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Bill Riley on tomorrow's rivalry game, Who will cement themselves as a Utes legend (?), Another close game (?) + more · 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 792 1fm.
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Speaker 2: You hear the music you know what that means the
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Speaker 2: voice of the youths bill riley coming on i should
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Speaker 2: have had bill stop by down here at smith marketplace
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Speaker 2: downtown i know he loves this store as much as
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Speaker 2: i do They got everything you need for your tailgate,
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Speaker 2: for your watch party, for your birthday, for your Christmas.
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Speaker 3: They've got it all.
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Speaker 2: Meat, cheese, and veggie platters, hot dogs, hamburger patties, and buns.
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Speaker 2: All the condiments, the Pepsi products, the ice. This is
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Speaker 2: a Smith's Marketplace, so if you get the ice downstairs,
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Speaker 2: you can actually go upstairs and grab the cooler to
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Speaker 2: put the ice in, and you can grab the grill
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Speaker 2: to grill up your meats on as well.
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Speaker 3: They really have it all down here at Smith's Marketplace,
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Speaker 3: 455 East, 500 South.
0:58
Speaker 2: Bill Riley, this conversation brought to you every single.
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Speaker 3: Week by Handy and Handy, HandyLawUtah.com. Welcome to the show, Bill.
1:05
Speaker 3: How are you?
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Speaker 1: Happy Rivalry Friday, Sean. I'm great. How are you?
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Speaker 3: Oh, man, I am buzzing.
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Speaker 2: This is my favorite every single year. If it's a
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Speaker 2: pair of five and five teams going up against each other,
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Speaker 2: I still get fired up for this one. Instead, we've got...
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Speaker 2: Number three ranked, undefeated Utah. Number nine ranked, one loss, BYU.
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Speaker 2: It's been talked about a lot. Potentially the biggest Holy
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Speaker 2: War rivalry game.
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Speaker 3: Ever is it.
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Speaker 1: Well, I would say on paper right now it absolutely is.
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Speaker 1: The only other one that I think compares to it
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Speaker 1: is 2004 from a Utah standpoint because if Utah doesn't
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Speaker 1: beat BYU in 2004, the BCS, the Fiesta Bowl, nothing happens.
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Speaker 1: And that all triggered a domino effect to where we
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Speaker 1: are today. getting to beat Alabama. I think it set
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Speaker 1: off a chain reaction that's lasted for about 22 years now.
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Speaker 1: But I think on paper, when you factor in where
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Speaker 1: the records are, where the historical significance is, the conference
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Speaker 1: ramifications and the national ramifications, this has to be the
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Speaker 1: biggest one on both sides.
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Speaker 2: Does how you've been playing these last couple weeks matter
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Speaker 2: a lot in this game for you, Bill, both for
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Speaker 2: Utah and for BYU?
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Speaker 1: I think it matters a little bit. I do. I mean,
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Speaker 1: I don't think it will determine the game because, as
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Speaker 1: we've seen, you can look bad one week and you
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Speaker 1: can turn right back around and play well. But, you know,
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Speaker 1: BYU had a loss and then didn't play well after
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Speaker 1: that loss. Utah has played pretty well for the last
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Speaker 1: couple of weeks, beating Houston, a good Houston team at home,
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Speaker 1: and then just absolutely taking Cincinnati to the woodshed in
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Speaker 1: the first 30 minutes last week. So I think it
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Speaker 1: matters a little bit, but I don't think it's the
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Speaker 1: end all and be all, especially because of the significance
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Speaker 1: of this game and the rivalry matters and all that stuff.
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Speaker 2: All right, Bill, when we talk about the legendary status
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Speaker 2: one can cement in a game like this one, you
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Speaker 2: know the names, the guys who have just elevated themselves
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Speaker 2: onto the Mount Rushmore with a field goal block a
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Speaker 2: la Brandon Burton or something like that. Who's most likely
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Speaker 2: to do that for Utah in tomorrow's game?
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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I think the obvious choice is Devin
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Speaker 1: Dampier because he's got the ball in his hand, because
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Speaker 1: he's the quarterback, because he has the ability to dictate
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Speaker 1: what Utah does offensively. I mean, I think that's the
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Speaker 1: quick and easy answer. And to be fair, Devin's been
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Speaker 1: fantastic in his career, 18-2 as a starter. There might
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Speaker 1: be a little chip on the shoulder for the loss
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Speaker 1: last year down in Provo when I think we found
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Speaker 1: out afterwards he was a wreck physically in that game
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Speaker 1: last year. And I don't think we knew to the
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Speaker 1: extent that he was a wreck until after the season.
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Speaker 1: But I think that's probably stuck with him just a
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Speaker 1: little bit. So I think the obvious answer is Devin Dampier.
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Speaker 1: I think there's other guys. I think there's guys that
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Speaker 1: you just can't. You just can't know who they are.
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Speaker 1: Nobody would have said Brandon Burton back in 2010, 2011,
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Speaker 1: whatever that was. Nobody might have said Johnny Harleen would
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Speaker 1: have been one of those guys, but it turned out
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Speaker 1: that he was big. There's so many guys that could
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Speaker 1: be there. Last year, I think it was the Bear
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Speaker 1: Bachmeier game. I mean, he put the team on his shoulders.
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Speaker 1: He didn't make any mistakes. He threw a touchdown and
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Speaker 1: he ran for a touchdown. He had that big play
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Speaker 1: where he carried a bunch of Utes into the end zone.
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Speaker 1: I think that was a Bear Bachmeier game last year,
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Speaker 1: as much as it was Utah, you know, kind of
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Speaker 1: dropping the ball themselves, both literally and figuratively last year.
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Speaker 1: But if I had to pick one guy tomorrow, I
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Speaker 1: think I would put it on number four. What about you?
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's right there for the taking. And
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Speaker 2: I even look at it. from a bigger picture perspective,
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Speaker 2: a win over BYU tomorrow, and obviously you've got to
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Speaker 2: finish the season out the right way. But I think
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Speaker 2: it changes Devin's legacy as a Ute forever. I think
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Speaker 2: that we already like him. We already talk about him
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Speaker 2: as being talented and awesome. If he can go 9-0
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Speaker 2: and elevate this team to, you know, number three, number two,
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Speaker 2: maybe number one ranking. And even if you lose one
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Speaker 2: or two times during the year, if you have a
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Speaker 2: special season and you beat BYU, then I think Devin
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Speaker 2: Dampier enters his name next to the Cam Risings and
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Speaker 2: the Alex Smiths and the Brian Johnsons and puts himself
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Speaker 2: in a conversation that he's not yet in.
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Speaker 1: Well, I completely agree with that. I mean, let's just
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Speaker 1: play the tape forward. If they win tomorrow and they
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Speaker 1: go on to play for a Big 12 championship and
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Speaker 1: get into the playoff, I think he's right there with
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Speaker 1: Alex and Brian. I think he even takes it a
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Speaker 1: step further than Cam did because he would have led
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Speaker 1: them to a playoff and maybe a conference championship. We're
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Speaker 1: getting way ahead of ourselves here. Devin's got to go
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Speaker 1: out with his teammates. It's not all on Devin. Somebody
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Speaker 1: asked me this morning the difference between Devin last year
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Speaker 1: and this year. I don't feel like he feels like
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Speaker 1: he's got to put the tape on every single week.
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Speaker 1: I think he's matured a little bit. I think he's learned, hey,
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Speaker 1: I've got good players around me. Let me set them
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Speaker 1: up to succeed. And when I need to make plays,
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Speaker 1: I'll make plays. But I think Devin is the guy
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Speaker 1: that could have a huge impact on the outcome of
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Speaker 1: tomorrow's game.
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Speaker 2: A lot of conversation during the week about L.J. Martin
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Speaker 2: and his availability for BYU. I think he's going to play.
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Speaker 2: I think he's going to be a lot better and
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Speaker 2: a lot healthier than people expect him to be. And
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Speaker 2: obviously that changes BYU's rushing attack especially.
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Speaker 3: L.J. Martin and his role tomorrow. What do you think
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Speaker 3: it's going to be?
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Speaker 1: I'm not as confident in you that he's going to
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Speaker 1: be a lot better. I think he'll play. I do
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Speaker 1: think he'll play. I just wonder a guy that had
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Speaker 1: as severe an ankle injury as he had a month
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Speaker 1: ago who hasn't played in a game in a month
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Speaker 1: and hasn't, frankly, from what I've heard, practiced a lot
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Speaker 1: in the month. what he's going to give. I think
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Speaker 1: it'll be great for BYU to have him back out there.
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Speaker 1: I think just having your best offensive player, your player
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Speaker 1: of the year in the conference from a year ago
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Speaker 1: out on that field will be a lift for BYU.
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Speaker 1: I'm just not so sure. where he will be physically
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Speaker 1: in the game I think having him out there will
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Speaker 1: be great certainly having him out there is going to
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Speaker 1: be better than not having him out there because the
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Speaker 1: rushing attack for BYU has been kind of a shadow
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Speaker 1: of itself it's been Bear Bachmeier carrying the load and
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Speaker 1: sprinkle in a little Preston Rex here and there but
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Speaker 1: I think having him out there is going to be
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Speaker 1: good I just I don't have a feel yet as
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Speaker 1: to what kind of an impact he'll have in.
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Speaker 2: The game These last couple of weeks in very important
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Speaker 2: games for the University of Utah, we have watched Colton Swan,
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Speaker 2: in my opinion, kind of come into his own. Not
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Speaker 2: that he wasn't already an awesome coach, but I think
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Speaker 2: realize that he enjoys to turn up the heat a
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Speaker 2: little bit and that maybe with this personnel, with this
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Speaker 2: particular defense, that's a good thing even in important moments
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Speaker 2: in a game. Will he stay aggressive against BYU in
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Speaker 2: those obvious passing downs for Bear Bachmeier?
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Speaker 1: I think you have to. I really do. Bear is
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Speaker 1: a really good pocket passer. If you give him time
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Speaker 1: to throw, he's got good weapons. I think Kyle Casper
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Speaker 1: is really good. I think Legend Glasker is phenomenal. And
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Speaker 1: I think if you don't get him off his spot,
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Speaker 1: if you don't make him uncomfortable, if you give him
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Speaker 1: time to survey the field and you've got Walker lions too,
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Speaker 1: who's a really good tight end. I just, I think
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Speaker 1: you have to make him as uncomfortable as possible and
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Speaker 1: heat him up where I think to me, Sean, the
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Speaker 1: risk of giving up the big play occasionally is it
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Speaker 1: is worth it to not let him be comfortable and
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Speaker 1: pick you apart because he has that ability to stand
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Speaker 1: back there and pick you apart. Yeah, you might give
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Speaker 1: up him. He may scramble for 15 or 20 yards.
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Speaker 1: He may hit that big play downfield, but I would
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Speaker 1: rather take my chances of heating him up and making
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Speaker 1: him uncomfortable and having him try to do something on
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Speaker 1: the move or on the run or out of his
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Speaker 1: comfort zone than than to rush four, because BYU's got
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Speaker 1: a good offensive line. Rushing four and letting him scam
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Speaker 1: the field, I just don't think that's a recipe for success.
9:42
Speaker 2: Bill Riley for another couple of minutes here on the
9:44
Speaker 2: Sean O'Connell Show, getting you ready for the holy war
9:47
Speaker 2: between an undefeated Utah and a one-loss BYU team. Top
9:50
Speaker 2: ten rankings for both teams, first time in the history
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Speaker 2: of the rivalry game. They've both been ranked so high. So,
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Speaker 2: is there anything to the um the coaching matchup here
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Speaker 2: that changes because there's there's always been a ton of
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Speaker 2: familiarity between these two coaching staffs but The BYU staff
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Speaker 2: probably doesn't know McGiven and Swan the same way that
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Speaker 2: they knew Scali. Well, I guess last year back they
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Speaker 2: didn't know them all that well either.
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Speaker 3: And the same is true on the opposite side, right?
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Speaker 2: Utah had a lot of awareness of what Jay Hill's
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Speaker 2: mindset was, maybe a little bit less with Kelly Papinga.
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Speaker 2: Obviously Morgan and Kalani know one another very well, but
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Speaker 2: is there anything to that changing dynamic relative to a
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Speaker 2: pretty consistent 20 years of this rivalry?
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Speaker 1: Well, I would tell you, I think you didn't mention
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Speaker 1: Gary Anderson. And I think Gary Anderson is playing a
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Speaker 1: much bigger role in Provo than a lot of people
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Speaker 1: probably think he is. I think he's a big part
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Speaker 1: of what they do defensively. And I think Gary Anderson
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Speaker 1: knows Kevin McGiven a little bit, Morgan Scali and Colton
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Speaker 1: Swan a little bit too. So I think the familiarity
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Speaker 1: is one of the interesting things that are part of
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Speaker 1: this rivalry. I don't know who has the advantage and
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Speaker 1: who doesn't have the advantage. But I do know that
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Speaker 1: the familiarity and the chess game within the game is
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Speaker 1: one that's fun to watch. You know, Aaron Roderick, you
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Speaker 1: know he's got about three trick plays in his back pocket.
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Speaker 1: He always does. When does he pull those trick plays out?
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Speaker 1: How much of an influence is Gary Anderson in this
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Speaker 1: game with his familiarity with Utah and maybe Morgan a
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Speaker 1: little bit too? I don't know. But I do think
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Speaker 1: there's just no way it doesn't play a role in
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Speaker 1: this game. I think it will both sides because I
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Speaker 1: also think that Colton Swan and Kevin McGiven and Morgan
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Speaker 1: Scali and some of the guys on the staff they
11:46
Speaker 1: know those guys at BYU too. So I think the
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Speaker 1: familiarity is certainly– it's one of the things that makes
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Speaker 1: this rivalry great too. But to think it doesn't play
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Speaker 1: a role tomorrow, I think that would be silly for
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Speaker 1: both sides.
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Speaker 2: I think I saw something earlier in the week that
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Speaker 2: during the decade-long stretch where Utah won every game in
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Speaker 2: this rivalry, they were like plus 13 in the turnover ratio.
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Speaker 1: Plus 15. Plus 15.
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Speaker 2: And in the last three, where BYU has won, Utah's
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Speaker 2: been on the wrong side of that ledger.
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Speaker 1: Minus seven in the last three games, Sean.
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Speaker 2: Minus seven in the last three. I mean, I think
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Speaker 2: even if you're just neutral here, that ends up being
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Speaker 2: a monster day. We saw a big turnover last year
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Speaker 2: that ended up making a massive difference in the end
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Speaker 2: result of the game. How does Utah protect the football
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Speaker 2: in this one?
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Speaker 1: Well, I think, I mean, if you want to even
12:39
Speaker 1: take it a step further, you might say Utah was
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Speaker 1: minus five last year. If you count the fourth down stops,
12:46
Speaker 1: the one in the red zone, the two on the
12:47
Speaker 1: edge of the red zone, too. You know, I just,
12:50
Speaker 1: you know, valuing the football is important, and that's one
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Speaker 1: of the reasons why BYU has been successful in recent years.
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Speaker 1: You know, they wait for you to make a mistake,
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Speaker 1: and then they take advantage. It wasn't just that Utah
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Speaker 1: in the last three matchups, Sean, has been minus seven.
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Speaker 1: It's that BYU doesn't have a single turnover in any
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Speaker 1: of those three games. I think Utah has to find
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Speaker 1: a way to make that an even or even a
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Speaker 1: plus tomorrow. Find a way to force a turnover. Find
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Speaker 1: a way not to commit that turnover. And I think
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Speaker 1: they'll be in great shape.
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Speaker 3: All right, Bill. It comes down to a single possession.
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Speaker 3: It's a close one. Is it a blowout on one
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Speaker 3: side or the other? How does it actually play out?
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Speaker 1: Well, I'm a numbers guy. I like playing the numbers
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Speaker 1: with a little gut feel mixed in. Eight of the
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Speaker 1: last ten games have been single-score games, seven or fewer points.
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Speaker 1: So I think Utah is the better team right now.
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Speaker 1: I think they're playing the better football. I think they
13:49
Speaker 1: have a little bit of an edge. I think being
13:52
Speaker 1: at home is an advantage too, but not a huge
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Speaker 1: advantage because Utah is one down there and BYU is
13:57
Speaker 1: one up here. I think it's probably a game somewhere
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Speaker 1: in that close margin, in that five to seven, five
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Speaker 1: to eight points.
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Speaker 3: High scoring or low scoring?
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Speaker 1: I'm going to say mid to upper 20s.
14:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I'm seeing a lot of predictions. Yeah,
14:19
Speaker 3: I'm kind of in the same. I think mine.
14:20
Speaker 2: It might be like 31-27 or something like that because
14:24
Speaker 2: I think that Utah's offense is a heck of a
14:28
Speaker 2: lot more potent than we're accustomed to, and I think
14:31
Speaker 2: that BYU also has some potency on their offense, and
14:35
Speaker 2: Utah has given up a couple of big plays this year.
14:37
Speaker 2: So I could see it being rather than a 14-10 slugfest,
14:41
Speaker 2: something that's a little bit more typical, and I think
14:44
Speaker 2: that makes us hit the over if we get to
14:47
Speaker 2: that point.
14:48
Speaker 1: I would be surprised if it was a game in
14:52
Speaker 1: the teens. Never know. I mean, it's the rivalry game.
14:55
Speaker 1: You never know. But it doesn't feel like it's a
14:58
Speaker 1: game in the teens. I mean, Utah averages 39 a game.
15:03
Speaker 1: BYU averages 32 a game. I mean, both defenses are good.
15:07
Speaker 1: But I would be surprised if this game wasn't above
15:11
Speaker 1: 20 points somewhere in the mid-upper 20s. 10 a.m.
15:15
Speaker 2: Kickoff, not exactly the norm. So what does Bill Riley
15:19
Speaker 2: have to do to get the voice ready to go
15:22
Speaker 2: by 10 a.m.
15:24
Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to get up at about 5. I'm
15:27
Speaker 1: going to have a cup of hot tea with a
15:29
Speaker 1: little lemon and honey and leave the house about 5.30
15:33
Speaker 1: and then get up and get my booth set up
15:37
Speaker 1: at about 6 and then go on the air at
15:39
Speaker 1: about 8.
15:42
Speaker 3: Does Utah win this football game, Bill?
15:45
Speaker 1: I think they win the football games Saturday, Sean. I do.
15:49
Speaker 1: I like– this team has a really good feel about it.
15:53
Speaker 1: Not making any guarantees, not doing any of that stuff,
15:56
Speaker 1: but this just feels like a lot of things are
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Speaker 1: trending in this direction. And I like Utah. I like
16:04
Speaker 1: where Morgan's got these guys right now. And I like
16:08
Speaker 1: having the game at home. And I just like where
16:11
Speaker 1: they are. And I like the fact that, I mean–
16:15
Speaker 1: relatively healthy considering we're in early November. If you looked
16:18
Speaker 1: at that injury report, the Cougars are dealing with a
16:20
Speaker 1: lot of injuries. I'm not saying guys won't play because
16:23
Speaker 1: I think most of those guys will play because it's
16:24
Speaker 1: a rivalry game, but Utah has done a pretty good
16:26
Speaker 1: job avoiding that injury bug this year. So I like
16:29
Speaker 1: the Utes tomorrow.
16:31
Speaker 2: You bring up the injury report, and obviously we've talked
16:33
Speaker 2: a ton about L.J.
16:34
Speaker 3: Martin. We've talked a little about Evan Johnson.
16:37
Speaker 2: And his availability in that defensive backfield for BYU is
16:41
Speaker 2: also kind of a monster thing in this game if
16:43
Speaker 2: he's not able to go. If he is able to go,
16:46
Speaker 2: we don't need to talk about it much. But if
16:48
Speaker 2: he ends up limited or absent, that's a huge advantage
16:51
Speaker 2: for Utah.
16:52
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, he's listed as doubtful right now, Sean.
16:55
Speaker 1: So if he's doubtful on the Thursday report, I mean,
16:59
Speaker 1: that tells me that, again, unless you're playing around with that,
17:03
Speaker 1: doubtful means you haven't been doing a whole lot. And,
17:08
Speaker 1: you know, it'll be interesting to see. He's very important
17:11
Speaker 1: to that defense, on the back end of that defense.
17:13
Speaker 1: He and Satawala are, you could make a case, two
17:16
Speaker 1: of the most important players on that defensive unit for them.
17:19
Speaker 1: So I don't know. I feel like L.J. Martin's going
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Speaker 1: to play. That's just what my gut tells me. And
17:25
Speaker 1: the fact that he's questionable kind of tells me that, too,
17:27
Speaker 1: and they've been pointing toward it. The Evan Johnson thing's
17:30
Speaker 1: a little bit more interesting.
17:32
Speaker 3: Well, Bill, have a great call. Obviously, we'll see you
17:35
Speaker 3: up there. And go Utes.
17:37
Speaker 1: Thanks, Sean.
17:39
Speaker 2: That's Bill Riley, voice of the youth. They should brought
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