option of 974 01:01:36,519 --> 01:01:40,480 getting the ball at the one yard line. And where 975 01:01:40,519 --> 01:01:44,559 I made the specific mistake in terms of my awareness 976 01:01:44,599 --> 01:01:48,639 of the rule book was you cannot illegally kick a 977 01:01:48,760 --> 01:01:53,239 ball at the one. You cannot illegally kick a ball anywhere. 978 01:01:53,519 --> 01:01:55,480 You know, if a ball is rolling on the ground, 979 01:01:55,880 --> 01:01:58,679 you can't just then kick it. You need to grab 980 01:01:58,719 --> 01:02:01,800 it and do your do a drop kick consistent with 981 01:02:02,639 --> 01:02:06,280 a punt, a normal punting technique. You can't kick a 982 01:02:06,320 --> 01:02:11,320 ball or rolling on the ground anywhere. So that was 983 01:02:11,360 --> 01:02:15,159 where I made my mistake. The legal batting you can 984 01:02:15,199 --> 01:02:19,519 do at or batting the ball backward, you can legally 985 01:02:19,559 --> 01:02:22,800 do that at the one, But kicking the ball rolling 986 01:02:22,840 --> 01:02:25,840 on the ground you cannot do that at any place 987 01:02:26,719 --> 01:02:29,320 on the field. And so it would have been Oregon 988 01:02:29,400 --> 01:02:31,960 ball on the one, or at least Oregon would have 989 01:02:31,960 --> 01:02:34,719 had the option of taking the ball on the Iowa 990 01:02:34,760 --> 01:02:39,000 one yard line if the Iowa punter had illegally kicked 991 01:02:39,079 --> 01:02:42,559 the ball at the one. But because the Iowa punter 992 01:02:43,159 --> 01:02:46,719 swiped batted the ball at the one, and he batted 993 01:02:46,760 --> 01:02:51,320 it backwards outside and outside the end zone, it was 994 01:02:51,480 --> 01:02:54,519 not a penalty. So the referees made the correct call, 995 01:02:54,960 --> 01:02:58,519 and I was wrong. But I do register my objection 996 01:02:58,639 --> 01:03:01,880 with the rule book being that inconsistent that if it's 997 01:03:01,920 --> 01:03:03,840 illegal to kick a ball on the one yard line. 998 01:03:03,880 --> 01:03:06,440 It should be illegal to bat the ball on the 999 01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:10,119 one yard line. Oregon should have a good rule book 1000 01:03:10,159 --> 01:03:13,519 would have given Oregon the option of taking the ball 1001 01:03:13,719 --> 01:03:17,159 on the Iowa one yard line and scoring a touchdown. 1002 01:03:17,199 --> 01:03:20,159 As it was, Oregon got the safety and got the 1003 01:03:20,199 --> 01:03:22,920 ball back, but then Dante Moore through the interception on 1004 01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:25,800 the subsequent drive. So Oregon did get just two points, 1005 01:03:26,440 --> 01:03:30,519 not seven from that sequence, and in a game that 1006 01:03:30,599 --> 01:03:34,920 came down to the final second that those five points 1007 01:03:34,920 --> 01:03:37,840 could have made Organ's day a lot easier. But it's 1008 01:03:37,960 --> 01:03:42,320 okay to bat a ball backward at the one yard line, 1009 01:03:42,800 --> 01:03:47,360 unlike kicking the ball. So another problem, another inconsistency of 1010 01:03:47,400 --> 01:03:51,000 the college football rule book that was also part of 1011 01:03:51,039 --> 01:03:54,119 the Oregon Iowa game. So as we make sense of 1012 01:03:54,159 --> 01:03:56,159 the Big Ten, and as we make sense of Oregon, 1013 01:03:56,280 --> 01:04:02,320 so Oregon, I wouldn't call the a lock for the 1014 01:04:02,320 --> 01:04:05,159 playoff just yet, because they do have to play usc 1015 01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:07,599 they do have to play Washington either of those games 1016 01:04:07,679 --> 01:04:10,679 or layups, and this offense is going to have to 1017 01:04:10,679 --> 01:04:14,119 be better. And I do know that Oregon has a 1018 01:04:14,239 --> 01:04:17,639 lot of skill players out you know, didn't have Kenyan 1019 01:04:17,719 --> 01:04:23,119 Sadik in there, didn't have Decoran Moore both injured, and 1020 01:04:23,280 --> 01:04:25,800 that that you know, that limited what Dante More was 1021 01:04:25,840 --> 01:04:28,840 able to do in the passing game. And Moore himself 1022 01:04:28,880 --> 01:04:31,400 seemed to pull up on a long run, you know, 1023 01:04:31,440 --> 01:04:35,199 maybe a little tight hamstring something like that. So Oregon's 1024 01:04:35,239 --> 01:04:38,400 battling some injuries, and so Oregon you know, will have 1025 01:04:38,519 --> 01:04:42,760 some issues to deal with in future weeks. So the 1026 01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:47,360 Ducks aren't yet a lock, but obviously pretty obviously you know, 1027 01:04:47,440 --> 01:04:50,880 this knocks Iowa fully out of the playoff race. So 1028 01:04:50,960 --> 01:04:54,800 you had Iowa and Washington both getting eliminated from the 1029 01:04:54,840 --> 01:04:58,159 playoff in the Big Ten. And so now Oregon has 1030 01:04:58,239 --> 01:05:02,719 solidified its place as the Big ten team in the field. 1031 01:05:02,880 --> 01:05:05,679 That it will have to continue to solidify that place 1032 01:05:06,480 --> 01:05:10,519 by you know, at least going ten and two. Uh 1033 01:05:11,519 --> 01:05:13,800 And and I would say that if Oregon does go 1034 01:05:13,920 --> 01:05:17,360 ten and two, it's probably going to get in. Uh. 1035 01:05:17,679 --> 01:05:21,719 This is this is partly because you know, a win 1036 01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:24,760 on the road at Iowa that would give Oregon a 1037 01:05:24,880 --> 01:05:27,559 quality win that's better than what Notre Dame has. So like, 1038 01:05:27,639 --> 01:05:30,039 if it's ten and two Oregon versus ten and two 1039 01:05:30,119 --> 01:05:33,199 Notre Dame for a bid, I mean, if it just 1040 01:05:33,280 --> 01:05:36,119 comes down to those two teams, Oregon would have a 1041 01:05:36,159 --> 01:05:42,760 better overall profile. So Oregon probably gets into the playoff 1042 01:05:42,800 --> 01:05:44,880 at ten and two. And you know, if the Ducks 1043 01:05:44,880 --> 01:05:48,079 had lost this game, they would have absolutely had to 1044 01:05:48,159 --> 01:05:50,800 run the table to have any chance of getting in. 1045 01:05:50,920 --> 01:05:56,000 Now Oregon can probably lose once and still get in. 1046 01:05:56,480 --> 01:05:58,400 I mean, the Ducks don't want to chance it, but 1047 01:05:58,480 --> 01:06:02,039 they might. They do have some margin for air, which 1048 01:06:02,039 --> 01:06:03,960 you can't say from Orre Dame, and you can't say 1049 01:06:03,960 --> 01:06:06,880 that for a number of other programs that are on 1050 01:06:06,920 --> 01:06:11,679 the fence. So Oregon probably got into the playoff with 1051 01:06:11,800 --> 01:06:13,719 this win, but the Ducks are not yet a lock. 1052 01:06:14,239 --> 01:06:16,920 They do still have more to do. You know, if 1053 01:06:16,920 --> 01:06:20,119 you're an Oregon fan, you want certain things to happen 1054 01:06:20,199 --> 01:06:23,719 elsewhere in the country. Like you definitely want Alabama to 1055 01:06:23,760 --> 01:06:28,280 beat Oklahoma, right, you want Oklahoma to lose a third game, 1056 01:06:29,440 --> 01:06:31,840 so that way, if Oregon loses a second game, the 1057 01:06:31,920 --> 01:06:35,239 Ducks still likely to be ahead of the Sooners and 1058 01:06:35,400 --> 01:06:39,719 other potential three loss SEC teams in the playoff. Like 1059 01:06:39,800 --> 01:06:43,800 you want Georgia to beat Texas, you want Texas to 1060 01:06:43,880 --> 01:06:46,320 lose a third game. And let's keep in mind Texas 1061 01:06:46,639 --> 01:06:48,920 would still have Texas A and M left. So really, 1062 01:06:48,920 --> 01:06:51,639 if you're an Oregon fan, you want Texas to lose 1063 01:06:51,679 --> 01:06:54,519 to Georgia and then lose to Texas A and M. 1064 01:06:55,039 --> 01:06:57,840 That would give the Longhorns four losses. There's no way 1065 01:06:57,920 --> 01:07:01,199 Texas is getting into the playoff with four losses, So 1066 01:07:01,519 --> 01:07:04,400 Oregon buys itself a little bit of leverage. It knocks 1067 01:07:04,440 --> 01:07:08,199 Iowa out. Very productive day for Oregon and the Ducks 1068 01:07:08,199 --> 01:07:12,800 to do this while they are undermanned at the skill positions, so, 1069 01:07:13,199 --> 01:07:16,440 you know, not one of Oregon's best played games. There 1070 01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:19,159 were some penalties, there were some breakdowns in the secondary, 1071 01:07:20,119 --> 01:07:22,800 but the Ducks are able to fight pass those problems 1072 01:07:23,400 --> 01:07:25,559 and they're able to gut it out in the end 1073 01:07:25,599 --> 01:07:28,360 against Iowa, much as they gutted it out in overtime 1074 01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:31,679 against Penn State after the Nitty Lions made that rally 1075 01:07:32,079 --> 01:07:37,880 back in September. And kind of funny, isn't it that 1076 01:07:38,679 --> 01:07:43,679 Oregon and Indiana both beat Penn State by very narrow 1077 01:07:43,719 --> 01:07:48,440 margins after blowing double digit leads allowing Penn State to 1078 01:07:48,559 --> 01:07:52,239 rally late. Those games were very similar and they underscored that, 1079 01:07:52,599 --> 01:07:55,320 you know, wow, Penn State has all this talent on defense, 1080 01:07:55,960 --> 01:07:58,440 pushed Indiana and Oregon to the brink, and yet has 1081 01:07:58,480 --> 01:08:02,519 been so awful in the other games it has played 1082 01:08:03,360 --> 01:08:08,280 this season. All right, folks like that. That was a mouthful, 1083 01:08:08,400 --> 01:08:10,360 and we certainly wanted to give a lot of time 1084 01:08:10,400 --> 01:08:13,800 to Oregon Iowa. We focused on it last, but that 1085 01:08:13,840 --> 01:08:16,279 doesn't mean it came last in our priority scale. We 1086 01:08:16,359 --> 01:08:20,159 saved the best for last here on Get Off My Pilot, 1087 01:08:20,239 --> 01:08:23,680 part of the College Gradarn Coast to Coast podcast network. 1088 01:08:23,720 --> 01:08:26,680 Go to Apple, Spotify and Speaker for all your favorite 1089 01:08:26,680 --> 01:08:31,039 college Gridarn Coast to Coast shows, all sports discussion on 1090 01:08:31,039 --> 01:08:34,520 the a SEC. Jason Powers Florida Football Insiders, No a 1091 01:08:34,640 --> 01:08:37,800 jury with the Big ten paradigm, which we referenced during 1092 01:08:37,840 --> 01:08:41,720 the show, Pigskin and Burnt ends, Yards and Stripes on 1093 01:08:41,800 --> 01:08:46,399 the Service Academy. So many interesting flavors of the larger 1094 01:08:46,479 --> 01:08:50,680 national college football experience here on the College Gradron Coast 1095 01:08:50,720 --> 01:08:54,880 to Coast podcast network. So for to Get Off My 1096 01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:59,119 Pylon college football podcast covering western college football in the 1097 01:08:59,199 --> 01:09:02,760 United States. This is Matt Zimmak. Thanks for listening here 1098 01:09:02,800 --> 01:09:05,000 on College Greater and Coast to Coast. We will see 1099 01:09:05,000 --> 01:09:05,680 you next week.