September 3, 2026 • 17 mins
Rick Neuheisel, former Washington coach now with CBS Sports, joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the 2026 Apple Cup this week and the future of the game, if Sunday will be a blowout, the future of the College Football Playoff, a lawsuit involving LSU wanting former NFL players, USC’s small crowd last week, and his pick.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Your home for college football Saturdays is live with CBS
Sports Analyst Rick Neuheisel, powered by Taco Time.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hungry?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
At Taco Time, it's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time? Customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest app. Taco Time, time for something different.
Now with Rick Neuheisel, here's Softie and Dick.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Here's Teagle, throws to the flat ball, is knocked out!
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It is intercepted!
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Intercepted by Kai Ellis. And this game, if the interception stands,
is over. Ruling on the field. It was a backward pass.
Washington recovered that backward pass. And the game is over.
Thank you very much. It is a done deal. How
about that?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Woo!
Speaker 3 (00:54):
You know what's really funny about that call there, Dick?
What's that?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Finally got him to admit after all these years it
was Bob Rondo banging on the wall. I thought it
was Chuck Nelson, then I thought maybe it was an
assistant coach next door.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It was Bob, huh? It was actually Bob Rondo.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And the fact that we're playing that in September when
we should be playing it in November is crazy. First
time ever we've played that this early in the year.
This is the earliest Apple Cup of all time. And
a guy that had a lot of success against Wazoo
in the Apple Cup is with us now, courtesy of
our friends. at taco time rick newheisel how are you
coach i am.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Well that brought a smile to my face and then
some the great bob rondo that is uh and we
were down 20 to 10 with like five six minutes
left and came back it was uh quite an evening
there in poland.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well no doubt no doubt well what do you think
of the idea of this game being played on labor
day sunday in september in the opener versus late November
in Pullman or Seattle, maybe in the snow, maybe in
the rain. What's your take on this new-look Apple Cup schedule?
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Well, obviously I'd love it to be as it always was,
that late November game where so much usually was on
the line. But that aside, better to have it in
September than not have.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
It at all.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
And given the situation in college football and, you know,
the movement of everybody for different greener pastures, if you will,
then you have to understand that at least the two
sides think the game's important enough to be played. And
I'm glad that they're going to find a time to
play it here in Seattle this particular weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Rick, if the Cougs end up not playing this game
in the future, will they just be lost to complete
national irrelevance, or do you think they would be able
to find a replacement power to school to play every year?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Well, it would certainly hurt their brand from the standpoint of,
you know, the recognition of a game and a rivalry that,
you know, goes across the border. Obviously, the Apple Cup
is famous around the country, not just in the state
of Washington. So they'd miss that game, regardless of who
(03:07):
they would replace it with. The hope, at least my hope,
is that college football czars will come to their senses
and realize that all this cross-country footballing makes it a
tournament at season's end that everybody can look forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Should we put him on hold real quick? Okay, why
don't you put him on hold? His phone's breaking up
just a little bit. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
He's got to pay his phone bill, man.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
It's 2026.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You know how much this drives me crazy, right, that
we can't get a cell phone that works. We should
all sign up with Elon, by the way, with his satellites. Oh, yeah,
Starlink or whatever it is. Yeah, everybody should do that.
But we'll get Rick back on the air. And I
don't know, man, Dick. I'm starting to really feel like
after some conversations this week with people that if the
Cougars keep getting their butts kicked in this series, I'm
not sure if they can stomach extending this past 28th.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and I'm wondering what the, you know, we keep
hearing about the Huskies' schedule, and we'll get some more
clarification from Pat Chun when we have him on tomorrow. But,
you know, how much will the Huskies actually be able
to control their schedule in the near future? How much
will be under the control of the Big Ten?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Well, let's get Rick back.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And, Rick, just talking about that right there, you know,
we're just wondering if you were on the Cougar side
of things and you were getting slaughtered every single year,
and we'll see what happens on Sunday tomorrow, This deal
only goes through 28. Would you have the stomach to
continue this series and extend it? Or if you're a Coug,
would you want to say maybe, hey, look, man, let's
just put this on pause for a while while we
get our act together?
Speaker 5 (04:39):
I don't think they can ever say they want to
put it on pause because there'd be no guarantee they'd
get it back. I think they're going to fight tooth
and nail to always have this game because it's a
platform to prove that they have the wherewithal to play
with the big boys. even though that it's challenging right
now with the resources that are being provided by the Pac-12,
(05:01):
as resourceful as they want to be, they're not playing
in the same stratosphere as the Power Four conferences are playing,
especially the Power Two, the SEC, and the Big Ten.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Rick, I'm being torn in two directions when it comes
to the college football playoff. I would prefer a 12-team playoff.
I think it's the more elite teams that get into
a college football playoff, but I also recognize if we
have a 12-team playoff, then Washington's playing Eastern Washington and
all sorts of nobodies in September every single year, where
if we have a 2014 playoff, we might be playing
(05:36):
Florida or Georgia every other year because nobody's worried about
the loss. So what's better for college football, a 2014
where you're playing Big Ten against SEC all the time
or the 12 team?
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Well, that's a great question. I think what we need
to do is find, listen, 16 would be great, but
then we need automatic qualifiers, which means that the Big
Ten would get four teams in every year. And that
way we can create some crossover games that would be mandated.
by the schedule makers, much like the NFL has a
(06:10):
crossover game with the NFC West. Right now the Seahawks
are going to play, I believe, the AFC West, right,
this year? And in so doing, I think that makes
a lot of sense. You can imagine a home game
against a Big 12 team in one year and an
away game against an ACC team in another year. and
(06:32):
you're going to keep moving the needle so that the
college football playoff committee can see who the at-large teams
should be, but the conference should determine, and they can
figure out ways to put play in games, which is
another way to replace the conference championship games, make for
really entertaining football in November.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Well, all right, let's talk about the game on Sunday, right?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
I mean, Caden Pinnock, who's the transfer quarterback from UC Davis,
he was here a year ago, Rick, and got beat
by 60. He's now the starting quarterback for Wazoo. Kirby
Moore making his debut as the head coach at Washington State.
The Cougs are 23-and-a-half point underdogs. I mean, do you
see anything else likely happening on Sunday besides a runaway
win for the Dogs on Sunday?
Speaker 5 (07:15):
I don't see anything other than that. I don't think
23-and-a-half's enough. I'm not going to make it my taco
time pick of the week because I have a soft
spot for the Cougars. But the bottom line is they're
in and up against it. The problem for all the
group of six teams, and Washington State finds themselves in
this situation, is they can't keep offense and defensive linemen.
(07:39):
The big boys, the power four, they all want offense
and defensive linemen with experience. So they don't go to
high school to get their players. They go to the
group of six to get their players to play those
positions because they don't want to be wasting dead money
on guys that are developing. So they all sit there
and say, OK, I'm taking that tackle and that guard
(08:01):
and to hang on to anybody. If you're not in
the power for in the trenches is damn near impossible.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
How would you call this game if you were Jed Fish?
I mean, you've got a massive size difference in your
offensive line against their defensive line. Is it just as
simple as getting the run game going and use and
play action after that? Or would you just come out
fun and gun and say, let's play Lincoln-Riley football and
put up 45 points as fast as we can?
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Well, it's interesting you say that because Lincoln-Riley's already played
a game. I mean, Lincoln-Riley had... Jaden Maiava go out
there and go 25 or 29 against San Jose State.
They were up 35 to three. And then he pulled
everybody because you need everybody to be healthy. And then
all of a sudden San Jose State came back and scored,
I think, 23 points in the fourth quarter to make it,
(08:47):
you know, whatever the final score. I think San Jose
State ended up with 26. The bottom line here is
Jed's got to make sure that everybody gets a chance
to play. Everybody gets well oiled so that they move
along in their development and But he's got to keep
people healthy. But I do believe 23-and-a-half is very vulnerable.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
All right.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, we'll get your Taco Time Pick of the Week
in a minute. You're 1-0, by the way, after taking
the Bison in their debut at FBS last week.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
How about the Bison?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
The Bison, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Hell of a start for you so far. We'll get
to your Taco Time Pick in a minute. But let's
talk about what's happening in the SEC. The conference is
suing LSU and Lane Kiffin for violating the league's First
Amendment right of expressive association.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
You're the lawyer.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You can tell me what the hell that means by
LSU continuing to have a desire to sign and play
former NFL players. And they look like they're on an island,
not just in the SEC, but in college football. What
do you think of Lane and his continued quest to
bring pros to college football?
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Well, they've made this a personal thing with Lane. To me,
the issue was the NCAA's ruling on five for five,
which was an eligibility mandate saying that kids were going
to get to play five years in college. They were
going to get five years to do it. So we
didn't have to worry with red shirts and whether or
not a guy got an extra year because of an
injury and all that stuff. It was just five for
(10:11):
five straight across the board. In so doing, though, they
left out the class of 22. They said those guys
were only promised four, so we're only giving them four.
And everybody they played against because of COVID got five.
Everybody that was on their team when they graduated is
going to get five, but they got four. And so
a bunch of kids went to court and said, wait
a minute, we're being treated unfairly. And this is our
(10:32):
last year of NIL opportunity. And that's a big chunk
of change. That's your highest earning deal. And they won.
They won in court. So the NFL guys, who didn't
have a choice to choose to stay in college because
there was no opportunity until June, after they had to
make that decision, went to a similar court and got
(10:53):
a favorable ruling. And now the SEC is up in arms,
and we're a voluntary association, and we don't have to–
everybody who joins us is doing so voluntarily, and we
can create rules for ourselves. And the fact that LSU,
especially after their chancellor voted– along with everybody, to say
that pros can't be in, that LSU is going to
(11:15):
try to break that, then we have to have the
wherewithal to countersue. And that's exactly what they did today.
I'm dying to see what this Louisiana court says about
this issue, because I think the kids have a case.
But the SEC certainly has a case that they don't
have to let LSU be in there. But you talk
about a lawsuit and then some, if they kick LSU out,
(11:38):
that will be monumental. And we'll see if it comes
to that. I can't believe that it will.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
What do you make of how Lane defended his decision
by saying, well, it was my leadership counsel's all for it.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
You know, he kind of put it on the kids
and said, oh, they want it, so we're good.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Yeah, that's nonsense. This is all about trying to get
an edge, and he's not the first coach to try
to get an edge. I tried to get an edge.
Everybody tries to get an edge, right? Everybody wants to
find a way to win games and do so under
the rules, sometimes brushing up against them, but you're trying
to find an edge, and any coach worth his salt
(12:18):
has always tried to do that. Some are better at
it than others, but Lane certainly has a reputation in
that regard.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, well, Rick Neuheisel's with us again, courtesy of Taco Time.
It's Taco Time Pick of the Week coming up in
just a matter of minutes right here on 93.3 KJRFM.
There's been a lot of talk about what the Coliseum
looked like last Saturday against San Jose State. A lot
of people criticizing how even Texas Tech jumped in to
kind of take a shot at USC and the crowd
they got at the Coliseum.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
What do you make of just all the hubbub coming
out of that, man?
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Joey McGuire was tired of everybody picking on him for
Brendan Sorsby, so he wanted to take a swing at
somebody else. And empty seats in the Coliseum seemed like
a safe place. Listen, it was 95 in L.A. It's
San Jose State. Oregon's coming to town later in the month.
Washington is going to be there the first Saturday in October.
(13:10):
Ohio State's going to be there. Trojans are sitting there going,
I'm not going to San Jose State. You guys know
Los Angeles. There's tons of ways to spend your money there.
And it just wasn't a big game. And that's part
of the deal that this, as you pointed out earlier,
when you're going to 12 team playoff, you've got to
schedule some wins because if you don't, you're going to
(13:33):
knock yourself out of the deal before you even get started.
And that's a that's a little bit of a predicament,
especially when everybody's looking for money. SC needs those seats filled.
And I think we'll come to some conclusion as to
how to do that in future.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
How much can you learn about your team in particular?
Let's talk about the quarterback position. You mentioned Mayava. How
about DeMond Williams? I mean, how much can we learn
about DeMond's development as a quarterback when he's playing Wazoo,
Utah State, Eastern Washington, and Minnesota in September?
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Well, Minnesota will be all the challenge you want. But
those other three, they should have a safe passage. But
here's what Jed can do with DeMond over the course
of the next three weeks. He can give DeMond a
lot of freedom out there. You know, I know Jed
real well, and obviously Jed loves to have his hands
on the wheel of the offense. He doesn't give up
(14:25):
play calling. But play calling is a, you know, kind
of an idea when the ball, when the play goes
into the game and all of a sudden you get
a defense that presents itself. And DeMond, because of his
experience now, is starting to recognize defenses and seeing tells
that are happening in the back end that obviously create
advantages and opportunities for him. This is an opportunity for
(14:48):
Jed to give him some leash and let him go
out and expose those vulnerabilities that he's seeing in a defense.
And if you can do that, now you've taken the
next step. That's why Brady and Manning and Breeze and
all the greats have stayed in the league so long.
They get these tells, they understand exactly what's going on,
and they take full advantage of it.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Yeah, yeah. All right, well, let's make it 2-0. Yeah.
Taco time pick of the week.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I'm going to go with a chicken Caesar salad, fresh
romaine from the Carponito Brothers Farm in Kent, probably on
the menu through September, and then once the month is over,
you never know.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
But who do you like to go 2-0 this week, Coach?
Speaker 5 (15:26):
I love those Carponito Brothers. Please pass along my hello
through them.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I will.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Listen, we're going to go to the state of Nevada.
Nevada is hosting Western Kentucky. I did a little fundraiser
for Nevada earlier in the summer. I saw exactly what
they were doing in terms of bringing in some pretty
high-octane transfers. They're an underdog right now to the Hilltoppers
(15:53):
at home. Give me the Wolfpack to beat Western Kentucky
and open their season 1-0.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Packer getting one and a half against Western Kentucky on CBS,
by the way, on Saturday at 7.30. So something to
do on Saturday night before we're getting ready for the
Apple Cup. And great stuff. Thanks for sticking with us
in the back of your Uber, by the way. Fly safe,
and we'll talk in a week.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Thanks, Rick.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
That's the first time I've been in an Uber that
got pulled over by the cops.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Wow. Wow. Did the guy want an autograph or something?
Did he know there was a celebrity in the backseat?
Speaker 5 (16:28):
I told him I had a major radio interview and
I needed to hurry, and the guy hurried. I felt terrible.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Geez, unbelievable. All right, well, there's a first time for everything,
I guess.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
That makes two of us, two guys that got pulled
over today.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
We'll get out of here, Rick. We'll talk in a minute.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
The officers were college football fans, and they did not
give him a ticket.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, there you go. Yeah, because they saw the Rose
Bowl winner sitting in the back seat. All right. We'll
talk in a week, man. Great stuff. Thank you. Thanks, Rick.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
See you, boys.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
All right, Rick Neuheisel likes Western Kentucky, Nevada. He's going
to take Nevada and the points against Western Kentucky on
Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I mean, I know nothing about either team.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
No, but, I mean, that's a tough play. I mean,
Western Kentucky going to Nevada?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
That's going to be a different experience.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
The reason why they're getting points, though, I guess. I
don't know, man.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Maybe Western Kentucky's got some kick-ass roster I'm not aware of. But, hey,
Rick's off to a great start, so why not let
it roll? All right, we're going to break. A little
fun with audio. Slash, hey, did you hear that? Brett
Boone at four. Jerry Brewer at five. We've got to
come back and revisit this. Would you rather be tied
or 20,000 games up topic? Don't we at some point?
Coming up on 93.3 KJRFM.
Your home for college football Saturdays is live with CBS
Sports Analyst Rick Neuheisel, powered by Taco Time.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hungry?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
At Taco Time, it's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time? Customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest app. Taco Time, time for something different.
Now with Rick Neuheisel, here's Softie and Dick.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Here's Teagle, throws to the flat ball, is knocked out!
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It is intercepted!
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Intercepted by Kai Ellis. And this game, if the interception stands,
is over. Ruling on the field. It was a backward pass.
Washington recovered that backward pass. And the game is over.
Thank you very much. It is a done deal. How
about that?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Woo!
Speaker 3 (00:54):
You know what's really funny about that call there, Dick?
What's that?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Finally got him to admit after all these years it
was Bob Rondo banging on the wall. I thought it
was Chuck Nelson, then I thought maybe it was an
assistant coach next door.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It was Bob, huh? It was actually Bob Rondo.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And the fact that we're playing that in September when
we should be playing it in November is crazy. First
time ever we've played that this early in the year.
This is the earliest Apple Cup of all time. And
a guy that had a lot of success against Wazoo
in the Apple Cup is with us now, courtesy of
our friends. at taco time rick newheisel how are you
coach i am.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Well that brought a smile to my face and then
some the great bob rondo that is uh and we
were down 20 to 10 with like five six minutes
left and came back it was uh quite an evening
there in poland.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well no doubt no doubt well what do you think
of the idea of this game being played on labor
day sunday in september in the opener versus late November
in Pullman or Seattle, maybe in the snow, maybe in
the rain. What's your take on this new-look Apple Cup schedule?
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Well, obviously I'd love it to be as it always was,
that late November game where so much usually was on
the line. But that aside, better to have it in
September than not have.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
It at all.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
And given the situation in college football and, you know,
the movement of everybody for different greener pastures, if you will,
then you have to understand that at least the two
sides think the game's important enough to be played. And
I'm glad that they're going to find a time to
play it here in Seattle this particular weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Rick, if the Cougs end up not playing this game
in the future, will they just be lost to complete
national irrelevance, or do you think they would be able
to find a replacement power to school to play every year?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Well, it would certainly hurt their brand from the standpoint of,
you know, the recognition of a game and a rivalry that,
you know, goes across the border. Obviously, the Apple Cup
is famous around the country, not just in the state
of Washington. So they'd miss that game, regardless of who
(03:07):
they would replace it with. The hope, at least my hope,
is that college football czars will come to their senses
and realize that all this cross-country footballing makes it a
tournament at season's end that everybody can look forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Should we put him on hold real quick? Okay, why
don't you put him on hold? His phone's breaking up
just a little bit. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
He's got to pay his phone bill, man.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
It's 2026.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You know how much this drives me crazy, right, that
we can't get a cell phone that works. We should
all sign up with Elon, by the way, with his satellites. Oh, yeah,
Starlink or whatever it is. Yeah, everybody should do that.
But we'll get Rick back on the air. And I
don't know, man, Dick. I'm starting to really feel like
after some conversations this week with people that if the
Cougars keep getting their butts kicked in this series, I'm
not sure if they can stomach extending this past 28th.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and I'm wondering what the, you know, we keep
hearing about the Huskies' schedule, and we'll get some more
clarification from Pat Chun when we have him on tomorrow. But,
you know, how much will the Huskies actually be able
to control their schedule in the near future? How much
will be under the control of the Big Ten?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Well, let's get Rick back.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And, Rick, just talking about that right there, you know,
we're just wondering if you were on the Cougar side
of things and you were getting slaughtered every single year,
and we'll see what happens on Sunday tomorrow, This deal
only goes through 28. Would you have the stomach to
continue this series and extend it? Or if you're a Coug,
would you want to say maybe, hey, look, man, let's
just put this on pause for a while while we
get our act together?
Speaker 5 (04:39):
I don't think they can ever say they want to
put it on pause because there'd be no guarantee they'd
get it back. I think they're going to fight tooth
and nail to always have this game because it's a
platform to prove that they have the wherewithal to play
with the big boys. even though that it's challenging right
now with the resources that are being provided by the Pac-12,
(05:01):
as resourceful as they want to be, they're not playing
in the same stratosphere as the Power Four conferences are playing,
especially the Power Two, the SEC, and the Big Ten.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Rick, I'm being torn in two directions when it comes
to the college football playoff. I would prefer a 12-team playoff.
I think it's the more elite teams that get into
a college football playoff, but I also recognize if we
have a 12-team playoff, then Washington's playing Eastern Washington and
all sorts of nobodies in September every single year, where
if we have a 2014 playoff, we might be playing
(05:36):
Florida or Georgia every other year because nobody's worried about
the loss. So what's better for college football, a 2014
where you're playing Big Ten against SEC all the time
or the 12 team?
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Well, that's a great question. I think what we need
to do is find, listen, 16 would be great, but
then we need automatic qualifiers, which means that the Big
Ten would get four teams in every year. And that
way we can create some crossover games that would be mandated.
by the schedule makers, much like the NFL has a
(06:10):
crossover game with the NFC West. Right now the Seahawks
are going to play, I believe, the AFC West, right,
this year? And in so doing, I think that makes
a lot of sense. You can imagine a home game
against a Big 12 team in one year and an
away game against an ACC team in another year. and
(06:32):
you're going to keep moving the needle so that the
college football playoff committee can see who the at-large teams
should be, but the conference should determine, and they can
figure out ways to put play in games, which is
another way to replace the conference championship games, make for
really entertaining football in November.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Well, all right, let's talk about the game on Sunday, right?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
I mean, Caden Pinnock, who's the transfer quarterback from UC Davis,
he was here a year ago, Rick, and got beat
by 60. He's now the starting quarterback for Wazoo. Kirby
Moore making his debut as the head coach at Washington State.
The Cougs are 23-and-a-half point underdogs. I mean, do you
see anything else likely happening on Sunday besides a runaway
win for the Dogs on Sunday?
Speaker 5 (07:15):
I don't see anything other than that. I don't think
23-and-a-half's enough. I'm not going to make it my taco
time pick of the week because I have a soft
spot for the Cougars. But the bottom line is they're
in and up against it. The problem for all the
group of six teams, and Washington State finds themselves in
this situation, is they can't keep offense and defensive linemen.
(07:39):
The big boys, the power four, they all want offense
and defensive linemen with experience. So they don't go to
high school to get their players. They go to the
group of six to get their players to play those
positions because they don't want to be wasting dead money
on guys that are developing. So they all sit there
and say, OK, I'm taking that tackle and that guard
(08:01):
and to hang on to anybody. If you're not in
the power for in the trenches is damn near impossible.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
How would you call this game if you were Jed Fish?
I mean, you've got a massive size difference in your
offensive line against their defensive line. Is it just as
simple as getting the run game going and use and
play action after that? Or would you just come out
fun and gun and say, let's play Lincoln-Riley football and
put up 45 points as fast as we can?
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Well, it's interesting you say that because Lincoln-Riley's already played
a game. I mean, Lincoln-Riley had... Jaden Maiava go out
there and go 25 or 29 against San Jose State.
They were up 35 to three. And then he pulled
everybody because you need everybody to be healthy. And then
all of a sudden San Jose State came back and scored,
I think, 23 points in the fourth quarter to make it,
(08:47):
you know, whatever the final score. I think San Jose
State ended up with 26. The bottom line here is
Jed's got to make sure that everybody gets a chance
to play. Everybody gets well oiled so that they move
along in their development and But he's got to keep
people healthy. But I do believe 23-and-a-half is very vulnerable.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
All right.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, we'll get your Taco Time Pick of the Week
in a minute. You're 1-0, by the way, after taking
the Bison in their debut at FBS last week.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
How about the Bison?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
The Bison, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Hell of a start for you so far. We'll get
to your Taco Time Pick in a minute. But let's
talk about what's happening in the SEC. The conference is
suing LSU and Lane Kiffin for violating the league's First
Amendment right of expressive association.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
You're the lawyer.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You can tell me what the hell that means by
LSU continuing to have a desire to sign and play
former NFL players. And they look like they're on an island,
not just in the SEC, but in college football. What
do you think of Lane and his continued quest to
bring pros to college football?
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Well, they've made this a personal thing with Lane. To me,
the issue was the NCAA's ruling on five for five,
which was an eligibility mandate saying that kids were going
to get to play five years in college. They were
going to get five years to do it. So we
didn't have to worry with red shirts and whether or
not a guy got an extra year because of an
injury and all that stuff. It was just five for
(10:11):
five straight across the board. In so doing, though, they
left out the class of 22. They said those guys
were only promised four, so we're only giving them four.
And everybody they played against because of COVID got five.
Everybody that was on their team when they graduated is
going to get five, but they got four. And so
a bunch of kids went to court and said, wait
a minute, we're being treated unfairly. And this is our
(10:32):
last year of NIL opportunity. And that's a big chunk
of change. That's your highest earning deal. And they won.
They won in court. So the NFL guys, who didn't
have a choice to choose to stay in college because
there was no opportunity until June, after they had to
make that decision, went to a similar court and got
(10:53):
a favorable ruling. And now the SEC is up in arms,
and we're a voluntary association, and we don't have to–
everybody who joins us is doing so voluntarily, and we
can create rules for ourselves. And the fact that LSU,
especially after their chancellor voted– along with everybody, to say
that pros can't be in, that LSU is going to
(11:15):
try to break that, then we have to have the
wherewithal to countersue. And that's exactly what they did today.
I'm dying to see what this Louisiana court says about
this issue, because I think the kids have a case.
But the SEC certainly has a case that they don't
have to let LSU be in there. But you talk
about a lawsuit and then some, if they kick LSU out,
(11:38):
that will be monumental. And we'll see if it comes
to that. I can't believe that it will.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
What do you make of how Lane defended his decision
by saying, well, it was my leadership counsel's all for it.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
You know, he kind of put it on the kids
and said, oh, they want it, so we're good.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Yeah, that's nonsense. This is all about trying to get
an edge, and he's not the first coach to try
to get an edge. I tried to get an edge.
Everybody tries to get an edge, right? Everybody wants to
find a way to win games and do so under
the rules, sometimes brushing up against them, but you're trying
to find an edge, and any coach worth his salt
(12:18):
has always tried to do that. Some are better at
it than others, but Lane certainly has a reputation in
that regard.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, well, Rick Neuheisel's with us again, courtesy of Taco Time.
It's Taco Time Pick of the Week coming up in
just a matter of minutes right here on 93.3 KJRFM.
There's been a lot of talk about what the Coliseum
looked like last Saturday against San Jose State. A lot
of people criticizing how even Texas Tech jumped in to
kind of take a shot at USC and the crowd
they got at the Coliseum.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
What do you make of just all the hubbub coming
out of that, man?
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Joey McGuire was tired of everybody picking on him for
Brendan Sorsby, so he wanted to take a swing at
somebody else. And empty seats in the Coliseum seemed like
a safe place. Listen, it was 95 in L.A. It's
San Jose State. Oregon's coming to town later in the month.
Washington is going to be there the first Saturday in October.
(13:10):
Ohio State's going to be there. Trojans are sitting there going,
I'm not going to San Jose State. You guys know
Los Angeles. There's tons of ways to spend your money there.
And it just wasn't a big game. And that's part
of the deal that this, as you pointed out earlier,
when you're going to 12 team playoff, you've got to
schedule some wins because if you don't, you're going to
(13:33):
knock yourself out of the deal before you even get started.
And that's a that's a little bit of a predicament,
especially when everybody's looking for money. SC needs those seats filled.
And I think we'll come to some conclusion as to
how to do that in future.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
How much can you learn about your team in particular?
Let's talk about the quarterback position. You mentioned Mayava. How
about DeMond Williams? I mean, how much can we learn
about DeMond's development as a quarterback when he's playing Wazoo,
Utah State, Eastern Washington, and Minnesota in September?
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Well, Minnesota will be all the challenge you want. But
those other three, they should have a safe passage. But
here's what Jed can do with DeMond over the course
of the next three weeks. He can give DeMond a
lot of freedom out there. You know, I know Jed
real well, and obviously Jed loves to have his hands
on the wheel of the offense. He doesn't give up
(14:25):
play calling. But play calling is a, you know, kind
of an idea when the ball, when the play goes
into the game and all of a sudden you get
a defense that presents itself. And DeMond, because of his
experience now, is starting to recognize defenses and seeing tells
that are happening in the back end that obviously create
advantages and opportunities for him. This is an opportunity for
(14:48):
Jed to give him some leash and let him go
out and expose those vulnerabilities that he's seeing in a defense.
And if you can do that, now you've taken the
next step. That's why Brady and Manning and Breeze and
all the greats have stayed in the league so long.
They get these tells, they understand exactly what's going on,
and they take full advantage of it.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Yeah, yeah. All right, well, let's make it 2-0. Yeah.
Taco time pick of the week.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I'm going to go with a chicken Caesar salad, fresh
romaine from the Carponito Brothers Farm in Kent, probably on
the menu through September, and then once the month is over,
you never know.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
But who do you like to go 2-0 this week, Coach?
Speaker 5 (15:26):
I love those Carponito Brothers. Please pass along my hello
through them.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I will.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Listen, we're going to go to the state of Nevada.
Nevada is hosting Western Kentucky. I did a little fundraiser
for Nevada earlier in the summer. I saw exactly what
they were doing in terms of bringing in some pretty
high-octane transfers. They're an underdog right now to the Hilltoppers
(15:53):
at home. Give me the Wolfpack to beat Western Kentucky
and open their season 1-0.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Packer getting one and a half against Western Kentucky on CBS,
by the way, on Saturday at 7.30. So something to
do on Saturday night before we're getting ready for the
Apple Cup. And great stuff. Thanks for sticking with us
in the back of your Uber, by the way. Fly safe,
and we'll talk in a week.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Thanks, Rick.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
That's the first time I've been in an Uber that
got pulled over by the cops.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Wow. Wow. Did the guy want an autograph or something?
Did he know there was a celebrity in the backseat?
Speaker 5 (16:28):
I told him I had a major radio interview and
I needed to hurry, and the guy hurried. I felt terrible.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Geez, unbelievable. All right, well, there's a first time for everything,
I guess.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
That makes two of us, two guys that got pulled
over today.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
We'll get out of here, Rick. We'll talk in a minute.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
The officers were college football fans, and they did not
give him a ticket.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, there you go. Yeah, because they saw the Rose
Bowl winner sitting in the back seat. All right. We'll
talk in a week, man. Great stuff. Thank you. Thanks, Rick.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
See you, boys.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
All right, Rick Neuheisel likes Western Kentucky, Nevada. He's going
to take Nevada and the points against Western Kentucky on
Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I mean, I know nothing about either team.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
No, but, I mean, that's a tough play. I mean,
Western Kentucky going to Nevada?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
That's going to be a different experience.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
The reason why they're getting points, though, I guess. I
don't know, man.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Maybe Western Kentucky's got some kick-ass roster I'm not aware of. But, hey,
Rick's off to a great start, so why not let
it roll? All right, we're going to break. A little
fun with audio. Slash, hey, did you hear that? Brett
Boone at four. Jerry Brewer at five. We've got to
come back and revisit this. Would you rather be tied
or 20,000 games up topic? Don't we at some point?
Coming up on 93.3 KJRFM.
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