All Episodes

October 15, 2025 • 45 mins
Ben Criddle talks BYU sports every weekday from 2 to 6 pm.

Today's Co-Hosts: Ben Criddle (@criddlebenjamin)

Subscribe to the Cougar Sports with Ben Criddle podcast:
Apple Podcasts:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cougar-sports-with-ben-criddle/id99676
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
For Keeping up with the Cougars. Brought to you by
Odion Men'swear, proudly outfitting young professionals, young adults, boys and
missionaries across the globe with quality suits and apparel. Find
a location near you or odeonmenswear dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Welcome back Cougar Sports.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
One of three nine ninety eight point three ESPN the Fan.
I'm Betcurtle broadcasting from our Banterwealth Studios, Batterwell dot Com.
Get on that free Q and A no obligation to
invest Q and A with our tax more Wealth Advisors.
If you're looking to save money on your taxes, Banterwealth
will combine forces with your public accountant and help you
save money on your taxes at the end of the year.
Contact Then today it is time for a little keeping

(00:39):
up with Cougar's going to welcome to a former BYU
Great and discuss this Holy War week BYU versus Utah
obviously has gone back and forth over the last fifty years.
Lavell era dominant the Bronco Menden Hall Kyle Whittingham Urban era.
It was kind of fifty to fifty over the Independent era.

(01:00):
Nine straight wins for the University of Utah but BYU's
on a winning streak right now and they want to
send Kyle Whittingham into retirement with his third straight loss,
and they may be able to do it at Lavelle
Edwards on Saturday evening. This segment's going to be brought
to you by Odeon Menswearodion menswear dot Com. If you're

(01:20):
looking to elevate your suit game, they have a great
sports performance suit and at leisure Suit you can get
fifteen percent off whether crittle fifteen coupon code or just
ask for VIP service VIP discounts in their stores. They
got three locations along the wallside front. Hit them up today.
Let's get out to the hotline to discuss a specialist

(01:40):
in this holy war, in this rivalry game, we've got
the best BYU receiver in BYU football history. Austin Colly
on the line, Ac, How you living, man? How's a
Rivalry Week treating you thus far?

Speaker 4 (01:54):
I'm loving it? Been looking forward to it, man, I'm excited.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
Brother, Yeah, Like, I.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Mean, how look, work, life, family, you know all of that.
You have to allocate bandwidth to it in Rivalry Week?

Speaker 5 (02:07):
Like?

Speaker 2 (02:07):
How often are you getting texted, emailed?

Speaker 5 (02:09):
Called? You know?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
In your general conversations about this game.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Uh, well, you know, I'd say most of uh, most
of my uh both my partners and most of the
associates and and and my employees here at the at
the office are all Utah fans. So uh you know
I'm getting I'm getting, uh, I'm getting my fair fair
share of trash talk, and uh you know I love it.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, it's interesting, right Like it's a it's.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
A volatile, vitriolic robbery for the fans and and sometimes
for the players. How do you view this game as
a former player you've played in this, it seems like
you you embraced the vitriol, the trash talk, all of that.

Speaker 4 (02:59):
Yeah, I know, I it's what makes college football college football. Man, Like,
this is what this is what it's all about, right
like the history between the two teams, the hatred, the animosity,
the you know, the back and forth. Like I this
is what this is what college football is made of,
right here, right Like if you could, if you could

(03:21):
take somebody who doesn't know what college football is all about,
right like, this would be the week to kind of
show them.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
There's been iconic quotes over the years from players both
on Utah's and BYU side, the magic happens still pierces
the hearts and minds of Utah fans everywhere, and obviously
BYU fans they utter those same words magic happens after
big wins. Take us back to that interview after that

(03:49):
big time win. I know you've been asked this question
many times two thousand and seven, fourth and eighteen, you
guys convert obviously BYU ends up winning that game. What
was going through your mind when you were getting interviewed
in that moment? And why did you utter the magic happens?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Uh refrain, Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
I I uh, you know, at that point in time,
I believed in preparation, right, Like that was such a
big part of my game is preparing. You know. I
kind of had a mantra that I that I had
developed on my church mission that you know, that had
no regrets and and uh, you know, I kind of
took that same mantra and added to my two uh
you know, to to my life on the field. And

(04:31):
you know, the the idea was that you know, if
if you prepare, you make sure you're prepared, opportunities going
to come. And when that opportunities comes if you if
you put in the preparation and you've been doing what
you know, what what is asked of you by by
the man above, right, Like that combination is gonna is

(04:55):
going to produce some fruit, right kind of going to
produce some success. So uh uh you know, I've been
a constant believer in that that everything works out the
way that it should as long as you're doing what
you're supposed to be doing.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Obviously, Uh, I think what was your record all time
versus Utah in the rivalry game?

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Do you just get that one win in two thousand
and seven?

Speaker 4 (05:18):
Note grade one, one and two one and two?

Speaker 5 (05:20):
Ben?

Speaker 2 (05:21):
What happened in the last right?

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Like you know when b YU loses these games, typically
they're pretty competitive, right, they go back and forth. You know,
there's uh there's typically controversy that that swells around these games.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
And you know prior and in postgame and during the game.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
So what happened in the games in which you you
guys just fell short, Well, it.

Speaker 4 (05:42):
Doesn't help you play the two best Utah teams in history,
in the history of the school.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Right, Oh wait right?

Speaker 4 (05:52):
Perfect? Oh wait yeah, yeah, the the the two best
teams in uh yeah, in Utah, his stree. You know,
we were we were pretty good four you know, uh,
probably the best five and six team in the country.
Uh so not great, went and played Alex Smith and

(06:15):
Eric Weddle and and uh Paris Warren and all those guys.
They went on to go to Fiesta Bowl and win,
and then yeah, then then played the eight or sorry seventeen.
I went on to play Alabama the Sugar Bowl and
beat them. Had you know, four number one or first

(06:35):
round draft picks on that team at the time. So
you know, it's kind of lucky. The draw, just bad luck.
That's what happened.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
Then awesome calling here on ESPN the fan. But you
did get that win obviously in O seven, and you
were you were coming off the mish, and you probably
weren't running on all cylinders coming off the mish, you know,
struggling through you know, the the post mission legs, et cetera.
But that was an iconic win, like when we talk
about iconic wins, oh seven, uh in you know Max Hall,

(07:05):
you know going off in eight, that was a big one.
You in the in the post game in O seven,
and so these are these are memories that fans that
created a generation of fans, right, And in your upbringing
in in the Collie home, obviously you guys were were
BYU fans, and so these moments, I believe they create

(07:27):
generational fans, these wins, these games create generational fans for
either side of of the robbery. So like, growing up,
what do you remember about this rivaly game? And obviously
you had a four you have a dad that that
played in this game, but what do you recall about it?

Speaker 2 (07:44):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (07:44):
To be honest, Ben, I don't remember anything about this game.
I was a I was a Pac ten only. It
was a Pac ten only household. Right. Growing up in
grown up in California, we didn't watch too many BYU
football games, and so I was unaware of even what
the what the rivalry was all about until my freshman

(08:05):
year right made it made a couple of comments after
playing New Mexico and found out quickly what what this
rivalry meant. After my comments, we're we're you know, uh
hit the airwaves uh and had some unhappy, disgrontal youth
fans coming after me. So UH got got a real

(08:28):
quick lesson, uh of what the rivalry means to a
lot of people in this state. And amongst the entire
fan base for both fan bases. But you know, I've
fallen in love with it. I I now know my
kids now know what that rivalry means. Right, Like they
were getting harassed at at uh at at elementary school,

(08:51):
right crying coming home saying, Johnny just told me that
you're a loser. Uh uh, you know because you played
for BYU and you lost the Utah, et cetera. So
you know, they now have a realistic understanding of what
the rivalry means. And yeah, we look forward to it

(09:12):
every year.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
When you evaluate the rivalry, right nineteen seventy two and
Lavelle took over, like it was dominant all the way
through the early nineties. BYU I think won pretty much
every single one of those games minus two from nineteen
seventy two to nineteen ninety two. All of a sudden
nineteen ninety three that the it just turned right. It
became more of like a fifty to fifty game. From

(09:34):
nineteen ninety three through two thousand and nine, I think
it was like split down the middle. Utah one half
of them, BYU won half of them. And then you
go to twenty ten and Kywittingham and the Utes rattle
off nine straight by us on a two game winning streak.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Now, when you look at those numbers, like what.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
Stands out to you about whether or not BYU's winning
these games or losing these games over maybe that history.

Speaker 4 (10:00):
Well, I don't know what. I can't talk to what's
happened before you know, I got there. But you know,
I think the biggest gap that's happened since two thousand
and nine up until a couple of years ago. I
think that could be directly correlated to the fact that
around that time is when Utah made the jump to

(10:21):
go to the Tack twelve, right, and we at Duyu
stayed as an independent school.

Speaker 5 (10:27):
Right.

Speaker 4 (10:29):
I think that has a lot to do with it, right,
I mean, you look at BYU and the trajectory that
we're on now, don't I don't think it's I don't
think it's crazy to think that. Hey, you know, joining
a Power five conference or a powerful conference like Big
twelve helps helps the recruiting, helps the funding, it helps
in marketing, help, it helps in everything, right, and those

(10:52):
types of things bring a certain energy to the program.
I mean, Kilani has done a phenomenal job of creating
that energy, but it went to a different level once
we decided that we were going to be in the
Big twelve, right, So I think that played a huge
part in just the discrepancy of funding, the discrepancy of
recruiting from Utah. They went and they went to the

(11:14):
PAC twelve and we remained or went to independent.

Speaker 5 (11:18):
Right.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
But now I think there's there's gonna be a lot
of parody, right given the fact that especially we're the
same conference, pulling from the same recruiting pole.

Speaker 3 (11:28):
So do you feel, like you mentioned parody, will there
be kind of an equivalency, kind of a back and
forth once again? Do you think do you think by
you now, as they were operating for a long time
without as many resources, they kept it competitive obviously in
these games during independence, but.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
Weren't able to come out with victories.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
Do you feel like they're on a better trajectory than
Utah now that they're in the same conference with maybe
an increase in nil funds, you know, finally getting kind
of the weight room, nutrition, medical staff, et cetera. Are
they are they on even footing or do you think
maybe got a leg up on Utah in the near future.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
I don't know, you know, I don't know.

Speaker 5 (12:14):
I think.

Speaker 4 (12:18):
I think it's definitely going to be a back and forth, right,
Like these games are always going to be close, except
for the years that I played. Okay, Uh, they're they're
they're always going to be close games.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
Because that's it just got out of hand in the fourth.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
I don't know sure. I mean, what was the final
score there? Lost by twenty So yeah, I think I
think it's it is going to be like I said,
the the the meaning of this rivalry. You're going to
get the best out of both teams. This is why

(12:55):
this is why you know, this week scares all the fans, right,
because you could go either way, and I think we've
seen some crazy things happen, and that's just because of
what the rivalry means. I think the fact that we're
all in the same conference and and combined with the
nil right like a lot of these kids, like I
mean you take a look at you know too, or

(13:15):
at least one of our our star defensive linemen was
playing in Utah last year, right, I mean the fact
that we're so close, uh geographically, and you know, with
with the transfer portal being the way that it is,
with plumbing being the way that it is with it
with the conferences that we're both in, Like, I do

(13:38):
think that there's going to be far more parody across
the two teams, and then it's always going to be
a close game, like unless unless one team has just
a quarterback that is far better than the other. Right, Like,
I do think that a team's success heavily, heavily uh

(13:59):
rests on how great that that kid is under center. Right,
And if one of the years, you know, one of
our schools happens to nab a uh you know, a
single caller, you know, first round draft pick type, you know,
franchise type quarterback, then the knack could sway things a
little bit. But I think for the most part, man,

(14:19):
it's going to be a back and forth NonStop, and
I do think there's going to be an exchange of
of of you know, personnel as well. Give him the
transfer portal because a lot of these kids want to
stay home, close to home in the area. Okay, where's it,
where's the next best spot? All right, what's up north
or it's down south?

Speaker 3 (14:37):
Right, It's funny you bring up Canton town of Asa.
Coming from from Utah.

Speaker 4 (14:42):
To b Yu.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
He actually served his mission in Provo and uh Canton
Town of USA taught Kalani's son, who I think was
like nine at the time and had not been baptized
or something like that, as we ended up baptizing Sun.
So there's there's a lot of cross pollination.

Speaker 2 (14:58):
A god.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
John Henry Daily, then nephew of David Nixon, was playing
at b YU, transfers to Utah. Now he's their best
defensive lineman. So there's there's a lot there's a lot
of cross pollination there.

Speaker 4 (15:12):
Right, Yeah, and I think that's going to continue to happen.
Like especially a lot of these kids that are that
are home growing here in the state, right, they don't
want to go out of state. I want to stay
in state. Uh and uh. And they're either going to
go to Utah, They're going to go to b a U. Right,
they're unhappy at BYU, they're going to go up to
Utah and vice versa.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
So let's discuss this Bay football team. I imagine you've
been watching this team. You're you've trained some of these
wide receivers over the years. What do you like about
how the team is playing right now? Who stands out
to you from a personnel standpoint that you can highlight
for us.

Speaker 4 (15:48):
Yeah, I think I think, you know, I I've I've
always been optimistic about about Parker Kingston's ceiling and what
he's been able to deliver. I think now that he's
uh you know, uh uh uh an upperclassman who's had
a couple of years under his belt, I think his
confidence is really high. And I think I think Air

(16:09):
Roderick and FESSI have done a great job of working
him into the system right, making sure he's getting his touches,
because I do think he's a very dynamic player. And
then you know, Chase obviously continues to prove he's mister consistent,
mister reliability. And you know, I think LJ is running
a lot better. I'd still like to see him be
a little bit more aggressive, and I honestly, I think

(16:32):
I think the addition that Carson Ryan too is huge, right, Like, Yeah,
I know he doesn't get a ton of touches, but
he's he's good enough for defenses to have that, you know,
account for him right in their scheme, right and at
any point he could go off if needed. So I
do like our offensive weapons. I think Bear has done

(16:54):
an absolutely fantastic job thus far of taking care of
the football, taking care of the football and not trying
to play to outside of him himself, not trying to
do too much. Been super impressed with just his maturity,
his poise, his confidence. It just just the way he's
been able to man as a football game. To be
quite honest, I mean, like to be able to do

(17:16):
as a true freshman is pretty remarkable.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, you played, You played with what a sophomore John Beck,
you know, young quarterback that had seen playing time as
a as a freshman coming off a mission, and you know,
John went through a refining fire. I don't know if
he's supporting Cash collectively defensively, offensive line. There's a lot
of youth, a lot of talent there, but you know,

(17:39):
it's it's pretty remarkable what Bear has accomplished thus far.
Pretty stoic in nature. And I think his ability to
run the ball. I know that's not the words maybe
a wide receiver once here is that your quarterback is
gonna run the ball twenty two times. But his ability
to run the ball has definitely opened up some things.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Oh yeah, no, absolutely, When you get a guy like
that that's a threat on the ground, man, that's that's
definitely going to open up a lot to the offense.
And frankly, something that that be, Yeah, that b what
he hasn't had in a couple of years, and I
think I think as kind of relies on that. Right.
Being able to have an athlete back there like a
Jared Hall or like a Taste or whoever, right is

(18:21):
going to add another dynamic. And and you know, the
chuck plays that a Rod does have up this sleever
are are going to be far more successful just because
of the threat that he poses under center and being
able to create with his feet.

Speaker 3 (18:39):
If you had the you know, the opportunity to speak
to this team prior to the Holy War, even like
leading up to this game like this week, what what
message would you give to this team as they prep
for this, uh this Riler game? Some of them played
in it, some of them haven't played in it. Obviously
Bear hasn't played in this game yet. What's the words
of advice from the wise and judicious BELLI.

Speaker 4 (19:02):
If you lose, you're all done to me? Uh No,
I I to be honest with you, I I would
just say just keep playing. You're you know the same,
the same football man like the great thing about this
team just they know their identity, they know who they are.

(19:22):
You know, everyone, just keep playing the way that you've
been playing. Don't don't try and do anything different, you know,
as fans. As fans, we you know, I'd love to
see you get hyped. I love just treated differently. But
you know, as a coach, you don't want your players
thinking too much about what the game means and what
the game means to the fans and feeling any type

(19:43):
of way or any type of pressure. Right. You just
want them going in and treating them like any other game.
So yeah, to me, I just say, just just keep
keep plugging away and uh, you know, don't treat this
anything like any different the other games that you've been
playing in, Right. I think when you tried to try

(20:05):
to do too much, that's when proms start to happen.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
Last thing for you, ac before we let you go.
Actually a couple last things here. I think the statute
of limitations is up. I get you know, as I
debate with fans and conversion fans, they bring up rivalry games,
they'll talk about specific so you know BA fans they are,
they are very much They get into the the you know,
granular minutia of what happening games and what happened in

(20:31):
robberie games in two thousand and eight.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
What they bring up to me is like.

Speaker 3 (20:34):
Robert and I went away from the run game and
was throwing the.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
Ball too much. Is that true? Is that false?

Speaker 3 (20:41):
Give me your perspective on this, because I have to
field these questions all the time about the two thousand
and eight game. They say, Hey, Robert and I, it's
on his shoulders. We started throwing the ball. We were
getting eight yards of pop with Harvey Unga. We went
away from the run and that's why we lost. Give
me your thoughts.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
You can never fill about too much. We probably didn't
throw enough, Ben, That's what I would say as a receiver.
Did we throw Did we throw every play? No? Okay,
we didn't throw enough.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
You're a pretty good running the ball, though.

Speaker 3 (21:14):
You could have taken somebody in this a run off
and you could take some jets, some reverses.

Speaker 2 (21:19):
Maybe we underutilize your idea.

Speaker 4 (21:21):
That No, that that game, that that game I did.
I had a couple of fly sweeps, dude, I had
a little uh, a little uh wildcat pulling.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah, that's right. We did it with you.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
Huh yeah, all right, a few of those, so we
ran the ball plenty there.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
It is a C has has spoken. I don't need
to I'm just gonna pull your quotes from now on.
AC said, we actually didn't throw the ball enough in
that game.

Speaker 2 (21:47):
Love it. Uh, I always appreciate what's that I said?

Speaker 4 (21:51):
We didn't we didn't throw the ball?

Speaker 2 (21:53):
Hey, give us an update real quick.

Speaker 3 (21:54):
You're working over at Naylor Insurance obviously and uh staying
busy with family, coaching up your boys. Give us an
update on family as well as work and how we
can support you and your your your crew over at Naylor.

Speaker 4 (22:09):
Yeah. Yeah, any any small business or or you know,
mid enterprise business then or or anybody looking for to
take a look or shop their rates for personal lines,
home and auto.

Speaker 6 (22:22):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (22:23):
You know, we're a commercial and personal property and casual
t shop and uh we got a great group of
UH producers and account executives and you know, our our
our level of customer service will go unmatched. I promise
you that's something that we pride ourselves on. So anybody
out there that needs a quote, please give us a call.

(22:45):
Naylor Insurance Group dot com. UH family's doing well. Man.
The I think I told you we had our fifth
about eight months ago. He's getting big. He's probably by
far our biggest child. And then the all kids do
just active, active in sports. And uh, you know, we're
tying up the football season right now, got maybe one

(23:10):
game left each for for my older boys, and then
we're off the basketball and golf.

Speaker 3 (23:15):
Love it, man, Wide receivers, quarterbacks, running backs, defensive backs.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
What position are your boys playing?

Speaker 5 (23:24):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (23:24):
Right, my my son is a freshman's a wide out
and a corner, and my other son is a He
actually just took up quarterback. His yeah, his is the
starting quarterback for the team. Said he didn't want to
play quarterback anymore.

Speaker 7 (23:42):
So my son kind of stepped in and and uh
got got his bell run about a week and a
half ago. So he's still trying to get right from
that and get back on the field. But yeah, man,
he's he's got he's got the bones BTV. So we're
gonna be heading down to the miss for the Beck
Academy pre DQB For a couple of times this offseason.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
I wondered, Man, I wonder I knew there was going
to be a quarterback because you know too much about
football not to have and and the two you know families,
the Pendleton and Calley family combining, there had to be
a quarterback in your midst.

Speaker 2 (24:21):
Man, I knew it.

Speaker 4 (24:23):
Yeah, I mean, but he's only been playing about five
six weeks too, But he does things that I mean
that I'm like, but who you know, where'd you get
that from?

Speaker 5 (24:31):
Right?

Speaker 4 (24:32):
Like, he's got the bones, man, So I'm excited. It'll
be fun. My two best my two best athletes are
my girls by far. They're in the middle of soccer
and oh yeah they're they're they're they're freaks. Love that, dudes.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Well, I invite everybody you're getting blown up right now.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Naylor Insurance Group. Contact Austin Coley.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
Get a quote on any of your your vehicle UH
business commercial, UH insurance needs. He can agent support you.
Give them a call eight O one five zero six
six eight five four. That's eight O one five oh
six six eight five four. He may even you'll you'll
talk ball with your clients as well, right.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
I always talk ball with my clays, kidding me. You'll
get the inside scoop.

Speaker 2 (25:16):
I got Carl Austin.

Speaker 3 (25:18):
He'll give you even more than what he gave us
today on the radio waves. Naylor Insurance Group AC. Always
appreciate our time. Man, God bless let us know if
you need anything from us.

Speaker 4 (25:26):
Okay, all right, gentlemen, we'll talk to you. Thanks Ben.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
There you go.

Speaker 3 (25:31):
That's former b YU Great, the best wide receiver in
BYU football history, Austin Collie in a Rivalry week session
of Keeping Up with the Cougars, brought to you by
Odeon Men'swear Odeon menswear dot com. Look could feel good,
do good, and you can do that at Odeon Men'swear.
Elevate your suit game today is the weather is changing.
You're gonna want to feel comfortable, but you're gonna want

(25:52):
to stay warm with the weather that's coming. And you
can look your best and do your best in the
Elevate suited.

Speaker 2 (26:00):
It's an at leisure suit. It's a sports performance suit.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
You can get fifteen percent off with Criddle fifteen online.
But head on into the store and try on that
Elevate suit today. I think you'll be impressed by it.
We'll go to break, don't go anywhere more to get
to This is Cougar Sports on one O three nine
ninety eight point three It's.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
Time to celebrate the greggest team sport known to man,
where modern day gladiators collide for all the glory on
the Gridie, let's talk some college football on Cougar Sports
with Ben Credit.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
Welcome back Cougar Sports one O three nine nine eight
point three ESPN the Fan. I've been crital broadcasting from
our Bandwilth Studio. It's Banterwealth dot com. It's time to
get on that free Q and a nolabligation to invest
na with our tax more wealth advisors at Banterwealth. If
you're looking to save money on your taxes, you're a
credited investor, contact Blaye Anderson and his crew today. They're
gonna agent and support you in that question to save

(26:53):
money on your taxes. At the end of the year,
it is time for little college football getting in all
the Nickson Granny's all the news and notes coming out
at the college foot Paul World also discussing the Holy Warp.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
Just how good?

Speaker 3 (27:04):
Where does this rivalry game rank out amongst the best
rivalry games in college football? I love the fact that
Big Newton kickoff is coming to Provo, so then they
get to know this rivalry game a little bit better,
and I think it'll be an educational experience for the
nation as they get to know this game.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
It's gonna be brought to you.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
This segment's gonna be brought to you by Utah Protective
Films Utapprotective Films dot com. If you're looking for a
car wrap right at car tent or Chrome delete. Contact
Jared bled so today, former BAU wide receiver at Utah
Protective Films.

Speaker 2 (27:40):
He's going to take care of you.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Get fifteen percent off any of his products, any of
his services. Call today, make an appointment today. Let him
know I sent you eight oh one, eight hundred ninety
seven sixty seven. That's eight one, eight hundred ninety seven
sixty seven. Let's discuss it. Let's discuss some of these
topics with Jared Bledsoe right now on the line.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Jared, how are you?

Speaker 5 (28:01):
Yeah, I'm doing great, man, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 (28:03):
Always a pleasure man. Former BYU Wide Receiver. What do
you remember about the rivalry game?

Speaker 2 (28:09):
What made it so special? Growing up and then playing
in this game?

Speaker 5 (28:14):
Yeah, no, it goes way back for me.

Speaker 6 (28:16):
I have memories of the BYU Utah rival re since
time I was a kid. I in fact, nineteen eighty five,
it was a year, it was a snowy day. We
got a call from a neighbor of ours that had
I think they had eight tickets. So I called all
my little sixth grade buddies and had our parents drop
us off at the stadium.

Speaker 5 (28:36):
We ended up sneaking down.

Speaker 6 (28:37):
We were on the front row as lacke Hane Louly
ran a maybe like a sixty yard touchdown and we
ended up all on the.

Speaker 5 (28:44):
Camera standing up in the crowd. So great memory as
a kid.

Speaker 6 (28:48):
I mean, I think every time I played a game
it was BYU versus Utah and everything.

Speaker 5 (28:53):
And so fast forward from there to being at BYU
in ninety eight.

Speaker 6 (28:58):
And you know that Lavelle Edwards at that time was
a roll around of the golf cart coach. You know,
he had his coordinators that that did everything for him,
and so he'd make his appearances in practice and roll
around will come to the game of the Utah game
that week, he had us all huddle up around him.
We had a big red tackling Demi and and this

(29:19):
is the year before he retired. He threw that thing
on the ground and started kicking it to get us
all hyped up.

Speaker 5 (29:24):
It was. It was probably one of the greatest things
they ever seeing coach Edwards do.

Speaker 6 (29:29):
And and then that year we went on on to
we played it at in Salt Lake City at Rice
Cycles and we ended up. Let's see, they had the
best kicker in the nation, one of the top kickers
in the nation, and we brought him down to the
very end of the game where he had a chance
for I think it was like a thirty eight yard
field goal, just a gimme field goal, and he hit
the goalpost and.

Speaker 5 (29:50):
Everyone stormed around the field.

Speaker 6 (29:52):
And then as much as you know Derek, Derek Stevens
in our middle linebacker, his dad was in the in
the stands on the fo row and a Utah fan
was getting in a fight with him, and Derek jumped
into the stands to join the fight as Derek's dad
laid out the the Utah fan and gave up bloody knows.
And yes, great memories. It's such a great rivalry. And

(30:15):
I feel like I'm really excited that we're going to
have the big the group out there on Saturday morning
to to really really highlight what this rivalry is.

Speaker 2 (30:29):
Great stories.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
I mean, look, everybody I think has a story or
two about this rivalry game as a fan, as a
as a media member, as a football player, and so
because of all those anecdotes, because of all those unique experiences,
you know, we we love this rivalry game. And and

(30:51):
what's crazy is how competitive it has been over the years, right,
It really has been extremely competitive. It's a little bit
lopsided in the modern I think Kyle Whitning gaps twelve
and two all time against the Cougar Sins taking over
in two thousand and five, but he's on a two
game losing streak right now.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
It's on a two game yeah, right now.

Speaker 6 (31:12):
You know, last year, as we start to renew the
rivalry and you get a lot of guys like I
had Kiwan come come over to the shop last year,
and I just started feeding these guys what this rivalry
really is, to try to get them to understand how
big it is.

Speaker 5 (31:29):
And I'll tell you what. You know, if you talked
to Qlan today about.

Speaker 6 (31:32):
It, you know that one of the biggest rivalry games
ever played in you know, and that's the same with
Trey Alexander and I mean, these guys are just dancing
around the inZone last year after the game, but really
felt the energy of the rivalry and it's going to
be super excited.

Speaker 5 (31:49):
It's great to have two ranked teams. I wanted us
to be undefeated.

Speaker 6 (31:52):
And I wanted Utah to be undefeated to make it
even a bigger game.

Speaker 5 (31:57):
But I'm excited for the game.

Speaker 6 (31:58):
I think that we got to minimize some of the
mistakes that we made against Arizona. We got to really
lock things down a little bit. And I think we'll
have some of our some of our go to guys
back with Jack Kelly. And you know, I haven't heard
on Raider de Mouney. I'm hoping Raiders back. When he
took that hard hit to the ribs, you know that
that looked painful.

Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, And I got to correct myself. I was doing
my math. Grigley.

Speaker 3 (32:22):
Kyle Whittingham's eleven and five all time against the BAYU
Cougars since two thousand and five as the head coach.

Speaker 5 (32:30):
But do you think he came back to beat b Whitey.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
I do I think his legacy? My theory is this,
My my thesis is this.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
I guess I should pose the question first, is Kyle
Whittingham's legacy as the greatest coach in Utah football history,
based more so off of his dominance versus b Yu
Okay or his double digit win seasons and shared conference

(33:05):
championships in the Pac twelve and really never truly getting
over the hump into that elite status, right, Like you
know which one is it? More so based off of
and I tend to lean more towards the rivalry game
than what he's done outside of the rivalry game.

Speaker 2 (33:25):
Your thoughts, I.

Speaker 6 (33:27):
Think it depends on who you ask, right and and
after Saturday, I think some people's opinions might change.

Speaker 5 (33:35):
You know. I think Utah fans going into this game,
it's a it's.

Speaker 6 (33:38):
A huge one for his legacy, you know, whether or
not it ends up being that, you know, I don't
necessarily think so.

Speaker 5 (33:47):
I think he has been a great coach. He's been
great for the state of Utah.

Speaker 6 (33:51):
He's a players coach just like Colonias, and I know
that his players love to play for him. He's done
a lot for the Innsity And you know, let's be real,
he's a he's a BYU alumni.

Speaker 3 (34:05):
Hey, you know, the greatness comes from the fount of
b Yu right, the provo it does the Provo pipeline.
If you will look at all the coaches in the
NFL in college football, you know they came out of BYU.

Speaker 2 (34:21):
It was a good one. There's a great pipeline coming
out of Provo right now.

Speaker 6 (34:24):
There is well And for me, you know, I look
at this game. You know, I never wanted Utah to
win it. And then all of a sudden, my teammates
were coaching at Utah. You know, I had I had
Klate and a Rod and and then Jay Hill from
Rix was coaching there. So everything kind of changed at
one point where it's like, you know, I wanted Utah

(34:46):
to win their games, except I wanted them to always
to lose to BYU every year.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
Totally get it. So how do you see this game
playing out?

Speaker 3 (34:57):
You know, they're from an objective metrics standpoint, what they've
been able to produce on the football field thus far.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
They mirror each other to a degree. I mean they
really do.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
Sure, they mirror each other, and they're more alike than
they are dissimilar. And they Utah is a slight favorite
heading into Lavelle Edwards Stadium.

Speaker 2 (35:17):
So I like that, What do you what do you
make of this?

Speaker 5 (35:21):
Well, I mean I liked that that that that.

Speaker 6 (35:23):
We're the underdog at home with a with a better
ranking and a better record, because that's going to drive
some fuel into the players and the coaches, uh you
know there. I feel like I watched you know, a
number of plays of the Utah game this past week
against Arizona State, and you know, I feel like they
were they were kind of one dimensional, you know, and

(35:46):
in their attack. Now now they didn't have to do
much more because they were pretty much rolling over Arizona State.
But they are real similar, real similar. And that We've
got quarterbacks that can run the ball. We've got two
offensive lines that are amazing, you know, super strong, able
to move the pile. And I think that in the end,
the team that wins this game, it's going to be

(36:08):
down to that that the offensive and defensive lines and
who is able to control that line, and and that's
really going to determine it.

Speaker 5 (36:16):
I do think special team is going to play a
big role this week.

Speaker 6 (36:19):
These rivalry games bring out, in my opinion, these special
teams extraordinaries. You know, with Keeland last year on the
kick return man, Parker's just just feels like he's just
close to breaking the punt. You know, so I think
this special team is going to play a big role
this week. But man, I'm just excited this is that

(36:40):
that week. It's probably the only week that I post
on my Instagram stories every day about the rivalry. You know,
just just a little bit started out with Max Hall
of course what it is with his favorite interviews of
all time, and you.

Speaker 5 (36:56):
Know, so it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Speaker 6 (36:57):
It's going to be interesting to kind of see who
gets out and who gets in front.

Speaker 5 (37:03):
These games are are momentum based games.

Speaker 6 (37:06):
You know, we get whoever has that momentum is at
the end of the game that last five six minutes
of the game.

Speaker 5 (37:13):
The momentum is typically who wins that game.

Speaker 6 (37:16):
So it's going to be interesting to see who can
hold more momentum throughout the entire.

Speaker 5 (37:21):
Game than the other team. And I feel like that'll
be the winner.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
Jared Bledshell Utah Protective Films Utapprotective Films dot com. What
offers do you have for our listeners for all of
our individuals listening in today, they're at Utah Protective Films.

Speaker 6 (37:38):
Well, if you mentioned Ben Krittle and ESPN the Fan,
we'll give you fifteen percent off any of our services.
And you know, for a full vehicle, color change, paid protection,
film rap, that savings can be pretty pretty good. We've had,
in fact, a customer that it was over at almost
a twelve hundred dollars savings with that.

Speaker 5 (37:58):
Discount, we're happy to give it.

Speaker 6 (38:00):
We'd love to hear that that you guys are listening
to to Ben and supporting Ben and and yeah, we
wonder you think we can to support Ben and BYU
football and yeah, let's go go Koog's.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
Love it man.

Speaker 3 (38:13):
Well, we appreciate you always joining us. A couple last
things before we let you go. What was your reaction
when you saw James Franklin being fired from Penn State after,
you know, being a top ten coach in college football
over the last decade. I mean like he was in
the colle football Playoff in the semi finals last year

(38:34):
and all of a sudden he's five hundred through what
six games or so, and the donor base, the fan base,
the athletic department is kicking him to the curb and
paying him almost fifty million. While doing it, they are
hoping that somehow the Who's the most beautiful woman right now?

Speaker 2 (38:56):
In the in the world is it.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
They're they're dumping their wife of ten years, twelve years,
hoping that somehow, some way, what like Sydney Sweeney's gonna
answer their call, answer their text, answer their DNA.

Speaker 2 (39:12):
Jlo's still up there. But you know, jo Man, Hey, hey,
Jalo's getting old. He's just a number, like they are hoping, like, Hey,
I hope they answer.

Speaker 3 (39:22):
I hope Sidney Swiney answers my call, you know, hopefully
fingers crossed.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Sorry, we got a lot to offer here at Penn State.
We have a lot to offer. Yeah, they messed up.

Speaker 6 (39:34):
So my feeling initially when I heard it, I was
kind of embarrassed for the altogether, for the athletic department.
I felt like, uh, I'm not a Penn State fan,
but I felt let down that they could let.

Speaker 5 (39:48):
Basically the expectations are excellent or you're out. That's it.
That's it.

Speaker 6 (39:53):
You can't have a bad season according to the Penn
State administration.

Speaker 5 (39:57):
And yeah, that's kind of the feeling that I had.
I was just embarrassed by how they handled that.

Speaker 6 (40:03):
Uh, you you you're not going to have an exceptional
season every single year. Uh, there's so many factors that
play into that, so and and and in the end,
let's say they go and get the higher that they want, right,
or they get the the dream candidate that they they
always thought they wanted and the guy comes in and

(40:24):
and and half the half the players transfer out right
and he starts over and has a bad season next year?
Are you going to fire him now or are you
going to give him a chance to have a bad season?
You know, so they've set up precedence that is, it's
it's going to be hard to hold every single guy
to that same standard, or you're going to be driving

(40:44):
through coaches year after year and uh it, and and
the grass isn't always greener. I think that you absolutely
should have given him through the end of this year
to see if he could turn that thing around.

Speaker 5 (40:56):
And and let's look at some of the teams they play,
like U C. L A's coming come that to be
a pretty darn good team now, right. I don't know.
I don't think that it was the right move. I
think that.

Speaker 6 (41:09):
The administration is allowing the donors to do and have
too much of a say in the program itself.

Speaker 5 (41:16):
And to say that I hope it backfires.

Speaker 6 (41:19):
I don't because I don't hope that for the players,
but sometimes I hope it for the administration because.

Speaker 5 (41:24):
I don't think that they're looking at it with the
in the right perspective.

Speaker 3 (41:28):
What it shows me, it's kind of the disconnect. Even
like if I take a study, an individual study the
PAC twelve for instance, and what led the PAC twelve
to die a slow and painful death. The administrators, the
decision makers were so disconnected from the reality of the
college football situation, the game of the game, right, they

(41:50):
had no idea what was changing, They had no idea
what was going on. And do that humorous their pompous nature.
They're in titlement. They fell prey to the pride cycle,
right and overvaluating themselves, overvalued themselves, etc. Like what's been

(42:11):
happening over the last five years with the transfer portal
and with the free market, capitalistic college football landscape that
we're living in now, is that you're becoming more like
an NFL league, which means the Kansas City Chiefs can

(42:32):
beat a team that I mean, what have they got
to five hundred now? Kansas City right now at five hundred, yeah, right,
Like you could be a five hundred team and still
make it into the playoffs because you're the best team
at the end of the year. But you're a three,
four to five loss team, but you're the best team
in the playoffs, right because it's about trending in the
right doors. At the end of the year, you're gonna

(42:52):
see more parody. You're gonna see two and three loss
teams eventually getting into the college football playoff.

Speaker 2 (42:59):
That's what you're gonna see. And there's way more parody.

Speaker 3 (43:02):
There's a reason why Nick Saban's out of the business now.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
He saw the writing on the wall. He knew he
could not happen unhopoly anymore. He knew it well.

Speaker 6 (43:12):
And the amount of money that's coming in from outside
sources that might not have been affiliated with athletics prior
to NIL and prior to these opportunities to make money
within the NCAA football industry.

Speaker 5 (43:29):
There's now there's so many more hands involved in each team.

Speaker 6 (43:33):
There's so much more money, millions and millions of dollars
that's coming in with expectations placed on that, Like, these
guys aren't putting that money in without expectations, and so
I think there's just too much going on around some
of these teams where there's too many, too many hands donating,
too many hands that are saying, my money's here, and

(43:54):
I expect this out of my money.

Speaker 5 (43:56):
And if I'm not getting this return or I'm not
getting X, Y and z, if something has to change,
and then the pressure that they put on the administration's got.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
To be a mess.

Speaker 3 (44:05):
Yeah, the incompetence is seeing new levels in my opinion,
in this modern era from a leadership standpoint, you're seeing
it everywhere. Jared, we got to run, but it's always
a great segment. Inf i'd everyone head on over to
Utah Protective Films. Utah Protective Films dot com mentioned myself
for fifteen percent off any of their products or services.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Jared, thanks so much for joining us.

Speaker 5 (44:26):
Thanks Ben, appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
Guys, All right, great stuff.

Speaker 3 (44:29):
That segment was brought to you by also the UTAIH
Advocates BYU fans. Football is back and you know what
that means with traffic's going to be crazy the game day.
During game day, especially during the Holy War, everyone's rushing
to Lavelle Edwards Stadium. We advise you to slow down,
stay alert, drive safe, keep your head on a swivel
but if the worst happens and another driver's negligence lisha

(44:52):
injured with medical bills you can't pay. Call the Advocates,
their award winning injury attorneys. They've helped thousands across Utah
get compensate they deserve, and you'll never pay a dime
out of pocket. You've been in a car accident, motorcycle accident,
you've had a you've experienced a dog bite, even injured
while jogging. The Advocates handle it all. They're available to
twenty four seven three sixty five. You didn't deserve to

(45:15):
be in an accident, obviously, but you do deserve an advocate.
Call them eight oh one three five five fifty five
to fifty. That's eight oh one three five five fifty
five to fifty, or visit UTAI Advocates dot com.

Speaker 2 (45:25):
Guys, that's our show. We're sticking to it.

Speaker 3 (45:28):
Please download the podcast iTunes, Spreaker, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify,
give us a rating, give us a review.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
We appreciate it when you do. Also support all of
our sponsors.

Speaker 3 (45:37):
We can't do our show without our sponsors, so please
when they have a product or service, a call to action,
a value add let them. Try to earn your business today, Kugarnation.
Appreciate you guys tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow as
always here on your Utah ESPN Radio Network one oh
three nine ninety eight point three ESPN The Fan
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.