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Speaker 1: Check it out college football on the West Coast. This

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is Get Off My Pylon, a look at the PAC

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twelve and more, part of the College Gridiron Coast to

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Coast podcast Network.

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Speaker 2: Here's your host, Matt zimon Welcome to the latest edition

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of the Get Off My Pilon College football podcast. This

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is your host, Matt Zemick. We're part of the College

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Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast Network. Go to Apple, Speaker, Spotify,

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the other places where you listen to your favorite podcasts

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and get all your college gridirn Coast to Coast shows,

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whether it's Pigskin and Burnt Ends or Yards and Stripes

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on the Service Academies. Navy with a thrilling last minute

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win over Temple, the late two point conversion for the

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midshipmen in Philadelphia thirty two thirty one. They come from behind,

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they stay atop the American Get more on Navy it

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Yards and Stripes. We have Noah Drury with the Big

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Ten pair and he's covering all the Midwestern Big Ten schools.

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I of course covered the West Coast Big ten schools

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and the other Western schools here in the United States.

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So get plenty more in the Big Ten from Noah

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Drury at Big Ten Paradigm. Jason Powers with the Florida

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Football Insiders podcasts, the disaster unfolding for Mike Norvel at

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Florida State, Miami still rules the roost, Florida and Billy

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Napier lose, and why hasn't Florida fired Billy Napier yet?

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Jason Powers, as you covered, He also is covering the

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South Florida Bulls. They beat North Texas in a very

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big game in the American South Florida and Navy both

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atop the conference and Joscelyn for position the winner of

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the American very likely to claim the Group of Five

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championship and the College Football playoff berths. So Jason Powers

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has you covered at Florida Football Insiders. A great year

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for football in the state of Florida. I love you

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juicy stories. You know, South Florida and Miami could be

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in the playoff and then Florida and Florida State have

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hot seats. Wow, Like it's just four schools and four

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really interesting stories, albeit for very different sets of reasons.

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But Jason Powers, as you covered on the Florida Football

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Insiders podcasts all sports discussion covering the AC seed, who's

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going to challenge Miami guys at all sports discussion? Have

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you covered there for everything on ACC football? So you know,

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there are so many good and interesting college grade down

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coast to coast shows, and we hope that you check

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all of them out. We're here on Get off my

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Pylon to talk about western college football. Let's just run

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through some of the lower level stories before we get

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to the main items. UNLV is six and zero in

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the Mountain West. Now, you know v you know, gave

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up forty eight to air Force. You and V's not

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really a particularly good team, but so far, no one's

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been able to beat the Rebels. You know, they beat UCLA,

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they squeaked past Miami of Ohio, they survived Idaho State

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handled Wyoming Like they're not playing great opponents, but hey,

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they're winning and they're six and zero. And San Diego

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State crushed Nevada to move to five and one. And

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you have Boise State, you know, trying to make up

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ground on San Diego State and UNLV. It's an interesting

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three team race in the Mountain West. But none of

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those teams seems to be nearly as good as South

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Florida in the American for example, I think that the

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American still has the inside track. UNLV is probably gonna

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have to go unbaten have a real chance at the

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Group of five championship. One loss for UNLV probably going

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to be enough to give the American champion the not

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Let's say South Florida goes ten and two. You know,

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given that South Florida beat Boise State and just beat

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North Texas on the road, South Florida is collecting some

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good wins, so ten and two South Florida might get

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in over eleven and one UNLV. If it gets down

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to that. Then the fact that South Florida beat Boise

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State and did so convincingly, that's gonna be a big

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argument for South Florida. If we have the hypothetical of

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eleven and one UNLV against ten and two USF for

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the Group of five, I think it's gonna go USF's way.

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So UNLV really in a position where it has to

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run the table, and I don't think that's likely. You know,

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a team that gives up forty eight to Air Force

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probably gonna lose a game at some point. We'll see

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what happens in the second half of the season. We

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are at the midway point. We're through week seven. We

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have fourteen of these you know, regular college football weekends

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before we get to the conference changing games. So it

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we're halfway home and UNLV with a lot of work

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to do. But no one has been able to take

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down down Mullins Rebels just yet. So that that's the

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short story on the Mountain West again. Just not a

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year when the Mountain West has created some really crackling

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and interesting storylines or set the world on fire. No,

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it's been a real down year for the Mountain West.

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We'll see if that changes, and we'll see if the

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teams at the top of the American start stumbling perhaps

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play their way out of playoff contention, and maybe that

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improves UNLV's odds at the top of the Mountain West.

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So stay tuned there. Stanford and cal Cal did play.

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Stanford got routed by SMU. Not a whole lot to

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say there. Stanford is looking for its head coaching vacancy

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next season, like that's the main thing. One thing of

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note with Stanford over the past week. Got a fifty

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million dollar gift from a loyal donor. So that fifty

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million dollar gift that's going to help Andrew Luck with

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his coaching search and with Nil with various resources. So

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Stanford gets a shot in the arm in terms of

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its resources, a fifty million dollars gift. You don't just

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see that every day on the field. Though, this is

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going to be a very long year for Stanford. It

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has been it will continue to be handled very easily

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by ssem U in that new look and very non

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Atlantic Coast matchup in suburban Dallas. We continue on the

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Big Twelve had some really interesting and important games. Colorado

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manages to beat Iowa State. So Iowa State lose to

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Cincinnati and Colorado and that really shakes up the hierarchy

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in the Big Twelve. Colorado doing it with defense. The

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Buffs came ready to play, They were fired up. They

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could have really sulked after the loss to TCU, and

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they've been competitive, but they haven't been finishing games well.

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They finished one against Iowa State, So credit to Dion

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Sanders and his staff getting his guys motivated and getting

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his players to forget about recent setbacks and focus on

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the next game in front of them. That's a mature

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win for Colorado. Can the Buffs string something together that

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remains to be seen, but they showed a lot of

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mental toughness against Iowa State. It's a very encouraging moment

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and from a CU perspective, hopefully a growth point for

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the road ahead for that team going into the second

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half of the college football season. Utah Arizona State two teams.

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We ready to cover here and get off my pilon.

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Not a whole lot to stay here. Arizona State without

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quarterback Sam Levitt figured to be a disaster. It was

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Arizona State no chance. Utah swarms the Sun Devils in

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Salt Lake City and a game that used to be

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a Pac twelve game now it's a Big twelve game.

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But without Sam Levitt. Let's remember Arizona State's been barely

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scraping by without camp Scatabo won a twenty seven to

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twenty four game against Baylor, won a twenty seven to

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twenty four game against TCU, and TCU doesn't look very

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good and Baylor doesn't look very good. Arizona State is

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just playing to the level of what is basically mediocre

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average competition in the Big Twelve with Sam Levitt. So

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you take Levitt out of their Sun Devils did not

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have a shot not at all in Salt Lake City

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that it figured to be a Utah romp on paper,

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and this time what seemed to be the likelihood on

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paper turned into reality. So the theory and the reality

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converge and we're on the same trajectory in Salt Lake City,

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Utah with a very easy win. So let's see if

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Utah builds off that. You know, Utah crushed UCLA earlier

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in the year. Obviously that was a totally different UCLA team.

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We're gonna have more on the bruins and just a

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bit it. Utah sometimes looks really really good, but against

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the caliber of opposition, you know, that's really the limiting factor.

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Ucle was terrible in Week one against Utah, very different

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team from the ucil A team we're seeing now. And

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then Utah beating Arizona State without Sam Levitt like that

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is not anything especially impressive, Like a decent team should

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absolutely clobber Arizona State without its quality starting quarterbacks. So

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Utah did what was expected, no more, no less. But

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you know, give the Utes credit for taking care of

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business easily, like that's what they were supposed to do.

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But is it especially impressive? Does it change anyone's mind

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about Utah. No, we need to see the Utes beat

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good teams that have their starting quarterback, and we need

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to see Utah win at the top tier of the

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Big Twelve, which now has Texas Tech and Cincinnati as

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two of its three remaining unbeaten teams. The third unbeaten

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team is where we're going to go next. BYU Arizona.

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This was an interesting game. Arizona carried the play most

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of the way and led by ten in the second half,

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led by seven very late. BYU is able to tie

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it in the final moments of regulation, send the game

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into overtime and win. And BYUS is that team. There's

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always at least one team in college football that does this.

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By used the team that scrambles late to salvage games.

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BYU was behind Colorado for a good portion of that

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game a few weeks ago in Boulder on the road,

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managed to dig it out. BYU trailing most of this

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game in Tucson on the road, managed to dig it out.

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So you know, BYU is not dominating. Bear Bachmeier is

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a young quarterback. He's making his share of mistakes, but

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you know this is part of being a tough team

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when you make a mental mistake, you rebound from it,

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you have the short memory, you move on to the

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next play, the next drive. BYU is doing that. It's

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impressive in its own way. It's not dominant, it's not overwhelming,

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but BYU able to cross the finish line. And then

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on the other side of this Brent Brennan in Arizona

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really damaging loss. I mean, it probably knocks them out

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of the running for the Big Twelve championship. I know

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we have several weeks left, but it's not just that

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Arizona loses a game to BYU and the standings and

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loses the head to head. So BYU is unbeaten. Arizona

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has multiple Big Twelve losses. But you add the head

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to head BYU essentially gained two games, not one game,

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but two against Arizona. There's the one game in the standings,

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but then also having the head to head tiebreaker. Those

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tie breakers in the Big Twelve they mattered last year,

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they figured to matter this here. So Arizona probably eliminated

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itself from Big Twelve contention, not technically, of course, not mathematically.

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There's still half a season left to play. Maybe there's

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going to be some incredible plot twists. But the climb

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is going to be hard, right, It's going to be

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very difficult for Arizona to jump over both BYU and

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Texas Tech. You know, and maybe Cincinnati stays in the hunt,

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but you know, how does how does Arizona jump past

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both BYU and it loses the tiebreaker there? And also

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a Texas Tech team which looks like the class of

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the Big twelve so far this season, really really damaging

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loss for Arizona. And Arizona under Brent Brennan has been

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the kind of team that you know is always one

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or two plays away. And I say this, you know

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all the time, I've said it with Lincoln Riley and

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USC football is ferocious, cutthroat competition. You games generally are

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going to be close. They generally are going to go

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down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and

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the good teams regularly, not always, but regularly, far more

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often than not, are going to come out on the

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positive side of that. And so for Arizona, you can't

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just say, well, we're one or two plays away. Welcome

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to college football, right, that is elite competition. You're going

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up against a similarly talented opponent, a game is likely

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to be close, especially in the parody filled Big Twelve.

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I mean that is a pig skin parody paradise. You're

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going to be playing close games more often than not.

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Saying you're one or two plays away. That is the

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lament of a loser. You gotta get over the finish line,

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and BIU is just a lot better at doing that

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than Arizona is. So that was a big swing and

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the Big Twelve standings. If Arizona had won, then Texas

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Tech and Cincinnati would have been tied for the top

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two spots. BYU would have been pushed down into the

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chasing pack and Arizona would have stayed in the hunt.

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But instead Arizona lets this one slip away, so BYU

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stays at the top with Texas Tech and Cincinnati. Arizona

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essentially out, not technically, but essentially out. And you know,

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if Utah beating Arizona State as well, the Big twelve

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middle just got a lot fatter and more cluttered. So

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just Big twelve roller derby every week. It's hard to

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predict which way the ball is gonna bounce unless you

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have something like a Sam Levitt injury. Of course, like

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BYU Arizona. You know, Byu' going and favored, but Arizona

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was the better team for three quarters. But BYU steals

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it late. Arizona just can't finish, and so we have

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a major change in the Big Twelve. It could have

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been far more uncertain. But now we know that Areas

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Zona is not really a serious player, and we know

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that BYU is very likely to be in the mix

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for the Big Twelve championship game. Now, whether you want

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to make BYU the favorite, I'm not sure, Texas Tech

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00:15:12,279 --> 00:15:15,440
probably would be the most obvious choice. But you know

248
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BYU and Cincinnati, you know, one of those two has

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a decent chance of facing Texas Tech for a conference

250
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:28,240
title in a spot in the College Football playoff. Let's

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hit on the two pack very briefly. Oregon State fires

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00:15:31,279 --> 00:15:34,919
Trent Bray. Uh. You know, after failing to win a

253
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game through week seven, Oregon State gets clobbered by wake Forest.

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And wake Forest is not terrible, but Wake Forest is

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00:15:41,559 --> 00:15:45,759
also not especially good news. By twenty five to wake Forest. Yeah,

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that that just that was enough for Oregon State administrators.

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And now, you know, let's remember Trent Bray stayed at OSU.

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He did not follow Jonathan Smith, former Beaver coach to

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East Lansing and Michigan State. He wanted to see what

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00:16:01,039 --> 00:16:04,480
he could do if the Orenton State program. Oregon State

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00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:08,240
might do well to hire Jonathan Smith because he's completely

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failing at Michigan State. The Spartans and their fans are restless.

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We're going to talk about that Michigan State UCLA game

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in a bit, but Oregon State could certainly do a

265
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,360
lot worse than just say, hey, Jonathan Smith, come back. Now.

266
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There were a lot of hard feelings, a lot of

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00:16:25,759 --> 00:16:31,840
bruised egos there. Maybe this divorce could be patched up

268
00:16:31,879 --> 00:16:36,639
and we could have a second marriage, but that remains

269
00:16:36,639 --> 00:16:39,960
to be seen in Corvallis. But Oregon State starting over

270
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:45,399
Trent Bray just did not work out as Jonathan Smith's successor.

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Washington State was a This was a shocker. I mean,

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Washington State doesn't win, but it took ole Miss down

273
00:16:53,159 --> 00:16:57,000
to the wire. Ole Miss pretty clearly looking ahead to Georgia.

274
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But even then, even if you're looking ahead to George

275
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:02,919
you would think that ole Miss would have at least

276
00:17:03,039 --> 00:17:06,039
gotten it together for like a half or even twenty

277
00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:10,079
minutes and beaten Washington State by like seventeen. Nope, it

278
00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,920
went down to the wire. Ole Miss barely hangs on

279
00:17:13,039 --> 00:17:16,480
for a three point win over Washington State. The line

280
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:20,680
at kickoff was thirty three and a half, might have

281
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:23,519
been thirty two and a half in some places, but

282
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you know, Ole Miss minus the huge spread was a

283
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,559
popular pick. Washington State gets on top of that game

284
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early and Ole Miss was never really able to pull away.

285
00:17:34,759 --> 00:17:39,759
Washington State stayed close virtually the whole contest and was

286
00:17:39,799 --> 00:17:42,640
in it to the end, nearly pulls off the upset.

287
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It's going to be really interesting to see what Washington

288
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,759
State does in the second half of the season on

289
00:17:47,799 --> 00:17:50,720
the heels of this. You know, Washington State got bombed

290
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,599
by North Texas by forty nine points earlier in the season,

291
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,160
So the Cougars have really improved substantially. They have figured

292
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,799
some things out after taking their lumps early in the season.

293
00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:07,240
Can they really become a legitimately good team. We'll find

294
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,640
out in the second half of the season. So Washington

295
00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,440
State definitely headed upward. It's very different from Oregon State,

296
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:15,839
which you know, lost some close games and then the

297
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,440
bottom just fell out. Team has lost faith, it's lost heart.

298
00:18:20,079 --> 00:18:24,000
Washington State with the exact opposite response to some really

299
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rough and ugly results earlier in the season. The cougar's

300
00:18:27,319 --> 00:18:31,599
pointing in the right direction. All right, So we've covered

301
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,559
Mountain West, the ACC basically, the Bay Area schools, the

302
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Big Twelve, and the two pack of the two teams

303
00:18:40,279 --> 00:18:43,680
in the Pacific Northwest. So now we come to the

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featured part of our show. As is usually the case,

305
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,640
like in Western college football, the real action, the big stories.

306
00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,599
They're happening with the West Coast schools in the Big Ten,

307
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,680
So we have a lot to cover. Washington over Rutgers

308
00:18:58,759 --> 00:19:01,960
that was the least eventful of the four Big Ten

309
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,119
teams from the West Coast schools. Washington handling Rutgers at

310
00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:11,279
home on Friday night, no problem. Washington now moves on

311
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,119
to bigger challenges ahead. It's gonna be interesting to see

312
00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,599
what Jed Fish and his Huskies do. Now to the

313
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,799
three main featured items. So one is UCLA going into

314
00:19:21,839 --> 00:19:26,079
East Lansing and absolutely blowing the doors off Michigan State

315
00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,480
thirty eight thirteen mentioned Jonathan Smith earlier. Michigan State fans

316
00:19:30,519 --> 00:19:34,279
want him out, like the Michigan State fans are fed up,

317
00:19:34,319 --> 00:19:37,480
like they've reached the end of the line with Jonathan Smith.

318
00:19:37,519 --> 00:19:40,640
They don't see how this gets salvaged. One of the

319
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,799
key reasons if you watch this game on Saturday, early

320
00:19:43,839 --> 00:19:47,000
afternoon or late morning, paying on where you are in

321
00:19:47,039 --> 00:19:52,720
the country. Aiden Chiles was supposed to be this really dynamic, electric,

322
00:19:54,079 --> 00:19:59,359
high upside quarterback. He's bad. He's just not reading the game.

323
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,519
He's just not processing plays. I know he got injured

324
00:20:02,599 --> 00:20:04,839
midway through that game, but like, he was not good

325
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,000
in the first quarter. He was not good when he

326
00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,200
was playing. He overthrew a very, very wide open receiver

327
00:20:11,319 --> 00:20:15,039
early that seemed to set the tone. Never found rhythm.

328
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,039
UCLA's defense, folks, is not good. It's not a good defense. Now,

329
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:24,880
UCLA's offense looks like the real deal, and putting up

330
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,960
thirty eight points on the road in a body clock game.

331
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,960
You know this was a nine am Pacific time start.

332
00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:36,880
Ucla ready to play after a sluggish first drive, like

333
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,759
the Bruins just you know, got things into gear on

334
00:20:39,839 --> 00:20:42,559
their second possession of the game and never really looked back.

335
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,680
That offense is humming. But UCLA's defense, trust me, I

336
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,599
followed his team pretty closely. This defense is not very strong.

337
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:55,119
It's a commentary on the sad state of Michigan State

338
00:20:55,319 --> 00:20:58,759
that the Spartans scored just thirteen points one of those

339
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,680
two touchdowns as they missed a conversion. One of those

340
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,920
two touchdowns was in garbage time. So basically, Michigan State

341
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:12,680
with one score, one meaningful or relevant score against UCLA's defense,

342
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,839
Michigan State is probably the next to worst team in

343
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,680
the Big Ten eighteen schools. I would put Michigan State

344
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,559
at number seventeen. Wisconsin and Luke Fickle the only team

345
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,680
worse right now than Michigan State. Like Purdue is clearly

346
00:21:29,759 --> 00:21:33,559
better than Michigan State. Purdue is not great, but Purdue

347
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,480
is clearly better than Michigan State. If those two teams played,

348
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:43,039
would race to take Purdue in that matchup. So UCLA's

349
00:21:43,079 --> 00:21:46,559
win is part of a really fascinating emerging story in

350
00:21:46,559 --> 00:21:49,240
the Big Ten where you know, if you lose to

351
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:52,759
UCLA or Northwestern, your coach gets fired or is about

352
00:21:52,759 --> 00:21:56,559
to get fired. You know, UCLA beats Penn State, then

353
00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,559
Penn State loses to Northwestern, James Franklin's out like there's

354
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,559
just no patients, there's no tolerance. I'm not saying the

355
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,119
lack of patients is bad. I'm just noting the lack

356
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:11,680
of patients. UCLA's created a snowball effect that got James

357
00:22:11,759 --> 00:22:16,519
Franklin fired at Penn State, and now UCLA might get

358
00:22:16,599 --> 00:22:21,559
Jonathan Smith fired the You know, I am the editor

359
00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:26,480
at Spartan's Wire. I also help out with UCLA Wire,

360
00:22:27,599 --> 00:22:29,759
and so I'm aware of the other Big ten college

361
00:22:29,759 --> 00:22:34,519
wire sites. That's part of the USA Today Network umbrella

362
00:22:34,759 --> 00:22:38,680
with the Gannett Corporation. So I'm following what Spartans Wire

363
00:22:38,759 --> 00:22:42,559
is saying about UCLA and about that game. And let

364
00:22:42,559 --> 00:22:46,039
me tell you, Spartan's Wire is publishing buyout numbers for

365
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:51,839
Jonathan Smith. They're they're releasing candidate lists. One former Michigan

366
00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:56,799
State star football player said, hey, hired James Franklin now

367
00:22:56,799 --> 00:23:00,799
that he's available. So Michigan State in full tumb moult.

368
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,880
And it's just really interesting that this tumult is being

369
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,440
brought about by UCLA being a wrecking ball. If UCLA

370
00:23:09,319 --> 00:23:12,599
hammers you, your coach is on the hot seat. That's

371
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:18,160
that's a two week streak of UCLA putting another Big

372
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,640
ten program into crisis mode. So that that's one really

373
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,920
interesting part of the Ucla Michigan State story. Here's the

374
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,079
other part. So UCLA's win over Penn State was not

375
00:23:30,279 --> 00:23:34,039
a one hit wonder, and UCLA interim head coach Tim

376
00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:39,039
Skipper talked all week emphasizing this theme. We don't want

377
00:23:39,039 --> 00:23:41,160
to be one hit wonders. Let's carry what we did

378
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,799
from Penn State take it into East Lansley and Michigan State.

379
00:23:44,839 --> 00:23:51,039
So UCLA obviously does the job. And and so you know,

380
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,599
Ucla showed that it could indeed carry one good week

381
00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:00,160
to the next. So like this transformation, how real it is?

382
00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:03,440
You know, we're gonna find out pretty soon. Ucile hosts

383
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,759
Maryland this coming weekend, and then the week after that,

384
00:24:06,839 --> 00:24:09,759
on October twenty fifth, goes to Indiana to play Kurt Signetty.

385
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:12,440
Obviously we're gonna hit on Indiana Oregon in just a bit.

386
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,640
You know, I don't think Utily is nearly in the

387
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,480
same league as Indiana and Ohio State. I don't think

388
00:24:19,599 --> 00:24:23,640
UCLA is a top tier Big ten team. But UCLA

389
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,680
is now playing like a bowl team. You know, Ucile

390
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,839
is I think playing like a six and six or

391
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,880
seven and five team. But of course, Deshaun Foster and

392
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,519
his crew just hijacked the first four games of the season.

393
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,000
I know Tim Skipper coached in one of them, the

394
00:24:39,039 --> 00:24:42,839
Northwestern game. But like Tim, Skipper couldn't really fix everything

395
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,000
right away. He had to kind of dig out of

396
00:24:45,039 --> 00:24:49,160
a hole. He had to adjust his coaching staff because

397
00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,799
of the damage done by Deshaun Foster with those four

398
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,640
early losses. I credit all four losses to Foster, even

399
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,440
though Skipper was there for the fourth one in that series.

400
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,799
Because of all that damage, it's going to be hard

401
00:25:01,839 --> 00:25:04,480
for UCLA to get to a bowl game, right because

402
00:25:04,519 --> 00:25:08,240
they still have those four losses. Indiana and Ohio State

403
00:25:08,279 --> 00:25:12,960
are virtually certain losses. Even with all of UCLA's improvements, right,

404
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,480
it's going to be hard for UCLA to beat two

405
00:25:15,519 --> 00:25:18,559
teams that are in the top three of the country,

406
00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:22,319
both on the road. UCLA has to run the table

407
00:25:22,519 --> 00:25:27,720
basically against all the non Indiana, non Ohio State opponents

408
00:25:27,759 --> 00:25:29,599
to get to a bowl game, and that's going to

409
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,119
be hard. Utile is going to have to be perfect

410
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,960
in all those other games. And I think that you know,

411
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,599
Nebraska is a game UCLA can win. Maryland certainly is

412
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:41,759
a game USA can win. In fact, I probably would

413
00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:46,000
pick Ucla to beat Maryland at this point, Maryland with

414
00:25:46,039 --> 00:25:51,000
a pretty lousy defense, so Nico, Iam Maldiava and offensive

415
00:25:51,039 --> 00:25:55,200
coordinator Jerry Neuheisel should be able to shred Maryland. So

416
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,200
Utilia is going to pick up a couple wins and

417
00:25:57,319 --> 00:26:01,160
might get to five. But Indie on the road, Ohio

418
00:26:01,279 --> 00:26:05,759
State on the road, and to close the season USCU

419
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,519
in the coliseum. That's also going to be a heavy

420
00:26:08,559 --> 00:26:11,920
lift for UCLA. So I think, like just you know,

421
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,319
UCLA would love to be able to find a way

422
00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,039
to six and six, but I think the realistic outcome

423
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,039
is either four and eight or probably where I'd ultimately land.

424
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,119
I think this we're looking at five and seven with

425
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,400
this team. Ucile obviously so much better, but you know

426
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,000
that it just got started a little late. You know,

427
00:26:31,039 --> 00:26:34,359
if it just could have if Tim Skipper and Jerry

428
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:40,839
Neuheisel have been coaching against New Mexico and Northwestern, you know,

429
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,079
UCLA gets those wins and the Bruins have two losses

430
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,200
right now instead of four, and you are looking at

431
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,920
a bowl team. But you know, the changes just didn't

432
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,640
come soon enough, and so Ucile is probably going to

433
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,119
still miss out on a Bowl. But now we turn

434
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,279
to the UCLA coaching situation. What do you do if

435
00:26:58,319 --> 00:27:01,440
you're UCLA Like this is really interesting because this coaching

436
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,480
staff has been so good Tim Skipper, with Jerry Neuheisel

437
00:27:05,599 --> 00:27:08,599
and also Kevin Coyle on the defensive side of the ball,

438
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,400
this coaching staff has just hit the ball out of

439
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,640
the park second straight week. Ustelay has done a great

440
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,680
job on special teams in addition to offense and defense.

441
00:27:20,839 --> 00:27:24,640
Last week against Penn State, successful on sidekick. This week

442
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,680
against Michigan State, successful fake punt in the middle of

443
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,440
the field and it leads to points and it really

444
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:34,279
helped UCLA establish momentum in the first half of that

445
00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:38,519
win at Michigan State. So you'll all three phases of

446
00:27:38,559 --> 00:27:41,720
the ball looked good. The only thing UCLA struggled with

447
00:27:41,799 --> 00:27:45,440
holding penalties, several guys just blocking on the edge, not

448
00:27:45,599 --> 00:27:50,119
able to show the discipline to avoid grabbing the jersey.

449
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:54,359
It's really the only thing UCLA did wrong. Everything else

450
00:27:54,480 --> 00:28:00,559
just came together very smoothly, very naturally. UCLA's movement is

451
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:05,799
just so dramatic compared to what we were seeing under

452
00:28:05,839 --> 00:28:11,359
Deshaun Foster. It creates this question if you're UCLA, and

453
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,440
remember this is a cash strapped athletic program. Ucily is

454
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:19,480
not flush with cash. You're not getting big crowds for

455
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,240
home games. You have to pay the calimony, feed the

456
00:28:23,279 --> 00:28:27,119
ten million dollars to the Golden Bears for you know,

457
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:33,119
leaving for the big ten. Ucile does not have, you know,

458
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:36,839
unlimited money the way Penn State does. You know, Penn

459
00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,279
State's paying James Franklin close to fifty million and buy

460
00:28:40,279 --> 00:28:42,519
out money. Obviously that's not in a lump sum that's

461
00:28:42,559 --> 00:28:46,039
going to be paid out over several years. But you know,

462
00:28:46,279 --> 00:28:48,720
the big hitters can pay out a lot of money

463
00:28:48,839 --> 00:28:51,279
and can eat a lot of money. Ucile is not there.

464
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:56,799
So if that in mind, do you just say, hey, Tim, Jerry,

465
00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:59,960
you know my coach, my coordinator. You're doing such a

466
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,839
great job. I'm not sure if we're gonna give you

467
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,279
like a five year deal or like a four year deal,

468
00:29:05,799 --> 00:29:08,279
but maybe we just say right now, you know what,

469
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:10,960
you're gonna be our coaches again in twenty twenty six,

470
00:29:11,519 --> 00:29:15,559
and that would be your audition for the long term job.

471
00:29:15,599 --> 00:29:19,039
You do well in twenty twenty six, then we'll talk

472
00:29:19,319 --> 00:29:23,759
long term deal. Then we'll talk about keeping you at

473
00:29:23,839 --> 00:29:27,720
UCLA permanently. But you know, just having what I call

474
00:29:27,759 --> 00:29:32,160
a one year bridge plan for Tim Skipper and Jerry

475
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,079
Neuheisel in twenty twenty six, you just kind of create stability.

476
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:41,960
All the players are so, you know, enthusiastic about these coaches.

477
00:29:42,319 --> 00:29:45,039
You know, so you give these coaches another year to

478
00:29:45,079 --> 00:29:49,119
work with their players, to work within the program, and

479
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,000
you see if they you know, they didn't get the

480
00:29:51,119 --> 00:29:55,000
chance to start out as coaches this season, so maybe

481
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,039
in twenty twenty six, you and you give them the

482
00:29:57,119 --> 00:30:02,480
chance to have that full runway of twelve games instead

483
00:30:02,519 --> 00:30:06,119
of putting them in in late September, and you see

484
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,359
what they can do, and you give them an audition,

485
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,319
and you know what if they if they if they thrive,

486
00:30:11,799 --> 00:30:13,920
then you have your coaches and you don't need to

487
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,599
go outside the program to look for replacements. And if

488
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,319
they fail, hey, you know what, you gave it a shot.

489
00:30:21,519 --> 00:30:24,400
You know, these guys are popular among the players, and

490
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,359
I'm also among the UCLA fan base. I mean, Jerry

491
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,799
Neuheisel given his dad and you know his dad didn't

492
00:30:30,839 --> 00:30:34,200
coach all that great at UCLA, but Rick Neuheisel won

493
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:39,039
a Rose Bowl for UCLA in nineteen eighty four against Illinois.

494
00:30:39,079 --> 00:30:41,640
That was under the great Terry Donahue. So Rick Neuheisel

495
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,160
still has a significant place in UCLA history. It's just

496
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,640
as a player, not as a coach. Jerry Neuheisel is

497
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,000
viewed as mister Ucla. You know, he quarterbacked the Bruins

498
00:30:52,039 --> 00:30:56,119
just like his dad did. You know, very popular in

499
00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,920
the community in Westwood. So if you give Jerry Neuheisel

500
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,559
and Tim Skipper a shot to make it big in

501
00:31:04,599 --> 00:31:09,000
twenty twenty six, does anybody really complain? Does anybody really

502
00:31:09,039 --> 00:31:12,960
have a problem with that? I don't think so. And

503
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,920
you save a lot of money. You're not gonna give

504
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,119
them a megabucks deal. You would give them certainly a

505
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,920
notable raise, but you're not gonna be paying top dollar

506
00:31:23,079 --> 00:31:27,200
relative to what you know other Big ten programs are

507
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,200
gonna do you know, Penn State's gonna make a run

508
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:35,640
at Matt Roll maybe possibly Kurt Signetti. The dollars for

509
00:31:35,799 --> 00:31:40,240
that at Penn State are gonna dwarf greatly dwarf whatever

510
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,319
UCLA can offer. So maybe you give one extra year

511
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,920
to Jerry Neuheisels coordinator to Tim Skipper, as head coach,

512
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,799
you save some money, you see where you are a

513
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,480
year from now, and then maybe going into the twenty

514
00:31:55,519 --> 00:31:59,240
twenty seven season at UCLA, you can see if you

515
00:31:59,279 --> 00:32:01,720
can land a really big fish, you'll have more money

516
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:06,400
in the till and you can make a splashy higher

517
00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,279
So that one year bridge plane. It's an interesting thought

518
00:32:09,319 --> 00:32:12,519
to consider for UCLA. And one more thing about the

519
00:32:12,519 --> 00:32:15,480
Bruins a reminder he still need to fire athletic director

520
00:32:15,559 --> 00:32:19,599
Martin Jarmont. You know, he got this program into this mess.

521
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,759
You shouldn't allow an ad who got you into a

522
00:32:23,799 --> 00:32:26,279
mess to then work your way out of it. He's

523
00:32:26,319 --> 00:32:29,480
shown that he can't manage the football program. That still

524
00:32:29,519 --> 00:32:34,920
needs to happen, and it has not at UCLA. All Right.

525
00:32:35,079 --> 00:32:37,680
The other two really big games to get to from

526
00:32:38,039 --> 00:32:42,400
involving West Coast teams in the Big Ten Conference USC

527
00:32:42,559 --> 00:32:48,519
Hammers Michigan. Now, I did talk during last week's show

528
00:32:48,519 --> 00:32:53,359
about USC not having earned the benefit of the doubt

529
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,039
and USC needed to prove it. So this was a

530
00:32:56,079 --> 00:32:58,440
really good start. And I would say, based on what

531
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,079
we saw from USC that you know, in a future

532
00:33:02,559 --> 00:33:09,480
home game against a decent, relatively equal opponent, Okay, USC

533
00:33:09,599 --> 00:33:12,240
has earned the benefit of the doubt on that front.

534
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:16,759
But now USC goes to South Bend for Notre Dame,

535
00:33:16,799 --> 00:33:20,960
and so can USC. Which Okay, you want a big

536
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:22,920
game at home, but now can you win a big

537
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:25,519
game on the road in the Midwest, where USC has

538
00:33:25,599 --> 00:33:31,160
famously noticeably struggled the past couple of years under Lincoln Riley.

539
00:33:32,559 --> 00:33:34,799
Has USC earned the benefit of the doubt to go

540
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:39,039
on the road to South Bend and get the job done.

541
00:33:40,279 --> 00:33:42,640
That remains to be seen and we're all gonna find

542
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:47,079
out in we Gate against against the Fight and Irish.

543
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:51,039
Back to the Michigan game, though USC was missing multiple

544
00:33:51,079 --> 00:33:56,359
starters on its offensive line, the Trojans without Elijah Page,

545
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,920
who went into the season regarded as USC's best offensive lineman,

546
00:34:00,799 --> 00:34:06,000
and also starting center Killian O'Connor. He's out for an

547
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:09,800
extended period of time, So you know, missing your best

548
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:15,159
lineman and your starting center. Usually with missing two key

549
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:20,840
pieces such as those you would expect, especially against Michigan's

550
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:24,320
defensive line. For US, he's offensive line to struggle. That

551
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:30,679
did not happen, and so people across the country who

552
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:33,880
might be thinking, oh, Lincoln Riley has turned it around

553
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,480
or Danton Lynn, the defensive coordinator, has turned it around.

554
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,719
You know what, the reason USC is better this season,

555
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:44,719
it's less about Lincoln Riley, It's less about Danton Lynn.

556
00:34:45,519 --> 00:34:49,400
It's more about new offensive line coach Zach Hansen. He

557
00:34:49,519 --> 00:34:55,320
replaced former offensive line coach Josh Henson this season. Zach

558
00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,599
Hanson appears to be the high level offensive line coach

559
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:04,360
that USC football desperately needed. So he's not being talked

560
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,480
about across the country. He's not being talked about on

561
00:35:07,639 --> 00:35:12,079
national network or cable shows. But trust me, someone who

562
00:35:12,119 --> 00:35:17,800
follows USC closely, that's the difference. Zach Hansen just doing

563
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:22,920
an amazing job with a beaten up, shorthanded offensive line.

564
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:27,840
He's getting the backups to play really well. USC control

565
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,119
the line of scrimmage against Michigan. USC was the more

566
00:35:31,159 --> 00:35:34,840
physical team. Michigan has a lot of flaws, but you know,

567
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:39,199
you don't expect to just physically overpower Michigan. Yet that's

568
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:41,960
what USC was able to do. Walk On running back

569
00:35:42,039 --> 00:35:45,840
King Miller just has a fabulous performance. With USC running

570
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:49,159
backs getting hurt. You know, USC lost both of its

571
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:51,679
top two running backs in this game, Eli Sanders and

572
00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:55,920
Waymon Jordans Sanders likely out for the season, Jordan likely

573
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,800
out for the next four to six weeks. But a

574
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,920
walk on comes in and King Miller is good. Like

575
00:36:02,039 --> 00:36:05,800
King Miller was making Michigan defenders miss in the open field.

576
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:08,840
But let's go back to the source of King Miller's

577
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:14,480
prosperity and his success. The offensive line missing two starters,

578
00:36:14,599 --> 00:36:18,679
doesn't miss a beat and handles Michigan up front. That's

579
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:23,760
the story from the USC side. The word of caution

580
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:28,079
about USC, though, is that, you know what, Michigan's not

581
00:36:28,159 --> 00:36:31,440
that good. Not trying to take away anything from USC,

582
00:36:31,599 --> 00:36:35,559
but like this was not an elite opponent. Michigan is

583
00:36:35,599 --> 00:36:40,280
a moderately good team at best and pretty pretty darn

584
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:44,199
close to average. Bryce Underwood, you know this is going

585
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,599
to be said a lot, so it's not my original insight,

586
00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:50,679
but I certainly am going to reaffirm this point. Bryce

587
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:54,920
Underwood could be a really special player for Michigan. You

588
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,840
see the glimpses of the talent. He made some He

589
00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,840
made a few really good throws in this game, but

590
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:04,000
he made them on the run. Like he's an improviser

591
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,920
in terms of just like the natural seventh step drop

592
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:11,239
back pro style framework, He's not comfortable yet as a

593
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:15,960
quarterback in terms of reading defenses and also he throws.

594
00:37:16,079 --> 00:37:18,679
He's good at throwing the fastball, but in terms of touch,

595
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,679
in terms of accuracy, long way to go for Bryce

596
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,199
Underwood is just not going to come together right away,

597
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:30,760
and so Michigan's flaws were exposed. Sharon Moore looks out

598
00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,159
of his depth as head coach. That's another big Ten

599
00:37:33,199 --> 00:37:36,679
coaching situation to really keep an eye on. Michigan fans

600
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,960
are fed up with Sharon Moore. You know, I was

601
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,079
following this USC Michigan game closely getting a reaction from

602
00:37:43,079 --> 00:37:47,559
Michigan fans as well as USC fans. Michigan fans think

603
00:37:47,599 --> 00:37:50,039
Sharon Moore is just in over his head. You know,

604
00:37:50,039 --> 00:37:53,440
he was handed this a job by Jim Harbaugh essentially,

605
00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:58,119
and he's not ready. He's not ready. You know, Coordinator

606
00:37:58,679 --> 00:38:03,239
assistant find going up to head coach Lincoln Riley and

607
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:07,480
the USC staff absolutely schooled him, and that just it's

608
00:38:07,519 --> 00:38:11,400
gonna take a long time to develop Bryce Underwood. Meanwhile,

609
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,360
you know, what does Michigan have to offer on offense

610
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,760
in terms of its game plan, in terms of its structure.

611
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,679
You know, Michigan was just consistently outplayed in this game

612
00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:26,199
by USC, and the Trojans committed two red zone turnovers.

613
00:38:26,599 --> 00:38:29,199
You know, they fumbled at the ten. Jade Maiava got

614
00:38:29,199 --> 00:38:32,320
picked on another red zone throw. It could have been

615
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,719
much worse than the final eighteen point margin. Michigan looks

616
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,519
like an eight and four team, maybe seven and five.

617
00:38:40,599 --> 00:38:43,800
The Wolverines are a pretty ordinary team. So that that's

618
00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,039
one reason to kind of pump the brakes on USC.

619
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,800
This was definitely a solid, strong, encouraging performance. Don't get

620
00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:56,599
me wrong that that certainly remains part of the analysis

621
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,960
coming out of the Michigan game. But Michigan's not that

622
00:39:01,119 --> 00:39:04,559
special and and so the so the mystery of USC

623
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:09,000
Notre Dame UH lies in just how good are these teams.

624
00:39:09,039 --> 00:39:11,800
I still don't know how good USC is and I

625
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,280
don't know how good Notre Dame is. Notre Dame has

626
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:17,320
looked better in recent weeks, but Notre Dame just thrashed

627
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,159
Boise State, which is having a very difficult year. And

628
00:39:21,679 --> 00:39:27,360
North Carolina State, which is, you know, a bottom rung team. UH.

629
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:30,679
In the A C C. North Carolina State lost at

630
00:39:30,679 --> 00:39:35,440
home to Virginia Tech. North Carolina State's not good. So

631
00:39:35,599 --> 00:39:39,760
Notre Dame hammering NC State, that doesn't tell me that much. Uh,

632
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,480
So we're gonna learn a ton about USC versus Notre

633
00:39:42,559 --> 00:39:44,639
Dame and just to kind of deal with that game

634
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:48,880
coming up in wee eate. Uh you know, it's really

635
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,920
gonna be a lot of the same things that you know,

636
00:39:51,559 --> 00:39:57,159
USC's defense handled Bryce Underwood CJ. Carr. Notre Dame's quarterback

637
00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:00,960
represents a much better quarterback u than Bryce Underwood, so

638
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,679
it's going to be a much bigger challenge for the

639
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:07,920
USC defense. I am not worried about the USC offense

640
00:40:08,119 --> 00:40:12,039
and its ability to score. I think you know, the

641
00:40:12,079 --> 00:40:16,360
way USC's offensive line is playing, jamiov is going to

642
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:20,920
be comfortable in the pocket, and USC's running game is

643
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,800
still going to find answers even with top running backs out.

644
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:27,920
I mean, King Miller comes in and shows his stuff

645
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,559
and he's going to be fresh, like he has not

646
00:40:30,679 --> 00:40:35,159
gotten many touches this season. So USC can still do

647
00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:37,679
the job as long as its offensive line plays well,

648
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:41,800
and that offensive line has been consistent enough to merit

649
00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:47,320
trust and Notre Dame. That defense was atrocious in September.

650
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:52,159
It has looked better, but Boise State and NC State

651
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:58,559
are not particularly strong offensive teams this year, so USC

652
00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:01,719
is going to represent it much tougher challenge for Notre Dame.

653
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,400
It really is a game in which that you have

654
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,119
two suspect defenses on both sides, and they're both going

655
00:41:09,159 --> 00:41:13,639
to run up against offenses which are significantly better than

656
00:41:13,679 --> 00:41:16,960
what those defenses have seen in recent weeks. So I'm

657
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,199
expecting a shootout. I think USC is going to score

658
00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:23,599
around thirty and it's going to be a matter of, uh,

659
00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:27,119
you know, does USC's defense rise up and hold Notre

660
00:41:27,199 --> 00:41:31,519
Dame in the mid twenties or does USC's defense get

661
00:41:31,559 --> 00:41:35,079
absolutely flattened. Notre Dame scores in the forties, and I

662
00:41:35,119 --> 00:41:39,239
think I think USC is going to score around thirty five,

663
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,559
And it's just is Notre Dame's number going to be

664
00:41:41,679 --> 00:41:43,480
forty two or is it going to be twenty eight?

665
00:41:44,639 --> 00:41:48,760
That that that's my outlook on USC Notre Dame. You know,

666
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:54,679
USC's defense made far fewer mistakes coming after two weeks off,

667
00:41:55,679 --> 00:41:58,719
having having a break to prepare for Michigan, But you know,

668
00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:03,679
Michigan did not robust League test USC in every way.

669
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:05,559
I think Notre Dame's offense is going to be a

670
00:42:05,599 --> 00:42:09,320
far more difficult not to crack for the USC defense.

671
00:42:09,679 --> 00:42:12,920
So like I'm not sold on USC's defense, I am

672
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:19,239
sold on the offense. The offense probably won't max out

673
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:22,280
against Notre Dame, but it's probably gonna become reasonably close.

674
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:24,679
And it really just comes down to you can can

675
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:28,280
the defense make enough timely plays get off the field

676
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,360
on enough third downs that Notre Dame isn't able to

677
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:36,159
dominate the ball and the clock. That's probably what's gonna

678
00:42:36,159 --> 00:42:39,840
decide USC Notre Dame. I'm gonna lean toward the Irish,

679
00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:42,559
but I do think USC is gonna score plenty of

680
00:42:42,599 --> 00:42:45,840
points and that game is gonna be close. The line

681
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,840
opened at Notre Dame minus nine. By the time you

682
00:42:50,159 --> 00:42:52,960
listen to this show here on Get off my Pylon,

683
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,320
you might see some line movement. It'll be interesting to

684
00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:59,400
see just how much line movement there is for this game.

685
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,159
But Notre Dame minus nine with a less than great

686
00:43:03,199 --> 00:43:07,320
defense against USC. I would certainly lean toward taking Notre

687
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,840
Dame on the money line, but USC plus nine that

688
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,519
might be too hard to pass up nine whole points

689
00:43:16,039 --> 00:43:20,440
the Trojans are getting in South Bend. And now to

690
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:23,199
the biggest one of all on Get off my pilone

691
00:43:23,239 --> 00:43:27,960
for Week seven, Oregon loses at home to Indiana. The

692
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:31,360
final score thirty to twenty a two score game. Was

693
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,400
Indiana really ten points better than Oregon? Yes it was,

694
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:39,320
and you take away that Fernando Mendoza interception a pick six,

695
00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:45,280
you know, one really really bad mistake, like Indiana wins

696
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:49,800
by seventeen. You know, Indiana came in and established a

697
00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:53,519
physical style of play, set the bar really high. Oregon

698
00:43:53,559 --> 00:43:56,840
did not match that level of physicality. Indiana was better

699
00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:00,440
in the trenches. Indiana controlled the way this game was played.

700
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:04,000
You know, Indiana does not try to hit home runs

701
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:08,199
in its offense. What really worked well was a short

702
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:14,400
passing game five six yards, safe easy throws for Fernando Mendoza,

703
00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:20,559
grinding out first downs, moving the chains, keeping Oregon's offense

704
00:44:20,639 --> 00:44:24,000
off the field. You know, the pick six by Mendoza

705
00:44:24,239 --> 00:44:27,000
was when he tried to push the ball down the

706
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:30,320
field and he got greedy. The route also wasn't designed

707
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:33,039
really well. There was no one in the flat, you know,

708
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:36,320
there was nothing short. There was no safety valve for

709
00:44:36,519 --> 00:44:39,039
like just a little dump off pass. And this was

710
00:44:39,079 --> 00:44:42,000
third and two. This play was third and two. It

711
00:44:42,119 --> 00:44:46,159
was a poorly designed play, so credit Mendoza for shrugging

712
00:44:46,239 --> 00:44:48,519
off the pick six. But you know, on that subsequent

713
00:44:49,159 --> 00:44:52,920
tie breaking touchdown drive, which ultimately won the game for Indiana,

714
00:44:53,199 --> 00:44:55,480
the Hoosiers got back to what had been working, the

715
00:44:55,559 --> 00:45:00,800
short safe passes, you know, stretching the field not vertically

716
00:45:01,199 --> 00:45:05,280
but horizontally and making Oregon defend the width of the field.

717
00:45:06,039 --> 00:45:09,880
And so, you know, the hope for Oregon coming into

718
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:13,239
this game was that its speed was going to overwhelm Indiana.

719
00:45:13,639 --> 00:45:15,880
But you know what, Indiana kind of turned the tables

720
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:18,119
on organ by playing the game in a phone booth,

721
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:22,519
keeping plays limited in their in their scope across the field.

722
00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:25,440
Indiana didn't want to stretch the field vertically like that

723
00:45:25,599 --> 00:45:28,960
was not the style of game that Indiana wanted or

724
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:31,599
needed to play. It was keeping the game within like

725
00:45:31,639 --> 00:45:35,840
a ten yard box. And Indiana was able to lean

726
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,199
on Oregon and display physical superiority so that the game

727
00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:43,880
did not become a track meet. It became a fistfight

728
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,079
in a phone booth. So Oregon really, you know, went

729
00:45:47,159 --> 00:45:51,400
up against a style of play and an opponent that

730
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,519
were good enough to really thwart the Ducks prevent Oregon

731
00:45:55,599 --> 00:45:59,360
from doing what it really wanted to do. And so

732
00:45:59,519 --> 00:46:04,199
now you know, Ohio State in Indiana are the clearcut

733
00:46:04,239 --> 00:46:07,719
favorites to meet in the Big Ten championship game. So

734
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:11,639
Oregon's Big Ten title defense really on life support at

735
00:46:11,639 --> 00:46:14,000
this point. Keep in mind Indiana and Ohio State they

736
00:46:14,079 --> 00:46:17,519
do not play in the regular season, They're likely to

737
00:46:17,519 --> 00:46:22,199
meet in December in Indianapolis. It's gonna be hard for

738
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,320
Oregon to find its way back to Indy for that

739
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,519
Big Ten title game. Now, that having been said, might

740
00:46:28,559 --> 00:46:30,760
benefit Oregon to not have to play that Big Ten

741
00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:32,519
title game. You know, the Ducks had to play that

742
00:46:32,599 --> 00:46:36,000
game last year. That didn't do them any good going

743
00:46:36,039 --> 00:46:38,679
into the to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State in

744
00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:43,039
the playoff quarterfinals. So Oregon will actually play one less

745
00:46:43,119 --> 00:46:49,599
game through early December. However, here's the flip side. Because

746
00:46:49,639 --> 00:46:54,079
Oregon now is behind Indiana and Ohio State in the

747
00:46:54,119 --> 00:46:58,440
Big Ten, what that also means is Oregon now is

748
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:02,679
in trouble in terms of being able to get a

749
00:47:02,719 --> 00:47:06,639
first well first off, Oregon getting a buy in the

750
00:47:06,679 --> 00:47:10,400
first round and going straight into the quarterfinals that is

751
00:47:10,519 --> 00:47:15,679
extremely unlikely, So that door might not be officially closed,

752
00:47:15,719 --> 00:47:18,760
but it's likely to be closed for the Ducks. They

753
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:24,719
are not likely to get that far into the playoff

754
00:47:25,199 --> 00:47:27,559
just in terms of a buye. They're probably gonna be

755
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:30,480
relegated to the first round, which means that they're going

756
00:47:30,559 --> 00:47:33,079
to have to win three times to get to the

757
00:47:33,159 --> 00:47:35,559
national title game. They're gonna have to win four playoff

758
00:47:35,599 --> 00:47:38,480
games to lift the trophy at the end of the season.

759
00:47:38,519 --> 00:47:43,360
So without question, Oregon's national championship hopes took a big,

760
00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:49,559
big hit with this loss. What will be really interesting

761
00:47:49,599 --> 00:47:55,320
to see is can Oregon still squeeze in and get

762
00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:58,159
a higher seed in the first round so that it

763
00:47:58,239 --> 00:48:02,719
hosts a first round game in Eugene in Anson Stadium.

764
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,320
The Ducks now have zero margin for error in that regard.

765
00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:08,199
If they lose one more game and they follow the

766
00:48:08,239 --> 00:48:10,960
ten and two they might still get in, but they're

767
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:15,280
definitely going to be a back end seed in the playoff.

768
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,199
They're going to be in the nine to twelve range.

769
00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:21,679
If they finished ten and two that that's pretty clear

770
00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:25,360
cut at this point. So Oregon needs to finish eleven

771
00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:27,079
and one. It might not get to the Big Ten

772
00:48:27,119 --> 00:48:30,360
title game. But if Oregon runs the table and finishes

773
00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:34,559
eleven and one while Ohio State and Indiana play in

774
00:48:34,639 --> 00:48:38,119
the Big Ten championship game. Yeah, it's certainly possible that

775
00:48:38,199 --> 00:48:41,239
Oregon could get one of those five through eight seeds,

776
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:44,639
which enables the Ducks to host a first round game.

777
00:48:45,199 --> 00:48:49,800
That would obviously help the Ducks advance into the quarterfinals.

778
00:48:51,239 --> 00:48:54,079
But that's going to be a tight window to fit

779
00:48:54,119 --> 00:48:57,239
in because Indiana and Ohio State are likely to be

780
00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:03,280
ranked or ranked seeded above Oregon in the Big Ten

781
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:06,440
pecking order, So it's going to limit the availability of

782
00:49:06,519 --> 00:49:12,000
slots for Oregon to get a higher seed. And again

783
00:49:12,039 --> 00:49:17,199
we're talking about five through eight in particular, that that's

784
00:49:17,239 --> 00:49:20,320
really Oregon's goal, but Oregon now has zero margin for

785
00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:23,440
air in that regard. Oregon will not be a top

786
00:49:23,519 --> 00:49:28,960
eight seed if it if it loses another game, Oregon

787
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:30,840
has to finish eleven and one to get a top

788
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:34,360
eight seed. It's really interesting as we move away from

789
00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:37,360
the playoff discussion and back to, you know, an evaluation

790
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,440
of Oregon's quality. You know that that went over Penn State.

791
00:49:40,519 --> 00:49:44,000
It looks so different now, doesn't it. You know, last

792
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:47,159
week I briefly brought that up that you know, Penn

793
00:49:47,239 --> 00:49:50,519
State lost to Ucla. Maybe the Organ's win over Penn

794
00:49:50,559 --> 00:49:54,920
State doesn't look you know, as good. And I tried to,

795
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:57,320
you know, say, you know, that's still a good win,

796
00:49:58,159 --> 00:50:00,880
but you know, I'm gonna down great at a little

797
00:50:00,960 --> 00:50:04,280
bit because of Penn State's lost to Ucla. Well what

798
00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:07,760
about now, Obviously, Drew Auer got injured, he's out for

799
00:50:07,800 --> 00:50:11,239
the season against Northwestern. But even when Drew Hour was

800
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:15,000
playing before he got injured in that Northwestern game, Penn

801
00:50:15,039 --> 00:50:18,840
State was struggling against Northwestern at home. So Penn State

802
00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:23,280
has cratered. And now that Oregon win over Penn State

803
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:25,960
looks a lot less you know, last week I said

804
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:29,119
it looked a little bit less impressive. Now it looks

805
00:50:29,239 --> 00:50:33,519
a lot less impressive. And the overall quality of Oregon's

806
00:50:33,559 --> 00:50:37,920
resume looks a lot less impressive. So Oregon has that

807
00:50:38,039 --> 00:50:42,239
concern to deal with. And you know, Dante more he

808
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:46,199
did make some really good clutch plays under pressure against

809
00:50:46,199 --> 00:50:49,440
Penn State, but we're now also seeing the limitations that

810
00:50:49,519 --> 00:50:52,159
he has that you know, he hasn't played a ton

811
00:50:52,199 --> 00:50:55,719
of big games, he doesn't have a ton of snaps

812
00:50:56,760 --> 00:51:00,280
and reps to his credit. He was the second best

813
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:05,000
quarterback on that field, Fernando Mendoza clearly better than Dante Moore,

814
00:51:05,519 --> 00:51:08,519
and so, you know, the the hope that Dante Moore

815
00:51:08,599 --> 00:51:13,079
would be a rock star quarterback. That hope looked really

816
00:51:13,199 --> 00:51:17,400
good and really promising after the Penn State game, but

817
00:51:17,519 --> 00:51:21,079
two weeks later, very different story. It's been a real

818
00:51:21,159 --> 00:51:24,039
come down to Earth moment for Oregon, and so it's

819
00:51:24,039 --> 00:51:27,559
gonna be fascinating to see how this team really does adjust,

820
00:51:27,599 --> 00:51:31,440
how it responds. You know, Dan Lanning has earned the

821
00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:34,239
benefit of the doubted Oregon. He's done a fabulous job there.

822
00:51:34,639 --> 00:51:36,760
I think he's gonna get his team motivated. I think

823
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,599
he's going to keep his team focused. There isn't going

824
00:51:39,639 --> 00:51:43,960
to be a letdown after this loss to Indiana. But

825
00:51:44,519 --> 00:51:48,559
you know, just how just how elite is Oregon speed,

826
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:53,079
just how elite is Oregon's talent. Indiana certainly was able

827
00:51:53,119 --> 00:51:58,639
to out muscle Oregon, overpower Oregon, control the game and

828
00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:06,000
the tempo against Oregon in Eugene, Oregon's overall quality has

829
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:09,719
certainly been thrown into question in a new way. I

830
00:52:09,719 --> 00:52:12,199
think you're gonna see the right attitude, in the right

831
00:52:13,559 --> 00:52:16,639
you know, mental approach from Oregon. But maybe just the

832
00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:20,800
overall raw quality of this team was a little over

833
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:24,360
sold right after the Penn State game because we can

834
00:52:24,400 --> 00:52:28,360
now see what Penn State actually is as a team.

835
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:30,639
Who's good and who's not in the Big Ten. That's

836
00:52:30,719 --> 00:52:35,800
still a very mysterious thing and a very central storyline.

837
00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:38,800
Halfway through the season. You know, I remarked on how

838
00:52:39,159 --> 00:52:42,880
I don't know how good USC is. I don't think

839
00:52:42,920 --> 00:52:46,960
Michigan's all that good. So really the quality of these

840
00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:50,840
Big Ten teams is still a very urgent matter. We're

841
00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:53,360
still trying to pin down just how good these teams

842
00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:58,199
are halfway through this season. So Oregon with a big

843
00:52:58,239 --> 00:53:02,199
mental challenge trying to deal with life after an unexpected

844
00:53:02,320 --> 00:53:06,000
Aughtson Stadium loss. They do not happen very often. How

845
00:53:06,039 --> 00:53:09,960
Oregon rebounds will be another really big storyline going into

846
00:53:10,119 --> 00:53:13,320
the second half of the season. All right, So that's

847
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:15,159
our look at week seven. You know, we peaked a

848
00:53:15,159 --> 00:53:19,039
head to USC Notre Dame in we Gate. You also

849
00:53:19,119 --> 00:53:23,119
have just looking at wee Gate BYU and Utah in

850
00:53:23,159 --> 00:53:25,840
the Big Twelve. So the Holy War and obviously that

851
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:31,000
game will will significantly affect the Big Twelve standings. That's

852
00:53:31,039 --> 00:53:34,880
gonna be a really interesting game. Who knows what version

853
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:37,599
of both BYU and Utah you're gonna get, you know,

854
00:53:37,639 --> 00:53:39,760
they those two teams have been all over the map.

855
00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:43,000
I know BYU has not lost a Big twelve game

856
00:53:43,079 --> 00:53:46,280
yet this season. But BYU played down to the level

857
00:53:46,320 --> 00:53:50,000
of competition against Colorado, It played down to the level

858
00:53:50,039 --> 00:53:54,199
of competition against Arizona. Well, what kind of BYU team

859
00:53:54,199 --> 00:53:59,239
are we going to see against Utah? Anybody's guests, anybody's guests,

860
00:53:59,519 --> 00:54:02,159
And we'll hopefully learn a lot more about BYU and

861
00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:04,719
Utah coming up, just as you know, we hope to

862
00:54:04,800 --> 00:54:07,840
learn more about USC against Notre Dame. We hope to

863
00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:10,000
learn about a lot of these teams. You know, UNLV,

864
00:54:10,519 --> 00:54:12,559
it's one of those teams where it's six and oh

865
00:54:12,599 --> 00:54:15,280
halfway through the season. But do we really have any

866
00:54:15,360 --> 00:54:17,920
idea how good this team is because there's been a

867
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:22,719
lot of sloppy uneven football, some bad defense at times.

868
00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:25,559
You know, again, UNLV allowing forty eight to air force.

869
00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:28,840
How good is UNLV? We don't know. I think it's

870
00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:31,559
dishonest to say that, oh we know exactly how good

871
00:54:31,639 --> 00:54:35,559
UNLV is. Actually No, And that's part of college football

872
00:54:35,599 --> 00:54:40,559
in that the middle of October. I think a lot

873
00:54:40,599 --> 00:54:43,360
of people want to think that they have finally grasped

874
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:46,679
how good or bad their teams really are, But it

875
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:50,480
often is the case in this sport, I've been following

876
00:54:50,480 --> 00:54:52,400
it for a long time, that you don't really learn

877
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:54,719
what a team is made of until you get into November.

878
00:54:55,880 --> 00:55:01,480
That sometimes the urge to immediately identify how good a

879
00:55:01,519 --> 00:55:05,239
team is in late September early October, it's often the case. No,

880
00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:08,280
you have to wait for a lot more ups and downs,

881
00:55:08,320 --> 00:55:10,480
need to wait for the grind of the schedule to

882
00:55:10,559 --> 00:55:13,760
kind of settle in, and only in early to mid

883
00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:17,239
November do you really have your finger on the pulse

884
00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:20,960
of a given college football team, for better or worse.

885
00:55:21,440 --> 00:55:26,440
And so really, in a larger sense, after Week seven,

886
00:55:26,559 --> 00:55:30,400
going into week eight, the mysteries continue for the West

887
00:55:30,400 --> 00:55:33,760
Coast teams in college football, the teams that we follow

888
00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:37,639
here on the Get Off My Pylon College Football podcasts.

889
00:55:37,679 --> 00:55:39,679
We're part of the College Grade Aron Coast to Coast

890
00:55:39,679 --> 00:55:43,760
podcast network. Go to Apple, Spotify, and speaker wherever you

891
00:55:43,840 --> 00:55:47,440
listen to your podcasts to find your favorite College Grade

892
00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:50,039
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893
00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:53,920
All sports discussion on the ACC, Yards and Stripes on

894
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:58,079
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895
00:55:58,159 --> 00:56:01,320
all the hot seat stories and also the college football

896
00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:06,039
playoff stories from Miami and South Florida. For these and

897
00:56:06,119 --> 00:56:09,679
your other favorite college Gridiron Coast to Coast shows, go

898
00:56:09,800 --> 00:56:16,199
to those podcast outlets Apple, Spotify, Speaker, and also go

899
00:56:16,280 --> 00:56:20,360
to Gridiron Coast on Twitter. So that's all for this

900
00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:22,719
week and get off my pylon. I'm Matt Zemic. We'll

901
00:56:22,719 --> 00:56:25,119
see you next week. Thanks so much for listening and

902
00:56:25,199 --> 00:56:28,280
stick with the College grad Ron Coast to Coast podcast

903
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:28,760
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