Pac-12 Apostles - Conference Play Has Begun

On this episode of the Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden recap the first week of conference play of the 2022 season, and talk about Dennis Dobbs most recent report about whether the conference is going to survive TV rights negotiations. Officiating issues are starting to rear their ugly head again, and the guys discuss whether the Pac-12 has truly moved past its worst officiating days. Finally, George and Ralph give their Pac-12 power rankings and preview week 5 action across the conference. #fsrweekends

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, here we go, Pack twelve fans. This one's
for you. This it's the Pack twelve Apostles and only
the Truth lives here twelve Apostles Apostles. I'm George Rice Stir,
He's Ralph Amston, and this is the PAC twelve Apostles,

(00:23):
the podcast by Pack twelve fans, four Pack twelve fans,
the college football fans alike, until you know, the PAC
twelve is no more and we we then we sell,
uh adjust and adapt to just become the best college
football podcast there is in the world. We already did
that in the Pack twelve. It's a nice time to
do it everywhere else, well pretty so. But you guys, though,

(00:46):
we uh just finished Week four and now we're heading
into Week five, but we kind of wanted to before
we even do a review of the week. There is
some news in the Pack twelve, and one of them
is that PAC twelve officials have absolutely started Pack twelve
official ing again, like it's a I mean, it took

(01:08):
a couple of weeks, but we've already seen and this
week we saw in the Oregon Washington State game, they
messed up the downs and then Washington State ran two
plays including punting the ball away. Oregon is getting ready
to come on the field. They're like, oh wait, no,
no, no no, no, we we gotta go review. We actually

(01:31):
messed up the downs. So the reality is is that
you have already impacted I know what the rules say,
because the Pack twelve put out a statement we got
this right. We went back and fixed it. No, it didn't.
Like imagine if somebody got hurt on the play. Imagine
if there had been a turnover or if there had
been I mean it was a punt like, imagine if

(01:51):
it had got run run back the scoring play. So
now you've absolutely screwed the pooch and it's pretty packed.
Twelve is even though the even though the a c
C already screwed up the pac twell on that field
goal against Notre Dame where they said somebody was off
side and nobody was off sides. Yeah, it's very strange

(02:12):
also to have the Pack twelve come out and be like, hey,
we know this was an issue, um, but then also
not admit that the d J. Johnson targeting called didn't exist. Um.
I was like, how was that? They were there? They're like,
well he lowered his head, bro, how are you supposed
to tackle people. He hit him in the chest, like

(02:33):
and it wasn't like he was he hit him with this.
He hit him with his face and like, speaking of
tackling people, multiple multiple uh USC players tackled. Oh my god,
the holding that the non holding penalties against Oregon. Dude,
if I was Oregon State fan, i'd been turning over

(02:53):
tables right now. I mean, he literally tackled people in
front of the why hat and that's his area. It's
funny that they didn't mess up very many calls in
the games that were blowouts, but the close ones where
every down mattered, you know, there were plenty of issues. Um.
I believe that the officiating as a whole has still

(03:18):
been better. And you can't throw in that thing that
happened to cal against Notre Dame because those were a
CEC refs and a ref actually got suspended. It would
be nice if the Pack twelve held officials accountable the
way that a c C does UM for that level
of mistake. But it is, it is rearing its head
and people don't have any patients for it, so you

(03:40):
can't say, oh, it's been improved, which it has, and
then you know, because you're holding on to everything that
happened in the past. Washington State, because of Pack twelve
officiating pretty much was cost a shot at playing for
national championship. And and like you gotta, you gotta admit
that out loud, that's wild. I still to this day

(04:00):
remember Washington State getting a fifth down against Arizona State,
and I remember multiple wildest hell calls in that triple
overtime Oregon wind at Arizona State that all seem to
go Oregon's way, um and uh, And you know it's
just there's there's just a litany and list of massive,
massive errors to the point where they've had to bring

(04:20):
people in um more consultively tried to address it. Yeah,
more consultants. I do feel like it's been better, but
people don't have patience for those type of excuses. Well,
we will see what happens is we get into Pact
twelve territory, buddy, because we've already seen some random targeting calls,
and we will see how they adjudicate past interference, because

(04:42):
we know that past interference is one of those that
is not called consistently in the Pact twelve compared to
other conferences. So we shall see UM and you guys,
make sure that you leave a five star rating wherever
you listen to podcasts so we can you know we
would we would love to read your UM reviews. Now,
our guys, soul Cat has just been posting reviews each

(05:05):
week on Twitter, keeps giving us two stars for our content,
and he just writes it. He doesn't actually go to
the to the like Apple site and type in his review.
He just replies on Twitter two stars. Whatever I appreciate.
If it's gonna be a two star review, definitely keep
it on social facts. All right. Um. The next thing

(05:28):
is is there was a dentist Dot article that came
out and mind you, this is on the heels of
what we have been hearing. And what seems pretty obvious
is that there is significant movement in terms of the

(05:49):
Pack twelve and and the Big ten. Greg flew Gard
has talked about it. Uh even um and which talked
about the last podcast. George Clikoff is refuting that, saying
that U c l A Is actually gonna lose money,
which doesn't make sense at all, especially if they add

(06:09):
additional teams. This is trying to be adjudicated out in
the media. The Big twelve came out and said in
the in the article that Dennis Dodd put up that
that if the Big Tip, if those four teams Cow Oregon, US,
Cow Oregon, Washington, and Stanford all go to the Big ten,

(06:31):
then yeah, of course the four corner schools there, Yeah,
we will will scoop them up in the Big twelve.
They'll they'll, they'll definitely come. Like that was very matter
of fact. But and I know that the Pac twelve
and the Big twelve have been posturing at each other,
but that felt like real asshole move right there, bro,
Like like that was like I'm trying to make sure

(06:52):
I'm gonna kick you while you're down right now. Yeah,
it was an interesting article from Dennis Dodd because it's
some of the things it just like he was saying
as statement of fact, like if the Pack twelve dissolves,
then Washington State and Oregon State will have a home
in the Mountain West, which will and and that's the
first time I've seen that presented, and especially in such

(07:13):
a matter of fact way. It would be really interesting
because Jonathan Smith, if Oregon States able to keep him,
I don't know if he would want to coach in
a Group of five conference. Even if that conference would
be on the come up because of the dissolving that
would be for him, that would that would be tough
because he's gonna have options. Yeah, and to him and
Jake Dickert, though they would immediately become by far the

(07:36):
highest paid coaches in that conference, because the highest paid
highest paid coach in the Mountain West. Can you guess
who it is? You? I bet you won't be able
to get number one, or number two or number three
because it's kind of a surprise, all right. So part
of me thinks that it could be Avalos, but then
I'm like, no, the's three. Oh no, no, Avalos is

(07:57):
not in the top three. I was thinking of your
other Oregon coordinator, uh down at unlv in in in Arroyo.
Marcus Arroyo is the number three in the Okay, Okay,
so oh um. You would think it could be Jeff
Tedford at Fresno State. But I'm gonna go Colorado State

(08:20):
because they just got a brand new head coach and
San Jose State, no, no, no, no, no, no Nevada.
So Jane Norvell did get a massive raise to leave
Nevada to go to Colorado State. If Nevada had the money,
they would have been able to hold onto Jane Orville.
But he's making one point six million at Colorado State.

(08:41):
He's the highest paid coach. Just underneath him is actually
Craig Bull at Wyoming really is. Yeah, I never would
have thought that he's the second highest paid coach and
last year was the highest paid coach in the Mountain West.
But if you have Jake Dickert, if you have Jake
Dickert and Jonathan Smith coming in there at two point
seven in, does it reset the market or at the

(09:02):
end of those contracts, do they do they become deflated? No? Absolutely,
because because those two guys are going to be in
hot demand. So it's either you pay them what they're
worth or somebody else will. So but if someone was
to higher a replacement at Oregon State, it would probably
go back down to whatever with like market ratings. That's
really interesting. Um so I guess that that would mean

(09:25):
the that the corner schools would go to the Big twelve.
But this, this seems to counter some of the stuff
that you've been hearing in saying that the Big ten
is not interested in bringing in Oregon or Washington or
cal or Stanford because they feel like it would dilute
what they've already done. They got their A L l
A schools and they're good. That is, There is no

(09:48):
I can tell you that makes in addition to it
making no sense, it's not true because they cannot, I mean,
above anything else, they cannot, under any circumstances, leave USC
and U C l A out here all by themselves.
They cannot, like that is untenable, like you need to,

(10:10):
and it creates travel issues for the East coast team suit.
So now you you actually need for them to be
able to stay out on the West coast for like
a week, two weeks the way, then they can just
get all their West Coast games in and then you know,
and then resume their normal travel. Yeah. I know how

(10:31):
important it is to play the l A schools to
coaches like um like Wilcox and Shaw. I wouldn't I
would not be shocked if there's internal pressure for them
to to follow. But if the big Tennis saying it's
not worth it will delude our product. And because that
that when he wrote dilute in quotation marks in that
CBS UH sports dot Com article from Dennis DoD It

(10:53):
sounds like he was quoting somebody. Well, why would you
put quotations around diluting the product if you weren't quote,
because that's something that people have been saying. They're like, oh,
it'll delute the product. How hou sway, how you already
have Rutgers in the conference. You you have other teams
in the conference that are that are not you know,

(11:15):
like the like you, part of the the build of
conferences is not just to put by far the best
teams in there. There's a reason why Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland,
are Illinois, are even Nebraska and Iowa now are cornerstones
of your conference or you know, very important to your

(11:36):
conference because you can't play you know, Michigan, Ohio, State,
usc U, c l A, Oregon like every single week
like that would like that would be too much and
you would be putting yourself not in a position not
to be in the playoff. Yeah, if I'm the Big ten,
I think about not just jumping into the Pacific time zone,

(11:59):
but I also think about the Mountain time zone. If
you're going to dominate, you might as well you might
as well go after Utah and Colorado or something like that.
You know, nobody wants Colorado right now? All right? Um?
Now gone to week four. Now there were games there
was instead of having twelve games, Thank the Lord, there
were six. And the first game up, the first game

(12:22):
of today, we had U C l A at Colorado. Actually,
first of all, how are standings right now? I didn't
even I didn't even tally them. But I can tell
you that I did not. Well, um, I'll have the
tally as part of the article that goes up on
on a fred show dot com. Uh, with Pat twelve,
you were a few games behind me. I think you're

(12:43):
gonna be catching up. I can tell you. I can
tell you the ones I definitely blew it on. You
were on the other side of So I think you'll
you'll catch me about a couple of games. If you're
we're just talking about our picks contest though, um that
we do on on a frad show where we'd give
our five locks of the week. Oh my god, if
you are fading my picks, you are about to retire.

(13:06):
Oh my goodness. I'm never and I'm I'm like pretty decent,
not the best, but like usually about fifty five winners
over the last ten years. And I am dying like
I've had to borrow fake money to stay in the notes,
and you you going into in the last week, you

(13:27):
were ten and five, and I think you had another
good week. So you're having like you're on an all
time heater while I am just so Yeah, if you
want to, if you want to fade my picks and
roll with George for a week and see if you
might be able to have a nice Christmas, I highly
recommend visiting Unafraid show dot com for our for our
our Friday picks that we put out every week. Al Right,
you ce l A at Colorado U c l A

(13:49):
forty Colorado seventeen. I said that if Colorado, I told
him aboudy, if Colorado scores more than seven, more than
ten points against u c l A, they should be
a little bit concerned. But should they No, No, because

(14:10):
they added a late fourth quarter touchdown, and I was like, okay,
you know that it still was tin tin points sish,
Yeah it was not, And not at any point did
it feel like this was a contest. And what was
extraordinarily patronizing in this broadcast was all of the talk
about how good Colorado's offense looked comparatively, did they have

(14:34):
three hundred yards of offense? Yeah, yeah, that's still an
objectively bad performance. And they were just gushing, the broadcasters,
just gushing over the fact that Colorado could get a
first down. Yeah, because they hadn't been able to they have.
Now they're now onto their third quarterback. So J T.
Shrout didn't throw a pass obviously, and neither did Rice,

(14:57):
and they went with mccamm. You keep calling them, you
keep calling Brendan Lewis, Brendan Rice because Brendon and they
were both at Colorado. But yeah, Brandon Brendan Lewis. Yeah.
So it was nice to see them get through an
entire game with with one quarterback and he didn't look terrible.
But he was also going up against U c l A,

(15:18):
whose defense has been I would even say, like Ben,
don't break. It's just been yeah, like there's issues it
so but at least U c l A. They came out,
they dominated the football game. But they go had a
handsful tomorrow bro, and we'll talk about that against well,
not not tomorrow, sorry, on Friday against Washington. Do you

(15:42):
think you look at like if it ends up being
like this every single week where Dorian Robin Thompson Robinson
throws for a couple of touchdowns, isn't turning the ball over,
you know, which has been a couple of years since
he had that whole like bugaboo um, and then Charbonni
is getting the end zone two or three times. We
are we looking at like a couple of Pack twelve

(16:03):
first team because I know there's a lot of competition
at the top right now, but I feel like if
U c l A's offense, even if their defense isn't
doing the job, if they keep going this way, it's
gonna be really like someone's gonna best quarterback in the
Pac twelve so far this year has been I would
say Dorian Thompson Robinson, even though over Michael Panos Oh no, no,

(16:26):
I'm sorry, Oh jeez, the whole Lord, I forgot about
Michael Pennock. Sorry, Michael Pennocks is number one right now,
and then Dorian Thompson Robinson after after that, I wouldn't
even say Caleb Caleb Williams. I'd say he's like third
at this point. Yeah, yeah, I mean he's right around
bow Nixon and um and uh and my and my

(16:49):
man out in Utah. Yeah, I think the only way
for u c l A, even if, even if they
have monster, monster seasons on the the only way is
that they they gotta beat some of those teams, yes
that are that are ahead of them. That's the only
way because I I think no one's gonna care about
the stats. Nobody cares about u c l A unless

(17:11):
they go out and they actually beat a team with
a with a winning record, which they did not do
last year outside of maybe Arizona State. So um, yeah,
it's gonna it's gonna be really interesting because they're they're
shaping up to have a couple of really monster years,
especially Charbonnet, and I have a feeling that with that,
people will just be attracted to the flashiness and the
new kids on the block and stuff like that, and

(17:32):
you might see a bunch of people get snubbed. But
if I think if they win, I think that takes
care of itself. Yep. Fox Sports Radio has the best
sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our
shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and within the
I Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live.
Um Now onto the next game, Oregon at Washington State.

(17:56):
This was a game that Washington State fans are like,
oh my god, I can't believe we lost this game.
And now I'm not saying this as an Oregon fan.
I'm saying this as a football person. Is that Washington
State in this game was relying on too much trickeration,

(18:17):
like like that they were able to move the ball
based upon broken plays and you know, like fake tossing
the ball up, quarterback tossing the ball up to hisself,
like they were doing so much tricky stuff and it
came back in the in the end, like to bite
them in the ass on that on that interception because

(18:39):
they went to that well of that little inside screen
which nobody really does. Like it was a good play,
but then you went to it one too many times.
And then when you put better athletes on, like that's
where coaching sometimes, like players who are better can overcome coaching.
That's that's what happened in u c l A. Or

(19:00):
against State, is that there came a point where U
c l A's players, because Oregon State couldn't extend the
lead far enough, there came a point where there their
players were just better, and then they got a couple
for for tuitous non holding penalties and and there's the
and there's the game. I left this game looking at

(19:21):
cam Ward as he he had three seventy five yards
and Washington UH state had four hundred uh sixteen total yards.
I left this game not impressed with camera right cam
Ward as a passer, but I came away impressed with

(19:43):
him as a playmaker, because he throws the ball when
when he has to throw the ball on time, like
he he will throw the ball on time your slants,
like those quick plays. But when he has to sit
back and watch the coverage and all that developed, he
doesn't do well. Let that and he just waits and
runs around until he finds something else open, until he

(20:05):
finds an easy throw throw open. And then on the
Oregon side, uh this was both. This was like what
we've seen from the last three weeks of bow knicks
is nothing. What we saw of him in Auburn like
this is. He looks good, he looks mature, he looks

(20:28):
like he's gotten rid of some of the the bad plays.
And people will point to that pick, but the ball
got tipped and the ball kind of hung up in
the air for the line of the the the linebacker
to a pick. I think Oregon's running back stable is
the best it's been in a long time since going

(20:49):
back to like La Michael James, Kenyan Barter and UM
and Black and Black Mamba de Anthony Thomas. So they listened.
The recruiting that was done is paying off, Yes and
I and I. To me, the difference in this game,
UM in Washington State has to be kicking themselves because

(21:11):
they really definitely feel like they should have won. UM
and the the Brian Ward versus Kenny Dillingham battle, you know,
it looked one sided for three quarters but then the
bottom fell out. Uh but but here, But you're the difference.
But that's the thing is that is that it wasn't
because Oregon finished with like six fifty yards of total offense.

(21:32):
The is that in the first half they scored nine points.
They scored on every single drive except for the one
with the pick and then the one like they were
running up and down the field. It was they ended
up kicking field goal. So Oregon has to fix their
red zone offense. But they were marching up and down
the field all all day like they couldn't be stopped. Right,

(21:55):
And to me, the difference in this game is Oregon
has twenty four non quarterback carries at five point seven
yards of carry. That's that's a perfect like, that's perfect. Meanwhile,
Washington State has fifteen non quarterback carries for two point
three yards of carry. And and cam Ward got hit

(22:16):
seven times. He got hit seven times, didn't get sacked
a lot, but they were putting hands on him, they
were putting a body on him. And I think that
that over time can can rally you. I love the
way came Ward looked in this game as a playmaker.
I think Washington State it's fair to say that Washington
State might be a little bit better than both you
and I thought uh they would be. But the resolve

(22:37):
that Oregon showed to to come back um in this game,
and the fund that bone Nix is having. Because in
the SEC, everything's happening through a really tight window. You
have to be perfect, give room to improvise, you have
room to make mistakes. In the Pac twelve. That's what
makes Pack twelve football beautiful. It's not like you know,
but big SEC football feels a lot like this Aaron

(22:59):
Judge home run chase, where like there's so much pressure
on every bat to like finally get to sixty one. Right,
every offensive possession is like hold your breath, can we
complete one pass? And that that did not suit bo
Nick's well. When things are more opened up and you
surrounded him with real speedy athletes, not everything has to

(23:20):
be super on target all the time. You get five
receivers on the field, there's windows and holes opening in
different places. He seems to be, uh showing why he
was given a five star rating coming out of high school.
Um and uh and yeah, I mean, and he's got
I think another year of eligibility after this, so it
should be really interesting to see what happens from here.

(23:41):
But eleven tackles for a loss from Oregon. Seven quarterback hits.
The defense is active. They just gotta they gotta find
a way to not give up the big play. Yeah
oh oh facts and um yeah, and like so I
am looking at this Oregon team and I'm like, okay, okay,

(24:02):
it's stilly, very promising. Um Arizona thirty one cal forty nine.
I did not get this game right for sure. Um
Cow won by eighteen points. First of all, Cow score
forty nine points, which is bravo forty nine points for Cow.

(24:22):
That is a an absolute win. They Jaden ran for
two seventy four all by himself, fourteen yards to carry insanity. Yes, yes,
those are high school numbers. Three touchdowns they ran for
three fifty four yards, passed for another totive, not even

(24:43):
sure if they turned the ball over. This was Oh yeah,
cow did not turn the ball over. And on the
other side, Jaden Dolora, he's obviously a good quarterback, but
sometimes he tries to four are things that don't need
to be forced. And I think that that's the next
level of his maturation, is for him to be able

(25:08):
to just like you know, get to the next play,
even when it's a situation to where you feel like
your team is losing the momentum. He's got to still
find a way to not turn the ball over. Because
this team's defense, like um Arizona's entire setup is better,

(25:29):
Their wide receivers are better, their their defense is better,
their quarterback position is better. Like they are a competent
football team. Now like they're not a good football team,
but they are competent and if they continue to move
in this direction, they are headed for some good things.
But what did you think about cal who is uh

(25:50):
who is clearly having a better season than what we've
seen from them in the recent past, because they are
sitting at three and one right now. I mean, think
about it. We we have one too, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight teams in the Pac twelve that have three and
one or four and oh records, and then a ninth

(26:11):
team that's two and two. So well, they have three
teams with losing records at the through through four games,
idn't I can't remember the last time we saw that.
I think the Pac twelve, to be honest, I think
they have six really good teams. I don't know if
I have an elite team yet, um, but they have
six really good teams, three very feisty teams, and three

(26:33):
teams that are not good. And and that's a really
great place to be as a conference. And I don't
want to sound like Larry Scott that year that you know,
people are like, hey, what are you gonna do about
the Pack twelve going two and seven in bowl games?
And he was like, it's the journey that matters. It's not,
but it's it's definitely better to have. Like you, you
also want them to perform at the end of the season.
But that year, the teams didn't look as good as

(26:56):
they look this year. And um, I I'm proud of
Cal for sticking with what was working and not trying
to get to I think they just kind of stuck
with their game plan because Jack Plummer will really struggle
in the first half and he finished the game with
pretty respectable stat line. They ran the ball down Arizona's throat,
which in the last two weeks it's over six hundred

(27:16):
yards rushing the Arizona has given up to a combination
of Cal and North Dakota State. That's gonna be a
huge issue for them moving forward. It's also why I
thought that they wouldn't be a bowl team. They are
not on the offensive and defensive line. They are not
even at Power five level yet as far as as
far as the skill that they have in the depth
and so um, they have to depend so much on

(27:37):
the skill position players. Um and that's just not a
good recipe for success against a team like Cal. Uh.
I will say, Jaden Delora is really great when he's
in the rhythm of the game, but when it turns
to we have to stop running the ball because we're
playing catch up. That's when you have him on the ropes.
It's weird. It's almost like if you took Jaden Delora

(27:57):
and Jaden Daniels, you'd have the perfect quarter because Jane
Daniel seems to be absolute dukie in the rhythm of
the game, but when it comes when it comes time
to like, oh everything is on his you know, skinny shoulders,
then he's superman um and Jade Delora seems to be
the exact opposite. He's an absolute god. When it's you're
just running through your play and every turns in the

(28:19):
chance Chance Nolan, when it uh poor Jiance Nolan speaking
of this game, well, Chance Nolan USC seventeen Oregon State fourteen.
This is a game that Oregon State has to feel
like they let get away. We also feel bad about
this game. Who what person on planet Earth would have

(28:42):
called for a rock fight? I thought it could happen
because I knew Oregon State could not win a shootout.
They can't win a shootout because they would have to
throw the ball too much. I mean, like a shootout
if they were breaking off big run all over the
place and everything. But um, Oregon State ran the ball

(29:04):
very well. Their secondary was played phenomenal, and they were
in USC's backfield. The problem was they couldn't get anything
going on offense, and then as soon as Chance Nolan
had to throw the ball in crucial situation situations and
then the announcers jinks them. On the first pick, he said, man,
this dude hasn't thrown a pick, even though he's been

(29:25):
under a little bit of pressure. As he's saying that
he's getting pressure, he throws it right over the middle
to a six ft six middle linebacker, which is which
they were gushing over him all the game. We've never
seen a six six middle linebacker before last year. Yeah,

(29:48):
it's very frustrating to watch USC play because you're if
you're again, I'm a Solomon bird at Wyoming fan and
then obviously followed Eric Gentry in his time of Arizona State,
and USC got ten points off the turnovers, ten points
off the turnovers, all four picks, four picks, they got

(30:08):
ten points. So this is good on Oregon State. But
they have to feel like I mean, and really, it's
probably Chance Nolan that probably is going to bear a
lot of this this weight because he threw four four
picks like they weren't. They didn't go off of somebody's
hands and then fall into the defender. No, he threw

(30:29):
it to the defender. Yeah, so you know. So this
is a game that Oregon State they were they felt
slighted because of the TV stuff. This was a game
that they had the opportunity to win. This this was
a set up. Just like the Miami Dolphins playing the Bills.
This was a set up. The Bills were a better team,

(30:51):
still are a better team, but like they had dudes
out there cramping and everything else in the heat, and
they got in the friendly confines of of of Salad
Bowl Stadium, Research Stadium, and they had a chance and
they blew it. That's tough right there. But for usc

(31:12):
the thing I'll say about CAYLEB Williams because he was
six team for thirty six in in the game, which
is not good. He was under he does that. He's cool,
calm and collected, and he manages the game really well.
So I will give Lincoln Riley a lot of credit
because his quarterbacks managed the game very well. And that's

(31:33):
what Caleb Williams did. He didn't turn the ball over
because they couldn't afford to turn over. If they had
turned turned the ball over, it would have been a burrito,
like like Oregon State, like that fumble that happened right
at the one yard line. If they don't recover that,
Oregon State wins that game. Yeah, I would say that

(31:54):
Lincoln Riley in this game, I think the uh Lincoln
Riley that a lot of Oklahoma ends recognized that there
are just some games when he loses the plot a
little bit. Sometimes you have to take what they're giving you.
And for Cayleb Williams to go sixteen of thirty six
struggling against some of those long defensive backs that Oregon

(32:18):
State has, which is the thing they're going to run
into against their organs against Arizona State this week, again,
by the way, is just big physical defensive backs. A
much less talented deem, but big physical defensive backs. When
when that's not working for you, but Travis Dye is
able to eat up some yards on the ground, Sometimes
you just have to take what they're giving you. And

(32:39):
and you you get so convinced that your way of
doing things is the right way to do things that
you stick with something that is very obviously not working.
And if it wasn't and honestly, like if it wasn't
for the resolve of Cayleb Williams on that last drive.
Then we're talking about Oregon State with back to back
wins um over. You see, Uh, the environment that they

(33:02):
played this game in was bizarre. I've never really seen
anything like that outside a half done stadium. Yeah. Yeah,
there's some high school stadiums where I cover games where
both teams sit on one side, um and and and
both sets of fans, and it kind of had that field.
They had both, you know, both fans, and it was
it was still loud, it was I don't know, it

(33:24):
was just a really interesting environment um for a game
to be played. And uh and and Oregon State has
a real home field advantage. But I don't feel like
they should feel good about themselves coming out this. They
really uh failed to take advantage of the fact that
Southern California is vulnerable in the run game. And they
failed to take advantage of the fact that, Uh, Lincoln

(33:44):
Riley did his one or two time a year thing
where he just couldn't coach his way out of a
paper bag. He's a fantastic, incredible coach, but sometimes he
just gets a little stubborn and and no matter how
ugly it is like he he has to be bailed
out by the level of talent that he put on
the field, and this USC team is way too talented
to be winning games seventeen. Yeah, they are going to

(34:06):
run into another issue at Utah. U c l A
like teams that can be physical and run the run
the ball. I think they'll have less trouble with u
c l A because U c l A is secondary.
Does not look like it's up to snuff at this point.
Um Utah thirty four, Arizona State thirteen. This was this

(34:28):
game went kind of how I thought it was going
to go. I mean at the going into the first quarter.
I mean in the fourth quarter it was thirty one
to six, like it was. It was. It was out
of hand, and Arizona State does not look good, like
I don't even know. They look short on talent. They

(34:51):
look deflated from her and being fired. It's like the
allegations and then all of this has just worn on
the entire team. They need to hit the reset button.
I don't even know if they can jump up and
bite somebody this year because they just don't look good.
Emery Jones is standing back there, just standing there. I

(35:16):
mean yep. And I remember we talked about that after
the n AU game and I was like, he just
kind of stands in Well a few games later, that's
a huge problem. It's not courage, it's just that I
don't think he knows what to do in the in
the pocket. He really took some yeah, right to the
chin in this game because he he doesn't do much

(35:39):
to avoid the rush. For his athletic as he is,
he just kind of stands on the train tracks. Yep.
And this was a game that was terrible for Utah,
not because of the result, but because they lost Brent Keithy. Yeah, yeah,
that was That was tight end and their best receiving

(35:59):
weapon period, Like that is going to be a blow.
And he was murdering Arizona State up to that point.
He had four catches for sixty six yards and two touchdowns.
And I think he went no, no, no, no, no,
no no. That was that was yeah, you're you're right,
my bad. Yeah. So that so they're left with Dalton
kincaid Um. They have had receiver step up. Salmoninis has

(36:22):
been on campus for a long time. He's good as
far as a blocker, but he's starting to catch some
passes and then de von vleet Is is becoming their
go to receiver. I think they're gonna be fine. Cam
Rising made a couple of throws in this game that
we're like wow, Like over the you know, outstretched arm
of of of a corner UM that that you thought

(36:44):
was gonna be intercepted and it goes for a touchdown. UM.
The throw he made on the flea flicker to start
the game, UM for the first touchdown to Dalton kinkcaid
Utah just looks really good. I thought, I'm gonna disagree
with you. I thought Arizona State looked very energetic. I
just didn't think it mattered. They were hitting and flying

(37:05):
to the ball on defense, and it just it didn't
they It wasn't a well coached game. They weren't always
in the right position. I'm really questioning whether or not
uh Donnie Henderson should be the defensive coordinator through the
end of the season, even in on an interim basis,
when you have a guy like Marvin Lewis who might
be able to step in, especially if you're not gonna

(37:26):
have to recruit because the whole staff is inter him.
But the defense was at a position but they played
with a lot of energy and not another one. Yep.
And the thing that confused me in this game is
abandoning the running game altogether. When Xavian Valada came in
with uh three straight hundred yard rushing games, he got

(37:47):
the ball eight times, Daniel nott A got it once,
and Emery Jones just got destroyed all game long. It
was a rough one to watch. I don't think this
next week is gonna be any better, as you've just
gotta They gotta find some way to get through the
next three games. Meanwhile, on the other side, Utah looks
like the bully in the conference that we thought that
they would be. Um and and this is with they

(38:10):
won thirty thirteen with Tavian Thomas missing the entire first
half for supposedly disciplinary reasons. So oh, and speaking of
disciplinary reasons, Chris Cartman, your man UM just tweeted out
that one of a s U starters against Utah showed
up a few minutes late to practice and he was
told to leave. He then left. We used to see

(38:30):
players show up late without the same consequences. Another Iguano difference.
He left before the game and didn't play or no, no, no, no,
no practice today. Interesting and he and he was told
to just leave practice altogether. Well all right, Uh hopefully

(38:54):
it was not the starting quarterback. Fox Sports Radio has
the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all
of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and
within the I Heart Radio app search f s R
to listen live. Stanford at Washington, Stanford. This is not
a good football team right now. They're not. God, they

(39:18):
got a good quarterback though. Uh no, I'm not a
think so, I am not I am not being on
Tanner McKie at all. Like, yes, you can even make
some throws. He's a statue dude. I'm out on statue quarterbacks.
There are a bunch of people who can stand back
there and and sling slinging around. But the problem is,
as soon as there's any little bit of pressure, he's

(39:41):
gotta he's got to die in the pocket. Like he
can't extend any play, well, very few plays, I should say.
I just and that a damn good ball. He favorite
ball in the conference. He does throw a nice ball, dude.
But it's gonna be tough to win with a orderback
like that. And David Shaw has to find somebody who

(40:03):
can be a good athlete like Andrew luck was. He
could stay back there and slink it, but he could
also get out on the two tens. Soak at Hogan.
He has at least he has the type at least
when at least when Tanner McKee takes a hit, you're expecting, um,
you're expecting it to happen. And he was sacked eight times,

(40:26):
by the way, That's what I'm saying, dude. And he
was hit and this is this is gonna be the
funniest stat for you. He was hit on no like,
no place where he was actually able to get rid
of the ball. Never happened, not once. Usually somebody who's
under pressure all day, they get sacked four or five times.
They're also hit another tent he did not. Yes, yes,

(40:49):
if this game exactly, that's exactly my point. I'm with
you there. Yeah. And now they've lost myth. They're running
back for the year with an undisclused closed injury. That
hurts because he's dynamic. He's definitely dynamic. He's I think

(41:11):
their most important player on offense of the of all
the skilled position players. Um Michael Wilson had a huge
game six for one, seventy six and two touchdowns. But
now let's talk about them dogs. Boy, them dogs. Kalen
Debor has them dogs Champion Bro, they champion at the
bit and it is and it is so enjoyable to

(41:36):
watch Washington play football right now. This is a I'm
not sure how good this football team is yet, but
they are explosive on offense, like they are a nightmare
on offense. Roman Douzy A he's running down the field
just by people. Giles is making plays. Jalen McMillan, they have.

(41:59):
This is an exactly what I expected out of Kalin
Debor when he got Michael pennockx Jr. This is exactly
I mean. He looks like Jake Haynerd did at Fresno State.
He looks like he took what he was doing at
Fresno State, put purple jerseys on them and and and
slit their slider ratings up, like their their talent ratings up.

(42:21):
And it's like, what did you expect? Like, I don't
think that Washington is going to win when the conference,
but their fans should be energized, they should be excited
about the future. I am you and I said that
we expected them to be at least six and two,
maybe seven and one going into the Oregon game. So
I'm not surprised by the success. I am surprised by

(42:43):
the how, Yes, because but that Michigan State when doesn't
look quite as good right right now, after they got
and my and my son was at that game and
in in the East landing, he was like, Dad, they
got absolutely just demolished or read options, He was like,

(43:07):
it was And I thought that Washington looks looks fast,
they look explosive. Yeah, they got big, big, physical corners.
They have two edge rushers that might be among the
top five edge rushers in the conference in Braylan Trice
and and ZTF is is back. He looks completely healthy.
I thought we weren't going to get him back to

(43:28):
the middle of the season. So can you So are
you and everybody listening, are you surprised at my at
my energy surrounding Washington. No? No, no, not at all,
because you have always, even even in your home rhysm,
you have always believed that it's better for like an

(43:48):
undefeated Oregon to take on an underfeld. Yes, and then
Shang sung style absorbed their soul like that that's your
that's been your mindset from the from from the joke.
I don't want them to lose every game, No no, no,
no no, I won't watching to win every freaking game
until they play Oregon and then and have their fans

(44:10):
all excited and hyped up, and then somewhere you weren't
without enjoyment in their struggles. No, no, of course, yeah,
I enjoyed it, like this is definitely uh better for
you when when you and because it sets up games,
it sets up like the games. It's very rare. The

(44:32):
Arizona and Arizona State are good at the same time.
But I do, I do enjoy that. That does make
it more fun. Is this sacrilegious? Because I was I
was watching Michael Panics throw and I was like, this
spiral really reminds me of something because, like you said,
it doesn't have the most zip, but he could fit
it in the shoe box and then it hit me
out of nowhere. And I even tweeted it from the
Pack twelve Apostles account. His deep ball reminds me of

(44:55):
Joey Harrington and you shot putty thing like it's because
Joey didn't have the strongest arm in the whole world either.
But but Joey was give like, yeah, we're the We're
The ball would just perfectly fit in your hands because
it had the angle on the way down. The spin
was a little bit slower, so you could like see
the laces rotate like it was an NFL film slow mode,

(45:19):
and he just rainbows in And I don't know, like
how Oregon fans feel about comparing a Washington quarterback to
an Oregon quarterback. But and I'm not saying that he's
gonna be a top pick in the NFL draft anything.
I'm just saying that when he when he rainbows that
ball down the side, like I'm like, I've seen this
before and it really feels like Joe Arranton to me, Yeah,
that they are going to be a problem for everybody

(45:42):
in the conference if uh, yeah, they are going to
be an absolute problem. And when you look at the
the their upcoming schedule, which we will talk about next
week in just a minute, but they got u c
l A Arizona State, Arizona cal dude um usc is
lucky if they don't play him in in the regular set. Ye,

(46:06):
it works out for both of them. Really, Yeah, it
definitely does, all right, UM, now onto our power rankings,
because we have neglected to do those the last couple
of weeks. But part part of it is because there wasn't,
like you you need more information transfer portal Era had
no idea who these teams were exactly. So, UM, we'll

(46:31):
go twelve through seven and then uh six through one.
I'll go first. I have Colorado at twelve, Arizona State
at eleven, Stanford at ten, Arizona at nine, Call at eight,
Washington State at seven, Oregon State. Okay, sorry, we you

(46:52):
and I only have one difference, um, and that is
at seven where you said you had Washington State. Yeah,
I have U C l A. Despite being undefeated, they've
shown me nothing that says that they can compete on
the level of the teams I have above them. Other
than eight through twelve are the exact same. And if

(47:15):
there could be a thirteen spot to put Colorado in, okay,
San Diego State or Colorado right now, San Diego State Colorado,
I don't. Colorado State is the only team I think
Colorado could beat. They are atrocious, dude. Their offense is bad,

(47:36):
their defense is bad. This is entirely Carl Durrell's fault.
When he hired the offensive coordinator that got fired at
Minnesota on one of the worst offenses in the in
the country. I said at that point in time, that
was gonna be the death nail for for him at Colorado,
and it is. He is. There's no way to recover
for I mean, he would, I mean, I guess there is.

(47:58):
He could go eight no the next eight games, but
there's no chance of that happening. Yeah, if you're Colorado,
you have to really seriously consider trying to get jet
Fish away from Arizona or Lansley and pulled away from
Kansas because you need somebody with a proven record of
taking the worst team in the country and making If
you're Lance Leopold, you ain't leaving Kansas. They will know,

(48:20):
they will pay you. They will pay you because Kansas
being undefeated right now is the most shocking thing. Yeah,
but that but do you understand what I'm saying, Like,
like Colorado, Colorado should genuinely consider dropping a bag on
getting jet Fish out of Arizona just because there's a

(48:41):
proven track record of taking the worst team in the
country and making them competitive. Ye all right, um uh
my number six Oregon State number five U c l
A number four, Utah number three, Oregon number two, USC
and number one Yse too. Okay, uh, my number six

(49:05):
is Oregon State very strong. Six. This is where the
big difference between you and me is. I have Washington
State at five. Uh still going to Wisconsin winning is
big in my head. USC at four, Oregon at three,
Washington at two, in Utah at one. Okay, okay, I
mean potato tomato, tomato tomato kind of, kind of, I

(49:30):
mean Washington over Oregon. I mean, I feel like I
feel like Washington hasn't shown me any holes yet. And
I can't completely throw out the Georgia result nor the
fact that they had to come back against against um Wazoo,
who you have as the seventh best team. Well, um,
so that that that puts Oregon at three ft. But

(49:52):
I also think that Washington State might beat Oregon State.
You know what I'm saying, because the worst thing about
Washington State is their past d and the worst thing
about Oregon Stay did their past offense. So I think
that those teams are really close. And but I do
honor your point about U c l A, and I

(50:12):
think that this game against Washington on Friday is going
to be an absolute You know, Jim, how many of
these how many of these air raid coaches always promise
us that they've got a run element and when push
comes to shove and completely abandoned it against Oregon completely
throughout the window. Yeah, they have no intention on running

(50:33):
because the air raid you cannot run. You cannot run
in the air raid. But but Lincoln Riley, he doesn't
run the air ray. He runs a vert like he
runs the power spread. His offense is built in running
the football, just just like Chip Kelly's was at Oregon.
Like people thought because they were thrown for so many
yards that it was built on the past. No, it's
built on the run. And if you build it on

(50:55):
the run, then you will then you can have some success.
All right? This week though, Washington at u c l A.
That game is on Friday. Hate Friday night games. Weird
results happen. So you know what that means for Washington?
Down goes the Historically that would say down goes the Huskies. Um,

(51:17):
what is the line on this game? Getting my lines
pulled up now? Um, I've been just stopped paying attention
to the lines, knowing that I'm just gonna get the
correct no matter what. All right. I so it's weird
because this feels like a different year in the Pac twelve,
and ordinarily we we would get a weird result from

(51:40):
these games. I'm not gonna do that. I think that
Washington actually wins the game, and uh, we will see
about this spread though it is Washington minus two and
a half on the road, believe it or not. Washington
minus two and a half on the road, that's to
leave it. So I'm gonna take what Washington because I

(52:03):
think that they win to win the football game. But
this game is gonna tell us about a lot about
u c l A. Because they're they're beginning a season.
Schedule was absolutely atrocious. It was atrocious, and we will
see how many people show up to the Rose Bowl
on a Friday night in a big game against a
ranked team, two undefeated teams playing this is the game

(52:24):
that fans should show up at. I agree, I you.
I would hope that they would seven thirty at night
in the Rose Bowl, no excuses, Um we will, I
guarantee you. For the second time in his college football career,
start to hear the H word. If Michael Pannox Jr.
Has another fifth consecutive th yard passing games, which, by

(52:47):
the way, I wanted to bring up the Arizona State
has now gone twenty three straight games without a three
hundred yard pass or the last one happened against your
Oregon Ducks to keep them out of the college football playoffs. Yep,
and they may have had the playbook. So you know,
all right, who do you have in the game? I

(53:09):
like Washington, uh U c l A just hasn't shown me. Um,
they can't afford the slow start they will get. They
will getting, yes, correct, if they have a slow start,
that's right, and they started slow and pretty much every game.
I think this game could come down to a field
goal if if U c l A comes out hot. Um,

(53:31):
But if they don't, I think Washington can put the
foot on the throat, you know, with with with the
athleticism of these edge rushers. Dorian Thompson Robinson is really
going to have to put this game on his shoulders
and get out and run. And that's where I think
that U. C l A could hang in. So I'm
not a sold on Washington minus two and a half,
but I'm gonna take them. Yeah, I think that the
chances are better that Washington State can blow them out.

(53:55):
I'm sorry that Washington can blow them out, then then
U c l A blow blow them out. I don't
even think that that's an option. Yeah, and in a
close game, I still probably Trustwashing a little bit better
because you said they started slow. Alright, Oregon State at Utah?
What is the line on this game on pact Network? Yeah,

(54:16):
another another Pactal Network game that should probably have a
national audience. Utah is favored by ten and a half.
Give me, give me the utes, give me the utes.
Oh yeah, they chance the chance Nolan is going to
be forced to throw the football. But if Oregon State
can stop Utah's run, then that ten and a half

(54:37):
is not is not happening. What if they can, if
they can, if if Oregon if sorry, if you talk
jumps out a little bit like fourteen oh you know,
ten three, and then it goes to seventeen three. Yeah, this, this,
this game is gonna that that they're gonna end up
getting choked out. So I'm gonna go with Utah. Okay,

(55:01):
I'm gonna go with Oregon State. I just I think
there's gonna be a slight adjustment with no Brant Keithy
and um, and so at ten point win makes sense
to me. But anything over ten I'm not I'm not
a hcent sure that I'm willing to go with that.
So I'll take Oregon State and the ten points. Alright,

(55:21):
Cal at Washington State, Cal at Washington State. I want
to let you guess on this one. See how close
you get to it. Okay, I think Washington State should
be favored by three points. It's four, so that they're
almost saying this one is a pick them definitely overvaluing,

(55:44):
probably of what Cal did against Arizona. But this feels
like the biggest trap line of the weekend because if
Cal comes out with that same commitment to running with
Jaden Ott, then they could muddy this up and possibly
keep it close. Yeah, Um, I will take Washington State.

(56:06):
I will go with you on Washington State minus four,
and again I do not feel great about it. Um.
But this also could be the This also could be Um,
we don't know much about this Washington State coaching staff.
And this could also be the game where the bottom
falls out, where where that little bit of adversity against

(56:28):
Oregon causes you know, a bunch of it where they
get beat twice from one close loss. Yeah, and and
Cal is not that type of team, like they don't.
They kind of had their head on their shoulders no
matter who they're they're going up against, and they are
what they are. So I will say Washington State, but

(56:48):
I do not feel good about it. Yeah, thatree al right?
Colorado at Arizona, it is minus seventeen and a half.
I can't believe it's minus thirty seven and a half.
One of these teams can score. One of these teams
cannot score. Yeah. Do you think Colorado has the patients

(57:10):
to try to exploit holes in Arizona's run defense or
do you think they're so bad offensively that Arizona is
going to be able to get get healthy against them
and figure out some of their flaws. I think that
Arizona is going to have a good game against this team. That. Yeah,
Arizona's favored by seventeen a half. Do you realize that
Arizona that can you could you imagine the world last

(57:33):
year where where somebody told you last year that Arizona
State next season would be favored by seventeen and a
half points and they wouldn't have gotten like thirty transfers.
Just two weeks ago they were the underdog at home
against an FCS team, So I wouldn't have thought this
two weeks ago. But it is. Uh, it is a

(57:57):
testament to jet fish and everything they've accomplish. Um, I'm
rolling with it. It's gonna do. It's gonna be nine
kickoff in Colorado is probably gonna be out there in
black uniforms in the sun. Um, it's gonna be a
rough one. Yeah, well it is. It is a night game. Well,
it starts starts at six starting, so it's still pretty
brutal for that first hour and a half though. Alright,

(58:21):
Arizona State at U s C twenty five and a
half does the biggest in conference line I've seen in
a while, twenty five and a half in favor of USC.
So you're saying a four touchdown win. No, oh god, no,

(58:46):
you tah Utah beat the hell out of a s
U and the only one by twenty two. Also, you
got a factor in USC hasn't turned the ball over yet.
I think that ends this week. I think, okay, um,
because you gotta turn it over some point, right, Uh,
But it's at home, it's in the Colosseum. Okay, it's

(59:13):
almost at every position. USC is markedly better. Yeah, you
give him four touchdowns? No, No, I think that they
slip up. They win this game by twenty four points
is out. So I'm gonna write and I'm gonna write
with you on it because is so much And if

(59:35):
it happens, I mean then that should it happen, that's
a different question. Should U s CB Arizona State by
four touchdowns? Probably? Yes, probably, will it happen? I don't think.
I just don't think so. I think that USC has
been playing with fire in that, like they they have

(59:57):
this turnover margin and this streak they're on on that's
not super sustainable. You can't depend on it, and they
haven't been capitalizing on getting those turnovers when they do
get them in at the at the end of the day,
Arizona State does still know how to muddy up and
slow down a game. Um and half seems insane to me.
Twenty four is perfect. I'm gonna go with you. Yea,

(01:00:20):
all right? Uh Stanford at Oregon, This game is on
FS one is an eight pm kickoff? Yikers, how many
yards do you think Tanner mckie's gonna throw for if
if cam Ward threw for over four hundred, No, he
through for like three something, I think, right, Okay, I

(01:00:45):
thought he did for four yards. Okay, I'll tell you
maybe maybe Yeah that was bow Nicks. Okay, let me
tell you the exact stets because we said it earlier.
But let me um cam War was three, seven, five, okay, Okay,
So do you think Tanner McKee equals or Betters three

(01:01:09):
because you have to figure it. They'll be down, pa.
He will be significantly less. Really yeah, yeah, he'll be
it about nine. You don't even think I'll have all right, Well,
how do you feel about the line? Oregon minus seventeen
at home? Like it? Like it? Yeah? Yeah, I think

(01:01:33):
that's pretty on the nose, though, I think it's pretty
on the nose. But I'm still gonna take Oregon. I
think that they end up with a three touch down victory,
like probably about twenty points because David Shaw is gonna
kick some field goals for sure. So yes, so I'm
gonna go with twenty points. So I think that I've
got to Oregon in this game. Yeah, I'm uh. There's

(01:01:54):
so much pressure right now on on Oregon to keep
up with Washington, and there's a lot of pressure on
Kenny Dillingham to put together a resume and you know
what I'm talking about. Um, I think that they respond
to that pressure, and I think they cover the seventeam Okay,

(01:02:14):
I agree, all right, so we are in store for
a really good weekend of PAC twelve football. You guys,
leave a five star rating wherever you listen to podcasts,
make sure that you tell a friend, share it and
uh yeah, and come come back next week. Peace out,
Catch you guys later.