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The Solid Verbal College Football
Big 12 Preview: Part 3 - Utah’s Identity Question, Houston’s Rise & Oklahoma State’s Reboot | College Football
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- [00:00]
Ty Hildenbrandt
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- [00:04]
Tab Ramos
This is Tab Ramos from Inside American Soccer. And this summer, topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They've got a new soccer themed game you can play with your group. Exclusive food and drink items. They've even installed full size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you you can get the topgolf Summer Fun Pass which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours now@TopGolf.com FunPass Amazon Health AI
- [00:40]
Dan Rubenstein
presents Painful Thoughts why did I search
- [00:45]
Ty Hildenbrandt
the Internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that.
- [01:02]
Dan Rubenstein
Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. This is Tony Ayo from the Real Report with Tony Ayo and Uncle Murder. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rent, streaming, even extra Sosa at your favorite burrito spot. But with Boost Mobile, you don't have to play the Willis Go up Soon game. Boost Mobile offers an unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. It's the same price you'll pay for Life. Switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that'll never go up. Only at boost mobile. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. Welcome to the Solid Verbal.
- [01:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
The Solid Verbal. Come after me.
- [01:46]
Dan Rubenstein
I'm a man. I'm 40. I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. You want to be happy for a day? Eat a steak.
- [01:52]
Ty Hildenbrandt
It's and now, Dan and Ty. Dan Rubenstein. Welcome back to the show. It is Big 12 Part 3. Go back and listen to Part 1 if you want our tears. Go back and listen to part two if you want the first half of the conference, or I should say eight teams within the conference. We didn't order them any which way. On today's episode, we've got more in depth team previews for Utah, Houston, tcu, Oklahoma State, both of the Arizona schools, Cincinnati and ucf. My friend, welcome back.
- [02:29]
Dan Rubenstein
Thank you for having me back. I'm. I'm glad I was able to convince you to bring me Here for. For part three. Always excited about this. It is going to be another episode chock full of me saying things like, man, and then after that, they have this team who the week before that they have that team, and then the week after that they have this team. It could be an interesting sandwich spot. And then as you look at these teams, right, the fun thing about the Big 12 or the maddening thing about the Big 12, which will keep me watching in perpetuity, is Oklahoma State might be really fun or they might not be. Cincinnati might be really fun or they might not be. Arizona could be really fun again, or they might not be. Arizona State could be really fun or. Or they might not be. TCU's offense with a new quarterback from the Ivy League could be really fun, or they might not be. And I'm not sure we're gonna know until, like, Halloween. And I'm okay with this. I think it's. It's kind of fun that this conference, specifically, for whatever reason you do or don't think, has so much variance and you're like, well, maybe this Akron left guard will work out, maybe he won't. And I know there's a lot about this sport that drives people kind of crazy with NIL and Portal and starting over at so many position groups at the same time. But genuinely, after the first three teams in this conference, anything absolutely goes. And it's probably true of the sec. I've, you know, jumped in a little bit, but there's a lot of coaching changes in the sec. It's probably true of the Big Ten. And even in a season where there's so much back that's familiar at quarterback, you look at these position groups and you just say, like, man, if this defensive tackle from West Georgia, right, works out right, he is 6, 7, 3, 60. Is it a good 6, 7, 3, 60? Time will tell.
- [04:27]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, the other thing, too, and I was noticing this as I went through the Big 12, and this is probably not unique to the Big 12, but I do think it does add to the allure. Very few unmitigated disasters, I think. So a lot of wondering if something will work and if it does, to your point, that will make the conversation more interesting, and if it doesn't, well, then we'll understand why. But a bunch of teams in this conference in particular are sort of living on that knife's edge where if it falls one way, it's a much, much different, more optimistic conversation. If it doesn't, at least we'll know why it's there. No fires burning out of control. At least not at this juncture in, you know, end middle to end of July here as we record Big 12
- [05:12]
Dan Rubenstein
part three, there is a very, very strong branch for all of the the potential Wiley Coyotes to grab onto. That's right after falling off of a short to medium cliff like the branch won't snap. Drew Master Maker is there to make sure that branch won't snap.
- [05:31]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Exactly.
- [05:32]
Dan Rubenstein
The Oklahoma defense does not carry its own weight, so we have a Wiley Coyote branch situation potentially in the bottom half of the Big 12.
- [05:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, on that note, if you are new here, please hit, follow or subscribe. You informed me at the end of our last episode that I didn't do any of the housekeeping that I normally do at the top. I was too eager to get into the Big 12 Part 2 that I just blew right past all the stuff I'm supposed to say. So yes, please hit, follow or subscribe. If you've already done that. Leave a star rating or a review wherever it is you listen or watch the show, we would greatly appreciate it. It informs the college football public that yes, we are indeed a show worth following and listening to and having fun with. So we would appreciate that. If you do want to support the team. Man, we've had a bunch of new Patreon signups here oh over the last couple weeks. I think people, new people whose names I have not recognized before popping on in.
- [06:26]
Dan Rubenstein
Nice.
- [06:27]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I hope people are finding these previews useful. I know what we've put into them. Certainly it's been a labor of love to an extent to make sure we can speak knowledgeably about all these teams. But you know, we're having fun with it. And if you get any value out of it for Ballers.com is where you can go if you want to help support what we do. And last but Certainly not least, two things on the email front. 1. SolidVerbal.com Newsletter Free Weekly newsletter. No questions asked. Just go and check it out. Our friend Tyler writes It does an awesome job with the newsletter every week and if you have anything you would like to add to the discussion, the best way to reach out. Yes, you can do it on social media, but if you want to make sure we read it, solidverbalmail.com is the most surefire way to do just that.
- [07:14]
Dan Rubenstein
And if you want to text tied directly, it's 6 10. Yes, that's the area code.
- [07:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Settle. Settle.
- [07:21]
Dan Rubenstein
There are people that I am friends with that do text me directly. Very specific thoughts about very specific thoughts I have and without Fail. I remember zero of them. When somebody's like, I don't know if I agree with you on that Michigan thing. I was like, I don't. The episode is done. I have moved on. We're on to Cincinnati. And I never remember.
- [07:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
None of my close friends listen to this show.
- [07:46]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay. I've got a couple, I would say not close close, but friendly acquaintances. So, like, yeah, decent friends.
- [07:53]
Ty Hildenbrandt
None of my friends listen to it, so I don't have to worry about that.
- [07:56]
Dan Rubenstein
I don't know if my parents have ever listened to this show.
- [07:59]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Mom H runs it on loop at her house.
- [08:01]
Dan Rubenstein
We could. We could secret verbal. My parents in a way that they would never figure out.
- [08:09]
Ty Hildenbrandt
You would have to give out their home phone number or mailing address though, wouldn't you?
- [08:13]
Dan Rubenstein
I would have to do some sort of contact situation, like contact people they know to then contact them. So a second degree secret verbal. They would 100% never know.
- [08:25]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, if this is something you would like to entertain, I'm in. But that's going to be your call at the end of the day.
- [08:31]
Dan Rubenstein
All right, we're good.
- [08:32]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Where do we want to start? Big 12, part three.
- [08:35]
Dan Rubenstein
Yes.
- [08:35]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Go back and listen to the first two parts. We did cover Texas Tech, BYU in part one, in addition to a number of other schools, like you said at the top. I mean, so many of these schools are really interesting for a whole multitude of reasons, though there are some commonalities. They're all unique in some way, shape or form. Why don't we go to Utah? Okay, why don't we start with the obvious here with Utah, who went 11, two last year, seven and two in conference. Kyle Whittingham was there for 21 years. Perhaps Dan. Perhaps against his will, the university decided it was time to pass the baton over to Morgan Scally, who had been the coach and waiting for a while.
- [09:13]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, Offered him one year instead of a new deal.
- [09:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, yada, yada, yada. Wits now with Michigan and took a handful of players and staff with him. What's left now for Morgan Scally is, I think, first and foremost a chance to give Utah a fresh start. But he's going to have to do so with new coordinators, eight new position coaches, a lot new along both the lines which I want to get into here. It's that last part in particular, I'd say about the lines.
- [09:44]
Dan Rubenstein
Yep.
- [09:45]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That concerns me the most because as you know, that's been a big part of the Utah identity over the Whittingham years. That's part of the reason why they've always been so steady because of the line play. So maybe we can start there. Because the way I see it, five new starters along the offensive line this season. It seems like there is an open debate among other people who have authored previews on how much of the Utah identity can be retained given the amount of turnover that we're seeing. Certainly on the offensive side, but on the defensive side as well, just in general, the trenches being so volatile this year as compared to previous years, there's an open question there about what, what does this new version of Utah look like moving forward?
- [10:31]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah. Also new offensive line coach, I think with some of seven or eight new assistants position total. Eight new assistants, obviously two new coordinators under Morgan Scally. So this is a new look Utah program, even though there are familiar pieces and pieces with experience here, this is a reset. I think this is a fair to say reset though the pieces there and the pieces that return are seem to be of quality. But you're right when you've looked at Utah over the years, when they're not catastrophically injured, which has happened one or two times recently, unfortunately. Yeah, there's a steady stream of like okay, this red shirt or this, you know, rotation defensive lineman or group of them, they're now starting or they're now getting more time. Or this offensive lineman who subbed in at left guard because of injury and became a full time starter 5 games left in the season, he's now starting. Or this tight end who was in 12 personnel, he's now the main guy, he's now tight end one that there was the steady stream of next man up with experience at Utah. There was just an unbelievable amount of continuity or you know, in the secondary you'd always see those dudes stepping up and it's just not that right now. It's just not that I think they're. They lost 20 dudes or something. 17 new players. There are familiar faces, but when you look at where they are at tight end, where they are on both lines, where they are in the secondary, the hallmark of the best of Utah these past few, 10, 15 years is not there. Like there is not that internal dynamic promotion kind of system anymore. And so look, they're counting on Devin Dampier to take the next step forward as a more complete quarterback. I think that's reasonable to think he can though with the new offensive coordinator, has a familiar running back next to him and way Sean Parker, that's great. But new receivers, new tight end, new system and then a defense that's probably not going to be as helpful for the offensive offenses cause as it's traditionally been when healthy. And so what does he look like as a more mature quarterback in reading more defenses and you know, the composure in the pocket instead of trying to force everything himself. And then defensively it's still Morgan Scally, it's still his vision for the defense, but he's not the day to day guy. And so with a new defensive line, a lot of transfers, linebackers I think in okay shape. Secondary I want to give the benefit of the doubt to, but it's transfers once again. And the development there has been quite good over the years, but so many new names everywhere kind of tells me Utah will be good but with some issues that are still gonna linger later on into the season. I have them and I'm looking at their schedule in like an eight win zone. Look if they're fine, not great, but fine starting out 405060 against this schedule seems okay, seems reasonable. It gets a lot more difficult in the back half. Houston at Cincinnati, BYU at Arizona at tcu, West Virginia to finish out the season whatever West Virginia is. But unless there are catastrophic issues immediately, they should be ranked in like the high teens, like 18, 19, low 20s, purely based on brand name and record based, not necessarily this year's actual quality.
- [14:00]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, I think we. Well, I'm, I'm on the over right now. The win total is eight and a half. I'm on the over, but I'm kind of on the edge a little bit with that.
- [14:14]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [14:15]
Ty Hildenbrandt
For many of the reasons you described. Like I spent a fair amount of time going through Utah trying to understand what it's going to look like especially on offense this year. How different will it be because Jason Beck leaves, goes to Michigan with Whittingham, they hire Kevin McGivern as the new offensive coordinator who comes over from Utah State. And what I was picking up is that generally it should look very similar to what we saw last year.
- [14:42]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [14:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
But our friend Brett Ciancia from pick six included a little nugget in his preview that Morgan Scally wants to be more attacking. It aggressive on offense, great on offense. Never saw that one coming. So vertical shots, trying to be more aggressive on offense. What does that look like with Devin Dampier? And I know you alluded to him having way Sean Parker with him in the backfield. Obviously Utah fans are hoping that Devin Dampier could take another step forward with his development as a quarterback. I think all of that as you mentioned is, is reasonable and it should
- [15:18]
Dan Rubenstein
be mentioned Was playing beat up for a good last year.
- [15:21]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, it was very beat up. But what does it look like if you try to get a little bit more aggressive and you're in a situation like Utah is this year where you lose your top three pass catchers from a year ago and suddenly all your starters are transfers from like Mountain west schools, Good players from the Mountain West. I'm not demeaning them at all. And this is their shot. Good for them. But there's just so much different that it's really hard to hang your hat on Utah getting back to like where they were a year ago, which was an 11 and 2 season. I don't see that in the cards for them in 2026. I think eight and a half is probably the right number. I tend to go a little bit higher than that. I would say nine and three for me. But I understand why you might fall short of that. Short of that number. Just because what is the identity? Right? As I said at the top, what is the identity and how much of the old identity is going to carry into this new regime?
- [16:19]
Dan Rubenstein
Right. And typically, maybe not typically, but there are teams, there are situations in which, okay, there is an obvious internal candidate. In the case of Morgan Scally, he was named the coach in waiting. But usually you do see a lot of continuity on the roster when there's a coach who the roster is familiar with. Now, maybe last year with where the offensive line was age wise and where the defense was in terms of experience and age, maybe it was never going to have a ton of continuity. But a lot of the dudes who you would have said, okay, there's star power here, there's potential star power there because they're back, those guys left.
- [16:58]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, it's funny you say that because one of the things that I flagged here in my notes, just looking at the defensive line, there is an obvious question about pass rush and how, you know, where. Where are they going to generate that pressure from? There's also a very big question, a void of sorts along that line in terms of just star power.
- [17:16]
Dan Rubenstein
Right.
- [17:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Who am I hanging my hat on here? And they will probably develop again. This has been a program that's been very successful at developing that side of the football and has made hay by being very good in the trenches. But some of those guys went elsewhere, went with wit to Michigan. It's a little bit unclear to me if they're going to.
- [17:35]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. It's an unusual situation. I mean, maybe a little bit more common now. Of a coach leaving a big place for another big place. We've seen it more recently with guys like Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly. Lane Kiffin now. But, yeah, typically when there is that new coach, the internal promotion, you're like, okay, well, he recruited a lot of these guys, and he's familiar with a lot of these guys. They're familiar with him. It's a reset on two different levels, which tells me you are. I think we're getting a step back here. I think last year was kind of a special year offensively. What do you say that it was? Eight and a half.
- [18:09]
Tab Ramos
Eight and a half.
- [18:09]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, I'm.
- [18:10]
Dan Rubenstein
I think I might take the under. I think I have, like eight and four. I think I'm. I'm on that other side. For me, I'm gonna go.
- [18:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'll. I'll stick with what I jotted down here at 9 and 3, but I. It's an easy case to make that it's just eight wins and not nine.
- [18:25]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, if they can. Look, it's Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State, Iowa State. Those are all winnable games. First year Arkansas coach. Kansas might still need time at that point. Working in new defense, new quarterback, Colorado. A ton of questions. And that gets us to October 24, right? With no obvious like, oh, this team is built in a way that they could take advantage of, like, Utah deficiencies. Houston at home, which I appreciate as like, maybe that's a 50, 50 moment. Cincinnati on the road could be tricky depending on where this offense is. But Cincinnati has a good offensive line. BYU at Arizona, at TCU is a stretch. We're like, man, if they can come away from that. 2 and 1. West Virginia at home after at TCU. I don't know if that's a letdown moment, but it just feels as if, like, there are too many pop needs for this Utah team. Even with the schedule, that seems workable.
- [19:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, let's shift gears there and talk about the Houston Cougars. Yes, 10 and three last year. Their win total per Vegas is seven and a half. It just so happens that you and I are both crazy for Houston this year. We love ourselves from Houston Cougars. They bring back Willie Fritz, all of his coordinators. They're also 17th nationally in returning production, notably 71% back on offense, which is seventh best in the country. The interesting note on Houston is, I think, how they're being portrayed by some of the other preview publications that I know you and I have been studying intently. This could easily be a situation where the roster is better than it was a year ago, but the final record is worse because of the schedule. The schedule's pretty tough. They've got games at Texas Tech, at Kansas State, at Utah. The road games against K State and Utah are also laced with potential letdowns. And look aheads with UCF before K State, Oklahoma State in between K State and Utah. So there's a bunch at play there with respect to the schedule, but with respect to the roster, we like this team a fair amount, don't we?
- [20:41]
Dan Rubenstein
I think so, yes. I planted my flag and had them losing to Texas Tech early and then beating them in a rematch later on in the Big 12 title game. Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm not taking it back. I think there is something about the obvious, whether it's Miami or Texas Tech, the obvious favorite in a conference, that just rubs me the wrong way in the sport. There's just too much weirdness to college football. With respect to Houston, Connor Wigman's 37 years old. I like that starting point and for
- [21:15]
Ty Hildenbrandt
the first time in his career, same offensive coordinator for two straight years, Slade Nagle. Good for him.
- [21:20]
Dan Rubenstein
Yes. So, okay, the quarterback that I think can be successful plays with moxie. Ty plays with some moxie. An offensive line that is put together once again like it's. There's a bunch of transfers that are going to need to figure it out pretty quickly with how quickly they get some of these teams, I don't know. I think skill, position, they'll be fine. They lost a good tight end but I think they're going to be able to fill in that production with promise at receiver. Couple good running backs, including Makai Hughes who now steps in from Tulane via Oregon. Just a changeover.
- [21:57]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I don't know the Odyssey. I have some thoughts on Makai Hughes.
- [21:59]
Dan Rubenstein
A layover in Eugene.
- [22:01]
Tab Ramos
Yep.
- [22:01]
Dan Rubenstein
Up front they're going to need some help from transfers. But with where they are on the back end of this defense, I think it's a thin but maybe decent linebacker room. I think they're pretty good at defensive back. And I also you mentioned the schedule being tricky. Good year to get a first year coach in K State with a lot that's changing on that defense. Good year to get a first year coach in Utah with a lot changing, especially on that defense. The November part of their schedule is extremely workable. I think I go the opposite way. I think they could have a better record than they actually are.
- [22:39]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Interesting.
- [22:40]
Dan Rubenstein
I think you could look up and see 10 and 2 Houston and be like, all right, they're gonna, they're gonna give BYU or Texas Tech something else in this Big 12 championship game and then not have it work out. Like, I think the record will inflate them a little bit. I just think it's a good year to have this specific schedule. I mean, these are good programs on this schedule, but I mean, the November of home against Cincinnati, Colorado on the road, West Virginia on the road. They lost that game last year in a weird one. Baylor at home to finish things out. I'm just not seeing any defenses right now that I'm absolutely blown away by. And then Utah might not have a defense like it's had lately. Oklahoma State might not have a defense. Kansas State might not have a defense. I'm pretty sure. Ucf, well, I'm pretty sure. I'm positive. Texas Tech, well. And that's everybody okay on the Big 12 slate.
- [23:29]
Tab Ramos
All right.
- [23:29]
Ty Hildenbrandt
You are goo goo for Houston then. I didn't realize this.
- [23:32]
Dan Rubenstein
I'm a little bit horny for Houston. Tyler, I gotta tell you.
- [23:35]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Well, look, for me, the story for Houston in 2026 is gonna be line play and the health of Connor Wigman.
- [23:41]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah. And I think precision on the offense, too. Like red zone, third down high, leverage stuff.
- [23:46]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, yeah. And I, I late game add as a secondary thing. Whether or not Connor Wigman develops more as a passer. He's not a bad passer by any stretch, but I agree, I think right now, anyway, this stage in his career, he's a little bit more feared as a runner. The usage of him will be something interesting to watch because there have been durability questions surrounding him, which I think is worth noting, if only because he's a good runner and if he's healthy, you can use him in that capacity. He finished with over 700 rushing guards and 11 rushing touchdowns last season alone. This is the area where, I think, to the earlier point, Makai Hughes could be really significant. Kai Hughes, previously with Willie Fritz at Tulane, before, as you said, the layover at Oregon, as Sean McDonough would say, he entered the witness protection program, got just 17 carries with Oregon.
- [24:40]
Dan Rubenstein
A weird situation, by the way. Like all of the previews last, you were like, oh, man, what happened?
- [24:44]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Was he just not good enough?
- [24:45]
Dan Rubenstein
I think Oregon didn't fully realize what they had with Noah Whittington, Jordan Davidson and Dier Hill.
- [24:53]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Okay.
- [24:54]
Dan Rubenstein
And I think they'd rather, they would have rather played him than exhaust Makai Hughes's eligibility. And they, I think they did right by him. And so I think he, he hung around and everything was fine. But he. He wanted more playing time. And with two freshmen coming in last year, he knew.
- [25:12]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Gotta go, Gotta go.
- [25:14]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [25:15]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think it's going to be imperative on Makai Hughes to take some of that pressure off of Connor Wigman by getting it going on the ground. As you mentioned, they do need the line to get a better push in the run game, which is not something they were particularly good at last season. But it seems as if they're at least setting up to do some of that this year. Whether or not that comes to fruition, I guess remains to be seen. And I'm with you on the defensive side, too. Like, I feel better about the back part of the defense than I do the front. I'm a little concerned about the line because Carlos Allen is. Eddie Walls are both gone. I've read a lot about Ashton Porter, another guy from Oregon. Do we know anything about him?
- [25:52]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, he's versatile. He's a big edge that I think can be moved around the line a little bit and seemed to. To flash a little bit in rotations. They were just crazy deep at edge last year. So he didn't see a ton of snaps along the defensive line and would have, you know, obviously, given the. The losses Oregon's had in the rotation along the defensive line this season. But I think he made a smart decision to go to a place like Houston to really show what he can do.
- [26:17]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'm with you, though. I'm over seven and a half and I've got Houston. Fringe contender in the Big 12. I like this team a lot.
- [26:27]
Dan Rubenstein
All right, so we sort of agree.
- [26:29]
Ty Hildenbrandt
No, we agree.
- [26:30]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [26:31]
Ty Hildenbrandt
You're probably a little bit higher on Houston than I am, but we're both, I think, comfortably going over seven and a half.
- [26:37]
Dan Rubenstein
They're another chain team, by the way. We talked about that a little bit with Kansas State.
- [26:40]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yes.
- [26:41]
Dan Rubenstein
They. They were going third and seven plus too often. And so if they can. And that look, that's. That's the run game. Right. You're not going to be good if you can't run. Setting up third and manageable. You're not going to be good in the red zone if you can't run. And those things came to pass, no pun intended. So, you know, they have their homework.
- [27:01]
Ty Hildenbrandt
T, C, U. 9 and 4 last year. TCU is sort of the inkblot test of this entire fricking conference.
- [27:14]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [27:15]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And, you know, I've said this about other teams in the past. It feels to me like it very much applies here for TCU in 2026. How you feel as a person about TCU this season probably says more about you than it does about them.
- [27:32]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [27:33]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And what I mean by that is, if you tend to focus on things like line play, the potential for younger players to develop, that sort of thing, if that's your jam, then TCU is your jam. If you think about things like, hey, how is that transfer quarterback going to translate from fcs? Or how is the past defense going to be this season? And you're a little bit more leery.
- [28:02]
Dan Rubenstein
Yep.
- [28:02]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Then you're seeing the goblin in the inkblot. Vegas has it at six and a half as the over under, which I think represents this dilemma quite well. They're not really sure where TCU's at either. I think there will be an emphasis on the obvious winnable games, and there is certainly some Runway initially that we can discuss here. But on October 3rd, they're at home against BYU. In November, they're on the road at Arizona. They play K State, Utah and Texas Tech to close it out. I could see a swing game somewhere along the lines. But this is a game in particular, that BYU game on October 3rd that's going to tell us so much about TCU and is going to set up the remainder of this season. In truth, we may not know until that BYU game which side of the ink plot you should be on. We might not have any idea until they get that measuring stick game, but after that one, and certainly as we get into November, that's when things start to roll downhill a little bit quicker and it's going to get real here for tcu. So where are you at in that conversation? I feel like I'm talking in circles here, but I'm.
- [29:16]
Dan Rubenstein
You're okay.
- [29:17]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'm genuinely on the horns of a dilemma with how I feel about the Horned Frogs, just because there is a lot to like. There is also, I think, a lot to be skeptical of.
- [29:29]
Dan Rubenstein
I think it's just a Jaden Craig thing. Right. If. If Jaden Craig, who was very, very good at Harvard, different level. If he gets into the rhythm of succeeding in the Big 12, the speed of the Big 12, the comfort of an offense with more around him at tcu. And it's not a new coordinator for just him, it's a new coordinator for everybody. It's Gordon Samus.
- [29:55]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Gordon Samus, yep.
- [29:57]
Dan Rubenstein
Who did an amazing job at UConn with Jim Mora last year. Really great. And I think their quarterback, Joe Fagnano. Fagnano, like 28 touchdowns to one pick.
- [30:07]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yep. Yeah, he was Good. He was really good up at Yukon.
- [30:10]
Dan Rubenstein
He was very, very good. And just the underlying stats with where UConn was last year. Now it's. The Yukon schedule is different from the TCU schedule, but it checked a lot of boxes in terms of. We talk about the precision needed to succeed on a high level in a tough conference like the Big 12. That's encouraging to me. Just internally with TCU, I, I look at this team like, okay, where is the upside in this room? Where is the upside in that room? Right? There are. There are obvious things like the, The. The homework. TCU has had this, you know, the running the ball. They're changing the way they run the ball. Their past defense, which a lot of it has to do with a pass rush that needs to improve. The. The full five on this offensive line is still up in the air. Center, I think, is still a battle. You gotta find your center. So there's a lot of things internally I just. I wanna know, like, who. Who is that, like, unguardable receiver in the way that, like, Quentin Johnston was, right? Was that his name? Quentin Johnston? I'm old. I forget all my names went to the Chargers. Right. I think up front they're. They're probably at a decent starting point.
- [31:14]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think the line's better. I think it's deeper. I think that should help Jaden Craig should certainly give him some cover and open up the run game. I'm pretty crazy about Jeremy Payne this year. They're running back.
- [31:27]
Dan Rubenstein
That's reasonable.
- [31:28]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think it looks like he could have a really nice season in this new offense. He's not so much of a north, south type of runner. Definitely someone who likes to get in space. And you could do all sorts of creative stuff with him if you're Gordon Samus, especially if you're running more out of the Pistol, which is something that I think, if you're wondering as a TCU fan, why, okay, new coordinator, what is this going to look like? More under center or pistol? More tight end usage, hopefully, as a result, a better run game and offensive line. And if you're doing it right, fewer turnovers, because that was a thing, by the way, on that point. Now kick it back over to you. I don't mean to hijack your side conversation. Josh Hoover is out. By his own volition, he decided to transfer up to Indiana. Who could blame him? That's how Jaden Craig got the nod to come down from Harvard. One of the stories coming into this year, in addition to Hoover transferring out, is the way that Sonny Dykes responded when they asked him about it. Quote, Josh started 31 games here and turn the ball over 42 times, end quote. So maybe a little bit ruffled by the transfer. Maybe not speaking truth to power, at least in some regard. Josh Hoover was not always the most responsible with the football.
- [32:42]
Dan Rubenstein
Correct. TCU is in an interesting position. I think they're built well enough and coached well enough. And we'll see how Gordon Samus works out in Fort Worth even with this secondary getting torched a bunch and not being able to get a ton of pressure on the quarterback last year. If they had only taken care of business in the Big 12.
- [33:01]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah.
- [33:01]
Dan Rubenstein
And beaten teams that were vulnerable or had injured quarterbacks or were just kind of a mess for long stretches of the season. You know, teams like Arizona State or Iowa State last year, they won some close games. They lost some close games. If they're taking care of business, which is always easier said than done, they're like 90 seconds away from being a 10 and 2 team last year. And look, you can say that about a ton of teams. I understand this. But we are talking about tcu and I think it is important to point out they're one of them.
- [33:30]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yep.
- [33:31]
Dan Rubenstein
Like, they're not that far off from like they're in a, like a perennial frisky zone.
- [33:38]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah.
- [33:38]
Dan Rubenstein
Which is a term you use a lot on your After Dark podcast. I understand people haven't found it yet, but my God, is there a different side of Ty Hildenbrandt out there?
- [33:47]
Ty Hildenbrandt
It's true and very true.
- [33:48]
Dan Rubenstein
The frisky zone. The frisky zone for TCU is very familiar. So now the question is, like, I use the word boring a lot. What is TCU doing in terms of like, okay, they don't run well, but they're competent at running the ball. Their, their past defense isn't amazing, but you can see that there's a plan and a vision there and they've gotten better and they've gotten off the field more stuff like that. If TCU can just take obvious steps. They're threatening double digit wins once again. I, I think they get not that far out of the frisky zone. I think I'm again in like because the Jaden Craig thing is an unknown for me. So I'm going to say they're like an 8 and 4 plus or minus 1, which is like rinse, repeat any other year.
- [34:30]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think Jaden Craig could run this offense. I think this offense suits him well. He's obviously an experienced hand, was a three year starter up at Harvard and he's a big boy. Six, three, two, three.
- [34:42]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [34:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
So he can run it. He can obviously throw it. Your earlier point though, about adjusting to the speed of the game, like we picked up a little bit of that in some of the spring practice reports that we read off back in like May. And you know, whether or not that's something that is a real concern, the deeper we get into this like fall camp and start getting ready for the season, I, you know, I don't know the guys who are practice can talk that through, but it is a concern. Any FCS quarterback coming up to the power four ranks, I think that's something that we'll be talking about with a number of other guys as well. I do like the setup though. I think this suits him well. My final point is that I'm actually pretty high on this defense. I like the, I understand that Andy Avalos is back as defensive coordinator. They were good against the run, not so good against the pass last year. Some critical losses, I would say on that defense. But overall I'm optimistic that they're going to find some pressure up front. They're going to find some way to take a heat or some of the heat off of that past defense. I'm on the over for TCU. I think 7 and 5 is the floor. You could probably talk me into 9 and 3. It sounds like we're both beating around the same bush here though. Like that eight win mark is kind of where you and I are struggling right now to figure out is it more, is it less or is it right on?
- [36:02]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, look, a 10 win team in a conference that has this many teams that seem to be bunched together means not doing anything catastrophically bad. In some elements, having transfers work out and winning many more. 50, 50 games. Like what did, what did Houston go last year in one score games? Something crazy.
- [36:23]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Six and one.
- [36:24]
Dan Rubenstein
One. Yeah, right. They went six and one. Connor Wigman was clutch in fourth quarters beating teams that they very well could have lost against. Teams like Arizona who had a terrific defense last year. So if you were going to say what is, what is the difference between, you know, 8 and 4 and 10 and 2 for TCU? It's just stacking little things. It's just stacking those little things and not being clearly deficient at a big thing. And so that, that's your question because I think you're right about optimism for this defense. But there is a lot new on both sides of the ball and this is. Okay, what, what kind of handle the sunny dykes have on a game with 4:37 left and it's a three point game either way.
- [37:05]
Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
And honestly that hundred dollars back I'm putting it towards the zip line now.
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
Exactly. Best switch I ever made.
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
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Dan Rubenstein
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
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- [39:33]
Ty Hildenbrandt
You mentioned Arizona. Why don't we talk about Arizona next?
- [39:35]
Dan Rubenstein
Let's do it.
- [39:36]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Arizona had a really rocky 2024 first year for Brent Brennan. It was not a slam dunk at the end of the 2024 season that they were going to bring Brent Brennan back. Like we had picked up rumblings that they were thinking about, like, maybe we should cut bait here. They didn't. They brought him back for 2025. Clearly he learned from his mistakes. Clearly he figured out what wasn't working and what he could do to make it all better. Because we saw a huge resurgence in 2025 for Arizona to go nine and four after they looked virtually hapless and disorganized and all out of sorts in 2024. That in and of itself was a really nice accomplishment for Brent Brennan. So now we come to this point in time where Noah Fafida is back, where it feels like there is some momentum on this defense, given where they left off last season. It feels to me with Arizona having been a borderline top 20, top 25 team, that there is real genuine optimism going into 2026. You and I both had them in like our next tier down comfortably in the top half of the Big 12, and we were in agreement that they belong somewhere below that Texas Tech BYU line. But I think there is some debate as to how high up in that second tier, how low in that second tier Arizona belongs, given what they've got coming back both sides of the football and this renewed sense of optimism. So I don't want to be blinded by the fact that I'm optimistic about Arizona. I want to try and be as realistic as we can. But I feel like what we saw last season is definitely reason for hope moving forward with this coach.
- [41:31]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, I think so. I think the immediate gains on defense, look, they had experienced guys last year who are now gone. The safety duo was probably one of the five best safety duos in the country in the sport. Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith were big time playmakers for this Arizona team. All over the ball, all over the field. Excuse me. The starting point that Arizona has is pretty incredible, right? So they have proof of concept that these coordinator hires from last season have worked out pretty well. Seth Shaggy is back 100, so he's another situation where I think Noah Fafida has the same coordinator in consecutive seasons. And then Danny Gonzalez got an extension for this defense that immediately when they flipped and went to the three three, five last season and, you know, had the, the active secondary and empowered the guys in the back half of this defense. The proof of concept was obvious. They bring back enough quality beef up front, I think on both sides of the ball. But it stood out to me on defense that along the defensive line, like on all three levels, there is enough experience and enough promising transfers from Big enough places. Not that smaller school guys can't work out. But I always do appreciate when okay, this guy played a little bit for Nebraska, seemed to be pretty good and was practicing against at least decent Big Ten players every day. Like I, I. There's something to me maybe that's just some sort of like big school, big conference bias, I don't know. But I appreciate that from Arizona. No feed is good. Noah Feita cleaned his act up last year in terms of the turnovers and trying to force too much on offense. I don't know if there's necessarily star power in the the skill core, but
- [43:15]
Ty Hildenbrandt
he had a good quarterback. That's, that's my thing.
- [43:17]
Dan Rubenstein
I, I agree but you didn't know all of these receipt like Chris Hudson was in his seventh year last year or something like that and he had already been at Oregon and Wazoo before he got to Arizona. Like guys can succeed in decent systems with good quarterbacks. I think Noah Fita is a good quarterback also 37 years old, has also been in this level of the sport for a minute. So if the starting point is potentially confusing and annoying defense, inexperienced playmaking, pretty fearless sometimes to his detriment. Quarterback, tough place to play. Listen, I'm an Oregon fan. There is, there is no level of Arizona good to terrible that I as an Oregon fan felt comfortable with my favorite team going to the desert. I have too much Tucson scar tissue to ever say anything bad about Tucson. I'm also a University of Arizona legacy, right? I don't know. I always have a soft spot. Shout out Miles Simon, Eugene Edgerson, whoever. So back half of the schedule is tough. It definitely is. But they can get momentum other than BYU game and that's in Provo. That's almost like. I don't know man. If, if Arizona has something special this year, they'll win that game.
- [44:27]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Week two. Cause that's real tough right away. Week two.
- [44:30]
Dan Rubenstein
Right away. Week two, September 12th. But the back half is difficult. The middle is not terribly meaty. And when you look at what a lot of these teams look, Texas Tech should be good. There's nobody bulletproof on this schedule. Texas Tech is away from home. They get TCU the week after that they don't have to go to altitude again when they play Utah. They have K State, they have asu. These are all flawed teams that a B plus A minus Arizona team can be maybe with a little bit of late game, maybe with a little bit of injury luck because they're another one of those teams as we mentioned last season with an overtime loss to byu. It's an absolutely winnable moment against Houston. They were in the College football playoff with 90 extra seconds. Could say that about a lot of teams. They were just a good story. They were a really good team.
- [45:21]
Ty Hildenbrandt
My biggest issue with Arizona is that the heartbeat for last year's team was very much the past defense. That past defense is almost completely gone. I like that they were aggressive in the portal. I like some of what they brought in. It stands to reason that the back end of the defense is probably going to take a step back. But to the point, I do think Danny Gonzalez is the right guy for the job because he runs a scheme. He said 3, 3, 5. But more than that, it kind of shape shifts. He's willing to adjust it based on personnel and I think there is enough back at the first two levels of the defense that they'll still be pretty formidable. Might not be bulletproof against the pass, but they're still going to be pretty good on that side of the football. It's not like the bottom is going to fall out. So they've got that as a starting point, which I like, even if it's not as ferocious as it was a year ago. I have more questions about the offense, though, because the line took a big step forward last year but then lost three starters. I'm not entirely sure how they're going to look on the ground. Their leading rusher is gone. They have a couple good options.
- [46:23]
Tab Ramos
Yep.
- [46:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And I think they'll still find ways to run. But how they assemble their running game will be interesting to me. They've got different types of backs that they can use. They got a power guy. They got a speed guy. How Seth Deggy brings all that together I think remains to be seen. And out wide, I think Trace Byvey is wide receiver one. He's got really good size. He flashed, definitely flashed at moments last season. He just wasn't a volume wide receiver.
- [46:53]
Dan Rubenstein
Right.
- [46:54]
Ty Hildenbrandt
So I'm not sure what the target distribution is going to look like coming from Noah Fafida and who he locks in on as his primary guys. I feel confident that they will work this out because if we learned anything from what we saw a year ago, this is a coaching staff as a head coach, if nothing more, that can kind of understand and do some self scouting and figure out how they can make things better on the fly.
- [47:16]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [47:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I feel pretty good about Arizona. I've got them down as like a feisty 8 and 4.
- [47:24]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay. I think I lead more 9 and 3.
- [47:26]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Okay.
- [47:27]
Dan Rubenstein
But I think it's just the seasoning this team should have by the time they get to the trickier parts of their schedule. By the way, speaking of which, you must hold a special place in your heart for this Utah matchup. Arizona, Utah. Why two, five, nine quarterbacks? This could be the shortest quarterback matchup of the season on the P4 level. Right? Representation for people like you, Ty.
- [47:54]
Ty Hildenbrandt
People like me? How dare you.
- [47:57]
Dan Rubenstein
I saw that late in the schedule. Like, wait, is this the shortest mate? Like two good team quarterback matches of the season.
- [48:04]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That's. That's pretty good.
- [48:06]
Dan Rubenstein
Devin Dampier, Noah Fafida.
- [48:08]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah.
- [48:09]
Dan Rubenstein
Not getting to 12ft between them. I like it.
- [48:14]
Ty Hildenbrandt
All right. Feisty eight and four. You're more feisty. Nine and three. But we both feel pretty good about Arizona. That's why we have them.
- [48:20]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [48:21]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Where we have them.
- [48:22]
Dan Rubenstein
By the way, I should say you can live like a complete, thorough life not being six feet tall. Right. In your experience thus far.
- [48:29]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I've been okay with it.
- [48:30]
Dan Rubenstein
But great.
- [48:32]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Arizona State.
- [48:34]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [48:35]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Arizona State 8 and 5 a year ago. I think you have to grade them on a curve. Sam Levitt got hurt. They were playing with Jeff Sims. Kenny Dillingham found a way to win with Jeff Sims. Kudos to him. This season. Your over under is six and a half. I'm pretty sure. Pretty sure that it'll be Cutter Bully at quarterback. The transfer from Kentucky. They have not officially said that yet.
- [49:01]
Dan Rubenstein
Right.
- [49:02]
Ty Hildenbrandt
There are a couple other options, one of which is Mikey Keane. Speaking of guys who are 37, which,
- [49:06]
Dan Rubenstein
by the way, here's the sidebar. It's not a great sign. Not a great sign. If you're going after a Power 4 quarterback and you're like, we are not ready to say he's the guy yet.
- [49:17]
Ty Hildenbrandt
They're not ready.
- [49:18]
Dan Rubenstein
Quarterback.
- [49:19]
Ty Hildenbrandt
They're not ready to say he's a guy yet. And here's why. Cutter Bowley has he. First off, he's a big kid. He's a tall drink of water. He's like 6, 5, 2, 13, something like that. It's a big. Yeah. Has the arm, has mobility, has pocket presence, has all the things that you want as a starting quarterback. The one thing he doesn't have quite yet is he's too charitable. Too charitable.
- [49:41]
Dan Rubenstein
He wants everybody to have a turn catching the ball.
- [49:44]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Still a little too raw. Had 12 picks. Am I looking at my notes right? I don't know. He had a bunch of picks. He threw more of them this spring. The physical tools are great. None of that stuff matters if you're going to Be throwing interceptions. I think that is the hang up with this guy at time of recording. He needs to get a little bit more responsible with the football and not shoot them in the foot if he's out there.
- [50:10]
Dan Rubenstein
15 touchdowns, 12 interceptions.
- [50:12]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Last season it was 12 interceptions. Okay, I knew. I knew I wasn't pulling that out of nowhere.
- [50:16]
Dan Rubenstein
You nailed it.
- [50:17]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I love the wide receiver room. I like what they did on the wide receiver side of things. I've talked about Amari Miller from Colorado.
- [50:23]
Dan Rubenstein
Oh man.
- [50:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
We haven't talked as much about Reed Harris from Boston College, but two really big time gets in the receiving core this off season cycle in the transfer portal for Kenny Dillingham. If you want to go deeper into the portal hall, we can talk about Raiden Vines Bright. What a name from Washington who's a potential impact guy out of the Promise there. Yeah, I think they did a really, really good job on that side. Just trying to give their quarterback in this case, I presumably cut her Bowley some targets. But again, he needs to be more precise. He needs to be a better decision maker back there if any of this is going to fly.
- [51:02]
Dan Rubenstein
I don't know what to think about asu. ASU is wild. To me. The variance that we could have on our hands with ASU like last year, Sam Levitt gets hurt. They don't do anything especially well. They have, you know, talent at running back. You know, there was talent on this defense. There was some production on this defense which was ahead of its offense. They weren't especially good last year and won eight games.
- [51:23]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That's right.
- [51:24]
Dan Rubenstein
Right.
- [51:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That's right. Exactly right.
- [51:26]
Dan Rubenstein
So the question then is like, okay, if their act is more together in more places this season, but they still have a wild card at quarterback, are they truly any better? Like, like what could they learn and build on from last year? Now they're attacking the Portal at a number of different position groups, as everybody is.
- [51:44]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Let me add this though, before you go any further, right. Attacking the portal. They bring in the quarterback, they bring in the wide receivers. I think we, you know, we both have optimism to some extent there. My concern though is though, both the running back room and the offensive lineman have a fair amount of depth. Both of those position groups are relatively unsettled.
- [52:05]
Dan Rubenstein
Yes.
- [52:06]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And so what I'm fearful of is we come to this point at the end of September, early October, where no one's popped at running back, the offensive line's a bit shaky, and suddenly we've got ourselves a situation with an interception prone quarterback having to go out there and play hero ball and that won't work. That will be the rub on Cutter Bowley. That would be, you know, the reason you wouldn't want a guy like this to start.
- [52:30]
Dan Rubenstein
Well, look, the glass half full part of that would be he should have much better quarterback coaching in Tempe than he had in Lexington for sure.
- [52:40]
Ty Hildenbrandt
No, that, I mean, that part goes, I think, without saying, but when you
- [52:44]
Dan Rubenstein
look at what they got out of Sam Levitt, when you look at what Kenny Dillingham and his assistants have done at various places, when you look at the receivers available, when you look at the fact that, you know, ASU is going to game plan around any of the deficiencies. If their offensive line isn't good, they're not going to make Cutter bully, sit in the pocket and get drilled throwing the ball downfield. They'll get the ball out of his hands, they'll run, you know, run screen stuff and they'll figure out ways to to maximize this offense. So that's the glass half full is that the architecture and development and system of this ASU offense should be much more advantaged than where he was at Kentucky.
- [53:20]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And Kenny Dillingham is really smart as an offensive mind. His first year, I mean, they were playing without a quarterback for half the season.
- [53:27]
Dan Rubenstein
If I remember, they were lining up offensive linemen all over the field. Yes.
- [53:30]
Ty Hildenbrandt
They were running like the old Cleveland Br. Dennis Northcutt thing.
- [53:33]
Dan Rubenstein
Yes.
- [53:33]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Where they were just trying to find ways to get yards regardless of who was playing quarterback or if they had a quarterback. So I have a lot of faith in this offensive staff to figure this out. And I think the talent of Cutter Bowley is definitely a thing that we should keep tabs on. I am leery of that specific situation, though, where a lot falls on his right arm and maybe he's not ready for it. What I'm not sure what to make of is the defense.
- [53:56]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [53:57]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Because 10 starters from last year's opening game are gone. They did go hard after secondary help in the portal. I think it'll be okay. My bigger concern, though is along the line, which was already dealing with some injuries and now Mikhail Gardner went down with an Achilles injury and he's going to be done for the season. So you combine defensive questions, maybe some offensive line questions, with what looks to my eye to be a really tough schedule. Daniel?
- [54:24]
Dan Rubenstein
Well, you look at the quarterbacks they face in the back half and I agree. Yeah, there's a lot of potential upside and star power just within the big
- [54:31]
Ty Hildenbrandt
it's week two at Texas A and M. They've also got a game at Tech, at BYU and at Arizona on this. In addition to home games against K State and Oklahoma State. Who will get to maybe next?
- [54:44]
Dan Rubenstein
Buddy, they're playing on a different continent too.
- [54:47]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I know, I know. They've got that game over in Wembley.
- [54:50]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah. In London.
- [54:52]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I've got him at 6 and 6.
- [54:55]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah. I think the question with ASU just because there has been some variance because they won the damn conference going away two years ago and looked really good in the playoff, is what, what is the intention, like, what is the reasonable expectation with this roster? Right. That like if you could see them with an absolute upside of what, 8 and 4? With this roster, you don't think you can cut or bully Your way to 10 and 2? With this schedule, this road work and this roster, I don't. Okay, so if the absolute upshot is 8 and 4 of this ASU team to you, it's. To you, it's okay. Where the game changers up front on defense or where's the depth up front or is the pass rush going to be there on defense?
- [55:39]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah.
- [55:40]
Dan Rubenstein
And then how much can you do with an offensive line that you don't know to what degree you can depend on? Like, was that English? That was maybe English. That was, that was like in the vicinity of English.
- [55:51]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Close enough. Yeah.
- [55:53]
Dan Rubenstein
So that, that's the question to me, like, I don't think this is a team that's built to contend for the conference right now just because I would want more returning, more familiar with the system and more like, okay, they are going to, you know, the, the strength is the back end. The strength is the defensive tackles. The strength is, you know, having Relik Brown back another year, right. That you're like, oh, the gravity of this, dude. So I, I think I like them a little bit more than you do. But I would settle into that 78 win. I think, I think a lot more would have to go wrong or Cutter Bowley would have to be sort of similarly careless with the ball. I think he'll get better. If he's the guy, I think he'll be put in a position to succeed. 7 and 5, 8 and 4 this summer. There are 250 reasons to join T mobile girls. Trip booked and switching to T mobile
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Dan Rubenstein
And honestly, that hundred dollars back, I'm putting it towards the Zipline now that's how you do summer. Exactly. Best switch I ever made.
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Ty Hildenbrandt
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Dan Rubenstein
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Ty Hildenbrandt
did I search the Internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that.
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Dan Rubenstein
Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful.
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- [59:00]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Oklahoma State Dan Rubenstein, My sweet, sweet pokes. Oklahoma State's the one, Dan. They're the one that's going to get me this year. I can tell you right now, they're the one that's going to get me. They're going to break my heart.
- [59:21]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay, next preview, next team.
- [59:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think Oklahoma State is going to be pretty good this year. Okay, let me say this, okay, Can I, can I have the floor here just for a moment?
- [59:32]
Dan Rubenstein
It's all yours, Ty.
- [59:33]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I got to get off my chest here with this. Yeah, I've been thinking about this little diatribe here for weeks, if not months. Listeners of this show know that I've had a love hate thing with Oklahoma State. Over the last couple years, we have fielded emails about this. Some people saying I'm being too harsh, others saying that I'm not being harsh enough. I think that's actually been a pretty accurate representation of where the Oklahoma State fan base has been. I thought, like most people, that with Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12, that there was an enormous opportunity for the Pokes to step in and fill that void. Obviously, that has not happened, at least not as of yet. Texas Tech has sort of been that team and a couple other teams that have sort of bubbled up. But Tech and byu, I think, have claimed that mantle, at least for the moment. Last year, Oklahoma State beat Arkansas Pine Bluff in week one and then never won again. And so, in effect, that was the end of the Gundy era. It was, I think, a almost symbolic way to prove the point that Oklahoma State was falling short of the possibility of becoming that new tent pole within the Big 12. It was an utter cluster F this year. I love Oklahoma State with my whole heart. Okay, let me do the thing here. I'm doing the thing. Is this a Taylor Swift thing or
- [61:03]
Dan Rubenstein
is this just a. I think just a life thing? I don't think she invented it.
- [61:08]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'm doing the. I'm doing the hand emoji.
- [61:11]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, Yeah.
- [61:12]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I love this team. I'm all the way in. The new coach is Eric Morris. He comes up from North Texas. He was very successful there. Eric Morris has an unbelievable track record for finding and or developing quarterbacks. In particular quarterbacks that go under. Recruited. He recruited. He developed Cam Ward. Cam Ward. Ward at Incarnate Word, which is really tough to say. Yep, he found Baker Mayfield as a walk on. He got him initially to Texas Tech. He was the offensive coordinator for a moment for Pat Mahomes at Texas Tech. He played a role in getting John Mateer to go to Wazoo. Now he has essentially done the same thing with Drew Messemaker, who we're going to talk about in a second. Do you understand? Can you quantify how important it is to have a coach like that with an eye for under recruited talent like that in the year of Our Lord in 2026? Especially at the quarterback position.
- [62:11]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, especially when you're taking over a program that hasn't won a conference game since 2023.
- [62:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Do you know how important it is to be good at identifying talent at that one key position?
- [62:23]
Dan Rubenstein
I do.
- [62:25]
Ty Hildenbrandt
So now this is the guy taking over at Oklahoma State. The entire roster is new, everything. But more importantly, he managed to bring over Drew Mestemaker from North Texas, quarterback he managed to bring up with him Gail Pawkins, star running back and he managed to bring up the top target, Wyatt Young. This is like rocket fuel for this offense. I suppose there will be a question out there. It isn't so much from me, but I think it's fair to ask. Okay, is it going to translate to the Big 12? Is it, you know, speed of the game, all this, all that? I am completely confident that this is going to work out just fine and that Oklahoma State is going to have a really good offense this year. Drew Messamaker is the real deal. You watch one or two series with this guy, it's fairly apparent right away that he could be a high level quarterback. And I think that trio in and of itself gives most decent coaches a chance at building an offense. So I am all in. I am all in. Eric Morris knows offense. He knows it well. I think for sure he will find a way to put a product out there that is far and away superior to what we saw each of the last two seasons.
- [63:39]
Dan Rubenstein
Well, it kind of has to be. They went 0 and 18.
- [63:42]
Ty Hildenbrandt
It has to be. Yeah, but provided the line is not a total disaster and provided this team does not have any kind of run of injuries, I think this offense is going to cook and I think they're going to be fun as hell to watch. I'm all. I'm perhaps biased here. Okay.
- [64:03]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah.
- [64:03]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'm just so intrigued by what this could be and I'm so intrigued by the potential of Oklahoma State now under this guy. At least on offense.
- [64:10]
Dan Rubenstein
That's reasonable.
- [64:12]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I'm excited. I'm just genuinely excited.
- [64:14]
Dan Rubenstein
Look, they don't have a run of crazy defenses that they'll face. There are some good defenses that they'll face. The defense is a question. And what they're trying to do is essentially a high plains version of what Kurt Signetti did. Right. And bringing over proven talent at a winning place.
- [64:34]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I cannot confidently say they're going to be better on defense. I think they will be.
- [64:40]
Dan Rubenstein
I think just because they're bringing in so many new faces and a new coordinator and that there's. The vibes are fresh. They will be.
- [64:48]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think they should be. I don't think there's a ton of depth on that side of the ball, but I know, I think defensive line will probably be better than people think. I know there's been some optimism there here in the run up to the season. Provided they don't get hollowed out with injuries. I think it'll be sufficient I have a longer term question about Eric Morris building defense, building some sort of fun.
- [65:11]
Dan Rubenstein
Well, Skyler Cassidy had a really good defense a couple of years ago at Sam Houston. I know they were like a top 15 national defense. Last year's North Texas defense was not good. It was a below average defense that didn't fully hold them back from having a great year.
- [65:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
It was certainly not good a year ago. I know Skyler Cassidy's track record and I think that's another reason for optimism. That is one side of the football though that I'm curious about whether they can scale up the model. I'm confident Eric Morris can do it on offense. But in terms of defense getting the right guys in place, playing against much tougher competition in the Big 12, can they scale that defensive model up and do it repeatedly? I don't. I'm not sure about that.
- [65:50]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, I think the top level of what Oklahoma State could be, especially on offense, is fascinating because I think it's not crazy to say they have the best quarterback in the conference. Now look, he played at North Texas, Drew Mestemaker. But look at the teams who were willing to pay a crazy amount of money to bring it like Oregon, Indiana, Texas Tech. We're all entertaining the idea of bringing in Drew Mestemaker.
- [66:16]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Watch, watch two or three series with True maker. Just watch how he throws the ball.
- [66:21]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah, it's in the American, but yes, just watch.
- [66:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I don't care where he was.
- [66:25]
Dan Rubenstein
There was no shortage of interest from huge places.
- [66:28]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Watch him throw the football. Yeah, it comes out differently. You could tell right away if you watch enough of this. He is built different. He is legitimately positioned to be one of the better quarterbacks in the game. So if you're an Oklahoma State fan, that's like music to your ears given where you've been.
- [66:46]
Dan Rubenstein
So the question to me is it's not the high end talent on this offense. You mentioned the offensive line. It's who are the second and third receivers that attract enough attention in a way. You know, obviously teams are going to have to respect Oklahoma State as a complete offense because of was Caleb Hawkins in the backfield who another player could have gone wherever he wanted in terms of like who needs a running back and who has a budget because that's a high end name and given his eligibility left. So the question to me is just like what are the full rooms look like? This is football. People get hurt. What teams are going to shade one direction or the other with this team? If the offensive line doesn't work out then Drew Messmaker is going to be running for his life and it's not going to matter as much. Look, he's great off platform. He's a strong quarterback, but if you're able to get to the totality of this offensive roster, it's not going to matter. That Drew Messamaker is awesome because he's going to have fewer awesome moments to make something out of. And I like this Oklahoma State team. I like him. It's year one. There's a reason they are where they are. I like the idea of bringing in all sorts of new names to reset everything. I'd be thrilled as an Oklahoma State fan. With a bowl game.
- [68:00]
Ty Hildenbrandt
With a bowl. Oh, dude, I got him 8 and 4, 9 and 3.
- [68:04]
Dan Rubenstein
I'm not that.
- [68:05]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Come on, Wade into this pool with me.
- [68:09]
Dan Rubenstein
Look, the vibes are going to be better. I think they're a seven and five team.
- [68:14]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Killing me.
- [68:17]
Dan Rubenstein
I do. I think he's really good. Look, you can win a lot of games. This is what their schedule is. This is what Oklahoma State has.
- [68:23]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Dan. Wet blanket Rubenstein.
- [68:25]
Dan Rubenstein
I'm not being a wet blanket. They were owing 18 and now I'm saying they're going to win the games.
- [68:30]
Ty Hildenbrandt
This is fair.
- [68:31]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay. Oregon beat them by 70 points or something last year. They come to Stillwater.
- [68:36]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Right.
- [68:36]
Dan Rubenstein
That will be a more competitive game. Oregon should beat Oklahoma State.
- [68:40]
Ty Hildenbrandt
They should.
- [68:41]
Dan Rubenstein
Same page.
- [68:41]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yes.
- [68:42]
Dan Rubenstein
There's one loss.
- [68:43]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yes.
- [68:43]
Dan Rubenstein
They have Houston on the road, and that's a week after Oklahoma State has what should be a good UCF defense. I think we agree on that.
- [68:51]
Ty Hildenbrandt
We'll. We'll get to that.
- [68:52]
Dan Rubenstein
But yeah, it's an Alex Grinch defense, so there's an asterisk there.
- [68:55]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That was going to be my. My point, but okay.
- [68:57]
Dan Rubenstein
UCF should be a competitive team this year with a combination of what they have on defense and Alonzo Barnett depending on his health.
- [69:03]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Correct.
- [69:04]
Dan Rubenstein
We'll get there. Colorado seems to be a winnable game. Iowa State seems to be a winnable game. Kansas State on the road could be a 5148 type affair.
- [69:13]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yep.
- [69:14]
Dan Rubenstein
We agree. Somebody's going to win that game with a score on that level. Texas Tech is going to be very tough. ASU on the road I think is tough. Kansas to finish out the season could be another 5148 situation. I just think there's so much new here that I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here. I think they're going to be fun. I think they're going to be entertaining, And I think 2027 is the year.
- [69:41]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think they start 4 and 1. I think they pull an upset against either Houston, Kansas State or Texas Tech. And I've got them at eight and four, nine and three over. Under is five and a half. I'm aggressively on that. Over.
- [69:56]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay. You look at people's schedules and everybody's penciling in wins against teams like West Virginia and Colorado. They're going to win some games.
- [70:04]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I know, I know. You're not wrong.
- [70:06]
Dan Rubenstein
West Virginia's offense. You like Cam Cook, right?
- [70:08]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I do.
- [70:09]
Dan Rubenstein
He gets to run into a brand new defense in Oklahoma State. So. And that's on the road in Morgantown. Should also mention, I think we got a Rich Rod reunion this year. Right?
- [70:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
We do.
- [70:19]
Dan Rubenstein
Arizona, West Virginia and Morgantown.
- [70:21]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yep, Yep, there's that.
- [70:23]
Dan Rubenstein
All right. I appreciate your enthusiasm. There's always going to be a team or two that makes a huge leap. And if your starting point is the best quarterback in the conference, it's pretty good.
- [70:32]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Another team with a five and a half over under is ucf. You've been mentioning UCF and that defense for a bit here now on this episode. They were five and seven a year ago. It was year one in the second Scott Frost era. They started with 70 new players a year ago, 19 new starters, basically everything new. It had all the hallmarks of a year one situation. They were not efficient at all at turning yards into points. They had too many penalties, they had turnovers, they had red zone troubles. Even still, they almost made a bowl. They lost to Kansas by 7, Cincinnati by 9, Houston by 3. In reality, UCF was competitive because of that defense, especially against the pass. A lot of stuff that they still need to work out and we can get into that now. But you're right to point out that the defense, and I would say doubly so against the pass was a big part of why this was a bowl adjacent team a year ago.
- [71:30]
Dan Rubenstein
Right.
- [71:33]
Ty Hildenbrandt
What is your optimism level for UCF now? Turning a corner and maybe getting to a bowl or aspiring for even more?
- [71:41]
Dan Rubenstein
I think they're going to make a bowl game. I think they're going to improve on where they were last year, which at times seem frisky and at times seem less than frisky. They've got a tough game against Pitt. I want to say, yeah. Pitt on the road in week two.
- [71:55]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Week two, Yep.
- [71:56]
Dan Rubenstein
Their home road splits are not bad and I kind of appreciate one, having a home field advantage to starting point. Interesting dynamic quarterback. Three, having proof of concept with a pass rush and new names, especially In a place like coming home to the state of Florida, UCF can be that destination, has shown itself that it could be that destination for homegrown talent not working out somewhere huge. Playing at ucf, I think you can develop speed. I think Scott Frost will continue to develop speed, position guys on offense. I think this should be a fun offense at a difficult place to play. Also geographically you're taking long flights to Orlando from a lot of the Big 12.
- [72:36]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yep, yep.
- [72:37]
Dan Rubenstein
You have body clock time change stuff, especially in night games. So. Or I guess especially early games for teams flying east. You know there's a whole body clock situations with ucf. They lose, you know what they were up front a little bit. But there is that that year one to year two jump. And I think they will get better and more experienced at enough positions with this schedule. So they host tcu, they host asu, they host Baylor, they host byu, they host Iowa State. I think there are enough of those winnable games and then winnable game like the games against teams that seem vulnerable. Colorado, Kansas, maybe this Oklahoma State defense. If Alonzo Barnett pops in a new system, those are defenses against whom you can score points. And so for that reason, Ty. For those reasons.
- [73:29]
Ty Hildenbrandt
For those reasons, you're in.
- [73:30]
Dan Rubenstein
I'm kind of in UCF as a bowl team in year taking a step forward. I'm never going to be fully in love with Alex Grinch. Everybody's always going to point to that one special year with Hercules Mata Alpha at Wazoo. That was his name, right? Undersized like speed rush on the inside.
- [73:46]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I've never been able to say that name so sure Pitt's not perfect.
- [73:51]
Dan Rubenstein
That's gonna be a tough win. I think six, seven wins.
- [73:56]
Ty Hildenbrandt
All right, well the over under is five and a half.
- [74:00]
Dan Rubenstein
I think the floor is rising in the Big 12 that there aren't teams maybe like we don't love the upside of teams like Iowa State and Colorado, but there's. There's no Gundy lately in this conference. So yeah, okay, I'm in on ucf.
- [74:20]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think they're going to dump someone. I'm going over five and a half as well. I think they'll be better this season. I think it feels like things are moving in the right direction now. Bear in mind a good chunk of the past defense is back. My concern, and I think you alluded to this is whether or not there's going to be a pass rush at all this season. Because if there's no pass rush that kind of defangs the pass defense makes it harder to cover to the pass. I think they're going to need someone to step up up front and Isaiah Nixon is a name I've been reading about. Maybe he's the guy that can give them that pass rush, but that side of their defensive play is something I'm most interested in and we'll chart offensively though, you mentioned Alonzo Barnett the third Scott Frost. Pride him away from jmu. Dude is a baller. He is a baller. He is 21 and 6 as a starter, didn't do much over the spring because he's recovering from injury. But both Barnett and and Scott Frost are on the record now saying he's a full go. I think he is a really good fit for what this offense wants to do and I'm super excited to see what he can do against a Big 12 schedule. Broadly speaking, UCF got faster and deeper on offense, especially at both running back and wide receiver. I think a lot of this offense is based on getting to the edge, so whether it's like an outside zone run or a quick RPO through the passing game, they're going to try to use that speed. Alonzo Barnett can be really good in a system like that. He himself is pretty quick when they choose to put him on the move, so they just have a lot of options. I'm not saying it's going to be full oop de oop, but I think there's going to be a lot of creativity of what you see out there on Saturday afternoons and I'm excited about that. TBD on the line. The good news is that it's no longer a question of, hey, who are our five starters. It's more a question of who are the number four and five starters. Along that line, there's a lot less upheaval than there was a year ago. That, to the earlier point, is I think also a sign that things are moving in a positive direction here. I like the ingredients, I like what they've got. Whether or not they can assemble it into a beautiful souffle, I don't know where that came from.
- [76:40]
Dan Rubenstein
I like that. I don't know if you assemble souffles or you just bake them, but yeah,
- [76:44]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I gotta assemble something that's true. What this ends up being after a nice stint in the oven, I guess remains to be seen. But I think there is talent on hand and I tend to agree with you. I'm going over. I like where UCF is at and definitely feels like there is positive momentum
- [77:03]
Dan Rubenstein
here which is good for Scott Frost okay, fair enough.
- [77:07]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I believe we've got one team left.
- [77:09]
Dan Rubenstein
Cincinnati.
- [77:10]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Cincinnati. Dan.
- [77:11]
Dan Rubenstein
We waited to get naughty till the very end.
- [77:14]
Ty Hildenbrandt
The Cincinnati Bearcats. Let's talk about them. Seven and six a year ago. Win total five and a half. Last year they started seven and one and then lost their final four games of the regular season.
- [77:26]
Dan Rubenstein
Ran all over teams. It was sort of the. They had game day in Salt Lake City, I want to say. Right. And then laid a gigantic egg.
- [77:32]
Ty Hildenbrandt
And then they went to the Liberty Bowl, a rain soaked Liberty bowl against Navy and they lost. So they closed out the year with five straight losses. But all that being said, still a nice back, nice bounce back year. Excuse me. For Scott Satterfield, who was a bit on the hot seat maybe going into last season. Definitely some turmoil among the fan base. I thought he did a pretty good job.
- [77:55]
Dan Rubenstein
Agree.
- [77:56]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Now. Now they're getting walloped in terms of turnover. Brandon Sorsby leaves, goes to Texas Tech. The top three rushers are gone. The top five pass catchers are gone. The defense lost most of its back end. All told, about 17 starters are gone from 2025. They went after the portal pretty hard. They also brought in two new coordinators. There's just a lot different here. There's a lot new on the Cincinnati side. So if you're optimistic, you point to the offensive line as a building block.
- [78:28]
Dan Rubenstein
The only team on this episode where you can be like, man, they're pretty solid up there, man, a great starting point.
- [78:34]
Ty Hildenbrandt
This might be the best offensive line in the Big 12.
- [78:38]
Dan Rubenstein
It's them or Texas Tech, probably.
- [78:39]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah. So you'll like, you'll take that, right? You'll. You'll take that as a starting point. There is also a fair amount of steam on the transfer quarterback, J.C. french. I did read some reports saying, you know, he looks better than Brendan Soaresby did this time last year. Make of that what you will.
- [78:55]
Dan Rubenstein
I think he was developed pretty well. Clay Helton at Georgia Southern, think of
- [78:58]
Ty Hildenbrandt
that what you will. Yeah, but there's some optimism there. I'd also add on the other side of the ball that they hired Nate Woody, defensive coordinator from army, seems to also have a plan to bring back a little bit more pressure, switch schemes up a little bit, find a way to make opposing quarterbacks a little bit more uncomfortable.
- [79:18]
Dan Rubenstein
Yep, army did a very nice job limiting big plays last year.
- [79:21]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah, it seems like there is a plan. There is reason for optimism. There is also reason for skepticism.
- [79:28]
Dan Rubenstein
I agree.
- [79:29]
Ty Hildenbrandt
There's a lot new. There's a lot new skill position. Guys Defensive backs, a really tough schedule. To my eye. I'm unsure where I stand on Cincinnati. I think I am a little bit biased in that coming into last season I was really out on Scott Satterfield and then I saw the way he started last year. Obviously did not end on a great note, but it seems as though he was able to pull things together and move the needle forward. So I am willing to give them benefit of the doubt. B of the D, as you like to say.
- [80:10]
Dan Rubenstein
Of course, B of the D. Just
- [80:11]
Ty Hildenbrandt
because I feel like Satterfield with his back a bit to the wall, did a pretty good job last season.
- [80:17]
Dan Rubenstein
Yeah. Also schedule wise there's not anything I don't think in the non conference schedule that leaps out at you. It's Miami of Ohio, good Mac team, Boston College, which looks like they may struggle this year. Western Carolina should be a win against an FCS opponent. So then you're saying okay, can we, can you find three wins to go bowling again? I think you like they have a buy before they travel to West Virginia. They're at Iowa State. So it would have been nicer if that game were at home. They're at byu. They have Colorado late. I mean they have Kansas State at home after those three non conference games. If JC French continues, I think he's throwing to a jv. Right. JC to jv.
- [80:59]
Ty Hildenbrandt
That's right. That's right.
- [81:00]
Dan Rubenstein
Throw into a jv. If the, if the transfers work out skill positions and up front on defense, you're just, you're rolling a dice here. The army defense wasn't especially good last year. I mentioned they stopped bigger plays. I don't know what you can turn to. Sort of get a great idea of what Cincinnati is going to be on defense now.
- [81:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I mean they lost nine starters. I don't know if anybody knows they're
- [81:21]
Dan Rubenstein
going to be right. They have, you know, they have pieces in the back end with experience that were productive last year. That's not good enough to feel great about. So they're just another one of those teams. If they're not horrible at any one thing, if they develop over the course of the season, they do have those winnable games late. I think they're going to go bowling. Is that good enough? Like Cincinnati's been to the college to into a 14 college football playoff.
- [81:47]
Ty Hildenbrandt
No.
- [81:47]
Dan Rubenstein
This is not a nothing. Like it's not a happy with 6 and 6 type season program.
- [81:52]
Ty Hildenbrandt
No.
- [81:53]
Dan Rubenstein
So I think they're in that zone as well.
- [81:57]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I think they 7 and 5 to get going on the ground and it is not a backfield of household names. But they need to figure something out with Zion Johnson, Gibron praying. By the way, who comes from Notre
- [82:12]
Dan Rubenstein
Dame, by the way, that's where they succeeded last year too.
- [82:14]
Tab Ramos
It is.
- [82:15]
Dan Rubenstein
It was, it was a lot of the offense and a lot of the running. Yeah.
- [82:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Zyland Perry, another name. If they can't get going on the ground, I think it's curtains.
- [82:23]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay.
- [82:24]
Ty Hildenbrandt
They got to get going on the ground because for as much as there has been real optimism around JC French again, the transfer from Georgia Southern. JC French was like sixth, I want to say in the Sun Belt in terms of not completion percentage. Quarterback rating.
- [82:41]
Dan Rubenstein
Yes.
- [82:42]
Ty Hildenbrandt
I don't know if he's such that they're going to like rely on his arm to throw them out of danger. They're going to need some balance. I think that's how you get over that. Five and a half total. I am six and six.
- [82:58]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay, so we're same page.
- [83:00]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah. Schedule gives them a little bit of a ramp up period to get things sorted out before it gets tougher. I think they could probably find themselves in a situation where they go oh and six against the good teams on the schedule and six and oh against the bad teams. And that's how you get the six and six.
- [83:16]
Dan Rubenstein
Okay, fair enough. By the way, I should mention because we started to bring the episode full circle, there are some gumpy moments to these eight teams schedule wise. Gumpy meaning finding themselves in interesting situations and places Historically, yes. Because you know how TCU at Arizona is like attending the I have a dream speech. TCU in November. They're at Arizona short week on the road. But it's after Arizona has Texas Tech. They have Utah a week after Utah is at Arizona and TCU for the second time in November has a short week road game playing Texas Tech on a Thursday to finish out the season.
- [83:56]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Yeah.
- [83:57]
Dan Rubenstein
So TCU not in the most amazing place in terms of what their November offers at them offers to them. Oklahoma State has West Virginia a week after West Virginia has the neutral site game against a tough Virginia team. They have UCF a week after UCF is at Houston. They are at Houston a week after Houston has Kansas State. Colorado after Colorado has Utah. Iowa State a week after ISU is isu. Yeah. Iowa State is at Arizona and they have Arizona State after on the road after Arizona State is at UCF and before the Territorial cup on the road and then Kansas to finish out the year after Kansas has byu. So your case for Oklahoma State having a a thrilling bounce back season. Kind of fortified by some of those situational moments.
- [84:52]
Ty Hildenbrandt
SolidVerbalMail.com write in Let us know your thoughts on any of these eight teams that we discussed here today. Any of the eight we discussed back in Part two. We're going to take a bit of a reprieve after today's preview episode. We still of course have the Big Ten in the SEC that we need to get through, but as has been the case the last couple seasons, once we get into preview mode, we just rifle through all the previews and we don't leave any buffer to talk about what's actually going on. So at time of recording, we've got all sorts of quotes that are flying around from various media days, some other college football stuff that I think you and I want to make sure that we touch up on. We don't want it to be a situation where we got to wait six weeks to talk about these things. So we'll take a little bit of a break on the next two episodes. We'll talk through news and other happenings in and around the world of college football and then we'll pick back up. We'll start back up with Big Ten Part one, Part two, Part three. We'll finish it out with the sec as we get a little bit closer into the season. We will of course do our prediction special maybe the week before Week zero.
- [85:57]
Dan Rubenstein
And you didn't even mention we haven't talked at all about summer hard court season coming up here. So Tommy Paul got married. What does that mean for his summer? Yeah, we've got Marta Kostiak looking to build on her sensational spring on the women's tour. I don't know, man. We got Carlos Alcaraz trying to come back from a wrist injury. We got Sasha Zver peeking right now. You know Yannick Sinner unbeatable as he gets into the heat of playing places like Toronto or Cincinnati. I don't know if he's playing. D.C. u.S. Open's always hot. So you got a lot of thoughts? You've been hitting me on slack a bunch and yeah, I have been keeping
- [86:35]
Ty Hildenbrandt
a little bit more up to date with it. I've been trying.
- [86:39]
Dan Rubenstein
Should be a Fun Summer again.
- [86:42]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Revolvers.com is where you go if you want to support the team. Hit, follow or subscribe if you have yet to do so and leave a star rating or review. All that stuff really goes a long way towards helping us out. Thank you so much for your ongoing support. We greatly appreciate it. SolidVerbalMail.com Again, if you've got anything further that you'd like to say for that guy over there, Dan, or myself over here? Ty? We'll catch you all next episode of
- [87:05]
Dan Rubenstein
Meantime Today Song Peace. I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all get distracted when we drive, whether it's from our phones or kids in the backseat by crossing. But how we handle these distractions can
- [87:28]
Ty Hildenbrandt
be a matter of life or death.
- [87:31]
Dan Rubenstein
Before you get on the road for your next road trip, please put your phones on silent and take a mental note to focus on driving. Paid for by nhtsa
- [87:43]
Tab Ramos
this is Tab Ramos from Inside American Soccer and this summer topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They've got a new soccer themed game you can play with your group, exclusive food and drink items. They've even installed full size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you can get the topgolf Summer Fun Pass which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours now at topgolf.com/funpass looking for
- [88:18]
Ty Hildenbrandt
your next conversation starter? So get this. Gen Z is ditching dating apps to
- [88:23]
Dan Rubenstein
wrestle strangers, spending hundreds on Etsy witch
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Ty Hildenbrandt
spells to find jobs.
- [88:27]
Dan Rubenstein
Listen to so get this an I
- [88:28]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Heart Bubbler Media podcast presented by Sam's Club. Listen now on iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know Sam's Club isn't a store? It's actually a club with cool finds
- [88:39]
Dan Rubenstein
and like a whole community. It's a club. Of course, Jason. It's in the name. Sam's Club. Oh yeah.
- [88:48]
Ty Hildenbrandt
Come join us Sam's Club. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.