Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our next guest covers college football for The Athletic and
(00:02):
joins us on a regular basis. Chris Cameronnie, if you
walked into Smith's and I gave you a ten dollars
Smith's gift card, how are you using that?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Young man?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
I would probably buy three bags of Albanis s gummy
bears because that is my vice in life. And I
think the bags average out to be three dollars and
fifty cents, So yeah, that's what it would be.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Okay, there you go, there you go. All right, A
very sizable piece of news broke earlier today.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I know that some have taken a social media you
fans masquerading his media members to say it's not a
big deal.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It very much is.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Sam Levitt is now out, he is not playing tonight,
and Jeff Simms is going to be under center. Jeff
Simms has played a lot of college football.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
And none of it very well.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
He was a very good high school quarterback, good dual
threat who started his career at Georgia Tech and actually
had his last years when he was younger, inaccurate passer,
adequate runner.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
But what does this excuse me?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
What does this piece of breaking news in your opinion
mean for the game tomorrow night.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
It means that a must win game for Utah remains
a must win game for Utah, and if anything, it
puts more pressure on the home team because Arizona State
is going to be without it's best player, arguably one
of the best quarterbacks in the conference, probably the quarterback
that has the highest pro upside at the next level,
(01:36):
even though he hasn't played as well as he did
last year. And yeah, you're going to be going up
against the guy who I think is kind of your
ideal backup quarterback in this new era of college football,
a seasoned veteran who isn't as talented as your QB one,
but a guy who isn't going to see, you know,
(01:56):
deer in the headlights type stuff once he goes in.
I will say, I remember, the last time I watched
Jeff Sims play a game was when Nebraska was at
CU in Dion's first year, and I think he threw
like four or five interceptions and that CU team wasn't
even that good. So granted, now I'm sure he's playing
around more talented players at ASU than he was during
(02:19):
his time at a bad Nebraska team, But that's all
to say that, Yeah, I mean, he's a guy that's
going to be a dual threat. He's going to run
the ball, and if the weather shapes out to be
like we're seeing it potentially can be tomorrow night, then
he will probably be more of a threat on the
ground than in the air.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I think it's their only option, and even if it
was Sonny in seventy, it might be their only option.
I mean, the best year that Simms has had throwing
the football sixty completion rate as a sophomore, and for
his career he's about fifty six percent completion rate.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
He was an adequate but not great runner at Tech.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
He was a good dual threat quarterback coming out of
high school transfers to Nebraska, didn't play much. He's only
started one game for Arizona State. They lost that game.
But if he does one thing above average, it is
run the football. I mean, I'm sure they're going to
try to throw it up to Jordan Tyson, but this
might be a situation ck where it's a one trick pony.
(03:22):
And obviously the Ralik Brown kid has had a really,
really good year, but this to me takes away the threat.
Even with Jordan Tyson on the outside of their ability
to potentially, you know, throw the football, looks like it's
going to be out of necessity. Arizona State trying to
ground and pound. What does that mean for Utah on defense?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It reminds me potentially of a game at Austin Stadium.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And I can't remember exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
What year it was, but Utah was fairly highly ranked
going to play an Oregon team that was kind of
down that year.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
And Oregon ended up running like.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Two hundred and eighty three hundred total yards of offense
on the ground, and they had a quarterback that could
barely throw and he was a huge threat on the ground.
So that's all to be said that. You know, while
Utah can probably predict how things are gonna go, you
still have to go out and execute. And while the
defense has looked good against bad teams, it held up
(04:25):
against a good team for you know, three quarters. But
Asu is no pushover. I mean, they're the reigning Big
Twelve champions. So you're gonna have to If Utah's gonna
want to stay in the Big twelve mix, they're going
to have to go to toe toe to toe with
the with the champs and beat him no matter who's
under center. Interested to see how the tackling issues sort out.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I know that's been a point.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Of emphasis for Kyle and those guys the last few weeks.
I know that they didn't have as many against West Virginia.
I think it was like around ten compared to it
was like twenty three against Tech. So all that to
be said that Arizona State has various skilled players on offense.
Releak Brown is you know the USC transfer who once
upon a time was being used kind of as a
(05:10):
slot type player, and now he is primarily a running back.
And obviously Kenny Dillingham knows what he's doing. And then
you mentioned Jordan Tyson, who will probably be a first
round draft pick next spring even if Jeff Simms struggles.
If he's a fifty six career completion percentage quarterback, if
you can throw it in the general vicinity of a
(05:31):
guy like Jordan Tyson, more often than not, that will
work out for you.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
I will just proceed with caution.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
If you are a Utah fan who's jumping up and
down saying like we got this in the bag, Utah
hasn't won a big twelve game at home since they
joined the conference. And if it gets thirty five mile
an hour, wins and starts pouring rain at rice ecles,
it could be tricky. And if there's one thing that
Utah's offense has struggled with, I mean, I mean there've
(05:59):
been a few, but guys like Wayshaun Parker, I've had
trouble holding onto the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
So this will be a game.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
As you know, any football junkie like myself or yourself
would tell you ball security, field position, all of that
stuff is going to come into play.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So the Levitt News has obviously affected the line for
this game. You know, it opened up Utah minus one
point five was the opening line. It shot up really
quickly within a few hours, and then within a day
it had settled with Utah about a five point five
six point favorite. As we sit here today, Chris, the
(06:42):
six sports books have in front of me all have
now Utah favored by nine point five points. Does that
feel right? And you know, like, don't bet on sports
just don't do that. And with the line that big
in inclement weather potentially part of the equation, this feels
like it could have a thirteen to ten like feel
(07:02):
all over the place as far as the potential of
what we could see.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
What do you think of the line moving the way
that it has.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah, I don't know much about sports betting, but nine
and a half does seem like a stretch going into
a game like this.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Thirteen to ten might be a little bit on the
lower side, but a twenty to seventeen type deal makes
makes perfect sense. I'll just say, like the next two
weeks and frankly for the you know, the rest of
the season when Utah has really good teams ahead of them,
Like these are the types of games that Utah brought
Devin damp Here in to win. Like, you know, a
(07:40):
lot of Utah fans are high on the prospect of
Devin damp Here and what he can do. And he
has some, you know, tantalizing plays, but you know, you
brought him in to be able to beat the raining
Bag twelve champs.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
You bought him.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You brought him in to be able to beat your
rival next week on the road. Like this, to me,
no matter you know, if it's obviously it's not gonna
be Sam Levitt, but if it's Jeff Sims or whomever,
like this is to me, this is the type of
game that Devin dan Pier needs to show the fan
base and the coaching staff and the country that like
he's the he's the quarterback that everyone believes him to be.
(08:15):
And that's not to say that he hasn't been good.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
He's he's been fine.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
But against Tech, he was hampered and he wasn't good.
So like, when you coming up up against these teams
that are ahead of you and the standings that have
won conference championships before, it's time to kind of.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Show your worth.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And that's what I'm looking at these next two weeks.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
And Arizona State, like Utah, like BYU, like a lot
of the teams in the Big twelve. You know, it's
just hard to know exactly who they are based off
of who they've played so far. I bring that up
because the data at this point, and look, they have
played two Big twelve teams, and two Big twelve teams
(08:58):
that a lot of people believe would be I'll just
say in the upper half of the conference with Baylor.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
And TCU, and they beat both of.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Them, went to Starkville and lost a close game to
Mississippi State, and I think a lot of people believe
Mississippi State is among the worst teams in the SEC,
but they should have beat Tennessee. But the numbers simply
say this ck Arizona State has been very stout against
the run and not good at all.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Against the throw game.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
As coach Witt would say, they at this point when
we sit here and you look at the numbers, they're
top ten rushing defense in the country, not just the conference,
top ten rushing defense in the country, and they're one
hundredth against the pass. So look, again, the weather will
have an effect, But if these numbers are real based
(09:44):
off of what we've seen so far, and you can
only go off the data that's in front of you,
I feel like Devon's gonna have to throw it. And
maybe his ankle was really really bad against Tech. That
was the storyline after.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
The game, but the one really good defense.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Look, I think Tech is probably heading shoulders above a
lot of teams in this conference.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I think they've shown that so far.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
But if they're eighth in rushing defense one hundredth in
passing defense, it feels like Devn's gonna have to throw
a little bit, and against subpar competition. Devin has been good,
can he throw it if he needs to the way
that Utah needs him to to win the game tomorrow night.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Will he have time? And I guess I'll say, like,
this is the type of game along with you know,
Devn's arrival. Can he announce himself as the type of
Utah quarterback that can lead them to you know, potential
conference contention later on in the season. Is this Utah
offensive line that's gotten so much praise and individually and collectively,
can they show up and be able to put a
(10:41):
an opposing defensive line on their heels and say, bullyball time,
We're going to run the ball thirty five to forty times.
We're going to get that two hundred and fifty yards
of you know, rushing yards that Kyle wants. Can we
do that regardless of the weather conditions? I mean, I
think that's it because if if they can establish the
(11:03):
run game, that will help. But to your point, can
they can they pass protect? Can they give Devin enough
time to throw because as you know, like just because
Arizona State's bad against the pass doesn't mean that's his
secondary issue. Primarily, it could be that their pass rushing.
Pass rushing isn't as good as their you know, their
(11:25):
their their ground attack up front.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
So that's all to say that I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Devon's gonna have to throw in order for UTA to
beat a very good ASU team without its starting quarterback,
without its star player.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
But who's he going to be throwing to?
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Like if you're Kenny Dillingham and that defense, it's like, okay,
you key in on number nine, like he's obviously Devin's guy,
and you find a way to try to neutralize down Bentley,
and then what do you do if you're Devin, if
you're Utah's offense. I think like that's part of the
equation that as I think a lot of Utah fans
(12:02):
wondering how this rest of the season is going to
shake out, because like, yeah, Ryan Davis has been good
and he's been reliable, but eventually you're gonna have to
be able to have two to three other guys, in
my opinion, step up and make the type of plays
that allow you to be in the mix come late
October early November.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
So Dallas vaka Loacki is probable. Jackson Benny was not
on the injury report at all. Nate Ritchie out and
not season ending according a wit, but it looks like
he's going to miss some weeks. So you know, certainly,
based on the past few years, the health at this
point of the season has to be celebrated, but you
never know what's going to happen, and they've already lost
(12:44):
three safeties.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I bring this up as a result of.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
A conversation I have this week with Trevor Riley, and
Trevor was very adamant that Utah football does not have depth.
And Trevor goes to practices, he's at all the games,
he's in communication with the staff. Like if Trevor believes
that to be true, then I'm sure there's some truth
to it, and I would.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Imagine they're very well aware of it up there.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Maybe that's why they didn't go live very much during
fall spring. You know, they're utilizing some defensive players on
offense and Trevor's point as that indicates his point, which
is they don't have depth, and potentially this is just
part of the new reality of the sport because Lane
Kiffin himself last week TESPN gave an interview and discussed
(13:29):
kind of this dynamic where dynasties are over that you know,
the days of Nick Saban being able to tap into
a five star backup if his defensive end gets hurt.
Are over Because if you're a five star and you're
playing behind another five star, another big time program is
gonna come grab you and pay you and tell you
you're gonna start there. But what do you make of
(13:51):
this dynamic because it felt like the past the final
few years.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
In the PAC twelve, the narrative was we did have
depth here. You actually did build up the depth that
they need.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
But do you feel like, to Trevor's point, this is
a roster that is a little bit void to the
depth that they need to survive a season.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
I think both things can be true, Spence.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
I think there was a time where, whether it be
because of the COVID years or hitting on guys in
the portal, or just retaining players that developed later, Utah
did have more depth than it had in previous years.
But you know, roster attention and just roster building in
(14:30):
college football is going to be cyclical, obviously, but now
it's going to spin at a higher rate more than
ever because of the portal. And you know, obviously that's
going to change now with only one window. But I
don't think Trevor's wrong. I mean, listen, there are two
trains of thought here, Like, yes, Utah was smart to
(14:50):
be able to deploy its best athletes early on in
the season on both sides of the ball because it
helped them win games. Do I think Utah would be
UCLA without Smith, Snowden and Lander Barton on offense?
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Yes, I do.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
It looked good and they look like they fit the bill.
But Trevor's not wrong. And we've talked about Utah and
this is all to me. This is always going to
be the same broken record topic. Utah has always had
a problem with at the skill position, with skill positions
(15:23):
on offense, and it's been like this for Kyle's entire tenure.
You look at the amount of shopping that they did
in the portal. You know, lots of state media were saying,
get stoked about this guy who barely played at Southern Miss,
Or get stoked about Tobias Merriweather. He's got NFL in
tangibles like those guys might come along and they might
(15:45):
make a difference, but so far they haven't. And you know,
a lot goes into that. It's not always on the individuals.
It's a team game. You know, Devn's got to see
those guys when they're open. The offensive line has to block.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
I get it.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
But still, ironically, through all through all the random changes
of offensive ideologies and minds and phases, like, Utah still
is a running team under its new offensive coordinator. They
have one good receiver that they that Devin can throw
(16:19):
to at the moment, and they have a good tight end.
It sounds like basically Utah offense the Utah offense for
the last twenty years. So that's all to say that
Utah does not have depth where it used to and
you're seeing, uh, you're seeing it drop off. I mean,
once upon a time, you know, Utah's secondary could have
(16:40):
the types of guys step in when when guys went down.
But that's all to say that I think when Utah
stays healthy, like most teams like, they generally have good seasons.
But I think this season is emblematic of where the
program is and how that they can't necessarily rest on
(17:00):
their laurels going forward because they have to find a.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Way to improve that depth.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I mean, I told you, I text you, I thought
like you're in Trevor's discussion the other day, was was
very enlightening. And I know, I think a lot of
people think that Trevor is, you know, howling at the
moon often, and he might, you know, I don't know what.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
He does, you know at night.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
He might be a howler, but he everything that he
said was was spot on in my mind. And I
think if you're asking somebody who has a finger on
the pulse of the program, I think Trevor Riley's the
top of the list.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Well.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And then further into the discussion was the conversation and
this is as this is as a result of what
Texas Tech did to Utah here in Salt Lake and
what Texas Tech has done to every team they played,
is whether or not the economics are where they need
to be for Utah to keep up. And again, just
to be fair, the lack of depth issue. I mean,
(17:57):
I heard a college football podcast talking about how Georgia
has no linebacker death this year. Now Tennessee is in
trouble because they've lost a couple of players in their
defensive secondary.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
This is not a Utah problem only, but certainly when you.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Look at you know, the studies done by Matt Brown
from Extra Points about the budgets that college football programs
have at their disposal top rate their program and you
combine that with some of the reports that we have
with you guys at the Athletic and on three elsewhere
of the top.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Spending NIL schools.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
There's not an entirely straight line between that list and
the top twenty and the AP but there almost is.
You know, obviously there's Texas, there's Penn State, the number
one and two team in the country to start the season,
and now we're out of the top twenty five all together.
But it just leads to a bigger discussion. Trevor's point
is his understanding right now is the economic model at
(18:50):
Utah is left wanting a little bit. The question just
simply remains, is Utah on a spot economically to keep
up with the teams that have the ability to spend
and stand. We just got a fifty million dollar check,
Kansas just got a couple one hundred million dollar donation,
and we know the deal with Texas Tech, and obviously
there's a school down south forty miles from us that
seems to have figured this stuff out.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
So give me your thoughts on that.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Yeah, I think we've talked about this before, and I
will say yes, you can tell that there is a
a hole there, and and Kyle really hasn't really, you know,
tiptoed around that either when he's asked in public settings
like which is.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
It's not surprising, but it's also.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
It goes to show that Kyle kind of understands that
the deck that he's dealing with right now. I will
say that, well, we could look at this from like
a top heavy level down like it BEFO. We're putting
BYU and Tech in theory in the in the upper
echelon of the big spenders of the Big twelve, and
(19:57):
maybe BYU just mainly basketball so far, but.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
Tech hasn't won anything yet. I mean, like they put together.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Maybe the deepest roster in the Big twelve, but they
still have to get through the rest of their schedule.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
You never know how things are going to shake out.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
What Utah has going for it is it's part of
the newest era of the Pac twelve, meaning that somebody
is going to beat another team on a weekly basis
that nobody saw coming.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Kyle said it.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Himself in the Monday presser like he did, and see
Cincinnati beating Iowa State, and I think a lot of
people who know college football didn't really see that either.
That game wasn't as close as even the final score
showed it to be. So that's all to say that
I think Utah eventually is going to have to find
the man with the golden goose, and hopefully, you know,
(20:47):
for them, if they're able to get there, then that
will probably allow them to be able to spend and
retain and go out and be more impactful in the portal.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
But I think my whole stance is going to be.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Until the until the Big Twelve establishes a quote unquote
heavyweight at the top. And by heavyweight, I mean the
type of team that wins the conference and wins a
couple of games in the playoff and then maybe does
it a year or two in a row after that.
Then I think everyone can start to sweat. I just
don't see that happening in this conference.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
I just don't. I mean, like, if you're looking at
look at it.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Look at a school like Colorado that has, you know,
the biggest superstar coach in the sport and has you know,
hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact and media
rights impact and all this stuff, and they're two and three. Now,
it always is going to come down to roster construction.
I get that, but this is a very long winded
way of saying nobody in the Big twelve is great,
(21:48):
and I don't know if anybody's going to be great
in the Big twelve for a long time.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Is there a chance the Tech is that team this year?
I mean, after what.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
They did to Utah, and then you know, combine that
with the and landscape of the conference where maybe outside
of Tech there is not another elite team. Do respect
to BYU who's undefeated, and Utah and Iowa stayed in others,
but Tech has not played a close game this year.
And that includes a game here in Salt Lake, and
I know the narrative, and it was a bit of
(22:17):
a rock five through.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Three quarters, but you pull away. The final score is
where the final score is.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
They go to Houston and improve Houston team at least offensively,
that's what the numbers say, and they just curve stomp them.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
They get Kansas at home.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Jaylen Daniel's gonna have to play the game of his
life to make that thing close. Most people that cover
this conference, Chris, believe that it is Tech and everybody
else do you believe.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
That I do, But so far, like we are probably overestimating,
or I can say we were at the time overestimating how.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
Quote unquote good Utah was.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
At the time, I think a lot of people fell
in love with the start with the addition of Devin
that they had the quote unquote best offensive line of
history of the school, you know, the typical Kyle Witting
Morgan's scalley defense. You have to see how this thing
plays out on a week to week basis and then
eventually you can assess assess the entirety of the schedule
at the end of the year. But so far, to me,
(23:11):
Texas Tech hasn't played anybody that great. And yes, you
have to play whoever is on your schedule.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
I get that.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
But we talked about last week, like their schedule is
very easy throughout the rest of the throughout the rest
of the Big twelve Conference, So like, yeah, they could
they could win it, and then they could maybe get
matched up with somebody that they don't want to see
in the in the second round of the playoff. If
if a good SEC team gets in at you know,
(23:40):
eleven or twelve, and they get to go play them
the same way ASU drew Texas last year. I just
think I don't think anybody in the Big twelve is great,
and I don't know if any team in college football
is great this year. And I think that is also
a byproduct of the parody that's going to be introduced.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
In the nil era, in the oral era.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
I think it's healthy for college football. I know some
people say, you know, the dynasty's help. I'm more about
spreading the wealth. But I just don't see a pathway
for a Big twelve team currently that says like, yeah,
I'm going to pick them against Ore again, I'm going
to pick them against you know, Ohio State. I'm going
(24:23):
to pick them against Miami.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I just don't see it.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So the conversation we've been having this week and your
take on this is that I don't think two losses
completely kills your chances. I don't think two losses is
a death sentence, but it might be, And certainly with
those two losses potentially being against two teams.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
That you will be competing with at the end.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Utah has already lost to Tech and so Texas Tech
has the tiebreaker over Utah.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
They lose tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
They have Arizona state has the tiebreaker reputes. If Utah
wants to win a Big Twelve championship is tomorrow night
simply put a must win.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yes, because it would be in theory if they lost
another home loss as well, meaning that you would have
to make up for that against other teams later on
in the season.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
More likely than not on the road.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Then the fact that you get BYU the next week
at Lavelle Edwards Stadium, who will either be six and
oho or five and one and ahead of you in
the in the conference standings. Yeah, I mean, I'm with
you on the on the two wins basically keeps you alive.
But to lose your first two Big Twelve Conference home
games of the year, I think would be a death Now.
(25:37):
I just don't really see that.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
That would mean.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
One, this team isn't as good as a lot of
people said they were going to be. And two, you
know they the conference will be able to shake itself
out without Utah. So yeah, I think, I think if you.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Be a su you're you're in okay shape.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
But I think once you get once Utah gets a
second loss, then it's gonna They're going to find themselves
in a precarious position. But again, I'm going to always
go back to you know precedent, and you and a
lot of your listeners remember that crazy finish to the
twenty twenty two Pack twelve season, when like Utah needed
(26:16):
like six things to go right for them the last
two weeks of the season, and everything did. Then they
end up smoking USC in the Pack twelve title game
and get a second berth into the Rose bul So
it's not fair to compare different totally different eras, But
I'm just saying, like there is a recent precedent that
Utah had, you know, kind of been on live support
(26:38):
so to speak when it came to contending for a
conference title.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
It eventually worked out.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
I just don't think that this team is as good
as you know, those teams when when Cam Rising was
healthy and they had you know, the Dalton Kincaids of
the world. And yeah, I just think I tried to
warn everybody, you know me, I think a lot of
people think that I'm this bummer guy. I know, I
know I exude that, but you know, let's see how
(27:06):
these games play out. Because everyone was saying, Devin damp
here for Heisman and Utah is going to steamroll the conference.
It's like, no, man, you got to see how this
team is put together on the fly, see if they
can stay healthy, and see if they can beat good teams,
because so far they've played one good team and they
did not.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Win last thing.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
I was thinking about this after watching I think it
was Arizona who just dismantled Oklahoma State and Mike gun
he's lost his job. Players who did the transfer portal
like they don't even look like a college football team.
They were picked to win the Big Twelve a year ago.
This stuff is so fleeting and it could change at
the drop of a hat. I mean, Bill Belichick might
not coach in two weeks, but if Utah loses tomorrow
(27:47):
night against Arizona State, it's another Big Twelve home game
they lose. Utah for the past few years feels like
it has been a benefit of the doubt program from
media members who just say, well, yeah, Kyle Woodingham's the coach,
They're they're going to be in every game. Are we
doing Are we getting dangerously close where Utah football is
no longer a benefit of the doubt program.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
That's a great question.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
I think a lot will be decided on how this
season shakes out. Honestly, I think if if Utah finishes
eight and four or nine to three, I.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Think I think that will continue.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
If if the wheels fall off and you're talking six, six,
five and seven, uh yeah, I mean I think that
would be fair. But I think a lot would have
to go wrong. I think you'd have to see a
lot of injuries.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Pile up as they have the last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
And that is one thing obviously you you can't really
plan for.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
You just have to deal with.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
But that's that's part of the reason why Spence, like
I say, like instead of going off of this off
the theory, go off.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Of the evidence, go off the data.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
And that's why you know, when Utah West healthy, you
know those few years were cam rising, when they had
all those stars on defense, when they had a future
I think Dalton was a first round pick, when they
had a future first round pick as you know, a
combo tight.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
End, wide receiver whatever.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Like yeah, like the concept the data was there because
they were winning big games and they were doing it
on a weekly basis, and they were going toe to
toe with teams that were as good and sometimes you know,
on paper quote unquote better than them the last couple
of years, with the amount of injuries they've dealt with,
with the amount of roster turnover, with the uncertainty of
(29:38):
you know, with the Andy Ludwig departure, I think you can.
I think we got to see how the season turns out.
But that all goes back to my point of saying,
like instead of just going off of what you see
on Twitter and saying, like, guys, this guy's gonna be it,
it's like, let's see if that guy actually does it
(29:58):
and does it against good teams on a weekend to
week out basis for a long time. Like unfortunately, people
are going to still being up in arms about the
end of Cam's career and how you know, the will
he will he not be limping off against ASU, but
like when he was healthy, like he did it.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Man.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Like the same thing with with you know, guys like
Tyler Huntley and Brian Johnson and Alex like you have
to have the proof. And I think it's so easy
for some people to glom onto this notion that no
I read somebody say this on Twitter or I read.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
This that you know, Devin Dampier is going to be the.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Dark Dyke, dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate guy, And I'm like, oh, man,
like let like he he has he has as you
like to say, as the kids like to say, he
has juice. But let's see him do it against good teams,
and let's see him do it week in on, week out.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Well, Christopher, it should be interesting tomorrow night. I do
think the quarterback news changes a lot, even though some
people may disagree. Appreciate the time. Man, give Leo high
five and I'll see you, soume yes, sir. Chris Camaraddi
covers college football for the Athletic and does it at
a very elite level on social media. At Chris Camaraddi
(31:17):
is where you find him for the links to all
of his work, all right,