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Bill Riley on No. 6 Utah facing Cincinnati on the road, Holy War next week at 10 + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: I was working in the lab late one night. You're
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: tuned to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch Chevrolet
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  Speaker 1: studio of ESPN 700 at 92.1 FM.
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  Speaker 2: All right, it's a Friday on the Sean O'Connell Show,
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  Speaker 2: and we welcome in the voice of the Utes, who's
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  Speaker 2: about to get on a plane to head out to
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  Speaker 2: Cincinnati to call this game.
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  Speaker 3: Bill Riley here on the Sean O'Connell Show. Hey, Bill.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Hey, Sean. Happy Halloween Eve.
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: Yes, happy Halloween Eve. No costume for you in the
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  Speaker 3: booth tomorrow?
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  Speaker 1: No, no. Just going to go as a sports broadcaster
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  Speaker 1: and hope for the best. Hope there's a lot of
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  Speaker 1: treats and no tricks when we get to Nippert Stadium tomorrow.
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  Speaker 3: All right. Well, we know we don't have a lot
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  Speaker 3: of time with you here, but let's talk about this matchup.
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  Speaker 3: Cincinnati coming off a huge win against Texas Tech. Utah
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  Speaker 3: coming off a huge win. against Houston. I think that
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  Speaker 3: helps with the potential layoff effect after big wins because
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  Speaker 3: both teams are dealing with it. And Utah, on paper,
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  Speaker 3: is the better team. Are we going to see the
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  Speaker 3: better team from Utah on the field tomorrow?
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  Speaker 1: I think so, Sean. I think they've worked through everything.
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  Speaker 1: I think last week's win, I think, again, we'll see tomorrow,
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  Speaker 1: but I think last week's win galvanized them against a
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  Speaker 1: really good team. And to your point, seeing the upsets
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  Speaker 1: around college football last weekend and seeing what Cincinnati did
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  Speaker 1: to a Texas Tech team. Now, granted, I don't think
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  Speaker 1: Tech is what they were a year ago, but that's
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  Speaker 1: still a really good team. That final score was not
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  Speaker 1: indicative of the butt-kicking that the Bearcats gave the Red
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  Speaker 1: Raiders last week. So I would guess, being up there
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  Speaker 1: this week, being around the players and coaches a little bit,
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  Speaker 1: I would guess that Cincinnati has Utah's full attention.
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  Speaker 3: So for the Utes, we've had like a, a couple
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  Speaker 3: of way, Sean Parker games. I think the last game
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  Speaker 3: was very much a Devin damn peer game. We've had
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  Speaker 3: a Bray Brayden pagan game. Is there any other fill
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  Speaker 3: in the blank player game that we're going to get
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  Speaker 3: potentially with Cincinnati? Is there still someone, especially in this
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  Speaker 3: offense that hasn't had the big breakout that, that might
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  Speaker 3: we're we're past the halfway point. So you kind of
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  Speaker 3: are who you are, but is there someone with plenty
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  Speaker 3: left in the tank?
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  Speaker 1: I think we've actually had a Noah Benny game. I
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  Speaker 1: think we've had a Ricky Johnson game. I think we
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  Speaker 1: could have a Daniel Bray game, too, because Bray is
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  Speaker 1: one of those guys that always feels like he's a
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  Speaker 1: step away from going the distance. I'm not saying he's
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  Speaker 1: going to get 15, 17 touches or carries, but Daniel
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  Speaker 1: Bray feels like a guy that's an explosive player, that
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  Speaker 1: if he gets that opportunity, he can take it the distance,
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  Speaker 1: and maybe he gets... You know, maybe he gets 100
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  Speaker 1: yards on five or six touches and has a 47-yard
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  Speaker 1: touchdown run. We've seen that from him before. So I
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  Speaker 1: would say maybe a Daniel Bray game. Maybe a Creed
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  Speaker 1: Whittemore game as well. Whittemore's one of those guys that...
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  Speaker 1: We saw Ryan Davis get seven, eight, nine catch games
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  Speaker 1: last year. I think Whittemore's got that in him as well.
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  Speaker 1: So I think those are two guys that haven't had
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  Speaker 1: breakout games. If we're looking for somebody different that's not
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  Speaker 1: in a Parker, Dampier, Pagan-type mode that could have that
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  Speaker 1: kind of a day.
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  Speaker 3: So Devin last week against Houston obviously ran so successfully
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  Speaker 3: and was massively important for the win. And by his
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  Speaker 3: own admission, he'll tell you, man, I wish I hadn't
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  Speaker 3: thrown that second interception there. He didn't like the first
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  Speaker 3: one either, but at least that one he got hit.
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  Speaker 3: And it feels like, Bill, there's one or two of
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  Speaker 3: those throws every single game. Is that just something that
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  Speaker 3: this team is going to have to accept and this
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  Speaker 3: fan base is going to have to accept about Devin Dampier?
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  Speaker 3: Because on balance, he's obviously far better for you than
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  Speaker 3: he is with those errors costly for you. But are
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  Speaker 3: we just going to have to account for one or
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  Speaker 3: more of those per game?
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  Speaker 1: No, I don't think so. I think you can coach
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  Speaker 1: that out of guys. I think Kevin McGiven and Morgan
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  Speaker 1: Scali and the rest of that coaching staff can coach
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  Speaker 1: that out of him. You're right, the first interception was
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  Speaker 1: hit as he throws. It sailed on him. The second one, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: he wants to have that back. But I thought as
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  Speaker 1: the game went along, and really even early in the
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  Speaker 1: game too, Devin took what the defense gave him. Shots
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  Speaker 1: weren't down the field, so he tucked it and ran.
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  Speaker 1: I think we can get more of that out of
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  Speaker 1: Devin Dampier. I don't think we have to necessarily expect–
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  Speaker 1: an interception or a bad interception every game. I think
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  Speaker 1: he can make that adjustment himself, and so I don't
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  Speaker 1: think that that's necessarily what we'll see every game. I
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  Speaker 1: hope we don't, at least.
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  Speaker 3: Cincinnati is 11th in the conference in rush defense, and
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  Speaker 3: obviously you're trying to get this win whatever means necessary,
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  Speaker 3: but you also are trying to do it in a
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  Speaker 3: way where the game doesn't get crazy. You don't let
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  Speaker 3: the bear cats hang around. Is this a perfect recipe
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  Speaker 3: for way? Sean Parker, who was relatively quiet statistically last week,
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  Speaker 3: having another a hundred plus yard day.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's possible. I mean, even I think if
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  Speaker 1: Cincinnati sells out to the run the way Colorado and
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  Speaker 1: Houston did, I don't know they have the same personnel
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  Speaker 1: up front. Colorado had a really good defensive front, a
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  Speaker 1: couple of good linebackers. Same thing with Houston. I'm not
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  Speaker 1: sure you can say the same thing. Maybe they prove
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  Speaker 1: us wrong tomorrow. On paper, they don't appear to have
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  Speaker 1: that same type of up front ability to stop the run.
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  Speaker 1: But even if they do, Sean, I think we've seen
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  Speaker 1: and we saw last week and we've seen in games,
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  Speaker 1: Devon's able to beat you. And they also, frankly, give
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  Speaker 1: up some air yards, too. I think Utah will have
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  Speaker 1: solutions for whatever Cincinnati throws at them defensively. It's on
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  Speaker 1: the other side of the ball where Cincinnati's really good
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  Speaker 1: running it. I think this is a good test for
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  Speaker 1: this Utah defense this week.
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  Speaker 3: Speaking of that Utah defense, it was Colton Swan calling
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  Speaker 3: that perfect blitz at the perfect time. Morgan called it unblockable,
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  Speaker 3: and when it's executed properly, it is. Utah executed it perfectly,
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  Speaker 3: created the turnover that led to the salted away kind
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  Speaker 3: of touchdown on the next play for Devin Dampier. And look,
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  Speaker 3: we've given Kevin McGibbon a bunch of his flowers and
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  Speaker 3: He's been in his bag very visibly a couple of
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  Speaker 3: times already this season. It felt like against Houston when
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  Speaker 3: you had to have it, Colton Swan got really aggressive,
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  Speaker 3: trusted his guys, and maybe that was his best coaching
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  Speaker 3: performance so far this year.
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  Speaker 1: Do you feel that way? I think it was. And
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  Speaker 1: to be fair, the Utah defense this year has been–
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  Speaker 1: for the most part, really good and stingy where they've
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  Speaker 1: had some problems have been communication breakdowns. Nobody has just
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  Speaker 1: lined up and done what they wanted to do against Utah.
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  Speaker 1: Colorado had some big plays. Iowa state had a couple
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  Speaker 1: of big plays Kansas, but, but they haven't been, we're
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  Speaker 1: going to line it up and run it down your throat.
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  Speaker 1: They haven't had that the way Kansas State did last year.
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  Speaker 1: So I think this defense has been really good. They've had,
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  Speaker 1: you know, against better teams, Cincinnati, BYU, Arizona coming up.
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  Speaker 1: You can't have those breakdowns. But I really do think
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  Speaker 1: outside of a Q communication bus, the Wegman run, a
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  Speaker 1: couple of Amari Thomas pass plays, Utah's defense, especially in
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  Speaker 1: the red zone, I thought was really good last week.
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  Speaker 3: All right, last thing before I let you go, because
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  Speaker 3: I know we have to do that, but everyone reacted
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  Speaker 3: on Monday to a 10 a.m. kickoff for the Holy War.
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  Speaker 3: I know the team can't look ahead to that, but
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  Speaker 3: we can. What do you think about that game being
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  Speaker 3: in that spot?
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  Speaker 1: I don't mind it. I'll be honest with you. I
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  Speaker 1: know a lot of people don't like it. 1.30 or 5.30
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  Speaker 1: would have been more optimal times. but we've had very
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  Speaker 1: few day games in recent years. You get up a
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  Speaker 1: little bit earlier. It's a 10 a.m. game. It's great
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  Speaker 1: for exposure for the game. Players and coaches don't care.
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  Speaker 1: They'd rather play the game early than sit around the
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  Speaker 1: hotel and Honestly, I know this won't sit well with
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  Speaker 1: a lot of fans. I kind of like the change-up
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  Speaker 1: on it myself. I like it being in the daytime.
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  Speaker 1: I like it being in the sunlight. I like it
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  Speaker 1: having a little bit different feel to it than we've
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  Speaker 1: had in recent years. And the exposure the game's going
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  Speaker 1: to get nationally is going to be fantastic because it's
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  Speaker 1: in a great TV window for ABC or ESPN. So
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  Speaker 1: I know it may not be the most popular thing
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  Speaker 1: to say. I don't mind it, to be honest.
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  Speaker 3: Did we learn a lot about BYU and their loss
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  Speaker 3: against UCF? It felt like that was a fluke game
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  Speaker 3: for me, and they don't have L.J. Martin, hangover from
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  Speaker 3: Notre Dame. Obviously, the voters still think that this is
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  Speaker 3: a top-ten team. What did we learn about BYU with
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  Speaker 3: their loss?
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  Speaker 1: I think it is a good team.
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  Speaker 3: I do.
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  Speaker 1: I still think it's a really good team, nationally ranked team.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think they're the second-best team in the country,
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  Speaker 1: but I think what got exposed a little bit was
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  Speaker 1: their defense. I mean, you can say LJ Martin wasn't there,
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  Speaker 1: but I got to be honest, you UCF with a
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  Speaker 1: backup quarterback, put up 39 points on them in overtime.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I, I just, I think that that got
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  Speaker 1: exposed a little bit in that game. Now, again, hang
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  Speaker 1: over all that stuff. I get that, but I, I
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  Speaker 1: think UCF, I wasn't wildly impressed with their quarterback. Their
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  Speaker 1: playmakers weren't bad. I think they exposed some things. I
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  Speaker 1: still think BYU's offense is good, and if they get L.J.
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  Speaker 1: Martin back, it'll be better. I just don't think you
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  Speaker 1: can ask Bear Bachmeier to be your passing game and
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  Speaker 1: your running game every single week.
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  Speaker 3: All right, Bill, safe flight. Have a great call. We'll
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  Speaker 3: talk next week.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Thanks, Sean.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: Bill Riley, voice of the Utes, hopping on a plane
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: to get out to Cincinnati. They're flying out a little
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: bit earlier today. That conversation is brought to you every
• 9:28
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