The CBS Sports College Football Writer on the season beginning tomorrow with Week 0, Farmageddon preview in Dublin, Handicapping the Big 12 + more
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Another one, bust.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Another.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
You tune to The Sean O'Connell Show for the Murdoch
Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred one half am. Welcome
to our number three on the Sean O'Connell Show. Welcome in,
Shahan Jay Rajah, friend of the program, college football insider
(00:32):
over at CBS Sports.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Shahan, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I'm doing great, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
We are a day away from week zero.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
We are eight days away from Utah football and the
rest of the college football world kicking off, and uh,
you know, the off season storylines continue to deliver. The
SEC has decided that they're going to adopt a new
scheduling model with nine conference games. One of their non
conference games has to be against a power forward team.
(01:05):
Looking at this from the Big twelve perspective, how important
do you think it is that Utah BYU Big twelve
teams make sure that they get themselves on SEC schedules
year in and year out.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I think it's a huge help. You know, Here's the
reality is that a lot of you know, whether you
say rankings or power ratings righty into stuff like they're
going to naturally air towards SEC teams because of the
ways that they've recruited and also because of the success
that they've had, and so I think that those non
conference games are big opportunities to try and ultimately build
(01:41):
some credibility if you are a Big twelve team. So
I think that they're they're really important from that perspective.
But then I think the other thing too is that
I think that Big twelve teams will frankly be pretty
pleased by what happens next with SEC teams because for
a long time, the Big Ten and the Big twelve
have been conferences that add essentially another loss to half
(02:05):
of their teams with a nine game conference schedule, and
so all of a sudden, SEC teams that might have
been nine and three in the past could be eight
and four. Teams that were ten and two maybe they're
nine and three. And I think it's going to actually
create some opportunities for eleven and one, ten and two
Big twelve teams to potentially move up the rankings.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
The impetus for adopting this in the SEC is it
gamesmanship against Big Ten's complaints in you know, trying to
control what the expanded college football playoff model looks like
as we move forward after this season. I mean, there's
been a lot of folks, especially when the Pac twelve
existed and in the Big Twelve, that have been saying, hey,
(02:48):
should we just schedule like they do and have Citadel
and Week ten like the SEC does. I mean, it's
not like this is a new criticism. Why make the
change now?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
It's very simply because when you look at the negotiations
for the College Football Playoff, the Big Ten has been obstinate.
They put out all these alternate systems with you know,
lots of autobidge or whatever. And I think that this
is ultimately going to be a give that SEC teams
give up in order to maybe move in more of
(03:20):
a Big Ten, or for the Big Ten to maybe
give up some of what they're asking for. You know.
I think that you look right now, the Big Ten
has been the only conference that's really been pushing hard
for a five for the four four two two one
sixteen team college football Playoff. I think that, you know,
now the SEC is likely in the driver's seat because
(03:41):
they've given up something big. So I do think that
this probably does speed along our process to getting to
the five plus eleven sixteen team playoff. Will see if
it's in time for the twenty twenty six season. But
the other piece of it as well is that I
don't think it's a coincidence that you see the College
Football Playoffs put out these new guidelines around strength of
(04:02):
schedule to sort of say, hey, we're almost double counting
schedule strength in terms of our metrics and in the
way that it's presented to our committee. So I think
that the SEC is hopeful that, hey, we are getting
this benefit in terms of, you know, a renewed attention
on schedule strength which tends to favor us, and now
maybe we'll get some concessions from the Big ten in
(04:24):
our college football playoff structure.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Sohanji A Rajah College Football Insider, is our guest here
on the Sean O'Connell Show, talk at all things in
the game that we love. Are you wearing your your
Blender Dion Sanders Edition sunglasses right now?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
No, but they're right behind me, So I'll put them
on right now.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Put your hater blockers on. If you don't follow Shhanji A.
Rajah on Twitter, that's a mistake. And if you do,
you can find the tweet that I'm referencing where the
new Kingpin sunglasses by Blenders. I wear, especially Dion Sanders edition.
Sehan got the care package scent and he's got some
(05:04):
of the coolest shades in the biz.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
How'd you pull that off?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I don't know, man, you know, so it's funny. Obviously,
I've had relationships in the Big Twelve for a long time,
and I'm pretty active, like you say, on social media,
so I guess to find folks that Blenders kind of
viewed me as somebody who's been covering the team closely
and sent over a care package. And I'll tell you what.
The one thing that you can say about Coach Prime
and the gang over there is that they know how
to package things right. So it was a big box
(05:30):
that appeared. And actually, not only did they send me
their new ones, they sent me actually both of his
first two versions as well, which you know, look, I'll
be honest, I don't know that I needed all those sunglasses,
but it's pretty cool to have, whether it's for wearing
or for my bookshelf.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
All right, as we're on the cusp, we're on the
precipice of Week zero games. The Big Twelve gets to
take center stage kind of by itself in some ways
in Week zero with pharmaged and being played overseas in Dublin.
It's ranked versus ranked in a Week zero game. It's
a highlight spot for a conference that when everybody else
(06:05):
is playing, is probably going to have a hard time
stealing the headlines. How big an opportunity is this for
the conference and of course for the two teams to
involve Kansas State, I would stay.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Well, I think it's a huge deal. I mean, you
pay attention to obviously all of the coverage around the
start of the college football season, a lot of it
involved images of Kansas State, and I al would say
a lot of it involves images from a Viva stadium
in Dublin. And so I think there's going to be
a tremendous amount of attention paid on this game, you know.
I feel like this is one of the biggest Week
(06:38):
zero games maybe in the history of college football. Too
ranked teams, two teams that I think could have a
huge impact on the college football playoff race. And so
I think that when you look at this matchup, I
mean to really be fighting against nobody for this. I
think that that's a huge deal, and I think that
it's a huge building opportunity for the Big Twelve. That
(07:00):
you've got two star quarterbacks in this game, Avery Johnson
from Kansas State and Rockebec from Iowa State. You've got
a lot of really good players in this game, wide
receiver Jas Brown being among them. You know, really there's
really a lot of optimism about what these two teams
can accomplish. And I'll say too, I think that the
winner of this game takes the lead in the Big
(07:21):
twelve title race, not just because of the one and
no record, but but the loser of this game I
think has a really really tough time getting back into
the Big twelve title race, not only because you know
it'll take probably seven and two and Big Twelve play
to make the Big twelve title game and you'll have
picked up one, but also you'll lose it Tigebreaker against
one of the teams that's probably going to be there
(07:41):
at the end of the year. So a really really
important game and one that I think is very fitting
to open the college football season with.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So I love that we get the game in Week
zero and we get you know, ranked versus ranked Big twelve.
I sort of understand when Notre Dame the fight Irish
National and I guess in some ways international brand is
playing in Dublin. I'm wholly confused by why either of
(08:10):
these schools would agree to give up a home game
in a rivalry game and go overseas to play it.
I would love if college football was embraced in Europe
and in South America and in Asia and wherever else.
I have a hard time seeing that as a real thing.
What do you think of the game being played in
Ireland instead of on US soil at one of these campuses.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, I do think that when you pay attention to
this game, like it's more of a tourism trip I
think than it is a sort of game building type trip.
Like I think that they're more trying to attract people
from the US to pay attention to Dublin than the
other way around. And look, I mean it's a solid
payout for both teams will get for the game. I
(08:53):
think that also you're looking at a situation where where
like again, you get this sort of soul window the
sole time slot, and so I think that that makes
it worth it for them. And again, when you look
at the teams that have been there, like you said,
Notre Dame is an obvious one. I mean that they
played there a couple of years ago, but realistically, like
you know, they're they're one of the ones who like
(09:15):
when when Irish fans buy stuff. In terms of people
in Ireland, that is you know, obviously a brand that
they come back to. But I think that more than that, again,
it's not necessarily just about building up the game. It's
also about the marketing that it creates for for Dublin,
and I think that it also is again for these teams,
just an opportunity to maybe get in there and have
(09:37):
their own time slots.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
As long as we're talking about Notre Dame temporarily, I
had to check that I wasn't in a bizarre world
and we weren't having like an April Fool situation. When
they were putting out the Leprechawn redesign last week or
earlier this week, I was like, wait, this is this
a real thing that the iconic Notre Dame fighting Leprechawn
(09:59):
logo got a little tweak and instead of you know,
being in that pugilistic stance, he's got a football in
his hand.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
How do you grade it?
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I think it's all right. I think it's all right.
I mean I will say one thing I do, for example,
love the Oklahoma State logos that we get with the
with the mascot, like playing the different sports. So I
don't have a huge issue with like the football being
a part of it. I think that's fun.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Look, I would be curious to know a little bit
about their decision making process, Like it doesn't really matter
that much one way or another to me, but obviously
it is a big change. I think it had been
more than sixty years that they've been using this logo,
and it's definitely something that when they make a change,
it's something that's going to be noticed to a certain extent. So,
(10:46):
you know, to me it didn't register all that much.
I think the new one is pretty good, but you know,
the old one's pretty good too.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
I just it's one of the things, and we do
this with any branding situation when a company or in
this case, the sports team or university is like, here's
something nobody asked for.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We're making a chance. I'm like, why did you do this?
But I don't, I mean I don't. I actually think
the new logo's cool. I think it looks good.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I don't know why you would do it, and I'm
sure there's a lot of time and money spent on
you know, the beta testing and like different mockups and
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Why do you need it?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I have no idea, but a little refresh for for
Notre Dame is always questionable because the whole appeal for
Notre Dame is it's tradition.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It's stirring the echoes.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
So I don't know if you want to redo things,
but you know that's I grew up on Notre Dame football.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, And I mean, look, Lord knows that anytime you
look at the internet right now and they change something,
people aren't going to be very happy about it. You know,
if I were in that athletic department, I probably wouldn't
have messed with too much. But like you said, I
think the new one is also very cool, and I
think it's still very much capture some of the identity
of the old logo.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Johanji Raja from CBS Sports College Football inside of for
another couple minutes here on the Sean O'Connell show. All right,
swinging the focus back to the Big twelve. You made
I think various dude points about the Big Twelve title
race as it pertains to that Week zero game Kansas
State Iowa State. It's hard to imagine digging yourself a
(12:21):
little bit of a hole either because of bad luck,
because of turnovers, because of injuries in this year's Big
Twelve Conference, at least as we see it now, and
being able to come back from that.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
How many teams?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I know I've asked you this before, but as we
get closer and closer to the season a day away
for some teams, and of course a week just over
a week away for most teams, how many teams are
gonna be there in the conversation in this Big Twelve
Conference when it's all said and done.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Well, if you go back last season, remember I mean
in the month of November, there were still nine teams
that were technically alive in the month of November, and
I think that it probably will be somewhere around that
at that point.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I think that realistically, to me, there are four teams
that are kind of my top contenders. I'm looking at
Texas Tech, Baylor, Arizona State, in Kansas State. I think
that Utah and TCU for me, are right on that line.
And I think that there are potentially three other teams
that can get into the conversation. I'm looking at BYU,
(13:24):
I'm looking at Kansas, and I'm looking also at Iowa State.
So those are the nine to me that I think
have the upside to be there at the end of
the year. I'd imagine that we're looking at maybe four
or five. And look, when the season ended last year,
technically there were four teams tied at seven and two
in the final standings. And by the way, if Sador
(13:44):
Standers doesn't hit on a hail Mary Baylor, is there
as a team that would have been at seven and
two as well. So I think we're probably going to
be looking at four to five.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
But if I'm Big twelve.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
As well, like I really want one or two teams
to separate from the If I could have a nine
to zero versus an eight and one, for example, I
mean that's where you want to be because that's going
to give the Big twelve the best chance possible to
have multiple contenders for the college football playoffs. So I
think that if you ask Brett Yormark he hopes that
the answer is two or three, I think that the
(14:17):
answer is probably going to be more like four.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Last year this time of year, we were talking about, Hey,
you know, the Big Twelve conference probably has at least
two Heisman Trophy contenders. Now we thought they were on
the same team, and one of them ended up being
the guy who actually won the Heisman Trophy in the
two way player and the dynamo that Travis Hunter proved
to be in a healthy year for himself this year,
(14:41):
the Big Twelve is I think characterized by it's a
conference of quarterbacks. There's a lot of teams that have
intriguing talent at the quarterback position. You've already hit on
a few of those guys. It's going to lead to
parody in the conference. Is one of them, or maybe
two of them, or I guess potentially three going to
emerge as enough of a star that the Big Twelve
(15:04):
is in the Heisman Trophy conversation, the must watch player conversation.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
As the year progresses, especially.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Late, I'll tell you what, this is one of the
hardest years I can remember to try to project a
Heisman winner. I told people heading into the off season,
if I think Jeremiah Smith is my Highs and winner,
that's me waving the white flag. And I did in fact,
go with Jeremiah Smith as my highs and winner. But
you know, I think that that also creates so much opportunity.
You know, for example, right if like Ken Scattaboo was
(15:34):
very much a player who was pushing towards making the
heis and Trophy ceremony by the end of the year,
And I think that similar pathways are available because again,
we probably will not have a Travis Hunter type situation,
either at a Big twelve school or somewhere else. So
I look at a Sam Levitz with the way that
he broke out last year, I think his numbers are
(15:56):
going to go way up as they get a little
bit more pathhead. I look at a player like Sawyer Robertson.
If they go eleven and one and beat both Auburn
and SB and non conference play, I think that's gonna
make them a very very intriguing team. And again, like
there's definitely upside for even players like Avery Johnson at
Kansas State, for Devin Dampier if some things break absolutely
(16:19):
right at Utah. So I think that's the hard part
about it, like you said, is trying to emerge from
the pack. And I think the Big twelve really needs
a dominant team to come out this year and prove
itself and kind of carry the carry water for the
conference in a lot of ways. But I think that
there are a lot of players capable of doing that
if some things break right.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
When we talk about the top level projections for Devin
Dampier and you know, like we've set over under numbers,
we've talked about it in every angle I can imagine
here on the show leading up to the season, when
in your mind's eye, when you picture a great year
for Devin Dampier and hopeful that's what it'll be, knock
on wood, Is it an improved year in passing for
(17:05):
him that really puts him over the edge. Is it
his dual threat ability and just like getting the yards,
you don't care how they come. What does a great
year for Devin dan Pier look like in your mind
at the University of Utah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
It's two things. One of them is definitely getting those
interception numbers down. Now, you watched him last year at
New Mexico, Obviously he was doing a lot of running
around trying to make stuff happen. That will not be
acceptable at Utah with the competition he has to face
in the Big Twelve. So he was a twelve interception
guy and actually a twelve touchdown twelve interception guy last year.
That needs to look more like twenty two and four
(17:41):
like it just does for this offense to work. But
I think the other thing too, is that he's going
to have a lot of narrative on his side, and
so I think that if Utah wins ten or eleven
games and he puts up very good dual threat numbers,
that's going to give him a chance to have a
very very high profile season. I mean, when you have
this direct contrast of the old offense and the injuries
(18:04):
that they had versus the new offense, this new offense
is good. If it's a top twenty offense and Utah
rides it to the Big twelve title, I think that
that very much gets him in the conversation. Now, his numbers,
I think overall, as a dual threat player like you mentioned,
have to be big. And when you look at Devin
Dampier last year, I mean he played in an offense
under Jason Beck that was the only one in the
(18:26):
country to produce two thousand yard rushers during the regular season.
So he has to be a thousand yard rusher guy
or near that. He has to, I think be a
twenty five hundred yard passing guy at least, and he
really needs to get this interception numbers down.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
That has been the thing.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
I mean, everybody in Salt Lake City, every fan that
has looked at the numbers, has watched the film.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
That is the bugaboo, that is the concern.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
But I think you're absolutely right that a lot of
that came from him running around improvising, trying to play
backyard football behind the New Mexico offensive line that doesn't
look anything like the one he's supposed to have at
the University of Utah. When we talk about that group
in particular, and you know, at least one tackle who's
going to be an All American most likely staying healthy,
(19:12):
potentially two guys that are in that conversation and in
the first round draft, second round draft conversation. The ceiling
for an offensive line, I guess you know, we always
equate numbers more to the other positions, But for this
offense to have that good of an offensive line, what
should that translate to production wise?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
In your mind?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I mean, it should be huge. It should be such
a high floor for this team because you know, when
when you're talking about this unit, not only should they
have the best tackle unit in the country, frankly, they
should be in the conversation for the best offensive line
in America. And I'll tell you what, no one else
the Big twelve is going to come really anywhere close
to that conversation. You know, I'm optimistic about what tex
(19:57):
Tech line can do with transfers. They able to bring
four guys back. But like, this is a different type
of offensive line than anybody else in the Big twelve.
And so I mean the biggest way that you.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Need to see it.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
You know, I mentioned, of course Devin dan Peer's rushing numbers,
but like they have to be good down to down
like that. That is what it comes down to, is
that this has to be an offensive line that gives
you two and a half yards before contact. This has
to be an offensive line that can take over games
at the end of games, that can put games away
with their physicality. Like that's the expectation here. And when
(20:30):
you bring in a coordinator and when you bring in
a quarterback, like everybody wants to play with a unit
like this, Like everybody in the country should want to
play with an offensive line like what they have at
the University of Utah. So I think that that's the
hope is that, you know what, like, we'll see obviously
what Devin Dampier can be. We will see obviously what
some of these running back transfers can do. But I
(20:52):
think that the hope is that the offensive line is
so good that it doesn't matter too much because you
just have so much time and so much space.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
All right, with the college football season starting tomorrow with
the week zero games, what's the Shahanji a Rajah game
bay setup look like? Where do you watch? Do you
have a special array of snacks? Like take me inside
the mind of a college football genius? And how you
absorb all the content you have to absorb?
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Well, I'm in my home office for most of the day.
It is not a very glamorous world. I always always
laugh when people kind of ask me, always your job
to be like, I'm mostly just watching college football in
my office, man. But I have a monitor that I
put I try to put between four and six games
up on it, and I keep the sound on one
at a time, so I kind of switch around which
(21:41):
one I'm really kind of locking in on during the day.
You know, my wife usually does a great job of
making sure that I that I take care of lunch
at least I try to. I try to step out
for a second for dinner at least, But you know,
it's it's staying hydrated, drinking lots of water. It's a
you know, drinking lots of coffee as well throughout the
day and just trying to survive because let's turn into
(22:02):
thirteen fourteen hour days real quick.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Well, Shahan, we are the beneficiaries of that grind, so
appreciate you doing it. Appreciate you jumping on the show today.
Look forward to talking college football with you all season long.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Thank you much for having me.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Shahan.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Jay Rajah, college football insider at CBS Sports. A great
follow on Twitter, on all social media platforms. He's a
very fashionable guy and he has the cool Deon Sanders shades.
At least go check those bad boys out, But more importantly,
look for the content because he's really dialed in all
around the country.
Another one, bust.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Another.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
You tune to The Sean O'Connell Show for the Murdoch
Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred one half am. Welcome
to our number three on the Sean O'Connell Show. Welcome in,
Shahan Jay Rajah, friend of the program, college football insider
(00:32):
over at CBS Sports.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Shahan, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I'm doing great, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
We are a day away from week zero.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
We are eight days away from Utah football and the
rest of the college football world kicking off, and uh,
you know, the off season storylines continue to deliver. The
SEC has decided that they're going to adopt a new
scheduling model with nine conference games. One of their non
conference games has to be against a power forward team.
(01:05):
Looking at this from the Big twelve perspective, how important
do you think it is that Utah BYU Big twelve
teams make sure that they get themselves on SEC schedules
year in and year out.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I think it's a huge help. You know, Here's the
reality is that a lot of you know, whether you
say rankings or power ratings righty into stuff like they're
going to naturally air towards SEC teams because of the
ways that they've recruited and also because of the success
that they've had, and so I think that those non
conference games are big opportunities to try and ultimately build
(01:41):
some credibility if you are a Big twelve team. So
I think that they're they're really important from that perspective.
But then I think the other thing too is that
I think that Big twelve teams will frankly be pretty
pleased by what happens next with SEC teams because for
a long time, the Big Ten and the Big twelve
have been conferences that add essentially another loss to half
(02:05):
of their teams with a nine game conference schedule, and
so all of a sudden, SEC teams that might have
been nine and three in the past could be eight
and four. Teams that were ten and two maybe they're
nine and three. And I think it's going to actually
create some opportunities for eleven and one, ten and two
Big twelve teams to potentially move up the rankings.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
The impetus for adopting this in the SEC is it
gamesmanship against Big Ten's complaints in you know, trying to
control what the expanded college football playoff model looks like
as we move forward after this season. I mean, there's
been a lot of folks, especially when the Pac twelve
existed and in the Big Twelve, that have been saying, hey,
(02:48):
should we just schedule like they do and have Citadel
and Week ten like the SEC does. I mean, it's
not like this is a new criticism. Why make the
change now?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
It's very simply because when you look at the negotiations
for the College Football Playoff, the Big Ten has been obstinate.
They put out all these alternate systems with you know,
lots of autobidge or whatever. And I think that this
is ultimately going to be a give that SEC teams
give up in order to maybe move in more of
(03:20):
a Big Ten, or for the Big Ten to maybe
give up some of what they're asking for. You know.
I think that you look right now, the Big Ten
has been the only conference that's really been pushing hard
for a five for the four four two two one
sixteen team college football Playoff. I think that, you know,
now the SEC is likely in the driver's seat because
(03:41):
they've given up something big. So I do think that
this probably does speed along our process to getting to
the five plus eleven sixteen team playoff. Will see if
it's in time for the twenty twenty six season. But
the other piece of it as well is that I
don't think it's a coincidence that you see the College
Football Playoffs put out these new guidelines around strength of
(04:02):
schedule to sort of say, hey, we're almost double counting
schedule strength in terms of our metrics and in the
way that it's presented to our committee. So I think
that the SEC is hopeful that, hey, we are getting
this benefit in terms of, you know, a renewed attention
on schedule strength which tends to favor us, and now
maybe we'll get some concessions from the Big ten in
(04:24):
our college football playoff structure.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Sohanji A Rajah College Football Insider, is our guest here
on the Sean O'Connell Show, talk at all things in
the game that we love. Are you wearing your your
Blender Dion Sanders Edition sunglasses right now?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
No, but they're right behind me, So I'll put them
on right now.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Put your hater blockers on. If you don't follow Shhanji A.
Rajah on Twitter, that's a mistake. And if you do,
you can find the tweet that I'm referencing where the
new Kingpin sunglasses by Blenders. I wear, especially Dion Sanders edition.
Sehan got the care package scent and he's got some
(05:04):
of the coolest shades in the biz.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
How'd you pull that off?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I don't know, man, you know, so it's funny. Obviously,
I've had relationships in the Big Twelve for a long time,
and I'm pretty active, like you say, on social media,
so I guess to find folks that Blenders kind of
viewed me as somebody who's been covering the team closely
and sent over a care package. And I'll tell you what.
The one thing that you can say about Coach Prime
and the gang over there is that they know how
to package things right. So it was a big box
(05:30):
that appeared. And actually, not only did they send me
their new ones, they sent me actually both of his
first two versions as well, which you know, look, I'll
be honest, I don't know that I needed all those sunglasses,
but it's pretty cool to have, whether it's for wearing
or for my bookshelf.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
All right, as we're on the cusp, we're on the
precipice of Week zero games. The Big Twelve gets to
take center stage kind of by itself in some ways
in Week zero with pharmaged and being played overseas in Dublin.
It's ranked versus ranked in a Week zero game. It's
a highlight spot for a conference that when everybody else
(06:05):
is playing, is probably going to have a hard time
stealing the headlines. How big an opportunity is this for
the conference and of course for the two teams to
involve Kansas State, I would stay.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Well, I think it's a huge deal. I mean, you
pay attention to obviously all of the coverage around the
start of the college football season, a lot of it
involved images of Kansas State, and I al would say
a lot of it involves images from a Viva stadium
in Dublin. And so I think there's going to be
a tremendous amount of attention paid on this game, you know.
I feel like this is one of the biggest Week
(06:38):
zero games maybe in the history of college football. Too
ranked teams, two teams that I think could have a
huge impact on the college football playoff race. And so
I think that when you look at this matchup, I
mean to really be fighting against nobody for this. I
think that that's a huge deal, and I think that
it's a huge building opportunity for the Big Twelve. That
(07:00):
you've got two star quarterbacks in this game, Avery Johnson
from Kansas State and Rockebec from Iowa State. You've got
a lot of really good players in this game, wide
receiver Jas Brown being among them. You know, really there's
really a lot of optimism about what these two teams
can accomplish. And I'll say too, I think that the
winner of this game takes the lead in the Big
(07:21):
twelve title race, not just because of the one and
no record, but but the loser of this game I
think has a really really tough time getting back into
the Big twelve title race, not only because you know
it'll take probably seven and two and Big Twelve play
to make the Big twelve title game and you'll have
picked up one, but also you'll lose it Tigebreaker against
one of the teams that's probably going to be there
(07:41):
at the end of the year. So a really really
important game and one that I think is very fitting
to open the college football season with.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So I love that we get the game in Week
zero and we get you know, ranked versus ranked Big twelve.
I sort of understand when Notre Dame the fight Irish
National and I guess in some ways international brand is
playing in Dublin. I'm wholly confused by why either of
(08:10):
these schools would agree to give up a home game
in a rivalry game and go overseas to play it.
I would love if college football was embraced in Europe
and in South America and in Asia and wherever else.
I have a hard time seeing that as a real thing.
What do you think of the game being played in
Ireland instead of on US soil at one of these campuses.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, I do think that when you pay attention to
this game, like it's more of a tourism trip I
think than it is a sort of game building type trip.
Like I think that they're more trying to attract people
from the US to pay attention to Dublin than the
other way around. And look, I mean it's a solid
payout for both teams will get for the game. I
(08:53):
think that also you're looking at a situation where where
like again, you get this sort of soul window the
sole time slot, and so I think that that makes
it worth it for them. And again, when you look
at the teams that have been there, like you said,
Notre Dame is an obvious one. I mean that they
played there a couple of years ago, but realistically, like
you know, they're they're one of the ones who like
(09:15):
when when Irish fans buy stuff. In terms of people
in Ireland, that is you know, obviously a brand that
they come back to. But I think that more than that, again,
it's not necessarily just about building up the game. It's
also about the marketing that it creates for for Dublin,
and I think that it also is again for these teams,
just an opportunity to maybe get in there and have
(09:37):
their own time slots.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
As long as we're talking about Notre Dame temporarily, I
had to check that I wasn't in a bizarre world
and we weren't having like an April Fool situation. When
they were putting out the Leprechawn redesign last week or
earlier this week, I was like, wait, this is this
a real thing that the iconic Notre Dame fighting Leprechawn
(09:59):
logo got a little tweak and instead of you know,
being in that pugilistic stance, he's got a football in
his hand.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
How do you grade it?
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I think it's all right. I think it's all right.
I mean I will say one thing I do, for example,
love the Oklahoma State logos that we get with the
with the mascot, like playing the different sports. So I
don't have a huge issue with like the football being
a part of it. I think that's fun.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Look, I would be curious to know a little bit
about their decision making process, Like it doesn't really matter
that much one way or another to me, but obviously
it is a big change. I think it had been
more than sixty years that they've been using this logo,
and it's definitely something that when they make a change,
it's something that's going to be noticed to a certain extent. So,
(10:46):
you know, to me it didn't register all that much.
I think the new one is pretty good, but you know,
the old one's pretty good too.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
I just it's one of the things, and we do
this with any branding situation when a company or in
this case, the sports team or university is like, here's
something nobody asked for.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We're making a chance. I'm like, why did you do this?
But I don't, I mean I don't. I actually think
the new logo's cool. I think it looks good.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I don't know why you would do it, and I'm
sure there's a lot of time and money spent on
you know, the beta testing and like different mockups and
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Why do you need it?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I have no idea, but a little refresh for for
Notre Dame is always questionable because the whole appeal for
Notre Dame is it's tradition.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It's stirring the echoes.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
So I don't know if you want to redo things,
but you know that's I grew up on Notre Dame football.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, And I mean, look, Lord knows that anytime you
look at the internet right now and they change something,
people aren't going to be very happy about it. You know,
if I were in that athletic department, I probably wouldn't
have messed with too much. But like you said, I
think the new one is also very cool, and I
think it's still very much capture some of the identity
of the old logo.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Johanji Raja from CBS Sports College Football inside of for
another couple minutes here on the Sean O'Connell show. All right,
swinging the focus back to the Big twelve. You made
I think various dude points about the Big Twelve title
race as it pertains to that Week zero game Kansas
State Iowa State. It's hard to imagine digging yourself a
(12:21):
little bit of a hole either because of bad luck,
because of turnovers, because of injuries in this year's Big
Twelve Conference, at least as we see it now, and
being able to come back from that.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
How many teams?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I know I've asked you this before, but as we
get closer and closer to the season a day away
for some teams, and of course a week just over
a week away for most teams, how many teams are
gonna be there in the conversation in this Big Twelve
Conference when it's all said and done.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Well, if you go back last season, remember I mean
in the month of November, there were still nine teams
that were technically alive in the month of November, and
I think that it probably will be somewhere around that
at that point.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I think that realistically, to me, there are four teams
that are kind of my top contenders. I'm looking at
Texas Tech, Baylor, Arizona State, in Kansas State. I think
that Utah and TCU for me, are right on that line.
And I think that there are potentially three other teams
that can get into the conversation. I'm looking at BYU,
(13:24):
I'm looking at Kansas, and I'm looking also at Iowa State.
So those are the nine to me that I think
have the upside to be there at the end of
the year. I'd imagine that we're looking at maybe four
or five. And look, when the season ended last year,
technically there were four teams tied at seven and two
in the final standings. And by the way, if Sador
(13:44):
Standers doesn't hit on a hail Mary Baylor, is there
as a team that would have been at seven and
two as well. So I think we're probably going to
be looking at four to five.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
But if I'm Big twelve.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
As well, like I really want one or two teams
to separate from the If I could have a nine
to zero versus an eight and one, for example, I
mean that's where you want to be because that's going
to give the Big twelve the best chance possible to
have multiple contenders for the college football playoffs. So I
think that if you ask Brett Yormark he hopes that
the answer is two or three, I think that the
(14:17):
answer is probably going to be more like four.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Last year this time of year, we were talking about, Hey,
you know, the Big Twelve conference probably has at least
two Heisman Trophy contenders. Now we thought they were on
the same team, and one of them ended up being
the guy who actually won the Heisman Trophy in the
two way player and the dynamo that Travis Hunter proved
to be in a healthy year for himself this year,
(14:41):
the Big Twelve is I think characterized by it's a
conference of quarterbacks. There's a lot of teams that have
intriguing talent at the quarterback position. You've already hit on
a few of those guys. It's going to lead to
parody in the conference. Is one of them, or maybe
two of them, or I guess potentially three going to
emerge as enough of a star that the Big Twelve
(15:04):
is in the Heisman Trophy conversation, the must watch player conversation.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
As the year progresses, especially.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Late, I'll tell you what, this is one of the
hardest years I can remember to try to project a
Heisman winner. I told people heading into the off season,
if I think Jeremiah Smith is my Highs and winner,
that's me waving the white flag. And I did in fact,
go with Jeremiah Smith as my highs and winner. But
you know, I think that that also creates so much opportunity.
You know, for example, right if like Ken Scattaboo was
(15:34):
very much a player who was pushing towards making the
heis and Trophy ceremony by the end of the year,
And I think that similar pathways are available because again,
we probably will not have a Travis Hunter type situation,
either at a Big twelve school or somewhere else. So
I look at a Sam Levitz with the way that
he broke out last year, I think his numbers are
(15:56):
going to go way up as they get a little
bit more pathhead. I look at a player like Sawyer Robertson.
If they go eleven and one and beat both Auburn
and SB and non conference play, I think that's gonna
make them a very very intriguing team. And again, like
there's definitely upside for even players like Avery Johnson at
Kansas State, for Devin Dampier if some things break absolutely
(16:19):
right at Utah. So I think that's the hard part
about it, like you said, is trying to emerge from
the pack. And I think the Big twelve really needs
a dominant team to come out this year and prove
itself and kind of carry the carry water for the
conference in a lot of ways. But I think that
there are a lot of players capable of doing that
if some things break right.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
When we talk about the top level projections for Devin
Dampier and you know, like we've set over under numbers,
we've talked about it in every angle I can imagine
here on the show leading up to the season, when
in your mind's eye, when you picture a great year
for Devin Dampier and hopeful that's what it'll be, knock
on wood, Is it an improved year in passing for
(17:05):
him that really puts him over the edge. Is it
his dual threat ability and just like getting the yards,
you don't care how they come. What does a great
year for Devin dan Pier look like in your mind
at the University of Utah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
It's two things. One of them is definitely getting those
interception numbers down. Now, you watched him last year at
New Mexico, Obviously he was doing a lot of running
around trying to make stuff happen. That will not be
acceptable at Utah with the competition he has to face
in the Big Twelve. So he was a twelve interception
guy and actually a twelve touchdown twelve interception guy last year.
That needs to look more like twenty two and four
(17:41):
like it just does for this offense to work. But
I think the other thing too, is that he's going
to have a lot of narrative on his side, and
so I think that if Utah wins ten or eleven
games and he puts up very good dual threat numbers,
that's going to give him a chance to have a
very very high profile season. I mean, when you have
this direct contrast of the old offense and the injuries
(18:04):
that they had versus the new offense, this new offense
is good. If it's a top twenty offense and Utah
rides it to the Big twelve title, I think that
that very much gets him in the conversation. Now, his numbers,
I think overall, as a dual threat player like you mentioned,
have to be big. And when you look at Devin
Dampier last year, I mean he played in an offense
under Jason Beck that was the only one in the
(18:26):
country to produce two thousand yard rushers during the regular season.
So he has to be a thousand yard rusher guy
or near that. He has to, I think be a
twenty five hundred yard passing guy at least, and he
really needs to get this interception numbers down.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
That has been the thing.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
I mean, everybody in Salt Lake City, every fan that
has looked at the numbers, has watched the film.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
That is the bugaboo, that is the concern.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
But I think you're absolutely right that a lot of
that came from him running around improvising, trying to play
backyard football behind the New Mexico offensive line that doesn't
look anything like the one he's supposed to have at
the University of Utah. When we talk about that group
in particular, and you know, at least one tackle who's
going to be an All American most likely staying healthy,
(19:12):
potentially two guys that are in that conversation and in
the first round draft, second round draft conversation. The ceiling
for an offensive line, I guess you know, we always
equate numbers more to the other positions, But for this
offense to have that good of an offensive line, what
should that translate to production wise?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
In your mind?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I mean, it should be huge. It should be such
a high floor for this team because you know, when
when you're talking about this unit, not only should they
have the best tackle unit in the country, frankly, they
should be in the conversation for the best offensive line
in America. And I'll tell you what, no one else
the Big twelve is going to come really anywhere close
to that conversation. You know, I'm optimistic about what tex
(19:57):
Tech line can do with transfers. They able to bring
four guys back. But like, this is a different type
of offensive line than anybody else in the Big twelve.
And so I mean the biggest way that you.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Need to see it.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
You know, I mentioned, of course Devin dan Peer's rushing numbers,
but like they have to be good down to down
like that. That is what it comes down to, is
that this has to be an offensive line that gives
you two and a half yards before contact. This has
to be an offensive line that can take over games
at the end of games, that can put games away
with their physicality. Like that's the expectation here. And when
(20:30):
you bring in a coordinator and when you bring in
a quarterback, like everybody wants to play with a unit
like this, Like everybody in the country should want to
play with an offensive line like what they have at
the University of Utah. So I think that that's the
hope is that, you know what, like, we'll see obviously
what Devin Dampier can be. We will see obviously what
some of these running back transfers can do. But I
(20:52):
think that the hope is that the offensive line is
so good that it doesn't matter too much because you
just have so much time and so much space.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
All right, with the college football season starting tomorrow with
the week zero games, what's the Shahanji a Rajah game
bay setup look like? Where do you watch? Do you
have a special array of snacks? Like take me inside
the mind of a college football genius? And how you
absorb all the content you have to absorb?
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Well, I'm in my home office for most of the day.
It is not a very glamorous world. I always always
laugh when people kind of ask me, always your job
to be like, I'm mostly just watching college football in
my office, man. But I have a monitor that I
put I try to put between four and six games
up on it, and I keep the sound on one
at a time, so I kind of switch around which
(21:41):
one I'm really kind of locking in on during the day.
You know, my wife usually does a great job of
making sure that I that I take care of lunch
at least I try to. I try to step out
for a second for dinner at least, But you know,
it's it's staying hydrated, drinking lots of water. It's a
you know, drinking lots of coffee as well throughout the
day and just trying to survive because let's turn into
(22:02):
thirteen fourteen hour days real quick.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Well, Shahan, we are the beneficiaries of that grind, so
appreciate you doing it. Appreciate you jumping on the show today.
Look forward to talking college football with you all season long.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Thank you much for having me.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Shahan.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Jay Rajah, college football insider at CBS Sports. A great
follow on Twitter, on all social media platforms. He's a
very fashionable guy and he has the cool Deon Sanders shades.
At least go check those bad boys out, But more importantly,
look for the content because he's really dialed in all
around the country.
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