← See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
Big 12 Previews: Arizona State | Baylor | Iowa State | TCU | BYU | Houston | Oklahoma State | UCF
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- [00:00]
David Pollack
What's up everybody? David Pollack here of C Ball Get Ball podcast. I hope you like it, man. Be sure to follow the show Wherever you subscribe, YouTube or any of your other platforms. Welcome in everybody. It's fun time of year. Now down to our last conference. If you've been joining us, if you missed this, you can go back, man. We previewed the sec, we picked the champions, we picked the winner, we picked playoff teams. We did it with the Big ten, we did it with the accident. Kind of finishing up now with the Big 12 and actually some some timely news today out of the Big 12 that we'll get to Brent. But happy to know back home, both of us are back home. Girls basketball, thank the good Lord for me is over for the month of July and hopefully a long, long time moving forward like get it, get a break from it. But you excited to be home, big fella?
- [00:51]
Brent
Oh my gosh. Which I mean unfortunately I was in West Virginia passing away of a family member. Rest in peace Uncle Dave. But that was one where before that we were gone, then gone and then gone again. We just got back today this I think like third night and 12 day period that get to sleep in my own bed. Which is great. I know you talk about missing your food. I missed the bed as much. Like your own bed, there's nothing like your own bed. But true. Speaking of today and coming back. So I was in Chicago and Cameron and I get the Uber to come home and he starts talking football and I want to give a shout out to my man Britain that was the Uber driver today because he subbed right there. I don't know if, I don't know if Illinois is a hands free state but if it is, he broke the law to sub to the pod.
- [01:36]
David Pollack
So my man, let's go. Hey. Hey. And believe it or not, like we look at some of our metrics, Chicago is like our one of our biggest markets and I don't know if that's because we've had the big fella, Brett Bielema on we had marked earlier too.
- [01:53]
Brent
So that was. Yeah, maybe one.
- [01:54]
David Pollack
So maybe, maybe those help. But Brent, I've been in my bed in the month of July. Speaking of in my bed. I've been in my bed for a week in the month of July. We'll get more to this on C Ball. Get ball. But filming a documentary that everybody's going to absolutely love and want to watch. I can promise you it's really, really cool. Not going to tell the specifics of it yet, but we'll get, as we get closer, we'll definitely share them. But been doing that and meeting with a bunch of people all over the place. Went to the Capitol, met with some interesting people. But Big 12 jumping on in Memphis, man. Memphis said, hey, I'll break you off. And listen, remember SMU did this. SMU was, was forward thinking and was, was wanting to, was smart enough to realize like if I'm going to get big in college football, like we need to join one of the big power conferences. And they ponied up the dough and did a good job of joining. So what'd you think about when you saw SMU and 200 mil? That's, that's a lot of cheddar.
- [02:56]
Brent
It's a lot of cheddar to say no to. Yeah. And they also, I think it was like four or five years that they said no, we don't need any revenue distribution or anything like that. There's all kinds of things as it relates to that. But that's amazing that they said no. And also it drives home the point that you just made that these teams, especially like Memphis because Memphis is a highly Competitive group of five team for non power 14 about to say, yeah, they, they know they have to be there in the future or you have to. They're going to get left out or they're going to end up in their own sort of world. It's going to be like truly that unless some form of relegation comes in the, in a bad place and they want to get there as much as they possibly can.
- [03:39]
David Pollack
Yeah. And listen it. And, and Memphis is a good squad. Like they, they, they beat up on fsu, but they beat teams every year, man. And they kind of show you how good they are. But SMU paid $200 million to join the ACC. That's what they did. And then they go win the dagum thing and actually not win it. They win the regular season, go undefeated, lose to Clemson, barely in the end. But you know, everybody wants to be in a power five, power four, which makes sense. It makes a lot of sense because you have access. And so that, that made a lot of sense. But we're going to go through Brett. Some people look at leagues and they say, how many national championship contenders do you have? That's whether your league's any good. I couldn't disagree more. I don't follow that philosophy. I love football and I love football games. I love competitive football games. And I would argue that the Big 12 delivers that on, on average more than everybody. Like you turn Into a game, man, and, and you're like, this is a great game. This is a great game week in and week out. A bunch of competitive teams. Have they had the, the dominant team, you know, the past several years? No, but, but the games are so good and the conference is so good, man, that I think some people just kind of gloss over and like, oh, it's, it's a cute little conference. No, it's a very competitive conference and I would argue probably top to bottom, the most competitive conference, almost half the.
- [05:00]
Brent
Conference games a season ago, I think mid to high 40s in terms of percentage were one score games. And it's always, it's always fun football and it's just top to bottom. Like you said, as good as it gets. And by the way, one of only two conferences last year that had three 11 win teams. The other was a Big Ten that actually had four, I think. But still. And the, and you talked about the, the sort of parity and whatnot. The team we're going to talk about first here. Arizona State goes worse to first and.
- [05:34]
David Pollack
Preseason last year at Big 12 media days they were the, they were predicted to finish last. Like finish last. And listen, I am wrong about a lot of things. Okay, I, and I will admit that. And, and my preseason Connor Wegman last year was a big swing and a miss. But, but I also talked about Arizona State, Brent, and talked about buying stock and, and I was going to buy them and I was going to gobble them up. And I don't think you should slow down on this stock. Like this is, this is going to be a very, very good stock for a long time. Kenny Dillinghan's a stud. I mean he's just, he's a stud. He's young. This is a guy that is at his place, he's at his home. Like he's at his dream job. Like Kirby Smart came into his dream job and succeeded right away. Like I just, I think it's, it's obviously a great fit. You obviously saw the takeaway when you look at this roster. Experience coming back, a lot of experienced winning coming back. So I mean Brett, we can go through these players, but like they ain't going nowhere, dog.
- [06:42]
Brent
No. And are they like a Nvidia or just you just bought, Just keep buying. Really? You're feeling really good.
- [06:50]
David Pollack
Yeah, I mean it's just, it's just gonna be there. Like you could keep gobbling it up. And listen, what, what some people would say was what about Cam Scatter Boo? And that's probably where this conversation starts is it does like you replace replacing a mule like a absolute stallion, a thoroughbred that they gave the football to over and over and over again. And that's probably where you're going to start with your list and with where people like the biggest question mark in hole if they're going to have sustainability.
- [07:20]
Brent
Yep, a scatter boo sized hole to replace but they do have 17 starters returning and one of the highest in terms of percentage returning production in all of college football. But it starts with Kyson Brown at running back and then the army transfer sip Kanye Udo.
- [07:36]
David Pollack
Sip sip is what they call Kyson Brown by the way. Yeah, back up in 24. Good. Really good. Spring Relik Brown is a transfer from USC like and then the guy you were talking about, Udo is a hammer and by it has some I ain't saying he's scatter boo but he's got that physicality and that bruiser like that short yardage probably bruiser. And Brett, another thing too. If I'm going to take this list and I'm going to go a cam scatter boo size hole. I also get Sam Levitt, I get his running ability and I get an offense with creativity like I get an offense that knows how to space it and use the use the whole field, use the screen game, you know, manufacture things when you need to that plays Aggressive. Big 12 championship game early in that game against Iowa State, like going forward on fourth down and throwing bootlegs, you know and throwing the football to tight ends which they got some tight ends too. But that's why I think it's easy to trust this offense. There's not a scatter boo but there's a bunch of guys that I think can can fill that void.
- [08:44]
Brent
Yep. And Jordan Tyson, who's on your fantasy team if I'm not mistaken. Yes he is Baby Levit's primary target a season ago returns and returns from injury and they've added to that receiver room with a few transfers as well. I think that just makes I'll give.
- [09:02]
David Pollack
You some guys Brent. I'll give you some guys they're really excited about at Arizona state. Malik McClain, he red shirted a year ago but played in the postseason. Really excited about him. Jalen Moss is a veteran from Fresno State that I've been told from from people there that like a great fit in the system, like a perfect fit to what they do. A tight end returning from last year is an NFL type guy. They've got size, they've got up front, they've Got a good offensive line. They've got a lot of experience up front. There's, there's just a lot to like and when you start looking at that side of the football, I think the offense will be good because they also have a quarterback with swag. Man, like I'm a fan, I'm just, I'm going to continue to be a fan. When he said, like Sam Levitt said, Quinn ears, like what? Huh? Like I, I'm better. Like I just. And they put up 31 against Texas. Nobody put up 30 over 30 against Texas. Ohio State scored 21 on defense against Texas, on offense against Texas. Like that was a elite defense but they showed you man. And it was big plays and it was creativity with halfback passes and you know, just straight toughness and keep swinging and keep swinging and, and tempo and all the stuff that they did so well, man. So I, I, I, I believe in, in that guy and that offense. The question now goes to the defense.
- [10:27]
Brent
To the other side of the ball.
- [10:28]
David Pollack
Yeah. And what they were good at number one in the Big 12, stopping the run, Brent. Like they were again both sides of the ball in the line of scrimmage. They were really, really good. Now secondary, it was, it was a struggle last year.
- [10:42]
Brent
Well, it was big plays. They had to, they had, they were top 10 in the country in terms of interceptions, past breakups. And that's one of those things. Where can you depend on that? That's typically one of those numbers that oftentimes swings back to sort of the mean. You don't get as though as much plays like that. And if that happens, you have to get more pressure on the quarterback. Your front has to play better and they, because the pressure wasn't necessarily the greatest.
- [11:05]
David Pollack
It was awful. They didn't do that. What was their numbers in there, Brent? Like because I watching them a year ago, I remember watching their defensive line and I was just like who gets home? Like who gets to the quarterback? And that was a, like they stopped the run. They were physical up front but then I just didn't see a bunch of guys that were able to get to the QB and affect the quarterback and hence why they gave up big play after big play.
- [11:29]
Brent
We talked about Alabama a week ago and some of their low pressure numbers. Arizona State had double digit less sacks than Alabama and almost 30 less pressures than Alabama. So massive drop down from getting after the quarterback in that realm. But schedule they avoid the state of Texas or state, sorry state of Kansas. No Kansas State. No Kansas. Get Texas Tech at home. They got to go to Baylor, at Utah, at Iowa State, and then the sneaky. It shouldn't be a sneaky game. They should take care of business. But week two at Miss State, like, you can't lose that game. You can't fumble around that game. You got. If you're for the benefit of your own conference in the bigger picture, you got to go take care of business.
- [12:13]
David Pollack
You. You just made that comment like, this is the Arizona State of old. Like, you just made that comment like Arizona State, and you're wondering if they're a flash in the pan and they can handle expectations. I don't. I'm past that. Like, I've. I've already graduated. I've already got my fork right here. Like, I'm. Forks up, baby. Like, I don't. I don't understand. I don't understand that. Like, I. Mississippi State is very ungood. Mississippi State is going to struggle to win football games. It's, it's, it's, it's. It's Starkville and Stark. Stark Vegas and it's in its cowbells and all that stuff. But, you know, again, we want to see improvement. I'm not worried about that, but I think hosting Texas Tech is big. But at those other guys, those are all competitive games that you're going at too, that can beat you. And that's. That's got to be something that's, that's interesting to watch. But I think this conference starts the, to me, the conference and the conversation starts with Arizona State and then everybody else underneath them. Like, they're clearly the favorite to me. And talent coaching, you know, by the way, their oc, Marcus Arroyo, the names of guys that he's worked with. Brett is. Is unbelievably impressive. I mean, recruited or signed Herbert, Justin Herbert, Golf. Like. And I could keep going down the list like he's. And this is the next guy in his repertoire. But I just think this offense, another year in the system, another year with. With. With oc, with qb. It's going to be fun. And if I'm in Arizona State, I'm pretty jacked up and excited. I'm pretty excited for this defensive secondary. They add a bunch of guys that are from big schools, which I think is obviously never a bad thing. Guys with experience. Their safety punch is good. Like, their corners are back. Like, a lot of. A lot of that. That secondary that got gave up some big plays. There's also a ton of experience back to help them out. So I think we're all on Arizona State next. We're going to, I don't know if I'm going to call him my squad for the year in the Big 12, but I just, I love Baylor, man. Like I love Baylor. Brent. I went back and watched game after game and started to see big number 13 at QB, Sawyer Robertson. And he's a big boy. He's six four, he's 220. He shows you the toughness, he shows you the wheels. You know, he really took a hold of this once he started to ascend last year. They started to ascend and they ended the season on a six game win streak and just, you know, it reminded me of the Baylor offensive old that's, that's got power. They can run the football, spread you out, run the football, spread you out, take deep shots. And it started to me with Robertson and the big plays and 28 touchdowns, eight interceptions, you know, 445 against LSU in the bowl game. I think 13's got a chance to be one of the best guys in this conference.
- [15:14]
Brent
Him. And when you look at their season, that was a struggle bus kind of early. But that Texas Tech game and after that the last seven games, right, they.
- [15:22]
David Pollack
Dropped 59 against Texas Tech, by the way, like they just scored again and again like 59. They dropped, almost dropped a 60 burger on Texas Tech last year.
- [15:33]
Brent
Baylor hence. Which is hence why Texas Tech went and bought a lot of defensive players. But yes, Robertson, 290 a game, 19 TDs, five, five picks after that coincide with a lot of the running game that stepped up for them as well with Washington and Pendergrass. So who are back this is. And the biggest thing for me looking at this team and when you see and you're wanting to identify like that, hey, I want to be on that team that's going to be in the playoff that nobody's predicting is going to be on the playoff. It's an adult team. It's a team full of red shirt seniors, redshirt juniors, grads transfer seniors, their whole up and down, their first 22, all adults.
- [16:15]
David Pollack
Well, adults. And here's the thing, I trust Dave Aranda. Now last year wasn't a great defensive year for Baylor by any stretch of the imagination. But it's not like we haven't seen him do this at a high level. Like he knows how to coach defense. I think he's got an offense that can put up points. You kind of casually mentioned Bryson Washington. That dude's a baller. Like that dude's a baller. And once he started playing more, it's not a surprise that they started winning more last year because he was such a good compliment. Because you can see Robertson, he can run, but now you can see Washington can be the Bell Cow. He can make big plays. So 30 and 13 when you watch and tape and you're watching those guys, they're going to be so good. I mean he had, he averaged 136 on that six game winning streak a game and he had over 10 touchdowns. Like he was, he was the guy, the secondary for them. Brent. You know Simpson, hut, Ohio State. Turner from Northwestern, an edge guy from Oregon with Barnes an all conference FIU linebacker. Like it's just they brought in a bunch of guys man. So you have the adults, you have the experience but now you bring in a bunch of guys that have played that have a bunch of ability to mix with the experience. Brent. That's why I think they've got a real chance to have a, to have a great season and to be the, the next best team in that league. Like I don't, I don't think they're going to beat Arizona State and I know this is preseason prediction season and there's nothing I hate more than people that say oh they're going to be so much better than like they're going to be a problem. What the freak does that mean? Like they're going to be a problem? I could say that about everybody and every show that I go on to make you feel really good about your squad. Like I think Baylor's in the conversation for getting to the Big 12 championship game like and I'm going to put them on a list of three or four teams tops and their odds to me are that high. They got a chance to win it with their combination of offense, defense, schedule though Brent, early that first game we've already talked about with another team.
- [18:15]
Brent
Yeah and that's one sort of the question of this team is given that they have Auburn at home to open with and then they go to smu. Jeez, if you really those are your.
- [18:28]
David Pollack
Out of conference games like man, you're not doing yourself any favors.
- [18:33]
Brent
No. And, and by the way and their first conference game after playing Samford, their first conference game is Arizona State. So like but at home, at home. But if you drop those two non conference games does it, is it a, hey let's wipe the slate clean, we got the conference stuff now or I think, I actually think they're very much important in the grand scheme of the conference and potentially getting two teams into the playoff if they want to. Or if they. Eventually that becomes a conversation.
- [19:02]
David Pollack
Yeah. And, and starting fast is, is, is, is an understatement for them this year. When you play Auburn at SMU and Arizona State in three of your first four games, I mean, a lot of that's going to be, going to be early. But, but Baylor's got all the tools that they've got all the ingredients to be, to be a dominant team. And it starts with the 1, 2 punch at running back and quarterback. For me, I think they're going to be, they're going to be a problem on offense. They're going to be a real problem.
- [19:30]
Brent
Wait a second. You just, you just said they're going to be a problem.
- [19:35]
David Pollack
I said they're going to be a real problem on offense.
- [19:38]
Brent
Okay.
- [19:38]
David Pollack
Like they're going to score. They're scoring 35 a game. Like you can, you can, you can mark them down as being one of the top offenses in the country.
- [19:47]
Brent
I was just checking you there because you know, you did just say that you didn't like when people.
- [19:51]
David Pollack
They're going to be a problem.
- [19:53]
Brent
All right. By the way. Well, when you look at the teams that we're looking at tonight, we're, we're splitting them in half, so we kind of went one every other. So tomorrow night we'll hit like Kansas State, Texas Tech, things like that. But next we go, the Cyclones who are coming off in Iowa State, coming off their first double digit winning season ever, ever, ever, ever in the history of forever, forever, ever. And so like that. That's as good as it gets. And yet they didn't make the playoff and they lost in the Big 12 championship game. So. And it starts first and foremost, like question of all questions. We just talked about best season in history. They just had the best combination of receivers they've ever had because I was looking at the list of previous receivers that have been drafted like Noel and Higgins, highest draft picks from, from their school at receiver. The only. And in terms of quality of talent, at least in the pros, you're looking at Alan Lazard maybe as the, the next guy on that list of, of really good players there. But you got to replace those two. As much as I like Beck, as much as I like Matt Campbell, that's two humongous playmakers that are, they're gone from their squad.
- [21:04]
David Pollack
They were the only two receivers in the regular season in the, in the, in the nation that were both over a thousand yards and same team. I talk about Rocco Beck, Brent and, and I talk about how much I Love him because I love his grit. And you watch that Iowa game, you know, bam, bam, bam, down the field with less than a minute, and he's just, he's made of all the right stuff. He's going to scramble, he's going to lower his shoulder, he's going to run people over. He's one of the most accomplished Iowa State quarterbacks in history. I mean, over 6,700 yards, like 48 touchdowns. He, he's got. But the thing is it's, it's 59% completion percentage and he's just got to get a little bit more efficient. And this is an experience year. Like, I'm experienced. I have all the things who steps up at wide receiver. But, but this is a squad that. You know, what's amazing about Matt Campbell is Brent, if you spent, if you spent 10 minutes with him, you'd love him because he, his idea of culture is old school. Like, it's, it's build it, it's, it's holding people accountable, it's development. Like it's over time, it's adversity, it's, it's evolving. Like it's all the things that, that you used to do in college football back in the day, but now it's kind of been like transfer portal this, transfer portal that. But, but they've still been an unbelievable job of mixing in highly recruited kids. I mean just Dominic Orange is a guy that chose. Chose Iowa State over Ohio State and Georgia and like all the, the big teams in the country and then has had a really good career thus far, but did, but chose to stay and not go in the transfer pool and you know, good and well, like the offers were there. Brent like to make more money and to leave, but I think the culture that he's built and the buy in those guys look in his eyes, they believe him. And that's why this is another roster that a bunch of guys that have been there but then sprinkling in, you know, a few ads like, you know, Cannon, Butler, who's will be off the edge and Malone from Tulsa, you know, the defensive end, they, they. The defensive line throwing in a few guys there. But, but, but this is a squad that always, you know, makes you beat them. They're fun to watch. They're, they're not Brett, they're not overly explosive. They've got to win the margins. Right? Like there's a lot of teams in the Big 12. Like we could, we could, we could talk about so many teams that are really, really similar, but Iowa State last Year. You think about their squad and the games, some of the games they pulled out last year that were close games, they made big plays in close games to get their first 11 win season.
- [23:33]
Brent
The biggest thing for me with them is their schedule and the fact that they have that opening game against Kansas State, the Week 0 game, that's in Ireland. Ireland. Do you like that? That's a conference game. That seems to me if you're going to play that game, it needs to be a non conference game. But I mean, last year we had what, Tech and Florida State in that game. But that just, that's their toughest outside of Arizona State. That's their toughest conference opponent. And they got to play them on, you know, the other side of the world or halfway.
- [24:04]
David Pollack
Yeah. And obviously breaking in so many new things, you know, and breaking in new pieces when you don't necessarily know, you know, what it is. But that first game, obviously going to be tough. But then, you know, they play Iowa every year, which is always, you know, super tough. And I know that's not within the league, but that's, that's a tough game. South Dakota State, you'll give them Arkansas State, you'll give them Arizona, but at uc, at Colorado, byu, Arizona State, at tcu, Kansas and Oklahoma State. So it's a, it's a pretty good schedule. I don't think it's, I don't think it's murderer's row. They're, they're a team that's, that's been developed there. There's so much continuity on staff and who they are and what they are every year. Like, they're gonna be a tough team. They're gonna be tough. This is why the league's fun, because teams like this are going to be good. They're going to beat a lot of teams. They're going to be in the mix. But can they be elite? And I think offensively, you know, it's hard to imagine them taking a big step forward when you just lost two superstars like @ wide receiver. I, I can't, I can't see that picture, man.
- [25:07]
Brent
That's. We've looked at other conferences. Who's the leap team? Who's the down to earth team? This is one that kind of comes back down to earth. I feel like they're in the sort of 8 and 5 or 8 and 4 type. 7 and 5, 8 and 4 realm. And take a few steps back. For me now, the leap team, you seem to maybe think it was Baylor or maybe Texas Tech. I'm going with the next team that we're talking about. I'm going with the Horn Frogs because I was what's amazing with tcu and I was looking at this because it's curious. They've since Francioni took over in 1998 so you know, 20, almost 27 years, something like that. They've only had five losing seasons. Like the consistency of the program especially with, with Gary Patterson like that phenomenal. Now I will say three of the last five years are three. Are three of those five losing seasons. So it's kind of been in every other with that. But I, I think this team specifically because I think their quarterback might be kind of the most underrated and not talked about big time quarterback returning in the country because we've got so many QBs that are back and so many young QBs. This is the guy that's kind of getting lost in that. And with Josh Hoover who had the second high or the highest passing grade in the Big 12 last year, Levitt was the highest overall graded QB, but he had the highest passing grade second overall in terms of overall grade. Yards thrown like was almost at 4, 000 yards. Number two in yours, number six and touchdowns in the power four. Like lot. Lots of like with Josh Hoover.
- [26:43]
David Pollack
Sell me. I like it. You're. You're selling me like crazy. Top three. Three of their top four wide receivers are gone and I think that's the, that's the interesting thing about this explosiveness. And Brent, can they run the football? Like can they get more. Yeah, I know they can throw it but winning one dimensionally just doesn't always sit well. Like it's. You better be that guy at the QB spot. But TCU is interesting. You know defense you do think Gary Patterson, you think defense like you think, you know shutting people down and all the D they had for so many years that that wasn't the case. Now Andy Avalos came over a year ago and they were improved like they were. They were better than, than they had been but they still, they weren't elite by any stretch. But I tell you what, I was, I was, I was looking at them a little bit and I actually, I went down a rabbit hole a little bit and then.
- [27:39]
Brent
How far a little bit.
- [27:42]
David Pollack
I nerded out a little bit and I was looking at their transfers because they got Bud Clark who's an all PAC 12 or a big 12. Excuse me. Pack 12. Wow. They don't exist. Two pack. Gonna be an eight pack soon. But anyways and I was looking at their, their Pass rush. And I was looking at the guys, they added and they add, they added an All Pack 12 linebacker which is fantastic. That's really, really good for Andy Avalos and his sink game. And then the sack leader, Washington State sack leader and Brent, I went and watched his tape and I don't know why, but I went and just started watching his highlights and he was number 32. Now pronouncing his name is Ansool Dinbu is his name. And if I said that correctly, which I tried to, and I wrote it down phonetically to try to say it correctly. Hey, this dude's a good player, man. Like, he's really good. I, I expect him to be one of those guys that we're talking about next year and be like, what, where did he come from? Oh, he came from, from Washington State. Really? Okay. Yeah, he's good. I mean he's, he's an interior pass rusher. He was a wrestler in high school, like a two time state champion. And he's, he looks like it, Brent, like with his hands and quickness. He's got, I don't know what it is, but when you're a defensive tackle and you got those lower numbers or those running back numbers, you just look more athletic. So like 32 and 1 and like the single digit ones, you just look more athletic. So can they, can they take a tick up, you know, on the, on the defensive side of the football? Because that's, that's one thing that, the reason you've seen losing seasons is. Well, you didn't see it with Gary Patterson because they always played great defense. They always played great defense. They used what they had, they developed really well. But I will say this, down the stretch, they looked better on defense and held 13 or 13 or fewer points four of their last seven games. And that's kind of why they, they got some dubs. They just got to take that next step defensively.
- [29:26]
Brent
Yeah, like you mentioned, no Bash or Jack Bash is gone. Savion Williams is gone, sort of as all around guy and they bring us a couple transfers and then also a couple young receivers that I've read that they like a lot. So if those guys make plays, I, I very much.
- [29:40]
David Pollack
You see who they open with? Oh yeah, North Carolina.
- [29:45]
Brent
So is Chapel Bill gonna put Hoover in a vacuum?
- [29:51]
David Pollack
Chapel Chapel Bill will be bad.
- [29:53]
Brent
But dad joke there.
- [29:55]
David Pollack
That's a, that's an interesting, that's definitely an interesting opener by the way. You saw, you see who they have game three too.
- [30:01]
Brent
Yeah, smu.
- [30:03]
David Pollack
Smu. I mean that's not, that's not too great. And followed up by Arizona State, Colorado and Kansas State and Baylor. So I mean the front part of that, that, that the fun part of that schedule is, is really, really, really weird like you. But you're going to get weird quickly and so it's nice to know you're on them. Brent, that's your, that's your squad to get right? Mine's Baylor. So we get to watch this in the Big 12. That'd be fun.
- [30:30]
Brent
Yeah, we'll get, by the way, we get to watch it prime time by themselves that first weekend with the game against North Carolina. So that'll be fun to see. Next up, the team that is kind of looking for a quarterback because theirs is now, theirs has now had some issues and is no longer at byu. And Jake Red Sloff announced he was going to two lane, which by the way makes that team very interesting from a, from a Group of 5 standpoint and whether or not they, they can make a playoff type run. But the Cougars, that, that's just I think him having to go season altering, I think in a way potentially okay.
- [31:07]
David Pollack
Okay, so why.
- [31:12]
Brent
Well, the two guys that are there have, have zero career attempts as a BYU quarterback.
- [31:17]
David Pollack
Okay. And, and so here's what I'll ask you, Mr. Numbers Guy like Red Slaff was a good guy, was a good quarterback, good scrambling, good throwing. Was he elite really in any of those markers or any. Did he do anything on a level that graded out like super elite? Because no, I didn't see that. And here's another thing too. He threw an interception a game like he threw an interception. Every game, like almost every. You could mark him down for a mistake. And here's the one thing that's kind of lost. First of all, Kalani Sataki is a stud and the way he talks, the way he leads is really cool, man. Like, he's aggressive. Fourth down means an extra down. It doesn't mean punt. I mean fakes. You'll see it. But, but, but one thing about this team, they won close games and they won games, Brent, with special teams. They had kick returns in big games. They, they had two kick returns in, in two different games that they won. They had two punt returns in two different games that they won. So you're talking about 11 and two and you're talking about teams that regress to the mean like this. BYU now losing experience at quarterback, losing a ton on the defensive line from a year ago. I, I think this is, this is going to be an interesting team. To watch because the one thing that they do do, they're always physical. They always find guys. I saw you smile, by the way, when I said do do. Like, seriously, guys are just guys all the time.
- [32:47]
Brent
Like, I can't help it.
- [32:48]
David Pollack
Sorry. But, but J. Hill did a great job with this defense and they, the turnaround was, was, was really good. And, and they just, they do do an unbelievable job of developing guys and, and talk about the schedule because that's.
- [33:03]
Brent
The silver lining they avoid. They were. If, if red soft's there, I'm putting in pen six zero because it's Portland State, Stanford at East Carolina, at Colorado, West Virginia at home, at Arizona. Like now a lot of those are coin flips, but I'd be careful.
- [33:22]
David Pollack
I'd have been careful with East Carolina anyways because they're going to be really good. But yeah, the schedule, man, that schedule is pretty solid. They also avoid Kansas State, Baylor and Arizona State. Yeah, like, that's pretty dang good, man. Like, is that four of the top, I mean that's three of the top four other teams that maybe you're putting in the top and maybe you add, you know, and you know, they're going to play Utah and you know that's going to be tough. And your team, tcu, they got both of them at home. They got to go at Iowa State and Texas Tech. So I see the reason for optimism. But I also, realistically, I just, I. And, and, and, and they're good. Chase Roberts is back. LJ Martin, like Roberts was their leading receiver. Martin was fun to watch. He's a big strong guy. Like, he's got some speed to him as well. But you know, they, they won, you know, 22 to 21 against Utah last year. They won 17 to 13 against or they lost to Kansas 17 to 13. But they won so many of those close games, 3428. They, they barely beat Oklahoma State last year by three. Like, I, I just, I think we're going to see, we're going to see a little bit of a fallback with byu.
- [34:40]
Brent
Yep, I agree. Next up, I guess it's an Houston, another cougar. But with Willie Fritz, year one not so great. But by the way, historically with him, he wins. There's a year, there's a year two leap. There's usually a big leap in year two and you've got Pollock's passion of last off season, Connor Wegman at quarterback. So unfortunately though, swinging a miss. Unfortunately now though, their, their defensive coordinator, who sort of a good name was now at Texas Tech and they're like, if you look at their roster, it's massively portal heavy, dude. So, like beyond portal heavy, I mean.
- [35:31]
David Pollack
Here'S the thing. There's a couple of teams that are coming up that we're going to talk about that. You're like, okay, they're, they're turning over 60 guys, they're turning over their staffs. And so when we're doing a preseason and you're trying to predict what somebody's going to be, it's really, really hard. And I think the, it's harder than ever anywhere. But, but I do know Willie Fritz has coached at a bunch of different divisions and a bunch of different levels and he's wanted all of them and he's been super successful. And Houston finds talent, dude. Like historically, Houston finds speed. Texas football obviously is really, really good. Can he recruit in that area? They were one of the worst offenses in the country a year ago. They were, they. Brent, I don't like to talk down about people but like, and rip people to shreds, but that offense deserves it. Like, they were, they were, they were awful. They were really, really bad. And they've got to go, they've got to get better. Their offensive line is going to be all transfers, all new guys, you know, coming in with a new qb. How fast can they get on the same page? They lost their all Big 12 cornerback and safety who, who are both gone. I think they both went in the portal. Right.
- [36:41]
Brent
Like both ones at Florida State, one's at lsu.
- [36:44]
David Pollack
Yeah, I mean that's, that's not fun. So the good players that they did develop and, and have on their roster now, you know, went somewhere else. So I don't have a lot to expect from them. They've got to get better offensively than 14 points per game from a year ago. Their defense actually wasn't that bad. But I don't have a lot of expectations for, for the Cougs.
- [37:05]
Brent
No, I don't either. But you, you mentioned the recruiting part. They do have the five star kid, the Henderson kid, the quarterback that is committed to them. So that's. Which would maybe be the highest ranked recruit ever in their school. I don't know. I can't. I haven't.
- [37:18]
David Pollack
Isn't that beautiful, by the way, that you can do that now? Like these, these schools that are, that are Houston's, that they can go put their eggs, they can go put all of their eggs in a quarterback basketball and, and go get a guy. And I think that's, you know, that's fun to watch and we'll see what it, what it turns into. But, you know, 14 points a game a year ago is, is, is not going to get it done.
- [37:40]
Brent
No. No. All right, next up, he's a man. And he's how old now, Mr. Gundy?
- [37:48]
David Pollack
56.
- [37:50]
Brent
Something real. I, I thought he was right around 60 maybe, because I want to say it was like the 20 year reunion or something of him saying that. Am I, am I off base there with that?
- [38:02]
David Pollack
57. Okay, he's 57.
- [38:04]
Brent
You're closer. So we're not quite at the 20 year, you know that. But anyway, he made some interesting comments at the, the media days and he.
- [38:12]
David Pollack
Always does, he always has interesting comments.
- [38:17]
Brent
But basically that, you know, they're kind of playing the game now and playing the Portal game and, and they've kind of learned from their mistakes and learned how, how to go about things and he was very open about that. And you look at, you know, their roster, it's littered with, with transfer guys and you know, 13, if you look at their depth chart, any, any various depth charts, you find 13 of the 22 projected starters are from, from the Portal. So he's got a completely new roster. And you know him, he's competitive and he's not going to want to go away and not be good anymore.
- [38:53]
David Pollack
Well, and, and you know, this is where he played. So he's got history here. He loves his school, an Oberger, the big fat. Oh, he did not win a game in the Big 12 a year ago. That's never happened in his career. He's never had that kind of season. Like, that's just. This is a prideful dude. And if you go through the list, Brent, and you watch his hires over the years, they, they go on to be OCS everywhere. Like all of his guys that he goes and finds it at different levels are really fun to watch. And so he didn't just rehaul or overhaul his players, he overhauled his staff too. Like, I mean, so many new staff guys. Doug Meacham comes from tcu, who's, who's been there for a while. He and Todd Grantham comes as their dc. He comes from the New Orleans Saints. So like it's, there's a lot, there's a lot of new. There's a lot of change. You talked about Nil. They're throwing concerts and trying to raise money and like they're doing everything they can to, to get in the game, but you know, the, the passing ability and the, the new offense and neither One has a career attempt. But because Meacham came from tcu he brings Zane Flores with him who's a four star quarterback. And so does that become your guy? If he is it's a passer passing type offense as opposed to to hen is what I'm going to go with. By the way. Hingenai, I don't know how to say it has he's a dual threat guy but it'll be interesting to see Oklahoma State. I, I, I love Gundy. I love his, his quotes, his sound bites. He's no nonsense. I just that that was a bad taste in all the Sooner's mouth. This is a proud program, man. I don't think they're going to come back and get a shut out again like they're going to get some dubs in the Big 12 so they'll take a step forward than three and nine.
- [40:45]
Brent
And you know we talked in the beginning about Arizona State being the sort of team worst of first team. I, you're, I don't foresee that in any way this year. The, the bottom of this con of the conference this year. I expect them to basically be the bottom of the conference this year and it's just a matter of who do they, do they pick off one of the big, big dogs that you think are going to be the top five, four to five teams and they're this Oklahoma State's going to be one of those teams because they get, you know, they get Baylor at home, they get Kansas State at home, they get Iowa State at home. Do they get one of those games and, and I don't even ruin somebody else's season.
- [41:25]
David Pollack
I don't even, I, I don't like I'm not ready to look at their schedule and start predicting W's.
- [41:31]
Brent
Like we can predict a loss at Oregon, you think in week two.
- [41:37]
David Pollack
It's tough but this is a proud program. I think Bedlam's back though. Bedlam returns this year. Is that this year that's coming up. It's coming up though, right? They're gonna, we're gonna get OU back on the schedule. I think at some point in the near future.
- [41:51]
Brent
I don't know that's. I sure hope I haven't looked that far ahead.
- [41:55]
David Pollack
Okay.
- [41:55]
Brent
I know here.
- [41:57]
David Pollack
I know. Get on the now. Let's get on the now. The next team. Are you putting this next team. This is our last team for the day, right?
- [42:03]
Brent
Yes. Last one of the day.
- [42:05]
David Pollack
You put this team in the, in the conversation. Is this one of your teams in the in the in the top tier to win the conference.
- [42:11]
Brent
Negative.
- [42:12]
David Pollack
Okay.
- [42:13]
Brent
You swear the Knights. I mean as much as I like Scott Frost going back there and by the way, as much as I like them as a program, I long thought this was just a sleeping giant type potential program because of being in Florida and all the struggles that all the other Florida teams had. If you could kind of be on the come up and get in the, in the Power 4 conference like they did. But no, Gus Bus is now in, in Tallahassee. Different area area maybe. Maybe different area code, different zip code, I don't know. But yeah, Scott Frost is back. That's probably the most interesting thing I've got to say about them at this point.
- [42:50]
David Pollack
Yeah, complete more passes and stop the run. I mean from a year ago, they, they were, they were, they were a struggle bus to, to watch, you know, passing game and, and just stopping the run like that. The games they were in that were competitive were shootouts, you know, and they, they just gave up so many easy touchdowns. And this is. How fun can this offense be? Scott Frost, you know, he struggled his butt off at Nebraska and he wasn't ready for that. But he did a good job his first stint and you know, he returns and you know he's. What does he do? Can he get some guys there? And it's a new era. It's a different day. And his return, it was so good when he left and the thought of it returning to that, it's going to be difficult. It's going to be a different world. It's not the same. UCF isn't in the same spot. The schools in the state like you talked about, they aren't in the same spot. UCF should always find speed though. They should always find offense. They should always find playmakers because I can, I can throw a rock and literally at any school in Florida and hit up and hit a kid that can run 4.
- [44:01]
Brent
4.
- [44:02]
David Pollack
Like you just, you should find those guys and so it's going to be interesting to watch. They surely they, they take a step up, but I'm surprised you don't have me your top four. That's disrespectful.
- [44:10]
Brent
Geez. No. Well, I mean, hey, they do have Taven Jackson at qb who we do know of and we have seen a little bit of from his time in Indiana by the way, the rest of their, if you look at their starting 22, you're. You're talking double almost 15 to 16 transfer portal guys. So it's much like these other teams. It's entirely new team, new coach. Flip the roster. That's kind of. We're going to talk about that probably tomorrow night with with some of the other teams in the Big 12. My team, West Virginia, like flip the entire roster. So what do you get you don't love? You gotta wait and see.
- [44:46]
David Pollack
This is our last team we're covering tonight today. And then we'll give you more in the rest of the Big 12 preview. But like of Houston, Oklahoma State and UCF, who's going to win the most games?
- [45:02]
Brent
Yeah, I would. I'm kind of basically picking between the Gundy comeback or the Fritz leap year in SEC in the second year leap. So I'll probably go with Willie Fritz in the second year leap from, from that squad.
- [45:16]
David Pollack
Yeah, I mean that's, that's a. When you, when we started doing the previews, there was a lot of like, oh, okay. Similar.
- [45:21]
Brent
Similar. Conor Wegman, qb. I think from a talent perspective, if you get, if he gets right gets confidence, things like that, you might actually have something there.
- [45:28]
David Pollack
Yeah, that would be my dudes. Well, that's, that's half of the Big 12. We'll get to the, we'll get the other half to you, you know, soon ASAP and getting closer and closer to college football, man. So continue to stay tuned, do all those things you do like with the like and subscribe and rate whatever that stuff is you do. We're excited. We continue to grow. We appreciate you guys for supporting. See you guys soon.