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Phil Steele previews the college football season including Utah, BYU, and the Big 12 · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: You're tuned to The Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
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  Speaker 1: Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred at ninety two to
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  Speaker 1: one half.
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  Speaker 2: An college football season is right around the corner, and
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  Speaker 2: if you have not acquired your copy of Phil Steele's
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  Speaker 2: College Football Preview for twenty twenty six, you're already a
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  Speaker 2: little bit behind because you have three hundred and seventy
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  Speaker 2: ish pages you're gonna have to get through before Utah
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  Speaker 2: kicks off on September third. We are lucky enough today
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  Speaker 2: to have the man himself, Phil Steele on the program.
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  Speaker 3: Phil, Welcome to the Sean O'Connell Show. How are you, sir?
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  Speaker 1: You know I am doing great today, Sean, how about yourself?
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  Speaker 3: And we're excited. Football is back.
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  Speaker 2: Utah's in camp BYU starts camp today, Utah State starts
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  Speaker 2: camp today, and you just can't ask for anything better
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  Speaker 2: on a beautiful August afternoon, August morning here in Salt Lake.
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  Speaker 1: City, and everyone is undefeated right now, right.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly right now, Let's start there, because it's a
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  Speaker 2: really interesting time for Utah football and for Utah football fans,
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  Speaker 2: and every season this time of year where like, yeah, we.
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  Speaker 3: Know what we have.
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  Speaker 2: You've got a conservative but impressive coach. You've got a
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  Speaker 2: physical front line on both sides of the football. Hopefully,
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  Speaker 2: you've got a decent quarterback. You definitely have a good
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  Speaker 2: running back. And you can just put it in there.
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  Speaker 2: You can plug it in every single year. And then
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  Speaker 2: around December of twenty twenty five, that twenty one year
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  Speaker 2: trend starts to get shaken up.
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  Speaker 3: And now we've got a new head coach.
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  Speaker 2: You've got five new starters on the offensive line, you've
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  Speaker 2: got new starters on the defensive line. You've got new
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  Speaker 2: position coaches all over the place. And the consistency and
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  Speaker 2: the constancy of Utah football is for onceted and gone.
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  Speaker 2: So how does Phil Steele look at this version of
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  Speaker 2: Utah football?
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  Speaker 1: Well, know, Sean, the way you described Utah football, that's
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  Speaker 1: how you could describe Michigan football this year. You know,
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  Speaker 1: if the coach Whittingham does have the run game, the
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  Speaker 1: offensive line, the defensive line, and quarterback at Michigan, so
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  Speaker 1: he's in pretty good shape there. And I gotta be
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  Speaker 1: honest with you, Shawn, when I first heard Winningham's leaving
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  Speaker 1: and all five offensive linemen gone too, first shround draft
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  Speaker 1: picks for crying out loud. Defensive line basically gone from
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  Speaker 1: last year. I'm like, yeah, I don't know, Utah is
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  Speaker 1: going to take a big step back. But then after
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  Speaker 1: going over to the team with Coach Scaley and seeing
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  Speaker 1: the talent they have at those positions, as long as
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  Speaker 1: that offensive line comes together, that's really the biggest question
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  Speaker 1: mark on the team is the offensive line. If that
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  Speaker 1: comes together. I mean, they've got the quarterbacks. I like
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  Speaker 1: both Devin dan Pierre and Bird Fickland. I think you're
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  Speaker 1: going to see both of those guys on the field
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  Speaker 1: at the same time at times. The running back corps
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  Speaker 1: is deep with way On Parker, Daniel Bray and they
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  Speaker 1: add him from San Jose State, Steve Chavezsoto, so that's
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  Speaker 1: a deep running back corps. I think there's talent at receiver.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, the shocking thing to me when I went
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  Speaker 1: over to the team with Coach Scaley is he said
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  Speaker 1: that this is the best wide receiver corps he's had
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  Speaker 1: here in the last twenty years. And he's been around
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  Speaker 1: quite some time, and I think having a coach that's
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  Speaker 1: been on the staff knows the players has been there
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  Speaker 1: at the defense. That helps the transition. If it's a
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  Speaker 1: new coach coming in with new offense, new defense, and
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  Speaker 1: everything's completely different, how to learn the players, players learn
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  Speaker 1: the system. It be different, but the fact he's still
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  Speaker 1: here helps a lot. And you look at the talent
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  Speaker 1: to have on the defensive side of the ball. I
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  Speaker 1: like Jonathan Hall at linebacker, Elijah Davis at corner, Rabbit
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  Speaker 1: Evans at strong safety. These guys are all all conference caliber.
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  Speaker 1: A defensive Atlantic Colt squad only started one game last year,
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  Speaker 1: but I think he's going to step up and be
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  Speaker 1: that pass rusher and add to the defense there. And
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  Speaker 1: then when I looked at the edge, all the schedule
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  Speaker 1: is actually manageable. They get BYU at home, they do
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  Speaker 1: have to play at Arizona and at TCU, two tough games.
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  Speaker 1: But actually one of my twelve third nine sets of
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  Speaker 1: power Rangs called for twelve and zero this year. Now
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  Speaker 1: naturally not my main one, but I think Ute's got
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  Speaker 1: the schedule and the fact that they've got a little
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  Speaker 1: run into the season with Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State, Iowa State,
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  Speaker 1: and O Kansas first five games should be able to
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  Speaker 1: build some confidence and hopefully confidence in that offensive line.
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  Speaker 3: That's obviously the hope.
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  Speaker 2: And I want to go back to one of the
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  Speaker 2: things that you just said there that the two quarterbacks.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone here loves Bird Ficklin, everyone here loves Devin dan Pierre.
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  Speaker 3: You said you think they'll be on the field at
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  Speaker 3: the same time.
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  Speaker 2: I hope we get a lot of that, honestly, because
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  Speaker 2: it could really cause problems for an opposing defensive coordinator.
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  Speaker 2: But let's say that they're going with you know, a
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  Speaker 2: little bit of that Chris leaked Tim Tebow situation from
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  Speaker 2: the old days at Florida, or as much use of
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  Speaker 2: a two quarterback system as is allowable in modern foot
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  Speaker 2: how do you think it shakes out. I mean, Devin
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  Speaker 2: dan Pierre when he's healthy, is incredibly impressive, incredibly mobile.
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  Speaker 3: I think he'll be more accurate.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't have really a solid base to throw from
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  Speaker 2: in a lot of games last year, and people were
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  Speaker 2: critical of him because of that. Bird Fickland has a
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  Speaker 2: crazy live arm, and I think if he can dial
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  Speaker 2: in the accuracy, he'll be a great passer in addition
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  Speaker 2: to his running instincts. What is an appropriate split in
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  Speaker 2: your mind to make this the most productive offense possible?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think I'd go with something like a seventy thirty.
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  Speaker 1: I like the way it ran the offense last year,
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  Speaker 1: and candle two quarterback system work well. How about forty
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  Speaker 1: one points per game at four under in eighty three
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  Speaker 1: yards per game last year. Now, once again working behind
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  Speaker 1: the rebuild offensive line, I don't think the offense will
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  Speaker 1: be as quite as potent as last year. These guys
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  Speaker 1: may have to use the mobility a little bit more.
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  Speaker 1: I'd stick with Dampier as the starter, but love it
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  Speaker 1: when bird Fickland comes in the field and there's not
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  Speaker 1: a drop off sometimes, you know, having the two different
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  Speaker 1: types of coil lists slightly different types of quarterbacks is
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  Speaker 1: a struggle for a defensive coordinator coming into the game.
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  Speaker 3: If they're capable of going twelve and zero.
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  Speaker 2: But more realistically, we can target something like nine and
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  Speaker 2: three or ten and two. I mean for a first
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  Speaker 2: year head coach, although he has been in the program
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  Speaker 2: for a long time. You've been studying all of college
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  Speaker 2: football at every level for years and years and years now.
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  Speaker 2: How rare is that air If you can be a
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  Speaker 2: first year head coach and be in that nine win
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  Speaker 2: ten win category well being on.
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  Speaker 1: The staff as big having him there with the knowledge
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  Speaker 1: of the team, and give you a couple other examples
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  Speaker 1: from this year. You take a look at Ole Miss
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  Speaker 1: this season. You know they've got their brand new head coach.
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  Speaker 1: Lane Kiffin is gone, but their head coach. They have
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  Speaker 1: actually had a couple of games as a head coach
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  Speaker 1: last year, and Pete Golding it steps into a really
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  Speaker 1: good situation, good talent throughout the roster. And then you
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  Speaker 1: take a look at like Virginia Tech. One of the
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  Speaker 1: best things James Franklin did was retaining Brent Prye as
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  Speaker 1: the defensive coordinator. You got fired as head coach, brings
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  Speaker 1: it back as the DC gave him instant knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: all the players on the team because Brent Prie had
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  Speaker 1: that knowledge. So I think the fact that Morgan Scalley's
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  Speaker 1: been there knows all the players inside now, both offensively
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  Speaker 1: and defensively, that's a massive advantage to have for our
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  Speaker 1: first year, starting our first year head coach.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, we're all optimistic about where Utah will be
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  Speaker 2: this year, but they feel the same in Lubbock, they
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  Speaker 2: feel the same in Provo, and maybe they have more
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  Speaker 2: even more justification to feel that way. I know folks
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  Speaker 2: down in Tucson are feeling good about what they've got,
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  Speaker 2: and TCU has some thoughts on who should factor into
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  Speaker 2: the conference championship discussion. So let's assume that you know
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  Speaker 2: Utah's schedule is as friendly as we think it is.
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  Speaker 2: Where do they really fit in the Big twelve power rankings?
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  Speaker 3: For you, Phil Well, I've right now.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I've got number three, behind Texas Tech and BYU.
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  Speaker 1: But Utah does get the host that BYU game, and
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  Speaker 1: last year's game was if not for a couple for
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  Speaker 1: all those fourth down stops, Utah had a better shot
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  Speaker 1: of winning that one. Now, when I went through the
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  Speaker 1: roster with Colonie Sataki, I've gone through the roster with
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  Speaker 1: them all eleven years. This is the best team he's
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  Speaker 1: put on the field. So when you look at the
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  Speaker 1: offensive line, it's massive. I have no questions about their
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  Speaker 1: offensive line, unlike Utah. You know, Bruce Mitchell is an
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  Speaker 1: NFL caliber center, and they've got plenty of talent, plenty
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  Speaker 1: of size. In fact, coach Sataki's comfortable going three deep
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  Speaker 1: on the offensive line. Most coaches always like to tell me,
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  Speaker 1: I go who's your top eight? They give me their
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  Speaker 1: top eight and let's say, hey, Phil, this year, I
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  Speaker 1: think we have top nine. Coach Sataki was saying, hey,
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  Speaker 1: we actually go three deep on the offensive line, so
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  Speaker 1: we'll see if that's the case. Defensively, they are loaded
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  Speaker 1: up front. I mean they've got Justin Kirkland. I think
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  Speaker 1: it's going to merge this year to go along with
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  Speaker 1: ton Ofasa and once again, the size you have in
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  Speaker 1: the defensive front seven, the experience level you have. And
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  Speaker 1: they lose a guy like Jack Kelly, but they bring
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  Speaker 1: back Kate a lot or they bring in Kata Lobby
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  Speaker 1: from cal who's one of the best linebackers in the country,
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  Speaker 1: so that's an equal swap right there. Secondary's got Evan
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  Speaker 1: Johnson who's NFL Calibversatula. And then you go to the
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  Speaker 1: backfield and Bear Bachmeyer didn't even join the team until
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  Speaker 1: the fall last year. He's in there now. I love
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  Speaker 1: watching a forty seven play quarterback and then LJ. Martin
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  Speaker 1: at running back. This is a very, very talented and
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  Speaker 1: the best team that when I hung up the pall
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  Speaker 1: with Coach Sataga, in fact, I told him before I
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  Speaker 1: have finally go, Coach, I feel this is the best
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  Speaker 1: team you've had here. In your last eleven year, in
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  Speaker 1: your eleven years, that.
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  Speaker 3: Is the fear right well here on the home of
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  Speaker 3: the Youth.
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  Speaker 2: That is the fear that a lot of people are
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  Speaker 2: feeling where there's some changeover at Utah, so much consistency.
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  Speaker 2: Despite losing your defensive coordinator, he didn't lose really any
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  Speaker 2: transfers off the roster. Kalan and company have done an
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  Speaker 2: incredible job of retention and of recruiting in this new era,
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  Speaker 2: this new nil or for BYU Sports.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. And then you asked me about the top contenders.
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  Speaker 1: I think when you look at Texas Tech, you know,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of folks have asked me Sean, They say, hey, Phil,
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  Speaker 1: do you feel less about Texas Tech that they don't
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  Speaker 1: have Brandon Soresby? And I said, well, here's the deal.
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  Speaker 1: When I wrote the magazine, it's June fifth, we're just
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: heading to the deadline. I'm like, you know what, I'm
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  Speaker 1: ninety percent sure they're not going to let this guy
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  Speaker 1: play football this year. So my power ratings were adjusted
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  Speaker 1: to sores Be not playing, even though I listed him
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  Speaker 1: as starter in the magazine. I don't ever want to
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  Speaker 1: watch a player on TV if he's got a chance
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  Speaker 1: of playing and have him not in my magazine. So
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  Speaker 1: I listened to them, but I didn't think he was
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  Speaker 1: going to play. Then all of a sudden, they announced, hey,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: he's going to be eligible. I'm like, damn, I got
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  Speaker 1: to adjust my power ratings. And then of course he's
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  Speaker 1: not eligible. So it's right back to where I am.
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  Speaker 1: And when you look at Texas Tech, you know they've
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  Speaker 1: got some money. I don't know if you've heard about that,
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  Speaker 1: and they bring in some pretty good size recruits coming in,
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  Speaker 1: like Austin Romain from Kansas State, Adam Trick from Miami
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: of Ohio. When I went over the roster with coach McGuire,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: and you look at a defensive front seven, I think
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  Speaker 1: six of them are NFL caliber dudes. And then you've
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  Speaker 1: got Bryce Pollock, it's a cornerback, Brendan Jordan at safety.
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  Speaker 1: These guys are all very talented offensively. You know, quarterback
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  Speaker 1: is a question back because of Will Hammond's injury situation.
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  Speaker 1: I think if Will Hammond was a hundred percent healthy,
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  Speaker 1: they might not even have signed a starter from somebody else.
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  Speaker 1: They did bring in Tulsa's quarterback Kirk Francis, But you
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: look at a running back room. And here's the thing
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  Speaker 1: that's scary. They had Cam Dicky and Jacoby Williams back right.
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  Speaker 1: Guess who the coach McGuire was most excited about running
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: backs Quinton Joyner. He says he might have been the
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  Speaker 1: best running back last year, missed the year with injury.
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  Speaker 1: He's back along with Williams and Dicky. That's one of
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  Speaker 1: the best running back corps in the country once again.
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  Speaker 1: The offensive line veteran unit NFL caliber left tackle and
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  Speaker 1: Howard Sampson NFL caliber right tackle and Jacob Hanten. You
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  Speaker 1: look at the receiving corps. Micah Hudson could finally come
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  Speaker 1: into his own this year. They got one of the
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  Speaker 1: best tight ends in the country and Terrence Carter. When
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  Speaker 1: I go through their schedule, I don't have them an
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  Speaker 1: underdog in any game. In fact, I don't have less
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  Speaker 1: than a touchdown favorite in every game. They're two toughest
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: road games are at Cincinnati and at Baylor, and each
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  Speaker 1: game I've got them a touchdown favorite. They don't play
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  Speaker 1: Utah and they don't play BYU during the regular season.
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  Speaker 1: Good for BYU, good for Utah, good for Texas Tech.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to have some strength at the very top
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  Speaker 1: of the Big Twelve this year, and a Texas Tech
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  Speaker 1: is my pick to win the conference.
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  Speaker 2: Phil Steele is our guest here on the Sean O'Connell Show,
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: publisher of the number one college football preview magazine in
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: the country every single year. Get it right now, three
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: hundred and seventy plus pages of college football information that'll
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: make you look and sound a lot smarter when you're
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: talking the game with your friends at work, or your
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: buddies at the poker game or whatever else. This is
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: a familiar refrain for folks that have listened to my
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: shows wherever I've been. First it was when Utah was
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: in the Pac twelve and it was like, hey, even
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: if you're the best twelve team, where do you.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Fit in nationally?
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  Speaker 2: And the same sort of sentiment has followed Utah and
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: BYU into the Big Twelve. If you're the best Big
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: twelve team, where do you fit in nationally? Texas Tech
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  Speaker 2: was great, They were dominant last year in the conference
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  Speaker 2: and then made it to the College Football Playoff and
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: laid a big fat egg, And so that narrative kind
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: of continues when you look at this year's Big Twelve
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  Speaker 2: Conference and the power rankings that we've already kind of
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  Speaker 2: gone over. Where do those teams fit in the national landscape?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it's interesting that what you talked about
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: with Texas Tech, they got shut out in the playoff
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  Speaker 1: last year. And you know, when I talked to coach McGuire,
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: one of his biggest concerns this spring was how do
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: we contend with that dog gone by? You know, when
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: you're off for three or four weeks and your opponent
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: just played last week. There's been eight instances of that happening.
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  Speaker 1: Seven times the team off the buy has lost the game.
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  Speaker 1: The only guy that's been able to get past it
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: was coach Signetti at Indiana, And so coach McGuire said
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: he was talking to FCS coaches trying to figure out
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: how they battle, you know, having three weeks off versus
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: one for their opponent. And I think that is a
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: big time question for whoever wins the Big Twelve this
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: year because they'll likely get a buye. Also, when I
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: talked to coach McGuire, he felt that with Soresby they
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: were a legitimate national title contender right at the top
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: with all the other big boys, and without him, he
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: thought their playoff team and possibly get there, but didn't
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: feel quite as confident. And that's about where I have
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Texas Tech. I've got them on the season coming into
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: the year number nine, I got BYU number ten, and
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: I have Utah number twenty four in my rankings. So
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  Speaker 1: I think all three are going to be legitimate playoff
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: contenders at the end of the year. I think when
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: you make the playoff, as Miami of Florida showed last year,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, the ACC and the Big twelve were sort
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: of similar. Neither ones, the SEC, neither ones, a Big ten. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: Miami of Florida last year is within one player winning
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  Speaker 1: the national title. I think once you get into the playoff,
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  Speaker 1: if you can over come that bye week, then all
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: of a sudden, it's anybody's game. Who's who's playing the
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: best in the postseason.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know how many people in our country get
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: a chance to have the kind of access year over
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  Speaker 2: year over year to these coaches and these teams, And
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: obviously you've put in the work to make that a
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: reality for yourself, but I think it gives you unique
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: insights on some of this big picture stuff that is
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: happening in college football. I'm very excited that we're getting
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: close to the season and we can put some of
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: this like litigation on the back burner, the eligibility stuff
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: on the back burner. Maybe you know, a bill in
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Congress or two on the back burner. But having talked
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: to so many of these coaches, what is the overall
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: sentiment that you come away with in college football about
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I mean, there are some that are benefiting from the
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: system right now greatly. The Oregons and Ohio States and
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Texas of the world have been able to strengthen their position.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: Teams like Texas Tech have experienced upward mobility.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: The same is true for BYU.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Speaking from the Utah there's a lot of worry in
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: hand ringing and they've done this private equity deal to
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: try to close a gap that they didn't really find
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: another way to close. So in college football, what is
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: the overall sentiment from the coaches perspective on the changes
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: that may be coming or need to be coming.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a great question, Sean. I'm going to answer
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: that in a couple different areas. First of all, let's
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: talk about the group of six coaches out there, and basically,
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: when I'm going over a roster with a group of
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: six coaches, and this year I talked to one hundred
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: and thirty three of the one hundred and thirty eight coaches.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: But going over the roster with a group of six coaches,
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: they'll get excited about a player. They'll say, Wow, this
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: guy's big, strong, blah blah blah blah. We won't have
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: him next year. They know that he's going to get
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: bought by a Power four team. So that's that's pretty
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: much the mindset of the group of six. We're going
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: to get a better level of recruit coming in because
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: now the Power four teams aren't recruiting strictly freshmen. They're
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: bringing in transfers. That has these guys tricklene down. But
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: they know once they develop them into an all conference player,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: they're going to get bought. Now over all coaches, first
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: of all, I think everybody is rooting for this bill
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: to go through so that college football can actually have
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: some rules. The five year rule is fantastic, And the
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: most interesting thing I took out of this spring Sean
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: was that every coach that I would talk to, they'd say, Hey, Phil,
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: how you doing. I'm like expecting me to say, oh,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: I'm doing great. Coach about yourself, I would say, coach,
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: I am doing marvelous. There is no second transfer portal window.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: I don't have to rewrite one hundred and thirty eight
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: teams all in the month of May. It's fantastic. It's
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: like old times. You know what, Almost every single coach
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: totally to a coach. They said, Phil, we were more
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: of a team this spring. We knew that the guys
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: we were taking in the spring, that's our team. We
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: weren't going to replan some over the after second spring
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: portal window. Guys weren't going to leave. We could coach
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: them harder. We could list the guy third string knowing
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: he's not going to leave. The guys we took in
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: the spring are the guys were taking into the fall.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: The players could become buddies with each other knowing the
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: other guy wasn't going to leave after spring. So I
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: think we're going to have a better brand of football
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: this year because there was no second damn second spring
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: portal window. And overall, I think college is headed in
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: the right direction. If this bill passes and we actually
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: get some rules and some teeth that the NCAA can.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Use, it's been fun watching the narrative, the little rivalry
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: between the Big Ten and the SEC.
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: Who's the most dominant conference? Truly?
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: Now, and you know, we're outsiders looking in at that
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: power play. Do you think the Big Ten has a
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: great chance of winning another national championship? Is this the
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: year that the SEC once again takes the top position
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: or is there a Notre Dame or an ACC or
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: a Big twelve team that ends up with the bragging
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: rights at the end of the year.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a beautiful thing about college football, as we
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: saw with Miami last year, they almost won it. So
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: whoever makes the playoff has got a great shot. And
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: I think that each both the SEC and the Big
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Ten have got legitimate title contenders. I mean Georgia, Texas loaded,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon loaded. So both conferences have a
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: great shot. But I went with neither. I went with
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Notre Dames, you know, And I look at Notre Dame
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: this year, Sean, I see a team that had a
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: great defense last year. They held opponents of ninety five
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: yards per game below their average, and they got nine
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: starters back on d They have my number five rated
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: defensive line, Number one linebackers number one DB's in the
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: country dominant. Now, normally that'd be enough for me to
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: pick a team number one. I'm a defensive guy, but
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: I'm also on the Joe Moore Award Committee, and which
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: means I value offensive line play. It's one of the
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: twenty one award committees I'm on, and I rate Notre
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Dames offensive line. I guess this number one in the country.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: They've got four NFL caliber guys back. So now you
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: got the offensive line, you got the defense. And oh,
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: by the way, they've got a quarterback and CJ. Carr
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: who is a red shirt freshman last year. Now he's
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: a veteran. He had a twenty to four ratio last year.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: He'll be even improved. I think he's a Heisman front
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: runner right now. And then factor in the schedule. Their
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: toughest two games are at BYU, and that one's not
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: going to be easy. That's probably a real tough one
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: in Miami of Florida at home. Both of those very tough.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: But I've got the Irish favorite in all twelve games.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: And if they can overcome that by week obstacle and
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: stay healthy and it should be able to they should
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: be able to play a lot of backups, get them
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: experience during the year. I think the Irish can win
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: it all this season.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: Very last thing for you before we let you go, Phil,
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: I will be honest. I had hoped for a fairy
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: tale ending of the Kyle Whittingham era at the University
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: of Utah. I wanted him to ride off into the sunset,
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: never having been a head coach anywhere else. I wanted
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: us to build the statue, you know, three years after
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: his retirement. And this whole thing complicates it. Even though
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: I think his legacy is secure at Utah, but I
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: won't feel like any of it was worth it if
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: he doesn't do great things at Michigan. So what is
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Michigan football going to be under Kyle Whittingham?
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty much the same thing Utah was and the
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: same thing Michigan's been, which is strong offensive line. Then
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: they've got that this year, strong defensive line, and they've
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: got this his year, especially if John Henry Daily is healthy.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: Strong defense. Overall, They've got j R. Hill smith Snowden
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: at cornerback. They've got Rod Moore at free safety. You
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: look at the quarterback position. Bryce Underwood last year was
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: a true freshman. He's an incredible athlete and now he's
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: got that experience under his belt. There are a couple
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: question marks on the team. I talked to coach Whittingham,
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: you know, He's like, you know, if we had a
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: second portal window might have addressed a couple of things.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: But overall, this is a loaded team. And watch these
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: running backs savean hitter and Jordan Marshall. One of the
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: best running back combos out there. Now. At the end
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: of the year, they have to play Indiana at home,
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: they play at Oregon and at Ohio State. Those are
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: the three games. Will be an underdog, but I'm sort
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: of circling that October twenty fourth game. It should be
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: pretty interesting. I think Kyle Whittingham's going to end up
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: doing a great job at Michigan. I did ask him.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: I said, Coach, we've been talking for years and years.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: We got to talk for another ten to fifteen years,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: and he said, no, not that long, fill But I'm
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: going to be here till we get something done. And
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: I think it's a perfect fit, perfect marriage for Michigan.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: Well, we're all going to be watching it, either hate
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: watching it or love watching it, or just watching it
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: that appear curiosity. But more importantly, this Utah football season
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: kicks off in less than thirty days. Phil Steele in
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: the preview magazine, The work is done. We appreciate you
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: giving us some time today. I know it's a busy
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: time of year as everyone wants to pick your brain.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Thank you for joining me on the show.
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: Phil.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Hey, Sean, just a reminder, though, three hundred and seventy
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: six pages in that magazine only available Barnes and Noble
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: in Utah. So if you're in Utah, don't drive around
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: looking for it. Barnes and Noble, or you can go
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: to Phil Steele dot com. But Sean, always good talking
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Utah football with you, my friend.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much. That is Phil Steele. Go to Barnes
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: and Noble, grab the hard cut. There's nothing better than
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: flipping through that magazine. Find your Utah stuff, find your
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: BYU stuff, Read up on that Arizona State roster, go
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: through everything in this Big twelve world. Look at what
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Arkansas has got. Because he does it, he compiles it.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: It's the encyclopedia of college football.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: Big