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October 9, 2025 27 mins
Catch “The Drive with Spence Checketts” from 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays on ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM. Produced by Porter Larsen. The latest on the Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Utes, BYU + more sports storylines.
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Eighty three chance of rain Saturday night about eight fifteen.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
That is pertinent information for you.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Because that's kickoff time for Utah and Arizona State. Utah
five point five point favorite. Arizona State is the number
twenty one team in the country according to the AP
four and one overall, two and oh in the Big twelve.
So a big one Saturday night here in Salt Lake City.
Our next guest joins us every week to top college football.
Maybe we'll sneak in a little soccer with our buddy,

(00:29):
Kyle Bonna Gera Kyle, Happy Thursday, buddy.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
How are we doing?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Do good spence? Looking forward to looking forward to the weekend?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yes, sir, and this is a big one, you know, Kyle.
It just comes down to this. Utah has beat the
teams in front of them, that the talent gap is there,
and Utah has been superior in those games. And then
the one really good team they've played, they did not
pass the test. Now, it was about a three to
three and a half quarter rock fight against Tech. Unfortunately

(00:56):
it got loose at the end. So if you didn't
watch the game, and do you see the score, or
you think Tech came in here and smoked them, and yes,
the scorer is the score. I'm not trying to, you know,
run away from that. But here's where I want to start.
I don't think two losses is a death sentence or
will completely eliminate you from a Big twelve championship potential,
but two losses against two teams that you will be

(01:18):
jockeying with at the end might be enough to kill
a season. Just how big do you think this game
is Saturday night for Utah?

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I think you all ended
pretty well. I mean, you just have to look back
to last year, right I think there were four teams
that finished the season, the regular season in the Big
Twelve with two losses, and you know, I think you're
you know, I think Texas Tech is probably for me
a tier above right now. But like, look, if you
if you lose two games, you kind of take it
out of your hands. Right There's tie breakers that come

(01:50):
into play, and you kind of get get lucky with
you know, what your schedule looks like, who you lost to,
and all of those things. So it certainly puts you
behind the ape on. I think if you have two
losses this early in the season, that also it kind
of takes the wind out of your sales to you, right,
because then you're not going into the next game really
believing that that's what you're playing for, and it's it's

(02:12):
more of like a hope and a prayer that you
can kind of, you know, muscle it out and hope
for other results to go your way as the season progresses. So, yeah,
this is a big one. You know, Arizona State team
of the year with a lot of hype, and you know,
the Mississippi State loss took took some some of the
buzz away, but they've bounced back pretty well the last
few weeks, and so yeah, I mean it's a it's

(02:35):
a clear, you know, turning point game for either program.
It isn't a state that you know, it doesn't have
a loss in conference play yet, so maybe it's not
as big for them, but it's certainly one of the
biggest games that the Big twelve has on the schedule
this year.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
So where I've kind of landed with as U and
you know, we're all cosplaying as experts because the bottom
line has none of us know week to week. But
I think they're really good. I think they're very well coached,
I just don't. I don't think they're as good as
they were year ago. And it's not just the Skataboo thing,
but part of it is that because both by U
and Utah fans got scatabooed hard last year. Now, really Brown,

(03:09):
former five star recruit and you know, former USC trojan,
is having a good year and he's a good back.
I'm not trying to take anything away from him.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Levitt.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Last year, Kyle was second in the Big twelve and
QBR he's eleventh this year. Now he has Jordan Tyson
as his main option, but he hasn't landed on like
a preferred second option.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
There's some tunnel vision there.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
So just kind of big picture where are you at
with this ASU team as far as what youth fans
should know about their opponent on Saturday Night.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Yeah, I mean Brown's good. I mean he's going to
finish the year with you know, probably well over a
thousand yards. He doesn't catch the ball as well as
as scottab because he's you know, he is, you know,
up there in targets for eleven. I think just as
a product of the design of the offense, but he's
not as impactful catching the ball that way. I kind
of like him in open space, He's not He's a

(03:58):
different just a different type of back, right, So you know,
a lot of love for kind of him as a talent.
But look, I think it's gotta be was special and
he was so important to what they did. I mean,
the entire game plan revolved around getting him the ball
in various ways. And so without him, you know, that

(04:18):
was always I think there was going to be in
an adjustment there. It was just like the all numbers
were so big that it was like, well, you just
can't replace that and expect to function at the same level.
But but without him, it just doesn't seem like Levet
is as confident, you know, without scotta be around. I mean, like,
I mean, you point it out, Tyson, he's a good player,
but he's really the only one. I mean, I think

(04:39):
there really isn't another receiver on the team. I think,
you know, Mitteer, I'm gonna sure definitely pronounce his name correct.
With the tight end is kind of been a reliable
option at times. But you know, Tyson is the only
receiver with a touchdown reception on the roster, and that
you know that that says a lot, right he is.
He has focused so much on him, and I I think,

(05:00):
look at there was more options that makes Tyson more effective, right,
Like he was so good last year in part because
the defenses were so key than on Skataboo, and now
like he's still putting up numbers and that's with him
being the focal point of the offense.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
So I know data is in everything.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
And because at some point, I think this problem will
rectify itself, because I still believe that, you know, we
are moving into a world where the non con schedules
will be a little bit more difficult for teams and
therefore a little bit easier for us to ascertain who
these teams are. But the data indicates Arizona State has

(05:38):
been stout against the run, but they're vulnerable in the air.
So I think Devon's gonna have to throw it. And
when you look at what we've seen so far, Devon's
been accurate and good against lesser competition and the reports
where he was dealing with an ankle against Texas Tech,
I don't know if that's you know, after the fact
autopsy excuse or real who knows, But have you seen

(05:59):
enough from Devon Dampier as far as the throw game
and with his arm to believe that he can do
against Arizona State what he's been able to do when
the competition hasn't been a stiff.

Speaker 3 (06:11):
And that's a good question. I think, Like for me,
the Texas State maybe the injury was part of it,
It almost surely was. But like for me, the lasting
kind of image I have from that game, the Texas
Tech Utah game was everything was just so off schedule
because of the defensive line for Texas Tech and like
because it just changed. The players were just not being

(06:33):
run as designed because of the pressure, and that's and
that really is just a credit to Texas Tech upfront.
We know Utah has one of the best offensive lines
they've had, and to get kind of manhandled the way
they did was just so surprised and it's hard to
forget about it. And I just don't think that's going
to be an issue against Arizona State. Like again, like
they've been good upfront as well, but they're they're not
as good as Texas Tech is upfront. And I think

(06:55):
the Utah offensive line should you know, have more control
than they did when he didn't. When when Devine didn't
look at right. So I think he'll be able to
throw it. I think he'll be able to run it.
I do think that Utah is going to be able
to move the ball well in this game. I don't
have the same I don't have any concerns that they're
they're they're going to kind of be slowed down by
Arizona State. I think it's, you know, kind of goes

(07:16):
to the opposite way, like he's just a game where
Arizona stake and kind of get roll. And they've they've
shown some progress last a few days, you know, a
few games, I should say, you know, offensive day, I thought,
after looking really mediocre against Mississippi State. So for me,
it's it's it's how does the defense stack up this
game and doesn't do enough to complement the offense.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
So vinal thing here, and you know, I like, you
don't necessarily make predictions and then you know, track them
and lean on them because I'm wrong all the time.
But my gut tells me Utah it will win the game.
It's a home game, it's a Saturday night where it's
going to be rainy and cold. Night games at Rise Cycles,
it's like a different level of passion and noise and intensity.

(07:58):
Levett's a veteran kid. He's not going to be rattled
by it. Utah is a five point five point favorite.
That feels right. I think Utah probably Win's a close one.
You gotta lean on this at all, Kyle, what's you
gotta tell you?

Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah? I mean, I'm actually I thought the line would
be a little bit closer, just because I feel like
sometimes like there's like a Utah is unranked, right and
Arizona State is ranked. So anything we have like an
unranked team as a favorite against ranked team, like, I
think it's deserved that. I think Utah is the better
team and like should be ranked in Arizona they shouldn't.
But like at the end of the day, like that

(08:31):
stuff does influence betting mattern. People will see the number
next for the name and and and put value on that.
So yeah, I think it's I would lean close to Utah,
but but certainly I feel strongly that you can win
this game.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
B Yu is uh so far clean and they've passed
every test that has been put to them, and the
only question is how difficult are the tests that they've passed.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
Tucson can get weird as.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
You know this road trip when they're gonna take on
Arizona coming up on Saturday. They're going to kick off
let's see about six o'clock Mountain time on ESPN two.
BYUS a one point five point favorite, and I thought
the line would be a little bit bigger than that. BYU,
the number eighteen team in the country. Arizona is coming
off of shlackian of a Mike Gundy list Oklahoma State team.

(09:19):
After they got trounced against Iowa State. They did win
against k State. How good is that? I mean, Noah
fa Fida veteran quarterback home. It feels like a little
bit of a sneaky, tough test for BYU. What do
you make of what we could see as Bergan me
Young travels down to take on Arizona.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
So this is I really like Fafida. I mean I
was really high on him going in to last year
and they just didn't live up to expectations. But it
seems like they found some of what was missing last year.
They changed coordinators on both sides of the ball. It
seems to be working. I mean they linten aggainst Iowa State.
But I was taking you know, is a pretty good
team that game with the names. This is for me

(09:59):
clearly the artist game that b Yu will have played
to this to this point, I do think b why
you should expect to win this game, the one, the
one feels real love for me. I would have put
this around, you know, maybe six or seven, maybe to
Felix five or six. But yeah, it's it's I think
we're still learning what Buyu is going to be authensively,
and I think we talked about it before starts, like

(10:21):
they were able to kind of ease into this season
with a with such a light early season schedule and
for Bachmire that you know that couldn't have spen scripted
any better as a true freshman getting to build some
confidence and you know you should. I guess. My theory
is that, like they should be able to improve significantly
on offense with a true freshman over the course of
the year, Like if you have a if your Arizona State,

(10:42):
I guess, and you and you're the veteran guy back there,
levit you kind of you know, you kind of know
what he is to a degree. Right, It's the the
jump from week one to week seven shouldn't be as
significant as as it is for a true freshman playing
the first college ball. So yeah, like BYU hasn't necessarily
looked explosive on offense throught the year, although they did

(11:03):
show some signs against West Virginia, I think, but this
is this is this is the first real test on
the road against a team that has their own aspirations
of computing for the conference title.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
So Trevor Reiley, who played college ball here for Utah
then went on to play in the NFL for five
six years, was in studio yesterday and he brought up
something that maybe I just should have been a little
bit more aware of, and the way he kind of
expressed it was pretty interesting to me about what he
perceives to be a serious lack of depth for Utah. Now,

(11:38):
you know, over the past couple of years and Lane
Kiffin interview, I think you guys did it at least
I saw it on ESPN dot Com, talked about this
dynamic among some of the best teams in the SEC
and some of the best teams in college football because
once upon a time, Nick Saban could lose a defensive
end and just be like, Okay, I've got another five
star right here to plug in and Now, if you're

(12:01):
a five star recruit and you're not starting, and you know,
back in the day, if you wanted to transfer, you
had to sit out a year, and back in the day,
there wasn't a paycheck to chase.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
Well, if you're not starting to.

Speaker 1 (12:12):
Bama, Kirby Smart will call you, or Steve's Arkisian will
call you or whoever and say, I'm going to pay
you a million bucks to come play for me. And
you leave and you go get the money, you go get,
you go get the time. Is this an issue that
you feel is permeating throughout college football, the inability to
have the depth that you once did, because these kids
can now go get paid and just transfer and go

(12:34):
play where they want to play.

Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, it's an interesting concept, right because it really levels
out the depth charts everywhere. Because if the guy's leaving
Alabama going to go to you know wherever, go to Texas, well,
that means someone's leaving Texas to go to Texas Tech,
and someone's leaving Texas Tech to go to North Texas, right, So,
like it just funnels it down. So you have a
bunch of guys like in the past, like you signed
with your group of five school, right, because you did

(13:00):
have the offers to go to the bigger places that
you're you're probably not as good as some of those
guys riding the bench elsewhere, But now those guys get
shuffled around the money, like the reasons you pointed out,
And so maybe there's more of a depth issue for
like the better teams, but I kind of feel like
it's still the same pool of players. Right, So it's

(13:21):
maybe like the teams on the on the lower end
are are better up front, they still have depth issues.
I haven't really given that much time. I kind of
worried about in my head as we go over It's
it's it's an interesting concept actually, like might want to
look into that further because there's you know, you kind
of open one door. Where where does that leave you? Right?
It just it's a balance and act with where the
kind of the talent's moved around in college football?

Speaker 2 (13:44):
Kyle, is U c l A good now?

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Like you know, watching Utah dismantle them, my takeaway was, yes,
I think Utah is a really good football team, but
U c l A might stink. And Nico Iamaliava, you know,
against Penn State, looked like the kid that we saw
oftentimes at Tennessee, and when he transferred, Like, there's a
reason that was such a big story. If your backup

(14:08):
cornerback transfers, nobody gives a rip, nobody writes about it.
If a really good quarterback from a really good football
team decides to go find a new place to play,
one fan base will be upset.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
The other fan base will be very excited.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
But I'm telling you, I was traveling last weekend and
when I got the alert on my phone for the
Penn State UCLA score, I thought that they messed it up.
I thought they got it backward. So I had to go,
like check in other places if it was real. But
it was real. How stune were you to see a
UCLA team that had not won a football game this
year beat Penn State last week?

Speaker 3 (14:42):
Yeah? I mean not only had they not won a
football game, they hadn't had a lead in any game
all year. They had their own four and then never
held a lead, and that included games against UNLV in
New Mexico. Right, So they weren't just losing, they were
completely they were not competiti in any way. So it's

(15:04):
an interesting case study because, like I think, like when
Utah beat UCLA, Like I think we've ben talked about
it then, like is UCLA a good team? No, that
they're clearly not a good team, but they do have
guys right, like they had individual talent at UCLA. It's
not like you're playing San Jose State or someone that
is just completely in a different tier from a talent standpoint.

(15:25):
It always felt like this was a team that was
just poorly coached and just that was the difference. They've
got good players, They've got gouts on this roster, are
going to play in the NFL. Nico obviously was a
sought after recruit coming out of high school, did some
good stuff at Tennessee last season, and so it I
guess what this shows is not it just shows how

(15:47):
much coaching matters in football and just buying and all
those things. And this wasn't a flukey win against Penn
State either. Sometimes you see an upset where it's like, okay,
they just like a bunch of unusual things happened in
the game, too allowed to happen, Like you, Sela moved
the ball game like it was like watching a completely
different team. And you know, you gotta give credit to

(16:09):
Jerry Newheidel Colin plays. I mean I remember when he
was at UCLA and he came on and kind of
off the bench, had it like the I forget who
it was off in my head, but he had a
big I mean it was Texas. We had a big
game and kind of saved them. And I remember Jim
Morris saying like, one day Jerry new Heisl will be
the head coach at UCLA. That stuck with me then,

(16:29):
because I was like, no, that's an interesting, you know,
comment to make about a player who is who is
on your roster. Now you're already pointing to like, you know,
he's going to be a coach. And I think what
he was saying is that, like, look, this guy gets football.
He's obviously the son of a guy who had a
lot of success as a college football coach, was kind
of groomed into this life. He you know, went to UCLA.
He kind of feels like he was destined for that.
You know, he he anything, everything he accomplished as a

(16:52):
player was because of his like understanding of the game.
And you know, here we are ten years later or
whatever it was, and it kind of looks like one
step closer that that becomes a possibility. It's not gonna
be back in the next head coach, but you can
kind of see a world where down the line that
can eventually happen.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
So, as a lifelong, long suffering fan of the New
York Jets, I'm no fan of Bill Belichick. However, as
we move over to this cluster with Carolina, now you
know the thing about the Patriots run with Belichick is there? Well,
I mean, there was some drama like Spygate, deflate Gate,

(17:30):
all the gates, all the cheating that the Patriots did
during their great run, but they were kind of known
as an organization and it's the same way that the
Utah Jazz have always operated. It's really hard to get
information out of an organization the way that it was
run in New England. And again there was some drama
here there, but this is like next level. And I
don't know what to make of the report that surfaced

(17:52):
yesterday that apparently Belichick was willing to pay a million
dollars to get out of his contract. Signed a five
year deal in December. Lombardi sends out a letter to
the donors saying, hey, this is a rebuild.

Speaker 2 (18:05):
Be patient.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
The reports are now that over the the past twenty
four hours, Lombardi and Belichick have been on the phone
to recruits like, hey, none of this is true, but
when there's this much smoke, there has to be a
little fire. And obviously it's not going well. I don't
want to make the blanket statement that NFL guys can't
do the college thing or vice versa, because plenty of
examples would be going in the other direction. But what's

(18:30):
the Kyle bondigera take on what seems to be utter
chaos with North Carolina football right now.

Speaker 3 (18:36):
Yeah, for me, it kind of feels like, look, this
is a guy who was He's the most successful coach
in NFL history, right. I think that's like by the numbers,
it's hard to dispute that. I think he kind of
just assumes to come in and be Bills Belichick and that
would be enough to win football games. It look I
look like accomplished in the NFL, and now I'm going
to be going up against you know, Wake Forest or whoever.

(18:58):
Like this shouldn't be hard head. It's probably like I
can just it's kind of probably just imagine it. More
than anything. The Michael Lombardy hire was an absolute joke.
He has no business running a roster in college football, right,
He's just not He's just not at that point in
his career where that makes any sort of logical sense.
It's almost like Belichick hired his hired his buddy to

(19:19):
do the job he wasn't qualified for and kind of
overestimated his own ability to coach college football. Like it
just maybe the assumption that, hey, look, I'll be able
to coach in a way that you know, people will
adapt too quickly. You know what. I've kind of heard
other people speculate about people around that program that understand
it is that you know, it just he doesn't really
communicate well with the college players. There's jokes that he

(19:42):
made about, you know, relating to people in that age
group with his own dating history right now that I'll
that I'll stay away from beyond that. But it is
it isn't It is entertaining to watch like a like
kind of like a like a car crash would be right.
I mean, I'm gonna be going to the game at
Cal in a couple of weeks, that's on a Friday,
excited to see that one up close, because I was

(20:04):
really interested to see how this would play out just
because he's the name, and that that makes it interesting
from the jump. But now that it's like gone this direction,
it's almost more interesting to see how he copes with
it because he's just so arrogant as a coach, and
you know, it's hard to be arrogant when you're you know,
you're losing games to you know, UCF and PCU and

(20:24):
you're kind of barely getting by Charlotte. So a lot
of fun for people to lead against.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
I guess another just massive college football storyline, and you
know there's a lot here when it comes to having
the name manning and playing quarterback.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
Period is what has happened with Texas.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
And you know, I've heard from more than a few
people that don't necessarily believe the hype around Steve Sarkisian
is earned, and when you look at results, maybe there's
something there. Sark obviously played his college ball here for
b YU. Now, to be fair, I don't feel like
the offensive line has been great for Texas. The wide
receivers just don't appear to have breakaway speed. They can't

(21:05):
run the football. So there have been moments when Arch
has not been protected. But the moments that he is.
There's something going on as well where he's simply missing throws. Yes,
he's a first year starting quarterback, but he was in
the program last year and we saw a couple of
snapshots that actually looked pretty promising.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
We already talked.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
Penn State the preseason EP one in two teams were
Texas and Penn State, who are now out of the
top twenty five all together. Red River Rivalry where Oklahoma
is a slight favorite.

Speaker 2 (21:34):
That line might move.

Speaker 1 (21:35):
Based off the availability or lack thereof of John Nteer,
But this feels like it must win for Texas or
their season is done. What do you make of what
we've seen so far from arch in Texas as.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
A whole.

Speaker 3 (21:46):
Armercoon in the year again, Manny, like the name makes
it interesting, kind of like Belichick, but like I also
remember thinking, like the Heisman stuff just feels a little
absurd for sure, Like to be the Heisman favorite without
ever having started, you know, can say, hey, I guess
he had a couple of starts last year, but being
being a full fledged starting quarterback, it was not earned

(22:09):
in any way. And I remember writing at the start
of the year like we like he has to end
down comments like the like preseason player rank stuff and
like Manning was I don't know, he wasn't, Like I
forget where he was at, and maybe top twenty five somewhere.
But even like then, I remember writing something to the
effect of like are we sure this is Like are
we sure he's earned this yet? Like we're saying this

(22:30):
guy is the twenty fifth whatever the number was, best
player in the country, but we've actually never seen him
play an extended amount of football at the college level.
It it is one product of the name, and he
came in as a big time recruit, but now you
kind of wonder what was the a big time recruit
because of the name as well, Like he looked, he

(22:53):
looked you know, he put up the numbers and all
that in high school, looks the part, like you know,
seven on sevens and all that. But but now it's like, yeah,
it's it's it's hard to argue with the idea that
this is a lot of hype for nothing. And you know,
losing Florida was bad. I think Texas is in trouble
this week against Oklahoma, and even if they win this game,
but I don't see a world where they're able to

(23:13):
get to the finish line, you know, with with uh
fewer than four losses. He just doesn't seem positive. They
get George on the schedule, they get Texas A and
M on the schedule. Even Vanderbilt probably a better team
than Texas right now. So yeah, for me, they're not
a legitimate playoff threat anymore. But of course, like what
do we know if you since these teams change week

(23:35):
to week as we've seen. So that's that's obviously my
swatch game this weekend.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
All right, before I say you loose, we'll sneak in
a little soccer And no, I will not ask you
about our sl Seattle atlomin this weekend, but I will
ask you about the US men's national team. I think
they have a friendly tomorrow against Ecuador, so we have
some October friendlies. Diego Luna are midfielder here has been
called up and he appears to be a favorite of

(24:01):
Pochettino and feels like he's locked in that slot for
the World Cup that's like eight months away.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
My question is what are we hoping to see in
these friendlies?

Speaker 1 (24:11):
Your thoughts on the most recent call ups, which will
feature more of the big name players, And finally, I'm
gonna ask you three questions and one who's our best nine,
who's our best striker?

Speaker 3 (24:21):
Yeah, so there's a lot there. The roster is like,
this is an interesting window for the first time in
a while because so many of the of the call
ups under Pochettino have been legious kind of mix match
groups where you didn't have a lot of the a
guys in camp together. It was like you would get
Polissick here, you would get Adams there, you would get

(24:41):
you know, whoever may be Death here, Antony Robinson hasn't
been around the team much over the last year, and
so to have those guys, actually I don't think Death
is in right now, but like to have a lot
of the big names here in this window makes these
games more interesting to watch because they become more of
a reflection about what to expect, you know, come the
World Cup. Right, So that's that's kind of that's why

(25:02):
these window, that's what this window is interesting. You have
Equital and then I got Australia on Tuesday, two teams
that are you know, should be should be good competition,
right Luna. Yeah, it's the fact that he has more
appearances than anyone else in the last year with the
national team is for me a clear indicator that he's

(25:23):
on the plane right now. The Pachatina likes him and
wants him to, you know, expects him to be some
sort of contributor whether she's the field and in the
World Cup. I think that's more the question at this point.
And then you know, going to the the nine equations.
I still believe in Ricardo Peppy. I think that you know,
when he's healthy, he is really dangerous. He's he's been

(25:46):
consistent with PSB when he's been healthy. It's either him
or Baligan. You know, Baligan within the US shirt hasn't
produced kind of to the level that I think a
lot of people were hoping and maybe even expecting the would.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
I mean, he was.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
Scoring at a prolific rate in France when he pledged
his you know, pledged his legions to the US instead
of going to England, and I think like at the time,
I remember talking with the president of US Soccer and
he was really excited about it. You know, kind of
the pitch was, look, you can come in here and
you can be the guy from day one. The World

(26:21):
Cup's going to be in the United States. You have
a chance to like be this big international star here
and take advantage of all the limelight that's going to
come with being the like the Star nine for the
host nation. And it really hasn't played out like that yet,
but like from a talent standpoint, he certainly can turn
that on. And it's it's the disappointing about the Puschettino
era so far, as like we just haven't seen those

(26:43):
guys play together with with with Polisic, we haven't seen
him play with kim leya up front like the guys
you would expect to be the difference makers haven't had
a lot of reps together, but for for a lot
of reasons, injuries, you know, personnel decisions like wear and tear,
their their own decisions to to sit out in the
case of policy, and the club Little Cup last summer
kept some guys out. So there's a lot going on

(27:05):
to be interested in with the US national team. So
you know, I'm particularly looking forward to the Tuesday game
against Australia for sure.

Speaker 1 (27:12):
Kyle, good stuff, man, enjoy the weekend ahead and we'll
get you back on next week.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
All right, sounds good?

Speaker 2 (27:17):
All right, all right?

Speaker 1 (27:18):
Kyle Bonnager covers college football and does a little soccer
for ESPN at Bonnager at ESPN is where you find
him on social media. Kyle stops by today courtesy of
our good friends at IFA Country Stores. With IFA Step four,
Fall and Winter Long Food, you'll get stronger roots now
and an early green up next spring. It's the ultimate
law and owner power move.
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