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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
To know the Cougar's opponents and rivals right now, you know,
know the faux segment Tod Cougar Sports with Ben Kretelber
Welcome back Cougar Sports. One of three nine ninety eight
point three ESPN the Fan. I'm Benfurtal broadcasting from our
Bantererwealth Studios, Batterwealth dot Com. Get on a free Q
and A no obligation doing vast Q and A with
our tax more wealth advisors certify financial planners. Nobody does
it better than Banterwealth Banterwealth dot Com. It it's time
(00:23):
to get to know the FOUE b YU Prepping for
the U of A Wildcats. Uh, they're gonna be declaring
bear down and b YU will be declaring bear Bachmeyer Up.
It'll be an interesting game down there in Tucson.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Is you of A?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Is a much improved team from last year, especially I
think defensively last year offense they had they had firepower. Uh,
they they were a good team there. They were a
good team offensively the year prior. They have great personnel.
The defense is much improved I think from last year
to this year, and they're they're gonna give their best
(00:58):
effort at home We're gonna break it all down and
much more here on your UTI ESPN Radio network. This
segment gonna be brought to you by Orthropos of.
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Speaker 2 (01:30):
Let's get out to the hotline.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Welcome in you of a insider Wildcat authority. UH, the one,
the only Jason Sheer, what's up, Jason? How theck are you?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Thanks for having me, guys, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Always a pleasure, always a blessing. Jason H.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I love this game BYU versus U of A. It's
kind of an underrated regional rivalry game for me. There's
some good history between these two teams. UH, back and forth,
always a close game, some some nail biers over the
last twenty thirty years in my opinion, And how do
you see this game as a kind of a regional
(02:05):
now where a conference type of not the rivalry game
by anyways, but it's kind of becoming maybe something like that.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, I think when you look at the Big Twelve,
I mean, beyond the teams that Arizona came over with,
there's a lot of familiarity with BYU, Like there's not
much familiarity with the other schools in the Big Twelve
besides you know the Utah, Colorado ASU, But with BYU
there is, like there's a history. So I think that
even you know, last year, there's probably more engagement with
(02:35):
Arizona fans for that game there were maybe others because
you could look back and say, Okay, these teams have
played recently, Like you said, there's been some close games.
So I think it is developing into something. And I
think that you know, as long as it's competitive and
they keep playing, it'll it'll continue to go in that direction.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, I mean you're looking at the wins.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
The loss is BYU have thirteen wins in this this game.
You have a with twelve wins and there's actually one tie.
Now b Yu has won I think the last four,
so they're on a bit of a tear, little bit
of a winning streak. But that could change this year
in Tucson. What makes you believe that it could? Maybe
there could be a flipping of the script.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
If you will. I think the biggest you know, when
I look at the game, you know Byu is favored
for a reason. But the thing that sticks out is
Arizona's defense is much improved from last season. And a
big reason why is they disguise a lot of coverages.
They're aggressive, they're they're pretty unique, especially compared to what
(03:35):
they ran last year. So when I look at it
and I try to find an advantage for Arizona, as
good as bear Bachbuyer has been and he's been awesome
road game data, Gonzalez, the defensive coordinator, is gonna throw
some stuff on him that maybe he hasn't seen this
year and try to confuse him as much as possible.
And when looking for an advantage, I think that Arizona
(03:55):
might be able to kind of come up with ways
to slow him down a little bit. Could be wrong, obviously,
but I do think that there's kind of some intrigue
there with what Arizona's going to throw at him and
whether or not he'll be able to handle it.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What's the identity of the U of a team offensively,
defensively and special teams wise?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know, defensively, they're aggressive. They are absolutely aggressive, dating
gets laws the def it's a coordinator preaches it all
the time and just says they're they're basically he says
they have to be violent, and they are a significantly
better cackling team. They're more aggressive. They're completely different from
last season. Offensively, you know, it's it's it's balanced. I
(04:37):
think it's more balanced than people thought because the offensive
coordinator sayth a day, he has an air raid background
learned from Mike Leach and all that. But they've been
pretty balanced throughout the season. You know, the identity, it's
hard to kind of put a label on it because
there's been games where they run the ball and be
they basically do whatever's working. If BYU takes away the
(05:00):
run game, they don't have any problem with passing it
more often. But it's something where they're going to spread
the ball out. It's a lot different than last year
where it was just throw the ball to t back
and see what happens. They have multiple receivers, and you know,
on special teams, to be honest, they've been struggling. Special
teams is by far the weakness of this team. They
(05:20):
made some changes last week with punt return and all that,
but field goal kicking has been inconsistent. That's something they're
kind of working on and overall. You know, if I
were to pick one side of the ball, one unit
that is kind of the struggling a little bit of
would be special teams.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Jason Sean here, and I like something that you said
right there that I kind of maybe want to touch
on a little bit more where you mentioned kind of
culturally what this what Danny Gonzalez has done with the
UFA program since moving over from the special team's share
to the to the d seed chair. Just what have
been kind of the big difference is culturally in that room.
(05:58):
B Yu Fens are very well quite with Danniganzalez from
his time and New Mexico. He's part of the Rocky
Long Cree. They saw me Senego State and that kind
of thing has there been like a noticeable shift and
in just sort of how this defense, I guess, kind
of acts, like not even necessarily talking like schematic and
play calling and that kind of thing, but just sort
of how they how they are, like how they how
(06:20):
they sort of appear. I guess since he took over.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, yeah, night and day. I mean, it's just completely different.
I think the biggest thing that that we see is accountability.
Last year, there wasn't much of it, whether it was
coaches or players or whatever. And what you'll see this
year is when a guy makes a mistake in a
positive way, the other guys are on them, like, hey,
you know, they have a basically a thing where just
don't allow a touchdown and whatever it takes, don't allow
(06:46):
a touchdown, and they hold each other accountable for it.
And I think that's the biggest thing is you know,
a place stuck out and Danniganzalz talked about it the
other day where a guy got beat a few weeks
ago against Kians State that completely burned early on in
the game, and his teammates gone on him because it
was a very simple mistake. And meanwhile, the rest of
(07:06):
the game, the guy played the best game of the season,
and so the accountability. The cohesion that this defense has
is just completely different than it was last year.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Love that, and there's a lot of progress down there
in Tucson. There was a bit of concern after a
rough start in the Brennan tenure.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
In the Brennan era.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Has some of that, you know, the scepterfuge and the
backbinding and the question marks within the fan base, maybe
the donor base. Is that playcated now with five games
into the season.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
A little bit, not completely. And I think a big
reason is that when you look at Arizona's schedule, you know,
they beefed in Kansas State's their best win. I don't
think Kansas State's awful, but the other wins were Weaver State,
Hawaii just nothing, not a lot there. Then they go
to Iowa State and they get blown out. I think
this weekend is actually a really big weekend for how
(08:03):
fans will look at Brent Brennan. If Arizona can find
a way to play this game really close or win it,
I think fans will be kind of moving in the
right direction. If Arizona gets blown out, you know, Brent Brennan,
really people to start saying where is the progress? Like
it looks better against bad teams, but at the end
of the day, the two best teams at Arizona says
they you know, they would have got them blown out
(08:23):
by So I think fans are kind of hesitant to
get behind Brennan and the possible success right now. I
think this weekend is a big weekend. But I also,
you know, people realize that this team is better than
last year's team. But at the same time that, I mean,
that's not saying much. I think last tear, you know,
by the end of the year was a pretty bad
football team.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
What's the the scouting report on BYU from the coaching
staff this week? What's been kind of the rhetoric within
the program if they look out towards BYU.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
You know, Brent Brennan has known KLANE for a long
time and always speaks very highly of the program, And
basically it's they're very consistent and they're very tough, Like
you better get ready for a physical game when you
play b YU, and the players will set it too
that basically they're going to have to match BYU's physicality.
(09:17):
And you know, Brendan's gonna have a pressor here in
a few hours and we'll talk more about BYU, but
you can just tell that there's a lot of respect
for that program and kind of saying like, look, you
know that's that's the way we want to play. Just toughness, consistency.
They don't make a lot of mistakes, you know, Arizona
loss in the road to Iowa State because they basically
(09:37):
turned the ball over four times. And the theme has
been looking, if we turn the ball over four times
or anything like that this weekend, we're going to get
killed again because b YU is going to take advantage
of it. So a lot of healthy respect and then
the efficiency and toughness of BYU is something that sticks up.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Jason Sheer, Wildcat authority representing a two four to seven
sports network here on esp and the fan getting to
know the foe, the U of A Wildcats as b
YU preps to take on the Wildcats down in Tucson. Now,
there's some inclement weather on the way, thunderstorms, lightning, I mean,
look now, the good stuff. There's precipitation in the forecast,
(10:16):
not only a precipitation, but like deluge, like our hurricane
heading towards Tucson. What's the status right now of this game,
and what are they gonna play it at the at
the scheduled time?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
What are we talking about here?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So it's funny a lot of people in Tucson are
still skeptical because they told us that this would happen
last month, that everyone got ready and brace themselves, and
they didn't. We didn't even get an inch of rain,
Like it basically disappeared like right when it was supposed
to hit. So we're like, okay, like we're doing this again.
But at the same time, the model show that on Saturday,
(10:52):
Tucson is just gonna get pounded by rain. And so
from what I understand, the Big Twelve is aware of it.
They're gonna see what the model says tomorrow. And there's
a legit chance that if the model shows that there's
gonna be a lot of rain, because the rain's not
supposed to start until basically game time, So if the
model shows that there's gonna be a lot of rain
around that time, the thunder swims and all that there
(11:13):
is where that they can move the game up, that
they would make it earlier. And I don't know what
time or any of that, but I know that it
has been very preliminary discussions, and that's obviously something that
they would have to decide tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So this is currently scheduled for six pm kickoff I believe, right,
six pm?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Okay, so five pm?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yeah, okay, so five pm down to Tucson, eight pm Eastern,
six pm in Mountain Standard time, and it's going to
be broadcast on ESPN two. I'm wondering what the impact
would be as far as the television rights records. So
you could always move to ESPN News, you can move
it to ESPN Plus. You could just stream it, right,
But what do you think could happen there?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah? I mean I don't know. I would assume ESPN News.
Are they just streaming on ESPN Plus. I mean the
crews out here, they so you know, it's not They're
gonna have to televise it somehow. I don't. I don't
know what games are on earlier in the day, but
I doubt they move any of those. So I would
I would just think ESPN News or ESPN Plus.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, could you do both?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Could you put it on ESPN News and on ESPN
Plus if you want to stream it?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yeah? Molt why not?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
You know you could have too, You could have the
digital streaming platform, and you still grab a few Nielsen
ratings on that, so you don't lose all of it now,
I don't I don't know. I don't know how the
advertisers would feel about it, right. You may have to
have some sort of a reduction of you know, a
little discount now because it's not on ESPN too. I
don't know how that works.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
That's a good question, that's sure how that works either.
I mean, they're definitely it's funny because you know, you think, oh,
they just moved the game, but there's probably so many
conversations that have to go along with it. Yeah, from
not only TV but stadium and getting ready now everybody
has to get there earlier. It's probably pretty long conversation.
That's probably from what I understand has already started.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
You said earlier, Jason ron Weaver. Here have they talked
about three hours before? A whole four hours? We're talking
about like a two pm kickoff, a one pm kickoff?
Like what if? Maybe have you heard about what the
new kickoff time could be?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I'm not sure. I think it depends on the model.
My guess would be, you know, like one or two.
But because the rain doesn't really. According to the models
and stuff, it's gonna start porn pretty much around game ten,
so it'll be like a light rain in the game time.
It's from like five to nine. It's supposed to be
really bad. So my guess is they started around one
or two and try to do that. But I think
(13:37):
a lot of it also depends on the models and
what they're saying tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Look, I don't want to be one for rampant speculation,
but this is sports talk radio, so let's speculate a
little bit. ESPN two is.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
What we're supposed to do, right, It's what we do best,
right right, That's what we do.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
ESPN two is scheduled to air Louisiana and James Madison
at ten am Mountain time. So I'm just saying like
there's a really easy hole to fill right there. Then
I think broadcasters would love to have Byu Arizona. No
offense to the Dukes. I love all Louisiana's doing this
year as well. I feel like that's a whole that
could very easily be filled if we're talking television and
(14:13):
having things for weather.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, there's a better matchup like that.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Again, not to speculate too much, right, guys. But but
we all know how these we know all know how
TV works. We all know how how television works. You're
looking for ratings, you're looking for kind of that bomp
and that sort of thing. I think there are ways,
and I think this kind of speaks to your point
a little bit, Jason, where where if weather really is
going to be an issue, Like, there are plenty of
ways to kind of work this game time and this kickoff,
(14:42):
and and and scheduling this game in around what is
allegedly or projectionally right now scheduled to hit Tucson this
Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's ways to moving around and stuff.
It'll be interesting what advertisers want. And there's a of
conversations going on. And for all we know tomorrow they
look at the models and they're normal and they just say, okay,
let's just do business as usual.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Jason Sheer here on ESPN the Fan. Now, if if
if there is a day, Luce, there's no lightning and
thundering and it's just water, right, you can play through water.
You can have a sloppy game down there in Tucson.
Which team is better built for a sloppy game in Tucson.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
My guess is b y U. B Yu's you know,
run game this season has been has been dominant at times.
Their offensive line has been good. I I you know,
to me, while Arizona has been able to run the
ball pretty well, they need to pass it to have
that that running success. I think b y U is
their their power run game is is probably built more
(15:50):
than Arizona is a run game in order to have success.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Jason, this this this matchup, I would say for for
BYU's schedule, right, this is the toughest opponent that Bi's
faced all season long. And maybe you know, one of
the tougher venues the Boulder was pretty tough.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Obviously it was a close game for you of A.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
On the other hand, is this U of A's toughest
game or did they face the toughest team on their
schedule to this point at Iowa State?
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I would stay on the
road that's been the tough The toughest home game Arizona's
had is Hawaii, and so you know, it's that's what
the question is, right Like BUYU is to me, is
the is probably the biggest home game of the Bran
Breman era, and I really and I know it's been
(16:41):
a short era, but when you take a look at it,
it's a big game. It's just a big game for him,
for for the fan base, for what people think about him,
for his future. Like it is a really good game
because if they get blown out again, where's the progress?
And I think fans will started questioning it. This is
this is a very big game for the trajectory of
(17:03):
the program this season.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Jason Sheer here on ESPN the Fan, how do you
see this game playing out? Let's say we move it up.
It's you know, it's a it's a good weather game.
How do you see this game playing out? B Yu
only a one and a half point favorite here, and
I believe the over unders said at forty seven and
a half. ESPN Analytics does like BYU in this game
as a slight favorite as well. I know Bill Conley
(17:27):
put out his score prediction BYU maybe by three if
I'm not mistaken or it's a close one. How do
you see this game playing out if there is no
inclement weather?
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I actually I'm probably gonna pick Arizona. I think it'll
be a very close game. I don't feel very good
about it. But Arizona being at home, you know, I
like the fact that it's still you know, as good
as as Bear's been this season. He's still making a roadstart.
I think Danny Gonzalez is going to throw some stuff
at him that he hasn't seen before, you know. And
(18:00):
then he did that against Kansas State, where him stuff
that wasn't even on tape. And overall, you know, I
think Arizona can find a way to win this game.
But again, I don't feel good about it. You know,
like I used, still a good team, their favorite for
a reason. I would be surprised that if this plays
out like last year, where BYU just just runs all the.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Rare Zeta Jason and the coach Brennan press conference earlier
this week, he asked the fan base to respect b
YU this weekend. We've seen over the last few years,
and look, this goes back a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
When I was a player. We used to be here.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
It was consistent the f the Mormons chant, right, and
so the probability of the the student body just taking
matters into their own hand and and maybe abiding by
the tradition and and uh uttering the F the Mormons
phrase from from the student, I guess stection.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
What's the probabilit are that happening?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I would be I would be surprised. I mean, Brent
Brennan's been very vocal in saying don't do it. Riley Wilson,
one of the linebackers, was vocal and saying don't do it.
I would be surprised, just because they've made it such
a talking point. But you know, you put us, you
put some alcohol in the students, and they do them.
They do dumb things. So I could tell you I'd
(19:22):
be surprised, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't
because of that reason. But yeah, they they've definitely made
it a talking point to not do it.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, Jason this uh.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
As far as players that b YU fans need to
know offensively and defensively, highlight a few of them and
maybe where they've made improvements from last year to this year.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Offensively, Ishraael Mauti, the running back transfer from Texas State.
He's been one of the better running backs in the conference.
At wide receiver, Jave and Wally who's a small guy
but really fast and and probably they're they're more explosive
wide receivers vers. Defensive lead Genesis Smith is probably one
of the best safeties in the country. He's really good.
(20:06):
He's an NFL guy. He is their best defender. He's
the guy whould keep a close eye on. And then
the linebackers. I you know, Riley Wilson is a guy
where he started, he had to sit out the first
few games of the year. He's healthy now. I think
he's the best linebacker on the roster. So those two
guys on the defensive side of the ball are by
far to me the ones that stand out.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Jason Sheer, Ladies and gentlemen, the Wildcat Authority Insider.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
How can we support you? What you do, how you
do it?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Jason Wildcatauthority dot com, the Azy twelve podcast online, and
then the Wildcat Scoop podcast as well.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Love that man.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
What final question for you, knowing this team like you do,
seeing what what they've done up to this point. What's
your prognostication win loss prognostication?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
What was it at the beginning of the season. Has
it changed at all?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
What do you what are you kind of leaning into
right now from a win loss prediction standpoint for the
u of a Wildcats Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
At the beginning of the season, I thought Arizona was
a five win team. I difficulty finding the six win
I think now it's closer to a seven win team.
I think they'll be able to steal some here that
the schedule gets significantly harder now than it was in
the first half. But I think Arizona is a better
team than I thought it would be, so I think
it could kind of sneak some lens in there and
(21:27):
make a bowl game.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Jason Sheer. Ladies and gentlemen, we salute you. We appreciate
you as always love talking ball with you. Can't wait
for basketball season too. This Big twelve Conference the best
basketball conference I still think in the country. It's the
G League with the university logos on it. How psyched
are you about the basketball season?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Oh, I'm pumped. I'm always pumped about this. This is
basketball conference is just awesome. I'm always excited it's going
to be close again. So much talent. Yeah, I get
pumped about basketball.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, I'm excited to see these these big time matchups
in conference play. Jason, we salute you, man, thanks so
much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Once again, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
There you go, that's Wildcat authorities.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Jason Sheer, support him, follow him fantastic follow on x
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Let's take a brief time out. We'll be back, though.
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O three nine ninety eight point three
To know the Cougar's opponents and rivals right now, you know,
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(00:23):
to get to know the FOUE b YU Prepping for
the U of A Wildcats. Uh, they're gonna be declaring
bear down and b YU will be declaring bear Bachmeyer Up.
It'll be an interesting game down there in Tucson.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Is you of A?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Is a much improved team from last year, especially I
think defensively last year offense they had they had firepower. Uh,
they they were a good team there. They were a
good team offensively the year prior. They have great personnel.
The defense is much improved I think from last year
to this year, and they're they're gonna give their best
(00:58):
effort at home We're gonna break it all down and
much more here on your UTI ESPN Radio network. This
segment gonna be brought to you by Orthropos of.
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Speaker 2 (01:30):
Let's get out to the hotline.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Welcome in you of a insider Wildcat authority. UH, the one,
the only Jason Sheer, what's up, Jason? How theck are you?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Thanks for having me, guys, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Always a pleasure, always a blessing. Jason H.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I love this game BYU versus U of A. It's
kind of an underrated regional rivalry game for me. There's
some good history between these two teams. UH, back and forth,
always a close game, some some nail biers over the
last twenty thirty years in my opinion, And how do
you see this game as a kind of a regional
(02:05):
now where a conference type of not the rivalry game
by anyways, but it's kind of becoming maybe something like that.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, I think when you look at the Big Twelve,
I mean, beyond the teams that Arizona came over with,
there's a lot of familiarity with BYU, Like there's not
much familiarity with the other schools in the Big Twelve
besides you know the Utah, Colorado ASU, But with BYU
there is, like there's a history. So I think that
even you know, last year, there's probably more engagement with
(02:35):
Arizona fans for that game there were maybe others because
you could look back and say, Okay, these teams have
played recently, Like you said, there's been some close games.
So I think it is developing into something. And I
think that you know, as long as it's competitive and
they keep playing, it'll it'll continue to go in that direction.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, I mean you're looking at the wins.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
The loss is BYU have thirteen wins in this this game.
You have a with twelve wins and there's actually one tie.
Now b Yu has won I think the last four,
so they're on a bit of a tear, little bit
of a winning streak. But that could change this year
in Tucson. What makes you believe that it could? Maybe
there could be a flipping of the script.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
If you will. I think the biggest you know, when
I look at the game, you know Byu is favored
for a reason. But the thing that sticks out is
Arizona's defense is much improved from last season. And a
big reason why is they disguise a lot of coverages.
They're aggressive, they're they're pretty unique, especially compared to what
(03:35):
they ran last year. So when I look at it
and I try to find an advantage for Arizona, as
good as bear Bachbuyer has been and he's been awesome
road game data, Gonzalez, the defensive coordinator, is gonna throw
some stuff on him that maybe he hasn't seen this
year and try to confuse him as much as possible.
And when looking for an advantage, I think that Arizona
(03:55):
might be able to kind of come up with ways
to slow him down a little bit. Could be wrong, obviously,
but I do think that there's kind of some intrigue
there with what Arizona's going to throw at him and
whether or not he'll be able to handle it.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What's the identity of the U of a team offensively,
defensively and special teams wise?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know, defensively, they're aggressive. They are absolutely aggressive, dating
gets laws the def it's a coordinator preaches it all
the time and just says they're they're basically he says
they have to be violent, and they are a significantly
better cackling team. They're more aggressive. They're completely different from
last season. Offensively, you know, it's it's it's balanced. I
(04:37):
think it's more balanced than people thought because the offensive
coordinator sayth a day, he has an air raid background
learned from Mike Leach and all that. But they've been
pretty balanced throughout the season. You know, the identity, it's
hard to kind of put a label on it because
there's been games where they run the ball and be
they basically do whatever's working. If BYU takes away the
(05:00):
run game, they don't have any problem with passing it
more often. But it's something where they're going to spread
the ball out. It's a lot different than last year
where it was just throw the ball to t back
and see what happens. They have multiple receivers, and you know,
on special teams, to be honest, they've been struggling. Special
teams is by far the weakness of this team. They
(05:20):
made some changes last week with punt return and all that,
but field goal kicking has been inconsistent. That's something they're
kind of working on and overall. You know, if I
were to pick one side of the ball, one unit
that is kind of the struggling a little bit of
would be special teams.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Jason Sean here, and I like something that you said
right there that I kind of maybe want to touch
on a little bit more where you mentioned kind of
culturally what this what Danny Gonzalez has done with the
UFA program since moving over from the special team's share
to the to the d seed chair. Just what have
been kind of the big difference is culturally in that room.
(05:58):
B Yu Fens are very well quite with Danniganzalez from
his time and New Mexico. He's part of the Rocky
Long Cree. They saw me Senego State and that kind
of thing has there been like a noticeable shift and
in just sort of how this defense, I guess, kind
of acts, like not even necessarily talking like schematic and
play calling and that kind of thing, but just sort
of how they how they are, like how they how
(06:20):
they sort of appear. I guess since he took over.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, yeah, night and day. I mean, it's just completely different.
I think the biggest thing that that we see is accountability.
Last year, there wasn't much of it, whether it was
coaches or players or whatever. And what you'll see this
year is when a guy makes a mistake in a
positive way, the other guys are on them, like, hey,
you know, they have a basically a thing where just
don't allow a touchdown and whatever it takes, don't allow
(06:46):
a touchdown, and they hold each other accountable for it.
And I think that's the biggest thing is you know,
a place stuck out and Danniganzalz talked about it the
other day where a guy got beat a few weeks
ago against Kians State that completely burned early on in
the game, and his teammates gone on him because it
was a very simple mistake. And meanwhile, the rest of
(07:06):
the game, the guy played the best game of the season,
and so the accountability. The cohesion that this defense has
is just completely different than it was last year.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Love that, and there's a lot of progress down there
in Tucson. There was a bit of concern after a
rough start in the Brennan tenure.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
In the Brennan era.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Has some of that, you know, the scepterfuge and the
backbinding and the question marks within the fan base, maybe
the donor base. Is that playcated now with five games
into the season.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
A little bit, not completely. And I think a big
reason is that when you look at Arizona's schedule, you know,
they beefed in Kansas State's their best win. I don't
think Kansas State's awful, but the other wins were Weaver State,
Hawaii just nothing, not a lot there. Then they go
to Iowa State and they get blown out. I think
this weekend is actually a really big weekend for how
(08:03):
fans will look at Brent Brennan. If Arizona can find
a way to play this game really close or win it,
I think fans will be kind of moving in the
right direction. If Arizona gets blown out, you know, Brent Brennan,
really people to start saying where is the progress? Like
it looks better against bad teams, but at the end
of the day, the two best teams at Arizona says
they you know, they would have got them blown out
(08:23):
by So I think fans are kind of hesitant to
get behind Brennan and the possible success right now. I
think this weekend is a big weekend. But I also,
you know, people realize that this team is better than
last year's team. But at the same time that, I mean,
that's not saying much. I think last tear, you know,
by the end of the year was a pretty bad
football team.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
What's the the scouting report on BYU from the coaching
staff this week? What's been kind of the rhetoric within
the program if they look out towards BYU.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
You know, Brent Brennan has known KLANE for a long
time and always speaks very highly of the program, And
basically it's they're very consistent and they're very tough, Like
you better get ready for a physical game when you
play b YU, and the players will set it too
that basically they're going to have to match BYU's physicality.
(09:17):
And you know, Brendan's gonna have a pressor here in
a few hours and we'll talk more about BYU, but
you can just tell that there's a lot of respect
for that program and kind of saying like, look, you
know that's that's the way we want to play. Just toughness, consistency.
They don't make a lot of mistakes, you know, Arizona
loss in the road to Iowa State because they basically
(09:37):
turned the ball over four times. And the theme has
been looking, if we turn the ball over four times
or anything like that this weekend, we're going to get
killed again because b YU is going to take advantage
of it. So a lot of healthy respect and then
the efficiency and toughness of BYU is something that sticks up.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Jason Sheer, Wildcat authority representing a two four to seven
sports network here on esp and the fan getting to
know the foe, the U of A Wildcats as b
YU preps to take on the Wildcats down in Tucson. Now,
there's some inclement weather on the way, thunderstorms, lightning, I mean,
look now, the good stuff. There's precipitation in the forecast,
(10:16):
not only a precipitation, but like deluge, like our hurricane
heading towards Tucson. What's the status right now of this game,
and what are they gonna play it at the at
the scheduled time?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
What are we talking about here?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So it's funny a lot of people in Tucson are
still skeptical because they told us that this would happen
last month, that everyone got ready and brace themselves, and
they didn't. We didn't even get an inch of rain,
Like it basically disappeared like right when it was supposed
to hit. So we're like, okay, like we're doing this again.
But at the same time, the model show that on Saturday,
(10:52):
Tucson is just gonna get pounded by rain. And so
from what I understand, the Big Twelve is aware of it.
They're gonna see what the model says tomorrow. And there's
a legit chance that if the model shows that there's
gonna be a lot of rain, because the rain's not
supposed to start until basically game time, So if the
model shows that there's gonna be a lot of rain
around that time, the thunder swims and all that there
(11:13):
is where that they can move the game up, that
they would make it earlier. And I don't know what
time or any of that, but I know that it
has been very preliminary discussions, and that's obviously something that
they would have to decide tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So this is currently scheduled for six pm kickoff I believe, right,
six pm?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Okay, so five pm?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yeah, okay, so five pm down to Tucson, eight pm Eastern,
six pm in Mountain Standard time, and it's going to
be broadcast on ESPN two. I'm wondering what the impact
would be as far as the television rights records. So
you could always move to ESPN News, you can move
it to ESPN Plus. You could just stream it, right,
But what do you think could happen there?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah? I mean I don't know. I would assume ESPN News.
Are they just streaming on ESPN Plus. I mean the
crews out here, they so you know, it's not They're
gonna have to televise it somehow. I don't. I don't
know what games are on earlier in the day, but
I doubt they move any of those. So I would
I would just think ESPN News or ESPN Plus.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, could you do both?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Could you put it on ESPN News and on ESPN
Plus if you want to stream it?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yeah? Molt why not?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
You know you could have too, You could have the
digital streaming platform, and you still grab a few Nielsen
ratings on that, so you don't lose all of it now,
I don't I don't know. I don't know how the
advertisers would feel about it, right. You may have to
have some sort of a reduction of you know, a
little discount now because it's not on ESPN too. I
don't know how that works.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
That's a good question, that's sure how that works either.
I mean, they're definitely it's funny because you know, you think, oh,
they just moved the game, but there's probably so many
conversations that have to go along with it. Yeah, from
not only TV but stadium and getting ready now everybody
has to get there earlier. It's probably pretty long conversation.
That's probably from what I understand has already started.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
You said earlier, Jason ron Weaver. Here have they talked
about three hours before? A whole four hours? We're talking
about like a two pm kickoff, a one pm kickoff?
Like what if? Maybe have you heard about what the
new kickoff time could be?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I'm not sure. I think it depends on the model.
My guess would be, you know, like one or two.
But because the rain doesn't really. According to the models
and stuff, it's gonna start porn pretty much around game ten,
so it'll be like a light rain in the game time.
It's from like five to nine. It's supposed to be
really bad. So my guess is they started around one
or two and try to do that. But I think
(13:37):
a lot of it also depends on the models and
what they're saying tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Look, I don't want to be one for rampant speculation,
but this is sports talk radio, so let's speculate a
little bit. ESPN two is.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
What we're supposed to do, right, It's what we do best,
right right, That's what we do.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
ESPN two is scheduled to air Louisiana and James Madison
at ten am Mountain time. So I'm just saying like
there's a really easy hole to fill right there. Then
I think broadcasters would love to have Byu Arizona. No
offense to the Dukes. I love all Louisiana's doing this
year as well. I feel like that's a whole that
could very easily be filled if we're talking television and
(14:13):
having things for weather.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, there's a better matchup like that.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Again, not to speculate too much, right, guys. But but
we all know how these we know all know how
TV works. We all know how how television works. You're
looking for ratings, you're looking for kind of that bomp
and that sort of thing. I think there are ways,
and I think this kind of speaks to your point
a little bit, Jason, where where if weather really is
going to be an issue, Like, there are plenty of
ways to kind of work this game time and this kickoff,
(14:42):
and and and scheduling this game in around what is
allegedly or projectionally right now scheduled to hit Tucson this
Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's ways to moving around and stuff.
It'll be interesting what advertisers want. And there's a of
conversations going on. And for all we know tomorrow they
look at the models and they're normal and they just say, okay,
let's just do business as usual.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Jason Sheer here on ESPN the Fan. Now, if if
if there is a day, Luce, there's no lightning and
thundering and it's just water, right, you can play through water.
You can have a sloppy game down there in Tucson.
Which team is better built for a sloppy game in Tucson.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
My guess is b y U. B Yu's you know,
run game this season has been has been dominant at times.
Their offensive line has been good. I I you know,
to me, while Arizona has been able to run the
ball pretty well, they need to pass it to have
that that running success. I think b y U is
their their power run game is is probably built more
(15:50):
than Arizona is a run game in order to have success.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Jason, this this this matchup, I would say for for
BYU's schedule, right, this is the toughest opponent that Bi's
faced all season long. And maybe you know, one of
the tougher venues the Boulder was pretty tough.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Obviously it was a close game for you of A.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
On the other hand, is this U of A's toughest
game or did they face the toughest team on their
schedule to this point at Iowa State?
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I would stay on the
road that's been the tough The toughest home game Arizona's
had is Hawaii, and so you know, it's that's what
the question is, right Like BUYU is to me, is
the is probably the biggest home game of the Bran
Breman era, and I really and I know it's been
(16:41):
a short era, but when you take a look at it,
it's a big game. It's just a big game for him,
for for the fan base, for what people think about him,
for his future. Like it is a really good game
because if they get blown out again, where's the progress?
And I think fans will started questioning it. This is
this is a very big game for the trajectory of
(17:03):
the program this season.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Jason Sheer here on ESPN the Fan, how do you
see this game playing out? Let's say we move it up.
It's you know, it's a it's a good weather game.
How do you see this game playing out? B Yu
only a one and a half point favorite here, and
I believe the over unders said at forty seven and
a half. ESPN Analytics does like BYU in this game
as a slight favorite as well. I know Bill Conley
(17:27):
put out his score prediction BYU maybe by three if
I'm not mistaken or it's a close one. How do
you see this game playing out if there is no
inclement weather?
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I actually I'm probably gonna pick Arizona. I think it'll
be a very close game. I don't feel very good
about it. But Arizona being at home, you know, I
like the fact that it's still you know, as good
as as Bear's been this season. He's still making a roadstart.
I think Danny Gonzalez is going to throw some stuff
at him that he hasn't seen before, you know. And
(18:00):
then he did that against Kansas State, where him stuff
that wasn't even on tape. And overall, you know, I
think Arizona can find a way to win this game.
But again, I don't feel good about it. You know,
like I used, still a good team, their favorite for
a reason. I would be surprised that if this plays
out like last year, where BYU just just runs all the.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Rare Zeta Jason and the coach Brennan press conference earlier
this week, he asked the fan base to respect b
YU this weekend. We've seen over the last few years,
and look, this goes back a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
When I was a player. We used to be here.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
It was consistent the f the Mormons chant, right, and
so the probability of the the student body just taking
matters into their own hand and and maybe abiding by
the tradition and and uh uttering the F the Mormons
phrase from from the student, I guess stection.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
What's the probabilit are that happening?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I would be I would be surprised. I mean, Brent
Brennan's been very vocal in saying don't do it. Riley Wilson,
one of the linebackers, was vocal and saying don't do it.
I would be surprised, just because they've made it such
a talking point. But you know, you put us, you
put some alcohol in the students, and they do them.
They do dumb things. So I could tell you I'd
(19:22):
be surprised, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't
because of that reason. But yeah, they they've definitely made
it a talking point to not do it.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, Jason this uh.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
As far as players that b YU fans need to
know offensively and defensively, highlight a few of them and
maybe where they've made improvements from last year to this year.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Offensively, Ishraael Mauti, the running back transfer from Texas State.
He's been one of the better running backs in the conference.
At wide receiver, Jave and Wally who's a small guy
but really fast and and probably they're they're more explosive
wide receivers vers. Defensive lead Genesis Smith is probably one
of the best safeties in the country. He's really good.
(20:06):
He's an NFL guy. He is their best defender. He's
the guy whould keep a close eye on. And then
the linebackers. I you know, Riley Wilson is a guy
where he started, he had to sit out the first
few games of the year. He's healthy now. I think
he's the best linebacker on the roster. So those two
guys on the defensive side of the ball are by
far to me the ones that stand out.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Jason Sheer, Ladies and gentlemen, the Wildcat Authority Insider.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
How can we support you? What you do, how you
do it?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Jason Wildcatauthority dot com, the Azy twelve podcast online, and
then the Wildcat Scoop podcast as well.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Love that man.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
What final question for you, knowing this team like you do,
seeing what what they've done up to this point. What's
your prognostication win loss prognostication?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
What was it at the beginning of the season. Has
it changed at all?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
What do you what are you kind of leaning into
right now from a win loss prediction standpoint for the
u of a Wildcats Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
At the beginning of the season, I thought Arizona was
a five win team. I difficulty finding the six win
I think now it's closer to a seven win team.
I think they'll be able to steal some here that
the schedule gets significantly harder now than it was in
the first half. But I think Arizona is a better
team than I thought it would be, so I think
it could kind of sneak some lens in there and
(21:27):
make a bowl game.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Jason Sheer. Ladies and gentlemen, we salute you. We appreciate
you as always love talking ball with you. Can't wait
for basketball season too. This Big twelve Conference the best
basketball conference I still think in the country. It's the
G League with the university logos on it. How psyched
are you about the basketball season?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Oh, I'm pumped. I'm always pumped about this. This is
basketball conference is just awesome. I'm always excited it's going
to be close again. So much talent. Yeah, I get
pumped about basketball.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, I'm excited to see these these big time matchups
in conference play. Jason, we salute you, man, thanks so
much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Once again, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
There you go, that's Wildcat authorities.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Jason Sheer, support him, follow him fantastic follow on x
And it was brought to you by ortho Pros of
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Let's take a brief time out. We'll be back, though.
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