1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:05,599 Speaker 1: Checking out college football on the West Coast. This is 2 00:00:05,639 --> 00:00:08,640 Get Off My Pylon, a look at the Pac twelve 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,160 and more, part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:13,519 podcast network. 5 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 2: Here's your host, Matt zemon Welcome to the latest edition 6 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,839 of the Get Off My Pylon College football podcast is 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,039 He's your host, Matt Zemik. Get Off My Pilon, part 8 00:00:24,039 --> 00:00:27,440 of the College garderon Coast to Coast podcast network, whether 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,920 it's Yards and Stripes on the Service Academies or Florida 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,039 Football Insiders with Jason Powers. And it's great to be 11 00:00:34,119 --> 00:00:39,439 a fan of football in the state of Florida right now, Miami, Florida, 12 00:00:39,439 --> 00:00:45,560 State USF all doing really well. Noah Drury with his 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:51,439 Big Ten show, the Big Twelve. So many different podcasts 14 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,200 on so many different conferences and slices of the college 15 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,799 football experience. You want to get to all these shows 16 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,520 through the College Gridiron Coast to Podcast network, finding it Apple, Spreaker, Spotify, 17 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,040 the other places where you listen to your podcast College 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,239 grade down Coast to Coast on Twitter at Gridiron Coast. 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,640 So follow all the action in college football Get Off 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,079 My Pylon covering football in the Western United States and 21 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,159 We're happy to be part of the college gradarn coast 22 00:01:22,159 --> 00:01:27,079 to coast family. So done with week three, going into 23 00:01:27,079 --> 00:01:31,599 week four, and it's that transition period, right, non conference 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,799 games are winding down, we get into full on conference play. 25 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,840 So lots of intrigue building in the college football world. 26 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,400 But first let's review what happened in week three. And 27 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,159 you know it wasn't too intense in the Big Ten. 28 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,959 Teams still playing cupcakes, Penn State, Villanova, Ohio State, Ohio, 29 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,840 and one could say Oregon played a conference game which 30 00:01:58,879 --> 00:02:02,879 was a cupcake. Northwest Northwestern is really bad. That was 31 00:02:03,719 --> 00:02:08,159 thirty four fourteen, but Northwestern did not score in the 32 00:02:08,159 --> 00:02:13,360 first three quarters and only only added some cosmetic touchdowns 33 00:02:13,759 --> 00:02:17,840 late when the backups were in. You have UCLA and 34 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,960 Northwestern coming up, and you know those are the two 35 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,800 worst teams in the Big Ten. The loser of that 36 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,400 game could finish one in eleven. Ucla might even go 37 00:02:29,439 --> 00:02:31,919 oh to twelve. We'll have more on the Bruins shortly, 38 00:02:32,039 --> 00:02:36,159 but you know, not not a lot of huge games 39 00:02:36,159 --> 00:02:39,039 in the Big Ten. Michigan coasts in a cupcake game. 40 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:45,639 Notable that Bryce Underwood, you know, thrived without Sharon more 41 00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:49,840 at as head coach. He was suspended for that game, 42 00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:53,639 so's it'll be interesting to see what the balance of 43 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,719 power is in the Big Ten. But let's focus on 44 00:02:56,759 --> 00:03:00,479 the West Western schools. So Oregon against Northwestern, you know, 45 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,520 I don't know how much we learned from Oregon collaborating Northwestern. 46 00:03:06,479 --> 00:03:09,560 You know, it was a stroll for the Ducks. But 47 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:15,719 like Oregon has not seen a good quarterback yet this season. 48 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,800 Oklahoma State's a terrible team. Oregon blasted them in Week two. 49 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,719 Oklahoma State, you know, is a sinking ship under Mike Gundy, 50 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,680 so Oregon didn't get challenged there. Played Montana State of 51 00:03:29,719 --> 00:03:35,039 the FCS in Week one, so you know, Oregon's doing 52 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,400 what it's supposed to do, and full credit to the 53 00:03:37,479 --> 00:03:40,639 Ducks for that. But really the season is just beginning. 54 00:03:40,639 --> 00:03:43,759 And of course not this week, but one week later 55 00:03:44,039 --> 00:03:47,560 Oregon at Penn State the big one, the biggest Big 56 00:03:47,599 --> 00:03:51,800 Ten game in the month of September by far. So 57 00:03:52,199 --> 00:03:55,400 that game is just around the bend one more week 58 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,680 until we get to Oregon's trip to Happy Valley. All 59 00:03:58,759 --> 00:04:04,000 eyes will be on that one. You know, not a 60 00:04:04,039 --> 00:04:10,199 whole lot to speak about with Washington, USC goes to 61 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,879 Purdue wins relatively comfortably. That was, it wasn't a total blowout. 62 00:04:14,879 --> 00:04:19,240 Thirty three seventeen. Purdue was down thirty to seventeen with 63 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,040 the ball and the chance to get within six, and 64 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,800 the boiler Makers get to the red zone and throw 65 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:32,000 a bad interception. USC's defense better than it was a 66 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,240 week ago against Georgia Southern, but certainly still not had 67 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,399 a really high level standard. The secondary is having a 68 00:04:39,439 --> 00:04:45,680 problem tracking the ball, reacting to plays. The secondary is 69 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,000 still not really locking down on receivers. The USC pass 70 00:04:49,079 --> 00:04:53,839 rush is really strong five sacks against Purdue, but Purdue 71 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,319 went to a quick passing game to neutralize that pass 72 00:04:56,399 --> 00:04:59,720 rush and had a lot of success. USC corners had 73 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,759 problems guarding Perdue receivers for like two to two and 74 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,519 a half three seconds. A quick passing game worked for 75 00:05:07,639 --> 00:05:10,959 large portions of that game. Perdue moved the ball between 76 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,160 the twenties. Two red zone interceptions, and then a third 77 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,519 pick in USC territory turns into a pick six for 78 00:05:19,639 --> 00:05:22,040 the Trojans, which you know, kind of calmed everything down 79 00:05:22,079 --> 00:05:25,480 for USC. The worry coming out of this game for 80 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:31,040 USC is that if the Trojans face a significantly better 81 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,879 quarterback in the Big Ten. What's it going to look 82 00:05:33,959 --> 00:05:38,319 like for that defense? Now the rebuttal might be talking 83 00:05:38,319 --> 00:05:41,720 about the Big Ten as a whole is that, you know, 84 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,040 quarterbacks in the Big Ten don't look very good thus far. 85 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,199 Julian San of Ohio State Drew Aller, Penn State guys 86 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,959 are not really rising up just yet this season. Now, 87 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,240 again it's early. Quarterbacks need to find their way. So 88 00:05:56,439 --> 00:05:58,839 we're not offering any final verdicts, we're not even hinting 89 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,360 at that. But so far it's been pretty mild, let's 90 00:06:02,399 --> 00:06:04,879 just put it that way. And so we're waiting for 91 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,399 quarterbacks in the Big Ten to step up. So if 92 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,240 USC goes up against a quarterback who is really on 93 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,519 top of his game, that defense is in trouble if 94 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,959 it doesn't significantly improve. And it's especially in the secondary. 95 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,720 As for us, he's offense very encouraging signs. Jade Mayava 96 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,360 looked so much more comfortable than Miller Moss did last year. 97 00:06:25,639 --> 00:06:28,279 And some people will say, well, it's just Purdue. Yes, 98 00:06:28,439 --> 00:06:31,600 it is just Purdue. We know that, we're mindful of that. 99 00:06:32,199 --> 00:06:35,639 But consider Miller Moss lost at Minnesota last year, he 100 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,000 lost at Maryland last year. He was never really a 101 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,240 tower of strength and total confidence in Big Ten road games, 102 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,920 even against the lower half of the Big Ten. Jade 103 00:06:47,959 --> 00:06:50,879 Miyaba comes into this game in Purdue. He looked the part, 104 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:52,959 and he was great for two and a half quarters. 105 00:06:53,199 --> 00:06:55,800 Then he did tail off. He lost a little bit 106 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,680 of focus, got a little bit of a little bit careless, 107 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,959 with USC having a two to three score lead for 108 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,120 much of the second half. So like, he did tail 109 00:07:06,199 --> 00:07:09,839 off late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, 110 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:11,959 but for the first two and a half quarters, he 111 00:07:12,079 --> 00:07:16,480 ran this offense very smoothly. USC never punted, converted several 112 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,399 fourth downs. Jade Mayava looks comfortable, and Lincoln Riley coached 113 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,480 him up well in the offseason. And you know, let's 114 00:07:23,519 --> 00:07:26,639 remember Lincoln Riley is one of the great quarterback coaches 115 00:07:26,639 --> 00:07:29,720 in the country. Say what you want about his overall 116 00:07:29,759 --> 00:07:32,639 coaching chops, how he leads a team, how he guides 117 00:07:32,639 --> 00:07:37,040 a program, his commitment to defense. You know, those are 118 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,639 those parts of his track record, all spotty, But you 119 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,959 can't really say that Lincoln Riley is anything less than 120 00:07:44,079 --> 00:07:48,439 elite as a quarterback whisperer as a quarterback teacher. So 121 00:07:48,519 --> 00:07:52,519 he has Jade Mayava in a pretty good place right now. Yes, 122 00:07:52,959 --> 00:07:56,240 it's only perdue, but again, Mayava looked more comfortable in 123 00:07:56,279 --> 00:07:58,839 his first Big ten row game than Miller Moss did 124 00:07:58,839 --> 00:08:02,199 in any Big ten row game all of last season. 125 00:08:02,519 --> 00:08:06,240 It's a definite upgrade for USC at quarterback. And you know, 126 00:08:06,879 --> 00:08:10,000 Miller Moss is not a traditional Lincoln Riley quarterback. Let's 127 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,519 just say that. I know that it's twenty twenty five, 128 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,600 not twenty twenty four, but let's make that comparison between 129 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,199 Miller Moss and Jade and Mayava. Miller Moss seven step 130 00:08:18,279 --> 00:08:21,759 drop back quarterback, chained to the pocket, you know, pro 131 00:08:21,879 --> 00:08:25,800 style kind of quarterback, not a dual threat guy. He 132 00:08:25,879 --> 00:08:28,680 wasn't a slow poke, but he liked to stay in 133 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,720 the pocket. That's how he rolled. Jade and Mayava is 134 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,960 the more prototypical dual threat. Likes to run, get outside. 135 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,360 You can make plays with his legs as a threat 136 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,000 in the running game and short yardage situations. This is 137 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,679 more of the prototypical Lincoln Riley quarterback, you know, a 138 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:48,960 lot closer to Kayleb Williams. I'm not saying he's at 139 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,720 the same standard, just talking about playing style. It's a 140 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,759 lot closer to the mold that Lincoln Riley is familiar with. 141 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,519 If you go back to Kyler Murray, you go back 142 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,080 to Jalen Hurts, you go back to Baker Mayfield. Like 143 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,559 all those guys could scramble, all those guys could improvise. 144 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,279 Jade and Mayava much more like a normal Lincoln Riley quarterback. 145 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,159 And so Lincoln Riley, given how good he is at 146 00:09:10,159 --> 00:09:13,320 teaching quarterbacks, like he had something to work with. And 147 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,039 it was really good in hindsight that Mayava got those 148 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,919 last four games of the twenty twenty four season, three 149 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,679 regular season games, one bowl game, got some live reps, 150 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,679 got a lot of experience at the end of last season, 151 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,440 and that was kind of the foundation, the jumping off 152 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,639 point for Lincoln Riley to really work hard with Mayava 153 00:09:32,879 --> 00:09:37,200 in the off season. Mayava looks fundamentally prepared that he 154 00:09:37,279 --> 00:09:40,159 knows what's coming, he knows what to do, he looks 155 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,039 fundamentally comfortable. Now, the quality of opposition is gonna get 156 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,320 tougher in the Big Ten as it goes along, there's 157 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,240 no question about that. But again, Mayava, for a Big 158 00:09:50,279 --> 00:09:56,440 Ten road debut national television CBS, looked pretty solid and 159 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:58,840 it wasn't until late in the third, early in the 160 00:09:58,879 --> 00:10:01,720 fourth quarter that he he began to make a few 161 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:05,279 mistakes and bad decisions. First half, he was pretty spot on, 162 00:10:05,519 --> 00:10:10,919 and he threw some beautiful steam routes in fairly tight windows. 163 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,559 Like his ability to see the field so much better 164 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,039 than in the Las Vegas Bowl when he looked lost 165 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,519 for large portions of that game against Texas A and M. 166 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,159 So we're seeing real evolution from Jade Mahava. Obviously a 167 00:10:24,159 --> 00:10:26,720 long way to go, but it's a good first step, 168 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:28,600 let's just put it that way, A good first step 169 00:10:28,639 --> 00:10:31,840 for USC. The jury is still out in terms of 170 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,000 whether Maama is going to take those follow up steps. 171 00:10:35,639 --> 00:10:40,240 All right, So the other Western team in the Big 172 00:10:40,279 --> 00:10:42,679 Ten that we haven't yet talked about, this is the 173 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,960 big story, right, Deshan Foster fired by UCLA. The Bruins 174 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,279 get dump trucks by New Mexico thirty five to ten 175 00:10:50,519 --> 00:10:52,600 at home. I mean, when you lose by twenty five 176 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:55,919 to New Mexico at home, yep, that's a coach killer. 177 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,360 That brings a tenure to an end. UCLA the laughing 178 00:11:00,399 --> 00:11:03,240 stock of the Big Ten. Just the whole nation was 179 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,919 laughing at the Bruins all day Saturday, and credit to 180 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,960 the administration, A lot of people in college sports circles, 181 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,279 college football circles fell oh, UCLA is not serious about football. 182 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,240 They're not going to be proactive about this. They're not gonna, 183 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,000 you know, make the courageous move, or at least the 184 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,000 bold move to fire a beloved alumnus. Because Deshaun Foster 185 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,840 is you know, really well universally well liked within the 186 00:11:28,919 --> 00:11:32,519 UCLA community, former football player, you know, starred for the 187 00:11:32,519 --> 00:11:36,480 Bruins on the field. A lot of people thought UCLA 188 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:38,879 as a school, as an administration, would not have the 189 00:11:38,879 --> 00:11:41,960 stomach to fire him right away, but the Bruins did that. 190 00:11:42,399 --> 00:11:44,399 And you know, let's not give you soa too much 191 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,960 credit because this was an absolute dumpster fire and you 192 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,440 just can't let these things linger. And you know, if 193 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,840 you CLA had lost to New Mexico by a point, 194 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,720 Deshaun Foster is probably still coaching. But thirty five to ten, 195 00:11:57,039 --> 00:12:00,720 it just made it just so easy to go ahead 196 00:12:00,879 --> 00:12:05,399 and turn the page. In many senses, UCLA didn't have 197 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,080 a choice, but nevertheless they still did what they should 198 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,840 have done. Looking at the UCLA head coaching search, I'm 199 00:12:13,879 --> 00:12:16,559 sure you're very interested in that part, even more than 200 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,639 the UCLA team, because obviously UCLA might not win even 201 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:22,960 two games this season and could go zero to twelve. 202 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,639 As mentioned earlier, you're not really interested in the Bruins 203 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,360 on the field. The coaching searches was really interesting, So 204 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,559 let's dive into that before before we talk about names, 205 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,320 before we talk about candidates. First things first, UCLA needs 206 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:40,919 to fire athletic director Martin Jarmond, who hired Deshaun Foster, 207 00:12:41,399 --> 00:12:45,320 who botched the whole process of that transition. He did 208 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,879 not fire Chip Kelly on Thanksgiving weekend right after, you know, 209 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,840 an awful loss to Cal at the end of the 210 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,960 bruins twenty twenty three regular season. That should have been 211 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,399 it for Kelly right there. But UCLA and John Dermond 212 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:05,279 dithered and Dilly dallied and were not decisive, and that 213 00:13:05,399 --> 00:13:10,080 period of indecision is what allowed Danton Lynn. Let's remember this, 214 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,080 Danton Lynn was UCLA's defensive coordinator under Chip Kelly in 215 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,399 twenty twenty three. Now, UCLA could have moved quickly to 216 00:13:19,919 --> 00:13:23,840 fire chip Kelly and promote Danton Lynn to head coach. 217 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,600 But because the Bruins didn't do that. Guess who swooped 218 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:32,159 in and poached Lynn from Westwood, USC, the crosstown rival, 219 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,840 and of course Danton Lynn now the defensive coordinator at USC. 220 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,360 Danton Lynn is being named as a possible candidate for 221 00:13:40,519 --> 00:13:45,200 the UCLA head coaching job. But UCLA needs to fire 222 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,919 Martin Jarmon, the guy who wouldn't fire Chip Kelly, and 223 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,919 promote Danton Lynn to head coach. Like Danton Lynn and 224 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,360 all other prospective candidates for this job, you know, if 225 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,759 they want this job or they're thinking about this job, 226 00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:03,799 they're probably gonna say, you know, if they get a 227 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:08,200 call or their their agent gets a call, is Martin 228 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,840 Jarmon going to be fired? I mean, every candidate's going 229 00:14:10,919 --> 00:14:13,840 to ask that unless it unless U SLA does it first, 230 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:18,000 and UCLA is gonna, i think, run into reality and 231 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,720 just saying we'll just have to fire Jarmon because you know, 232 00:14:22,159 --> 00:14:25,240 any coaching candidate walking into the UCLA job needs to 233 00:14:25,279 --> 00:14:28,200 know that UCLA means business. It needs to know that 234 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:33,759 there's a turnover in leadership. The vision's different, like if 235 00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:38,039 you are a head coach, head coaching candidate, or you're 236 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,960 a prospective head coach, like you're a coordinator. Right now, 237 00:14:41,279 --> 00:14:44,519 you want to move up the ladder. You're thinking about UCLA. 238 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,159 You are going to ask about Martin Jarmond and the 239 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:53,480 athletic director's chair, at least if you're smart. Like no, 240 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,480 no smart candidate would not ask about the athletic director 241 00:14:57,559 --> 00:15:01,639 situation at UCLA. It would be now practice for a 242 00:15:01,679 --> 00:15:06,519 prospective candidate to not insist on a new athletic director. 243 00:15:06,559 --> 00:15:09,200 So I think it's gonna happen at some point, And 244 00:15:09,279 --> 00:15:11,399 once again, I think it'll get to a point where 245 00:15:11,679 --> 00:15:15,159 UCLA realizes there's no choice here. We have to do this. 246 00:15:15,799 --> 00:15:18,399 But obviously it would be it would be impressive if 247 00:15:18,519 --> 00:15:23,600 UCLA makes the move soon and kind of of its 248 00:15:23,679 --> 00:15:28,159 own accord, not after making calls to agents and being 249 00:15:28,159 --> 00:15:31,639 told you got to fire Martin Jarmond. Let's see if 250 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:36,039 UCLA is able to do this on its own. Uh, 251 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,360 before too much time goes by. You know, if UCLA 252 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,120 fires Jarmond this week, candidates are going to say, oh, 253 00:15:43,399 --> 00:15:47,320 maybe UCLA really is serious about football after all. Uh. 254 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,639 And then the athletic director search can unfold and you 255 00:15:50,759 --> 00:15:54,480 do that, and then you can hire your head coach. 256 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,840 So when we think about the UCLA head coaching search. 257 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,600 UCLA has a lot of administrative ducks to line up 258 00:16:02,679 --> 00:16:05,799 in a row. First, UCLA needs to get its house 259 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,159 in order, its structural house, and only then would quality 260 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:15,200 candidates really give this job some level of consideration. So 261 00:16:15,279 --> 00:16:18,120 like that kind of skews the the chess board in 262 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,919 terms of what candidates UCLA can realistically get. So Danton 263 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,600 Lynn is out there and I think he might consider Ucla, 264 00:16:26,679 --> 00:16:32,679 but only if the Bruins get their administrative issues ironed out. 265 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,159 So that is the central point to make right now 266 00:16:37,159 --> 00:16:40,919 about the UCLA head coach and search, and that supersedes 267 00:16:41,279 --> 00:16:44,960 anything else. UCLA has to do that first, and then 268 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:50,080 we can really gauge politically which coaches might want to 269 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,879 get this job, Which coaches would realistically say yes, which 270 00:16:54,919 --> 00:16:57,320 coaches maybe are are on the fence and are kind 271 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,600 of waiting to see what happens. And that gets into 272 00:17:00,879 --> 00:17:03,360 just the larger dynamics of a coaching surgeon. It's always 273 00:17:03,399 --> 00:17:06,680 good to have a refresher, a primer on this process. 274 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,039 When a school tries to hire a football coach or 275 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:14,640 like a men's basketball coach. You know, the revenue sport coach, 276 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,640 and you've got to nail these hires to keep the 277 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,160 revenue flowing in, or at least to resume the revenue 278 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,720 flowing in if you're a cash starved school such as UCLA, 279 00:17:27,039 --> 00:17:30,079 got to nail this higher. So when we when we 280 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:35,000 think about the coaching surgeon, how it goes, you start 281 00:17:35,079 --> 00:17:39,599 with not your realistic target. You start with, you know, 282 00:17:39,839 --> 00:17:42,599 taking your big swing. You know, going for the moonshot. 283 00:17:43,039 --> 00:17:45,559 Doesn't mean that you're expecting a yes. In fact, you're 284 00:17:45,559 --> 00:17:48,480 not expecting a yes at all. You know, you're you're 285 00:17:48,559 --> 00:17:52,160 you're aware that you know what if we call this guy, 286 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:56,319 he's almost certain to say no. But again, it doesn't 287 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:02,279 hurt to call. You lose nothing by actually making the call. 288 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,480 There's there's nothing wrong with making the overture. You don't 289 00:18:06,559 --> 00:18:09,960 lose anything for that. You have to make a certain 290 00:18:10,519 --> 00:18:14,480 number of top candidates say no, and like the like 291 00:18:14,559 --> 00:18:16,720 that's the worst thing that can happen. They say no, 292 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,880 You're not hurt, it's just you. You at least gave 293 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,000 them the chance to potentially say yes. But like, it's 294 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,599 ninety nine point certain they're gonna say no. What what 295 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,559 if you win that lottery ticket? Right? So, there are 296 00:18:31,599 --> 00:18:36,000 a few candidates that you say, he might as well. Uhay, 297 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,319 pay a visit to or make a phone call to. 298 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,160 I should say, like, call Chris Peterson. Is he gonna 299 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,559 go there? No, he's not, But you make the call. 300 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,839 Go ahead, It can't hurt. And maybe Chris Peterson has 301 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:54,559 advice right on on another up and coming coach or 302 00:18:54,599 --> 00:18:57,160 a coach who might be a fit. Nothing wrong with 303 00:18:57,319 --> 00:19:01,920 calling someone like Chris Peterson just to get his sense 304 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,880 of everything, take his temperature. You don't lose anything by 305 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:10,079 doing that. So UCLA should reach out to Peterson and 306 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,559 a few guys in that kind of tier, in that 307 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:17,119 kind of category. And then after a certain point, you 308 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,480 begin not with the coach you're most likely to hire. 309 00:19:19,519 --> 00:19:24,440 You're still kind of shooting above what you expect, right, 310 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,240 you still go for something bigger. You're still not expecting 311 00:19:28,279 --> 00:19:31,599 a Yes, you know it's not likely, but you make 312 00:19:31,759 --> 00:19:34,480 the overture. You make the run at the coach, and 313 00:19:34,559 --> 00:19:39,960 for me, the coach that UCLA should consider who is 314 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:42,480 not likely to take the job. Want to be very 315 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,119 clear about that, not likely to take the job, but 316 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:50,920 whom UCLA should make a run at. Pat Fitzgerald, right, 317 00:19:51,079 --> 00:19:56,519 he was exonerated in the recent round of litigation with Northwestern. 318 00:19:56,599 --> 00:20:00,279 Northwestern did not treat him very well. You see, LA 319 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,039 being in the Big Ten would give Fitzgerald a chance 320 00:20:03,079 --> 00:20:05,599 to return to the Big Ten, but to do it 321 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,759 from a different vantage point in Southern California. At UCLA, 322 00:20:09,799 --> 00:20:12,720 you don't have nearly the expect at the expectations or 323 00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:16,519 the pressure of USC So that's a plus. It's like 324 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,640 Fitzgerald would get plenty of years to put his plan 325 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,519 uh in motion. It's not like a win now job, 326 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,640 so he would probably like that. Uh. And also, lit's 327 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:33,519 just consider what UCLA needs. UCLA is a tortilla soft team. 328 00:20:34,079 --> 00:20:38,319 Ucla is just, uh, you know, a bunch of marshmallows 329 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:42,559 right now, no toughness, no strength, you know, getting pushed 330 00:20:42,599 --> 00:20:45,000 around by New Mexico with the line of scrimmage. Say 331 00:20:45,039 --> 00:20:47,400 no more like this is a just a very soft, 332 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,799 non competitive, lazy, unfocused team. Pat Fitzgerald, you know what, 333 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,720 not a very good offensive coach, doesn't have a great 334 00:20:55,759 --> 00:20:59,400 track record with quarterbacks. But the things that he will do, 335 00:21:00,039 --> 00:21:02,240 he will have a physical team, he will have a 336 00:21:02,279 --> 00:21:05,640 good defense, he will have good tacklers, he will have 337 00:21:05,759 --> 00:21:10,440 good good line play, So Pat Fitzgerald will make your 338 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:15,359 football team strong up the middle, in the trenches, at 339 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,680 the line of scrimmage. Linebackers are going to be world class. 340 00:21:19,519 --> 00:21:23,839 That's not a bad foundational direction for UCLA to take 341 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,359 in a hire. And the other thing about Fitzgerald, which 342 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,640 makes him unique in all of this is he's unemployed. 343 00:21:31,079 --> 00:21:34,440 He can talk to UCLA right now. UCLA can interview 344 00:21:34,519 --> 00:21:38,720 Pat Fitzgerald right now. There are no limitations. The vast 345 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,680 majority of other perspective candidates, UCLA can't talk to them. 346 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,880 UCLA can't interview them. They're employed, they're going through their 347 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,039 regular seasons right now, and it's going to be two 348 00:21:49,079 --> 00:21:52,000 and a half months before their regular seasons end. But 349 00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:57,240 Pat Fitzgerald, UCLA can can consult him, interview him right 350 00:21:57,279 --> 00:22:00,640 now and see how interested he is. And if Pat 351 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,519 Fitzgerald says, Hey, fire your ad, I want this athletic 352 00:22:04,559 --> 00:22:09,720 director in place, I want these NIO markers guidelines, I 353 00:22:09,759 --> 00:22:13,079 want this guy as my GM, UCLA can play ball. 354 00:22:13,279 --> 00:22:16,319 UCLA can negotiate and see what it can arrive at. 355 00:22:16,559 --> 00:22:19,519 And here's one more plot twist on Pat Fitzgeril. Before 356 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,839 I leave UCLA and go to the other teams where 357 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:27,039 we cover here on get off my pylon. In the 358 00:22:27,039 --> 00:22:30,839 Big Ten. Luke Fickle is very much on the hot 359 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:35,039 seat in Madison. Wisconsin just got blown out by Alabama. 360 00:22:35,559 --> 00:22:38,720 Very it's very possible, I'm not gonna say likely, but 361 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,839 very possible that Luke Fickle gets fired in the middle 362 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,599 of the season. Pat Fitzgeril would be a natural fit 363 00:22:45,759 --> 00:22:50,359 for the Badgers. Right Wisconsin has great linebackers, It has 364 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:56,119 a culture of toughness, physicality, bruising line play like Pat Fitzgerald. 365 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,880 Among all the places he could go, Wisconsin makes a 366 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,640 lot of sense on a lot of obvious levels. So 367 00:23:03,799 --> 00:23:08,880 let's say Wisconsin fires Luke Fickele in early October. Wisconsin 368 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:15,400 could interview Pat Fitzgerald and initiate talks. UCLA might want 369 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,359 to move now on Pat Fitzgerald so that it can 370 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,599 fend off Wisconsin. It can be it can preempt Wisconsin 371 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:29,119 and and get a deal done potentially before Wisconsin fires 372 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,799 Luke fickel and looks for its own replacement. That is 373 00:23:31,839 --> 00:23:35,680 something to think about. So all in all, UCLA needs 374 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,519 to make statements to the coaching industry that hey, we're 375 00:23:39,519 --> 00:23:42,039 going to get a new ad, We're gonna improve our 376 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:48,119 nil We're gonna, you know, really redo our football operations. 377 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,160 Those things have to happen first before any high quality 378 00:23:53,519 --> 00:23:59,000 candidate might seriously consider taking this job. So let's be 379 00:23:59,079 --> 00:24:03,480 clear about that. Assuming UCLA does make those administrative and 380 00:24:03,519 --> 00:24:07,440 structural adjustments, hat Fitzgerald stands out to me as an 381 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,960 intriguing option. I'm not calling him the favorite. I'm not 382 00:24:11,039 --> 00:24:14,279 calling him the likely winner because I don't think you'd 383 00:24:14,279 --> 00:24:18,319 go to UCLA. I think Madison is right now would 384 00:24:18,319 --> 00:24:23,640 be my odds on favorite. And don't dismiss Iowa. If 385 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,200 Kirkference retires, fits could go to Iowa. I've talked to 386 00:24:28,559 --> 00:24:31,480 some Iowa bloggers and I thought, wait, Iowa and Northwestern 387 00:24:31,519 --> 00:24:35,000 they hate each other. No, but Pat Fitzgerald has some 388 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,720 ties there and it actually might be a really good 389 00:24:38,759 --> 00:24:41,519 fit for both parties. So that's also something to think 390 00:24:41,519 --> 00:24:44,000 about in the Big Tech. All right, let's move along. 391 00:24:44,519 --> 00:24:48,640 The next really big story in Western college football at 392 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,480 the end of Week three and going into Week four, 393 00:24:50,599 --> 00:24:55,880 Texas Tech versus Utah. Coming up in Week four, Texas 394 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:02,119 Tech blasts Oregon State. You know, Texas Tech is demolishing 395 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,160 opponents now. To be fair, Oregon State looks bad. And 396 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,200 Trent Bray, the head coach who used to be Jonathan 397 00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:14,720 Smith's defensive coordinator. He stayed in Corvallis while Jonathan Smith 398 00:25:15,039 --> 00:25:19,079 went to Michigan State to coach the Spartans. Trent Bray 399 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,680 seems to be in trouble at Oregon State. That's a 400 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,640 sinking ship. So how much weight to assign to Texas 401 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,079 Tech's win over Oregon State? Not sure? But now we 402 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,960 get a true test for Texas Tech and that's the 403 00:25:33,079 --> 00:25:34,839 Utah Utes. And this is going to be a Fox 404 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,319 Big noon game. And not only is it going to 405 00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:39,200 be a Fox Big Neon game, but it's in Salt 406 00:25:39,279 --> 00:25:43,559 Lake City, so kickoff is just after ten am local time. 407 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,640 It's one of those Mountain time zoned big nooners, so 408 00:25:46,759 --> 00:25:51,359 it's basically brunch football in Salt Lake City. You know, 409 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,400 Colorado and Deon Sanders had some big noon games that 410 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,759 would start just after ten am local So Utah hosts 411 00:25:57,759 --> 00:26:02,680 this game. And really, having talked about Texas Tech vide 412 00:26:02,759 --> 00:26:04,920 oringan state and just how much meaning can you assign 413 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,000 to that, Well, let's flip it over to the Utah side. 414 00:26:08,319 --> 00:26:13,759 Utah's route of UCLA in Week one does look a 415 00:26:13,799 --> 00:26:16,160 little bit different now that you know New Mexico was 416 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,759 also able to blow out UCLA. And just one added 417 00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:23,160 note about New Mexico's twenty five point win over UCLA, 418 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,400 it easily could have been thirty nine instead of twenty five. 419 00:26:26,519 --> 00:26:30,720 New Mexico turned the ball over twice, once on downs, 420 00:26:30,759 --> 00:26:34,359 once with a fumble inside the UCLA ten yard line, 421 00:26:34,519 --> 00:26:38,759 so New Mexico could have basically beaten Ucla by the 422 00:26:38,799 --> 00:26:42,720 same margin that Utah did. So that and Utah's less 423 00:26:42,759 --> 00:26:48,960 than great offensive performance against Wyoming this past week, that 424 00:26:49,079 --> 00:26:51,480 kind of offers a little bit of caution. It gives 425 00:26:51,519 --> 00:26:54,480 me pause about Utah and just how good Utah is. 426 00:26:54,519 --> 00:26:58,960 With Devin Dampier, the transfer quarterback from New Mexico, Utah 427 00:26:59,079 --> 00:27:02,279 might be really good. But you know, if New Mexico 428 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:07,920 and Utah both hammer UCLA into the ground, that suggests 429 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,039 that maybe Utah and New Mexico aren't wildly different, And 430 00:27:12,079 --> 00:27:16,759 that just gives me a reason to be cautious about 431 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:21,440 elevating Utah too much heading into this game against Texas Tech. 432 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,720 But it's going to be really fascinating. Both teams ranked 433 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,079 in the top twenty. Kyle Whittingham trying to bring Utah 434 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,000 back to the top tier of college football. You know, 435 00:27:30,039 --> 00:27:33,039 he won the two straight Pac twelve titles, made two 436 00:27:33,079 --> 00:27:35,839 straight Rose Bowls, but then fell off the pace due 437 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,519 to Cam Rising's injuries the past few seasons. And meanwhile, 438 00:27:39,759 --> 00:27:43,680 on the other side, Joey maguire, he's become a recruiting 439 00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:49,079 machine overall and in the transfer portal in Lubbock. Texas 440 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:53,079 Tech's massive nil investments had become one of the big 441 00:27:53,079 --> 00:27:56,079 stories in college sports. I mean, it's not just a 442 00:27:56,079 --> 00:27:59,640 football thing, right, Texas Tech making the championship round of 443 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:04,440 the Women's College World Series. Their basketball program came within 444 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,720 an eyelash of the Final four. They're making investments and 445 00:28:07,839 --> 00:28:11,440 are getting results all over the place in that athletic 446 00:28:11,519 --> 00:28:17,200 department in Lubbock. So a real high profile spotlight for 447 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,880 the Red Raiders against Utah one of the best matchups 448 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,279 of Week four by far. And the game feels like 449 00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:28,640 a tass up because both teams have crushed some inferior opponents. 450 00:28:28,759 --> 00:28:31,880 And you know, how much do you learn from good 451 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,519 from good teams crushing really bad teams in the early 452 00:28:35,559 --> 00:28:38,559 weeks of a college football season. I basically rate this 453 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,240 dead even Utah at the opening line favored by three 454 00:28:42,319 --> 00:28:44,480 and a half. So if it stays at three and 455 00:28:44,519 --> 00:28:48,359 a half, I would take Texas Tech, but I would 456 00:28:48,359 --> 00:28:50,359 expect that line to go down to two and a 457 00:28:50,359 --> 00:28:54,440 half and maybe one and a half by kickoff on 458 00:28:54,599 --> 00:28:59,920 Saturday a Fox Big Nooner. Continuing in the Big twees 459 00:29:00,279 --> 00:29:04,279 and the Western schools. There, Colorado gets dog walks by Houston. 460 00:29:04,359 --> 00:29:07,839 I mean, the Cougar's clearly better. Willie Fritz finding his 461 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,880 footing in Houston after a rough first season last year. 462 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,599 So you know, Willy Fritz and Houston go through growing pains, 463 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,559 they're finding themselves this year. And on the other side, 464 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,359 you know, with Colorado, different quarterbacks each of the first 465 00:29:21,359 --> 00:29:24,240 three games of this season. It's like Deon Sanders is 466 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:29,079 spinning the roulette wheel hoping he gets the right number. 467 00:29:30,359 --> 00:29:34,519 Deon Sanders flailing a little bit in Colorado. And it's 468 00:29:34,559 --> 00:29:38,160 just obvious to point out, like I'm not I'm hardly 469 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,079 the first person to say this. I'm not even the 470 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,599 ninety ninth person to say this, Like there's like a 471 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,960 million people who have said it before me. But no Chador, 472 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,839 no Travis Hunter. You know, what do you do? What's next, 473 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,000 what's the encore. It's really hard to follow up those 474 00:29:54,039 --> 00:29:58,039 two players. It's really hard to replace all that lost 475 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,799 production and all those lost snaps. You know, just guys 476 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,359 you know who are going to lock it down at 477 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,839 multiple positions for a lot of snaps on game day. 478 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,960 You have to replace all of that. It's not a 479 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,880 shock that Colorado is really struggling. So, you know, Dion Sanders, 480 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:21,680 he needs to make some portal splashes this coming December. 481 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,119 It's hard to see this year's team amounting too much 482 00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:29,920 of anything, so he needs to really really strike gold 483 00:30:30,359 --> 00:30:35,880 in Boulder in the portal this coming December. If Colorado 484 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,559 is going to get back on track. You know what's 485 00:30:38,559 --> 00:30:43,079 happening right now is just like Dion had elite players 486 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,240 last season, and the great programs, they find a way 487 00:30:47,279 --> 00:30:49,839 to sustain, They find a way to fill in. They 488 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,319 find a way either through recruiting or the portal to 489 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,559 just plug in the replacements. But at Colorado it's more 490 00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:00,599 of an uphill battle than at other bigger, more blue 491 00:31:00,599 --> 00:31:07,039 bloodish type programs. So reality setting in in Boulder, Arizona 492 00:31:07,079 --> 00:31:09,920 State with a win over Texas State. Not too much 493 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:13,720 to mention there in that one but Arizona beats Kansas 494 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:18,119 State in many ways. Arizona, which you know, whose defensive 495 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,759 line absolutely smothered Kansas State's offensive line. Arizona seems to 496 00:31:22,759 --> 00:31:28,680 have a legitimate defense Under brent to Brennan. Kansas State 497 00:31:28,759 --> 00:31:32,039 had one seventy yard seventy five yard run for a touchdown, 498 00:31:32,519 --> 00:31:35,720 rushed for just thirty yards the rest of the game. 499 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:40,319 Outside of that one seventy five yard burst. The final 500 00:31:40,359 --> 00:31:43,599 score was twenty three to seventeen Arizona. So Kansas State 501 00:31:44,599 --> 00:31:48,640 It's seventeen points seven came on one seventy five yard play. 502 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,240 The other seven points came off Arizona botching a punt 503 00:31:52,839 --> 00:31:55,200 in its own red zone, Kansas State having a drive 504 00:31:55,319 --> 00:32:01,119 start very very deep in Arizona Tara. So you know, 505 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,759 Arizona gifted one touchdown to KSU and Kansas State's only 506 00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:08,720 other touchdown was one seventy five yard play. So the 507 00:32:08,759 --> 00:32:13,079 Wildcats did basically the Kansas State Wildcats, i should say, 508 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:19,480 did basically nothing on offense. Arizona's defense was absolutely magnificent. 509 00:32:19,839 --> 00:32:22,599 Now some people will say, and it's true, Kansas State 510 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,000 has cratered. It's really shocking to see how Chris Cleman 511 00:32:26,119 --> 00:32:29,640 has lost hold of that program, at least for the moment. 512 00:32:30,599 --> 00:32:32,279 He needs to go back to the drying board and 513 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:39,880 recruit some tough, burly, dependable linemen because Kansas State's is 514 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,680 just not strong upfront. But nevertheless, Arizona did dominate that 515 00:32:43,759 --> 00:32:47,440 game in the trenches. So it's definite progress under Brent Brennan, 516 00:32:47,839 --> 00:32:53,440 who entered this season being doubted by a lot of 517 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,640 Arizona fans. I mean, the mood was not very optimistic 518 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:01,480 in Tucson starting this season. I don't think he's engineered 519 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,759 a complete one eighty, but he certainly moved the needle 520 00:33:04,839 --> 00:33:07,960 a little bit in the right direction. Now he needs 521 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,519 to figure out Noah Faffieda, you know who is so 522 00:33:10,599 --> 00:33:14,039 good under Jedfish. Brent Brennan needs to get Noah Fafida 523 00:33:14,079 --> 00:33:18,599 in the Arizona passing game back to top level potency. 524 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,079 That's the challenge. If Fiffieda can really return to what 525 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:27,960 he was under Jedfish, Arizona might have something. But you know, 526 00:33:28,039 --> 00:33:31,839 on that point, skepticism is still warranted. So Arizona is 527 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,119 making some progress. There's a lot of season left and 528 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,759 Arizona's going to be playing better teams than Kansas State 529 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,480 in the Big Twelve on a consistent basis. To be honest, 530 00:33:43,519 --> 00:33:47,119 if Arizona makes a bowl game this year, that's probably 531 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,640 a good year for Brent Brennan. So that's gonna be 532 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,440 I think the standard by which this Arizona season is judged. 533 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,160 Bowl game or no bowl game. We will see if 534 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,200 Arizona is still in a really good position several weeks 535 00:34:00,519 --> 00:34:04,200 from now. All right, so we've covered the Big Ten, 536 00:34:04,319 --> 00:34:08,400 we've covered the Big twelve. Cal in the ACC Now 537 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:13,000 that's an interesting story. The Bears beat Minnesota and PJ 538 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:20,679 Fleck in a late night game. Cal is unbeaten. This 539 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,920 game against Minnesota was the best performance so far of 540 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,239 Cal's season. Cal beat Oregon State by nineteen So when 541 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:30,760 you compare that to you know, Texas Tech really crushing 542 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:35,559 Oregon State by you know, almost double. It wasn't by 543 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:38,559 thirty eight, but Texas Tech had a huge lead and 544 00:34:38,599 --> 00:34:41,880 then kind of slacked off at the very end. Texas 545 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,320 Tech beat Oregon State much more authoritatively than Cal did, 546 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,559 So Cal might not look great in that regard. But 547 00:34:49,599 --> 00:34:54,639 then Cal's defense just smothers Texas Southern in a cupcake game. 548 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:59,280 And now the Bears limit Minnesota to fourteen points. So 549 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,960 Cal was ab to stand up to Minnesota upfront, and 550 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,440 you know PJ. Fleck at Minnesota needs to have the 551 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:11,400 big Uglies dominating and facilitating. The running game really didn't 552 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,400 get off the ground for Minnesota. So justin Wilcox with 553 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:20,880 a good defensive outing against Minnesota's offensive line. So Cal 554 00:35:21,079 --> 00:35:23,960 unbeaten so far. And if you look at Cal's schedule, 555 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,320 this has been a talking point over the weekend. Cal 556 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,519 does not play any of the top four teams in 557 00:35:30,559 --> 00:35:34,119 the ACC. We're talking about Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, 558 00:35:34,519 --> 00:35:37,639 and Clemson. Call does not play any of those four teams. 559 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,559 So there is a chance, not saying it's likely, but 560 00:35:40,599 --> 00:35:42,599 there is a chance for Cal to really become a 561 00:35:42,679 --> 00:35:48,519 player in the ACC this season. That that is suddenly 562 00:35:48,639 --> 00:35:52,679 becoming an intriguing story. Minnesota is a two point favorite 563 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:54,719 in this game, so it was kind of a toss up, 564 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,920 but I think most people probably leaned Minnesota. Now that 565 00:35:58,039 --> 00:36:01,079 Cal has pulled that very slight up sid and is 566 00:36:01,119 --> 00:36:04,599 three and zero, the Golden Bears have given themselves an 567 00:36:04,599 --> 00:36:07,880 opportunity to really achieve at a high level. And I 568 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:11,239 don't know if that was something most people considered going 569 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:13,719 to the season, but right now we at least have 570 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:17,559 to consider the possibility. So exciting times in Berkeley with 571 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,800 Justin Wilcox and the Cal Golden Bears. Also in the 572 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,320 Bay area Stanford, Stanford beats Boston College. No one saw 573 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:27,920 that one coming. And not only does Stanford win, it 574 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:31,719 wins by ten thirty to twenty. So Stanford obviously found 575 00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:35,199 something on both sides of the ball, Frank Reich coming 576 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,519 up with a good coaching performance, and it also has 577 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,079 you also have to say, Bill O'Brien in Boston College, 578 00:36:42,159 --> 00:36:45,280 they just stepped in a pothole because this was just 579 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:49,599 not a game that the Eagles figured to lose in Stanford. 580 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,880 I said it earlier on Get Off My Pylon and 581 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,599 earlier shows this season, Stanford looked like one of the 582 00:36:56,639 --> 00:37:00,400 two worst Power four teams in college foot. It was 583 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:06,559 Stanford and Oklahoma State at the bottom. So after after 584 00:37:06,599 --> 00:37:10,239 this result, probably have to get off that opinion. I 585 00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:12,880 have to revise that and say that you know, UCLA 586 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:17,280 and Northwestern and Oklahoma State would probably be the three worst. 587 00:37:17,519 --> 00:37:21,480 Stanford has to rate slightly above those three based on 588 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,119 this win over Boston College. So in UCLA and Northwestern 589 00:37:25,199 --> 00:37:30,440 play in UH in there in the next game they're 590 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,559 they're off this week. UCLA is off this week, but 591 00:37:32,599 --> 00:37:38,800 that will be on the twenty seventh of September, and 592 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,360 so you know Uclia Northwestern, the loser of that game 593 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:45,400 will probably finish eighteenth UH in the Big Ten. So 594 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:48,480 but Stanford, Stanford has to rate above u C, l 595 00:37:48,559 --> 00:37:54,360 A and Northwestern at this point after after a surprising 596 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,880 win over Boston College. So it'll be interesting to see 597 00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,920 if Stanford can stack a few more wins and really 598 00:38:00,119 --> 00:38:02,599 change the narrative in terms of being a bottom rung 599 00:38:04,119 --> 00:38:08,199 FBS team, you know, at the power for level in 600 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:13,159 twenty twenty five, not a whole lot to discuss in 601 00:38:13,199 --> 00:38:17,199 the Mountain West. You know, we're waiting to see what 602 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:22,719 Boise State and UNLV do. UNLV has a game against Miami, Ohio. 603 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:27,039 That's a really weird non conference game for week four 604 00:38:27,079 --> 00:38:30,400 of a season, UNLV versus a team from the MAC 605 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:36,880 and Boise State settling into its season as well. It's 606 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:41,679 kind of just waiting and watching in in the Mountain West. 607 00:38:42,599 --> 00:38:46,519 So so no no real huge stories coming from that 608 00:38:46,599 --> 00:38:50,679 particular conference. The other real story to get to in 609 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,880 Western College football is the pack to the two pack. 610 00:38:55,440 --> 00:39:01,159 Oregon State mentioned getting crushed by Texas Tech and Trent 611 00:39:01,199 --> 00:39:05,320 bray Bereing in trouble, Well, it's even worse for Washington State. 612 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:09,400 Washington State loses fifty nine to ten to North Texas. 613 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:14,079 Washington State loses by forty nine to North Texas. The 614 00:39:14,159 --> 00:39:19,559 Cougars are not competitive. San Diego State is not an 615 00:39:19,679 --> 00:39:23,880 especially good team, and yet San Diego State easily beat 616 00:39:24,039 --> 00:39:28,719 Washington State earlier in September. Like Washington State looks like 617 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,039 a tomato camp, Washington State looks like a team that 618 00:39:32,159 --> 00:39:35,119 is just going to get thrown around by any half 619 00:39:35,199 --> 00:39:39,400 decent team on its schedule. Now, you know, if Washington 620 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:44,599 State is playing bottom run teams, then games figure to 621 00:39:44,639 --> 00:39:47,400 be close. But if Washington State plays any team that 622 00:39:48,039 --> 00:39:51,679 has the potential to win eight or more games this season, 623 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,800 North Texas definitely qualifies. North Texas could be a real 624 00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:01,880 factor in the American this year with South Florida, Navy, 625 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:07,599 Memphis the other teams in that conference. Any generally decent 626 00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:12,880 to good team figures to absolutely hammer Washington State. So 627 00:40:13,559 --> 00:40:18,679 you know the Pac twelve's dissolution, you know, the the 628 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,840 destruction of the conference as we once knew it. It's 629 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:28,960 not treating a lot of schools very well. Stanford, Oregon State, 630 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:35,920 Washington State, UCLA. You look around the old members of 631 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:43,440 the PAC twelve, Arizona as well, a lot of schools are, 632 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:49,239 if not declining, they certainly aren't improving upon what they 633 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:51,079 once had. And of course, when you consider it the 634 00:40:51,079 --> 00:40:56,480 familiarity of the rivalries and the television arrangements and the 635 00:40:56,599 --> 00:41:00,360 national brand that the PAC twelve had, it's just to 636 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:04,239 see these schools being in a worse off position or 637 00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:09,280 at least not being able to make real advancements. And 638 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:12,360 it just makes me, as a long time Western resident 639 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:15,000 of the United States, grew up in Phoenix, lived in 640 00:41:15,039 --> 00:41:18,880 Seattle for over twenty years now living in Denver, makes 641 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:23,079 me sad to see that, you know this, this dissolution 642 00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,880 of the PAC twelve, it's not a happy story. A 643 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:30,480 lot of schools not really enjoying life. On the other side, 644 00:41:30,519 --> 00:41:33,880 we could have predicted that many people did, and so 645 00:41:34,079 --> 00:41:38,760 far that seems to be the reality. So on that 646 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,559 sad note that concludes our look at get off my 647 00:41:42,639 --> 00:41:47,559 Pylon of Western college football teams after Week three heading 648 00:41:47,559 --> 00:41:50,159 into Week four. But you know, the UCLA coaching search, 649 00:41:50,559 --> 00:41:54,880 certainly the number one story Oregon waiting for that clash 650 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,360 against Penn State. So not really the big story right now, 651 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:01,320 but that's going to be our focus next week on 652 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,679 this show. Utah Texas Tech. That's a game you want 653 00:42:04,679 --> 00:42:07,639 to watch. That's a game you want to circle on 654 00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:11,000 Saturday in the Big Twelve. A reminder that a friend 655 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,639 of mine, TJ Reeves, has a three hour Big Twelve 656 00:42:13,679 --> 00:42:18,119 preview show Saturday morning, so you want to listen to that. 657 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,840 In terms of, you know, being educated about the Big Twelve, 658 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:27,559 including the four Corner schools that ye know, the Arizona schools, Colorado, 659 00:42:27,639 --> 00:42:29,800 Utah that we cover here on Get Off My Pilon. Well, 660 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,039 tj Reeves has plenty more on the Big Twelve every 661 00:42:33,199 --> 00:42:37,480 Saturday morning. Mountain West it's wait and see cal has 662 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:41,760 a chance to do something in the ACC Stanford getting 663 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,440 an unexpected win, and then Washington State and Oregon State 664 00:42:45,559 --> 00:42:49,760 living in their grid Iron version of hell. So that's 665 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:51,920 all for this week on Get Off My Pilon, part 666 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:54,679 of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network on 667 00:42:54,719 --> 00:42:57,920 Twitter at Gridiron Coast, get It where you listen to 668 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:03,519 your podcasts Apple Spreak, Spotify, find it there, Yards and 669 00:43:03,599 --> 00:43:07,480 Stripes on the Service Academies, Noah Drury on the Big Ten, 670 00:43:08,119 --> 00:43:13,400 Tyler Jones on the Big twelve, All Sports Discussion on 671 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:19,199 the ACC, Jason Powers with the Florida Football Insiders podcasts, 672 00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:23,400 and the other podcasts that are part of the College 673 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,960 Gridiron Coast to Coast family. So I'm Met Zemeck. We 674 00:43:27,039 --> 00:43:30,559 will see you next week on another edition of Get 675 00:43:30,559 --> 00:43:32,440 Off My Pylon. Talk to you later.