This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez Son Fox Sports fourteen fifteen powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure Your most Prized Possessions kt z R two SA and iHeartRadio Station.
Hey, good afternoon, everybody.
Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera and with me today is a guy back by popular demand or I just needed somebody like Quinn. Hey, thanks Dave, good to be back. Yes, people liked people like you. Either I made you or just you know whatever.
Yeah, I had my family call in. Yeah, that's four people.
You're like that.
That's how the Gonzales is start.
They have like South South, Avers, Southern Arizona, and Tucson covered. So you know, hey, you want the Gonzales guy back? Yeah, bring him back? Hey, creeping back, Okay, whatever. Hey, and we got our guy Henry in for the board op op, the most crucial part of this show. Good to see you, Henry. I'm gonna ask you a question later. You probably know the question. Good to see you.
Hey, how about them wildcats? How about them wildcats? How about them wildcat?
I thought, I thought, holy crap, who are these who are these guys? And I don't I'm not gonna go negative, although I might come up with a scenario or too, Mike to say what really happened, But both of you, this is a question for both of you. What do you think happened Saturday night? And don't screw with my hip. Don't screw with my thing that we talked about.
You don't want me.
Lay the well, no, I think it's kind of you know, it's it's it's funny.
It's like I was thinking about this coming in.
It's like if anyone says they had this beforehand, Yeah.
Yeah, well if you picked it.
Them winning in in that kind of dominant fashion against Utah, it's like.
I don't know anybody who thought they were gonna win. Yeah, I mean, you.
Know, I guess you could outside shot. I'm a little fan. I'm excited. Yeah, Okay, now I'm interested. I think that they can win. But boy, I tell you what, it's they won pretty dominantly. I mean other than that, uh you know, start of the fourth quarter kind of uh touchdown, the defense shut him down, and that was the suspect part. I mean, we look, we knew Fafita was going to throw the ball. We knew Tim Mac was going to catch the ball.
The uh.
You know, we knew that we'd be able to run the ball a little bit. But uh, boy, I tell you what, I didn't think the defense was going to do that well against you.
They did great, they did great. Uh and we'll get to that point in a second. Okay, So they did great, and I'll kind of be Steve Rivera because everyone expects it to be.
Do you see my story yesterday? Dream my story? Yes?
Okay, did it strike you at all? I know I don't profound you, so yeah, yeah, nothing in there I thought, you know. Okay, no, yeah, well let me point it out to you. I'll bring I'll do your homework for you. Yeah yeah, there you go. So remind me what I read, so remind me how memorable that was. I'll bury the leader. I'll pull it out for you. So okay, we saw a pretty good team right there.
Right.
Yeah, So what happened to the first week? The second week of the third week? Okay?
Again, I think I mentioned this last time, and I wonder if this was the case. Part of it is buying into the system. Part of it is getting into that and understanding where this stuff all fits. And I wonder if this bye week really got this team focused on kind of doing the things, you know, everyone pulling the oars in the same direction. I do think that it was a lot of that.
Okay, So the question did you read the story blah blah blah, and what happened the first two three weeks?
Okay?
So you saw this team that played very well, right, probably the best that's played since Oklahoma ago. So now you have this team, what about the previous three weeks? Where's that team? Don't you think it's still there lingering? Because all of a sudden, I think it could be. So which team is right? And that's the thing about it. You gotta you gotta wonder who comes out?
Uh?
You know who? Who's who's next? You know, is it doctor Jackeler, mister Hyde?
Uh?
It comes out for the next hand. You can't have buys every week, No, you can't. You can't, Ebody.
Well, the other thing is is maybe they what they did, is they they they jelled? Maybe they got together, like I said, maybe they're all pulling the same you know, next week, you know, I you know, I guess you always you always say this like, oh, well, next week will really tell. Okay, but I think next week really will tell. I mean, are we going to regress back to week one, two, three, or are we going to jump uh into you know what we've done and carry
that through Now. The other thing is is I think Kansas State has proven that they're pretty good.
Yeah, and that was a good team you played. Okay, so we're having this conversation. Arizona played great. They look like the Arizona team that we thought they would be. What do you think the conversation in the sports talk show in Salt Lake is happening right now?
What do they say? I think they're waiting for their quarterback to come back? Okay, No, are they saying, did we screw this thing up? Or what? Or is Arizona better than us or what? What do you think?
There's no no, no, no, no, no, there's no one. There's no one in Utah right now that thinks we're better than Utah. Okay, okay, right now, what they're thinking, what I was thinking the whole time is why aren't they running the ball? They got a freshman quarterback in there? About Utah? Yeah, yeah, it's like they got a freshman quarterback in there. They had run the ball successfully a couple of times, and they're throwing the ball all over
the place and they're not being successful doing it. I think that that's I think they're getting into the fact, like, hey, let's not panic here. We're still really, really good. Arizona had a really good game. That is not the real Arizona. That's not the real Utah. Let's let's next week it'll be different.
Okay, So let's go back to the conversation that we had before the show started. Okay, we can figure that Utah's pretty good, right, Arizona's owned them the last week two years. Yes, and more power to you, and that's great, that's fantastic. But they've beaten up pretty much everybody else. You're right, So let me say this. So Utah goes down and moves them all pretty well, right, get into the red zone, they have a chance to score, and
they don't. Arizona stout and and they hold them. They do it again, they go down and what do you you know what I'm thinking right after those two I'm thinking this this coach, this Utah coach who's a very good coach, will have says you can stop us twice, We're gonna continue to do this until we score and beat the crap out of you.
Right, I'm thinking.
This guy has to go on this because they could.
Have easily had six points if he wanted it.
But but he chose to say, Okay, you stopped us, we're still gonna do it again, and we're gonna do it again.
It didn't happen. But what were you thinking?
I was.
I was thinking that this guy went in there is thinking, look, eventually, we're gonna beat you anyway, so we're just gonna keep doing this. Eventually we're going to score. Yeah, you got us at one time, but you're not gonna get us again. And then it happened, and then it happened again. But see, it's one of those things where they just had you see the coaches. Coaches do this thing when it's like going, oh, touchdowns are gonna win. Field goals aren't gonna win this game.
We're gonna need to score touchdowns. But I think he had a lot more confidence in his defense than that. Sure, it's not like he was questioning whether and at his defense would be good. I really believe that it was one of those things where he's just like going, I'm just gonna get rid of this game quick, and we're gonna just keep running it out.
Sure, So, Henry, what did you think? I thought?
I thought the opening drive they were really looking to get seven, and when it came the fourth down, they didn't even really hesitate to kick the field, but they were just we're expecting to get seven, so they Yeah, and even the second drive when it was fourth and goal, they thought they should add a touchdown there, so they did it again, and then Arizona kept stopping them, so they had to keep going for touchdowns on just settling for points.
So I think that game was won or lost on both sides. Arizona game confidence like crazy after that second, fourth, fourth and two whatever it was, and they said, hey, we got something here, and you tell us they can we just blew fourteen points or at least six.
Right, Yeah, the but there they were throwing the ball on all Yeah. Those it was surprising. It's like you're moving the ball on the ground. It's like, why are you throwing the ball again again? Stavis. It's like going, come on, you know that guy, that guy's shut down. You know NFL receiver played out of his mind, and he was pretty good, pretty hid that game. So we'll see. Not to take away anything from Arizona. They deserve that win. And now the season starts. I think Jay and I
talked about this all the time. I think we and I you and I talked about it a little that Okay, the first four games they win, if they go three and one, there's a chance that they could win eight because the two games that they're gonna be the toughest, or the third game, in the fourth game, the b way you game all these other games are they're thinking, Okay, now you never know. Maybe we were pretty sure and thinking that, but but you think, maybe find out what
people are like. And again i'd go back to the column where we don't know what what team's gonna show up.
Well, you don't know, and that's the thing about it.
You you sit there and you wonder who happens you know, next game. I thought it was interesting. And this may sound a little silly, I guess unless that you've played. But they had a problem with their flight to lay oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. And they sat there and they got up. They were up at one two in the morning eating hamburgers, and that Brennan was saying. Coach Brendan was saying things about that. It's like going, you know, that does bond a team?
And you know, it may be one of those things where they needed something silly like that to just kind of become a team, because boy, they've got some great individual performers. You know, they get a couple of guys that are going to go go to the NFL, and they got a lot of people who aren't. And so you know, there are a lot of people that with nil, a lot of people without, So you wonder it's like there's a lot of possibility for division. But they certainly
came together, there's no doubt about it. We'll talk they were really good. In fact, we're going to talk to Lamont Lovett, who was on that flight to to Salt Lake. He obviously does the color analysts for for the other station at twelve ninety who covers the team, so get his insights on that. But I think that's a great point. How did that help or did it hurt? But I
think you're you're right. I think you're onto something. And then at the second hour, we're going to have the Scooby Wright, who obviously was in the trenches for a few years and and played in these types of games. I think he was part of the game when they beat Utah over there, just the difficulty in doing that, and obviously his insights because he's got he does. He's one of those dudes that does bleed red blue. So so we'll see what he says and get his impressions
on all that. But we'll talk about that which you talked about with the bonding us against everybody, even even the pilots or the or the play Yeah, because no, you're right, You're right, I just I would if you're a fan, I'm sure you hope that this continues. Oh sure, then that you use the word to regress. But it's just kind of stayed the course, stayed the course and just kind of continue to get better. I hear that
all the time. It doesn't happen, but it could. Well, No, I mean I do believe that they could get better. I do believe that they could continue doing this. I tell you, the defensive line was much aligned. I mean they aligned. They were you know, people did not think that they were good Like me. I just had a conversation with somebody. We were talking about how the defensive line was getting blown off the ball.
And this was a former you.
Have a aligneman, and it's like they did not keep blown off the ball.
They played very good. If they keep doing that, they'll be all right. You played sports, you coach sports. You saw sports that army. And if there's anything I've learned in this world of doing what I do for a long time, you can't predict the emotions of players at any time.
They played out of their mind emotionally.
You can see them attack, you could see them be aggressive, and I'm thinking, this was not the team I saw two weeks ago, which was a different and kind of almost a malaise.
It was just very, very blah.
Well, the question comes up, then, is uh is this a team that plays to their opponents? And we've seen that thousands of yeah, yeh yeah, yeah. You get to get blown out by uh, you know, get beat by an NAU and then you go out and you beat.
A top ten. Should I bring up Arizona basketball?
Yeah?
I wasn't get a jenxus, but yeah.
I've seen it a thousand times.
And that's the curse of sports. It is.
Well, they're college players, these are nineteen twenty twenty one year old kid.
True, true, but it happens that everything. Psychology plays a point. But you know, if I think, you know, if I think it was, how do you explain it was? On the first round losses? They walk into the arena. Oh, we've beaten guys like this all year? What makes me think it's not gonna happen today?
Right?
And then also, and you're down ten with two minutes left.
Right, and you and your beat, Well, that's what you wonder if Utah, if Utah walked in and said, said, hey, listen, this is Arizona, this is our place. We just beat a really good team. You know how easy this is going to be, sweetheart, I will see you after the game.
It's going to be a lot of shot.
We'll have another non alcoholic drink and yeah, exactly right. Will be almost good to go, Henry.
One minute? Okay? Cool? Any more thoughts on that game? Henry? Where was it one?
I think the true freshman quarterback looked like a.
True fris quarterback. That's another point. That's another point. Actually, he looked like he was about twelve years old. Did you see him behind that face mask? Boy? Well, the thing is he's been good another spot. He's played well, destroyed Oklahoma State last week, so okay, we'll talk more about it. We'll bring that up with Lamont on the other side. Here on the ball.
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Live Monny iHeartRadio app. This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Raverara and Jay g.
And Salez Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to I in thebaut here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in with me the days. Mike Quinn right now.
On the phone.
We have leamontin love it, one of the well the Arizona football radio color analysts.
Lamont How are you?
I'm doing great?
How you doing?
We're doing fine? Can you hear us? Okay?
Yeah, okay, great?
Great?
Okay, Hey, how was that trip for a guy like you and Brian? You're not strapping it up or getting dirty with them, but how was it for you guys?
Oh? It was.
It was a lot of fun. I mean, anytime that you can anytime that you can get a victory from a top ten win on the road, it's it's a pretty big deal. And and so yeah, we were, we were thrilled and kind of still kind of high from the game after we got home. So it's always.
An exciting So were you were you on them? Were you on the team plane when you went and came back?
You know something that was one of the rare times that we were not for for whatever reason, they they were bringing some additional people and so the radio team we all traveled commercially, so we actually got there. We were in Salt Lake City by like two o'clock that that on Friday, so we were Yeah, we just kind of had the whole night with our by ourselves there there.
Yeah.
Uh uh, Mike, when here, First off, I want to say, it's like when when you played, I was here getting at Arizona getting my master gree So I'm a little little fanboy in here.
Uh, being an interview on the thing. It's it's good to talk to you.
The uh I got to ask you, uh, the the time that they had delayed and then the Hamburgers at two o'clock in the morning and all the things that coach Brynan was talking about. Was that a benefit? Do you think was it a bonding thing for the team or was it like, no, it's just hamburgers.
I think it was I mean, I think everything is is what you make of it. I think one of the benefits of it was still they got a chance to do their walkthrough at the whole, you know, on the facility. They still got to do all of their regular you know, Friday prep. They were here instead of having to travel on the road to do it, So it may have benefited them from that standpoint. I don't know if there was an advantage or a disadvantage either way.
I really think that, you know, the two weeks that they kind of had to stew over that loss that they had and you know, feel like that kind of everybody was against them, kind of feel like their backs were against the wall. And then people questioning you know, the players, people questioning the coach and staff, people questioning everything. I think that probably was their biggest motivation. I don't
think anything could have motivated them more than that. And I think that you know, also knowing that this team has talent, you know they and they knew they had talent, and the public knows they have talent, and I think that that's what was so disappointing about them, you know, struggling the way they have early on. So I think that you know, all those things you feel challenged, you know.
And I coach told me, you used to always say that, you know, a wildcat that's backed into a corner is the most dangerous, you know, type of wildcat that there is. And I get you know what he's saying is when you're when you're back against the wall, you can do one of two things. You know, you can fight, or
you can you know, get attacked. And these guys were, and they had them of the mindset that you know, we're we're gonna we're gonna go up, come back and get bond together, fight harder, and and everybody made the coaches, coach better and made the players play better.
One of the things that I'm sure you you noticed this, but I'm asking anyway. Uh, the biggest difference on Saturday from two weeks ago was this team attacked. I mean they were aggressive, uh, compared to in my mind, this is just my interpretation or meli observation, was two weeks ago Kansas State. They were indifferent. It was like we're here, but let me get the hell out of here. Saturday, it was like we're gonna attack, We're going to be aggressive and not just sometimes all the time.
Did you see that as well.
No question about it. I think that's a really astute assessment. I mean, if you think about it, you know, when the when the first offensive drive they had, you know, they started, they came out going no huddle. They were they were you know, they were throwing. They spread the feel. As soon as they got a first down, they sped up the temple and started going to huddle. So they were already like, okay, we're attacking you right off the date.
And then after they you know, moved the ball right down the field on them on the defensive side of the ball, they were like they had their ears pinned back the entire time. I mean they were coming, you know, and you could really see whenever they had a chance to blitz and heat up that quarterback, they were just bringing it. And they were and they were coming from with different a lot of different variety of ways that
they attacked. And so it was and then if they didn't get the fact they were hitting the quarterback, I mean I noticed like in the second half or second quarter man he was getting up slow and he was limping around Wilson, I mean they were smacking him. He was taking some big hits and I was like, whoa these guys are And the stat line at the end of the game, which was which was so impressive. It's seven tackles for lost three sacks. I mean, they were getting after them.
It was it was.
It was incredible to watch.
Yeah, no question.
Yeah, so we've we've had uh uh one question I have for you about, uh, the running game. So the the the running backs. I mean, we seem to have a pretty good stable of running backs right now. Are we running the ball enough? We're certainly running it pretty effectively. Uh when we do run, are we running it enough for we relying on Fafita and t Mac and the rest of the crowd to carry the game.
That's a good question too. I think you know, you got to see them a little bit more early on maybe run the ball. They ran it effectively early on, and then against k State, you saw them kind of get away from it because they were you know, they fell behind, and so that kind of, you know, kind of took away their their ability to really establish the run because they were playing from behind it running the balls,
you know, it takes time off the clock. So I think that that's a little bit It was a little bit of that what you saw there. But you know, if you look at Brennan's teams, if you look at the center of the state team, they ran the heck out of the ball last year, and they threw the
ball to the tight end a lot last year. They did all those things, and they and they were they were a really physical team that really you know, they established a run and so they've they've kind of been a little bit not not it hasn't been the identity that that Brennan's teams were in the last couple of years. And so I think that that's what they really got
a chance to focus on. You know, with the two weeks that they had off, they got a chance to just look at what they do well, what they're not doing well, and what they want to be, what they want the personality to be. And they just went back to the you know, the drawing board on all of it. And I think we saw a snapshot in this last game and what they want to be at and that that team that they played against, make no mistakes. They're not easy to run the ball on. And Arizona was
getting seven eight yards a clip on the right. They were killing in the game and that's so it's a valid question, you know, by saying are they running it enough? But I think that that's just a little bit more of them just kind of, you know, just just in their mind being resolute about the fact that we're going to run the ball and not saying like, well, I wonder can we run the ball? It was more or less no, We're running the ball. And that's that's kind of how they played.
Yeah.
I mean, I mean the reason why, I you know, one reason why I asked that, uh after Utah scored that touchdown right it started the fourth quarter. You know, I'm sitting there saying, it's like going home, my god, here we go. We got to get control of the game again. Let's start running the ball right down their throats and we just we threw the ball, through the ball, through the ball, scored a touchdown.
I mean worked.
I'm just yeah, you know, it's like, can we control the ball and run the game out? Anyway? I think that was a great answer.
I think you will start seeing more of that. Yeah, I think you will start seeing more of that, though. I do think you start seeing more of it. But I think that to their to their to the Arizona's difference. I think that was one of those those situations where where you know, that's the strength of that Utah defense is stopping to run and and I don't know if they wanted to try to fall in, you know, and that they needed to score on that last drive and
they needed to get the crowd out of it. So I think that's kind of what you saw there, good mode, the way they were.
So so them on.
Let me let me.
I've said this secret for a long time. I don't know if I'm right or not, but I believe I am. And you're a former player, so you know this. One of the things that that is untold is the emotions of a player eighteen nineteen, twenty twenty one years old. Right, you go in thinking that your stuff doesn't stink, your girlfriend's just left you, or whatever.
You know.
You go in and I'm sure you've come up against the teams when you played that. Okay, we go on the field, we expect to win, and you don't. How much does that play a part? Did that play a part? On Saturday? Where like you said, Arizona had a lot to prove, Utah said, oh, it's Arizona we're just going to show.
Up and beat them.
Yeah, I'm sure they had something to do with it too. I think the fact that it was a perfect storm, yeah right, you wass thinking and there they were thinking in their mind, I'll, you know what, we're going to get them back. I've been here and a lot of you know, uh, we're gonna we're gonna pay this payback for what they did to us last year. It was just a little bit cocky on their end, thinking like, you know, they're down and we're gonna we're gonna make
them pay. And then at the same time Arizona, I don't think they appreciated how how much Arizona's backs were against the wall. Everyone was thinking, this is gonna be a bad season for him, and you know, they hadn't looked good in any of their games really, and they
hadn't put together a complete game yet. And I think that you know, these those are the type of games where you know what's on the other end of that that you know, it could be an embarrassing, you know, butt whooping if you guys, you know, showed up there
with anything less than than the way they played. And so I just really think that it had a way of just making these guys lock in and and I and I do have respect for the coaches that they haven't in the room at Arizona, and and and and they stood up like I really believed that they would do in an adverse situation. Well, it was nice to see everyone raise their their level.
Well, you talked a little about being a little maybe uh cocky or whatever, but you talked it, and we talked about this, Mike and I. So I thought the game right right away, Utah goes down, they get stuffed, and they have the chance to score, they decide not to go for the three to get stuffed. They do it again, get in the red zone, get stuffed, and I'm thinking, God, what do you have?
Just has some cajonies on him.
He just thinks that we're just gonna go down there and do this every time, whether they stop us or not. And I'm thinking, holy crap. But converseially, it was this confidence that it may not have had before.
Yeah, no, it works against him, it really is. It's just like you're saying, like if you're going to a fight, and I'm gonna I'm gonna be the bully here, and you go out and the bully walks up to you and you punched the bully in the face, and he's like questioned and everything, and I'm like, wait a minute, what did I just get myself in?
Right?
And that's that's what it looked like. You know, two times in a row they were like, we're gonna, we're gonna flex on you and they got knocked back. And so yeah, that kind of really established, you know, the way the attitude of that game and the way that what was going to happen. You know, that established the tune and the tempo of what was going to happen the whole the whole night. So it was it wasn't dogfight. It was awesome to mutch.
I don't know if you know this, but somebody just texted me about about the offense obviously looked a little bit more exciting, a little more fluid.
Uh.
There are some reports, at least talk that Dino was not calling the shots.
Do you know that?
Yeah, yeah, no, that's accurate. It was confirmed today, So Brand confirmed that that basically it was the what's the coach's name? Yeah, and and and I had got wind of it too prior to the game, that that he was going to be that he was going to be calling the plays. And it was it was, it was
obvious to just watching the game. They were there. They were definitive differences in the game and and and so you know, I think that you know, when you when you're when you care about you know your program, and when you care about you know everything, you got to
make tough decisions. I think they made it. You know, he to me, honestly, they proved his metal right there, because you know, it takes it takes guts to say, you know what, this is not working out the way I wanted to work out, and I got to do something about it. And I just think it showed maturity on everybody's Then it's Dino still going to have a
huge role. It's not like he's you know, not going to be you know, but they, you know, they maybe they felt like Atkins, could you could maybe do it a little bit better, and you know the proof, the proof was in the pudding, and it looked pretty darn good in that game. That's the best that the offensive looked from a consistency standpoint all year they looked. And that was you know, that was a tough defensive unit that they played against. I mean, they absolutely shut everybody
down they played this year. So yeah, that was that was That was a great performance by Arizona LA.
I'm gonna ask I'm gonna ask a Steve question here that he was posing it earlier. What team shows up against Texas Tech? Uh, I mean, do we get a well I.
Wrote this in the column, yes, or I don't know if you saw this much so you saw this Arizona team hadn't been this good since Oklahoma. But the previous three games, you're simple sized, the three games didn't look good at all. So now you know that they can play this way, but you also know that they could play.
The other way.
Yeah, what I what I anticipate. I think what they've got to guard against is just complacency more than anything.
But the good thing is.
Though they played at a level and they know what that feels like now. I think the whole year they were kind of searching for that level, you know, like what I mean, they were like, we played at this level last year, but this team hasn't played at that level yet, and I think that they were all kind
of searching for it. And that was the first time in that game where you know, the newstyle play were the way they were going to be more aggressive on these It looked like that's what they wanted to look like. And offensively, you know, they did some of the things. They changed a lot of little things they're not going to go way into detail on, but they did some things that specifically, you know, showed me that they were being a little bit more modernized with what they were doing.
And yeah, I think everything really just came together and the discipline was there. They didn't get as many penalties either, so you could tell they really locked right on what they needed to do. They you could tell that they did a lot of self evaluation too, because those things got better in that game. And that would that would have been a game if they would have pulled the same craft in that game. You know that we've been seeing a different tune today.
Yeah, you hit on this earlier.
The defense definitely got better and and and as River and you said it's like they're both i mean very aggressive.
Uh Texas Tech can score some points.
Uh, it's are they going to be able to get to the quarterback before the quarterback gets to gets that ball off or is it are we going to be chasing people.
Down all the game.
You know, I don't know the answer. I don't know the answer to that, but I know that I know Arizona knows how to play against these type of teams though too. You know, they've got I know this, They've got this. You know, they got some twists. And I think a Kena is really you know, he's kind of people playing against spread teams. I think our team is actually kind of built to play against spread teams more
because we've got a lot of dbs. And you know what I was more worried about is when we face a team like Utah where we had to just you know, kind of be kind of kind of blow up, and they showed that they could do that. So I really think this is going to be one of those those secondary type games where you may see an extra DP out there, you may see him in and dine packets with one linebacker, you know, but this this will be
the week to do that type of a team. So we may see it, we'll see, we'll see, but I think that they'll I think they'll be okay. So so last question, The biggest thing is that offense needs to step up to me.
I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, i'd score first forty wins this baby.
Yeah.
Yeah, so last question like that before the season started, and you know, everybody kind of goes, we'll win this one, they'll win that one, they'll do this, and and Jay and I were talking about if they can get three and one somehow, I mean split the KNNAS State and Utah two games, they could win eight, maybe even nine. Okay, So in my mind, the season starts now because you have this. We also didn't know that b YU is going to be by you Colorado maybe better than we thought.
Things like that. But do you believe you believe that maybe the season starts now?
Oh well, there's no question. I mean, it came on now. I mean you're you're into your your conference schedule, so you're playing for all the marbles, all the marbles in every single game from here on out. And and the fact that we want our first one, I mean it just it just may gives the next game a little
bit more. Mean, So yeah, I fully agree with that assessment that you know it starts now because and I don't really see, you know, any games on our schedule where you just circle that and be like, oh that's a victory. I really feel like you really balanced conference. And yeah, and I think you got to play well each week to win. It doesn't mean it doesn't matter if you're playing a better team. You just got to
play well. And that's that's what I think is going to come down to, you know, if Arizona can you know, and and health is going to play a factor too, because you know, injury are a part of the game and so you know, how they are able to maneuver and manage that part of it too is gonna you know, play a huge role in what happens in the season.
So well, we'll see what happens.
Well, it's gonna be an exciting rest of the year with you and Brian because it's fun, right, Winning is fun for you guys, and it's just and there's a lot to talk about. I mean, that's that's the fun part of the Sure, everyone gets excited when you're winning. I mean, like, like you said, there's no games on there where you sit there and you say, okay, that's a well it's a loss even with that win everybody because that means they have to get up, they can't overthink things.
Yeah, but there's no game on there that we're now now there's no game on there that you're like going, Okay, that's a loss. We've got the potential to beat every team that we're playing. We got a potential to lose both ways, right, but we got a tend potential to beat them. Thanks a thank you man, Thanks take care of aslamon Love It Radio guy for the twelve ninety group. We'll take a break, we're a little over.
Thank you for.
Namor'son a Man's Basketball Fan. You know it's been successful for Newly for forty years. Now, take a look back at the Ludelsen era. In my new book, Lessons from Loot, it was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons from Lout is an insight to how he built the program into
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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio app. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen to fifty.
Hey, welcome, back, Welcome back to I'm the Baldingo on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're Mike Quinn and and my your phones are catawampus.
I guess I don't know. It's just very strange. Hold I'm hearing and it was fine. It was clear to you guys. Yeah, wow, it might just be me, which is weird, weird, weird.
Someone could call in and let us know. How Yeah, how does this sound? How does that an intro sound? It's like two things going on at the same time. But thank you meet Well, I'll see what the podcast looks like or sounds like. Anybody want to call five two oh four one six, seventy four forty that'd be great. In fact, we just got to call over the uh over the phone. While where else would you get a call? Right, you gotta call asking about red zone yelling out the window.
You gotta call, Hey, what's going on in zone? Because we were.
They called, They called. We got this new thing called the phone. Well, did don't use the phone for a phone? The text on the phoneck, we got a picture. We got a picture machine, yes, a picture machine. So so we're trying to get information call over the camera. I guess to some people or maybe the start had said that the game on Friday night is going to be televised on ESPN. I had not seen that, so there hasn't heard anything about it. So are you going, I'm
not going to the game? You're not going to Friday? We're gonna Oh yeah, you old that, ye, I'm an old man. Yeah, So we're gonna find that out if it's going to be televised or not. They put in a text real quick to see if it is or is it I don't think it is. Typically it's not, so we'll see. Yeah, yeah, okay, again, if you want to call five two, four, one, six, seventy four forty What did you think about the game? Were you impressed? Did Utah just not show up? Did Arizona showed up?
My part is and I asked you this before, and I didn't ask Lama, what do you think they're thinking today when they're doing their talk show? Oh no, we suck or Utah Arizona's better or whatever, you know, because it might be a combination of all the things. And I'm glad that Lamont said. And I didn't listen to the press convers today. I'm too busy working in my real world that the offensive coordinator had switched for this one game.
Yeah, I think that's it.
Well, I don't know if it's for just this one game, right, I mean they did pretty well on what they needed to do. First thing I wanted to point out is in that first segment, you said that you said, oh, you're right more times than thirty two years than I've ever known you.
So it's like, I think I might be onto something here.
It's because you're in a ten by ten rules exactly, and you're closer to the door there you go exactly.
I gotta get to the door. You need a you need a co host. So it's like I can get from that or I could leave. Could you excuse excuse me? I need to get through the door.
I think that they I think that they think that that we're we're not as good as we played against them.
Yeah, okay, I got a call. I think I know who it is on the air.
What's up, guys, Jake?
Did they let you out of the room over there?
You know this work thing is really it's hard.
It's way overrated. Wait did you say I gotta go to the restroom. We'll be right back.
Calling from a closet. Hey, Ja, don't on this all right. I know I used to call in and give you a hard time, but take it easy on me today, all right.
No, you know I'm not You're not the one that I want to I want to rip on here. I want every every every person who after the third game was already saying, Brent Brennan's not the guy. You know, Baber's is not the guy. Duayne m keene is not the guy. They made a mistake with this coaching staff. We suck, We're gonna win four games, all that stuff. Man. I was just thinking about that from the time the game ended until right now, just like why. I guess everybody got those fans, but why.
Yeah, Jay, I was thinking about you about when it when Brennan was wearing the lay and we were winning, Uh, thinking yeah, Jay, maybe maybe Jay was onto something that it wasn't delay that was causing the problems.
Exactly exactly, stuff like that, like take the layoffs, You're screwing up your coaching. Really yeah, really that's what we're going.
So, you know, I don't know what Quentin was thinking about you during the game. Which is kind of scared me. I was thinking about you for I was thinking about you for one reason. You're You're over eight wins still has a.
Chance, it does it, does you know? Steve? I mean really, you know when we were talking eight wins, we were still talking they get to eight wins going too and two? Yeah? Right now, Yet, like you guys, like you guys said in the last segment, things have changed, right, all of a sudden, how good is BYU? All of a sudden, how good is Colorado? Although Colorado's got to come here, Arizona's got to go to BYU. Maybe Central Florida is
not as good as you know. Maybe what we were marking as a loss of Central Florida, maybe that's the loss of BYU. The thing is, it's still in play. Here's the thing about what happened with the king. Everything's in play. Everything is in play for Arizona. And and and that's the thing that thinking about the win, I'm like, holy crap, these guys did something huge by winning at Utah.
Yeah, not just winning, I mean we pretty much dominate the Utah there. Yes, uh and so so it wasn't it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't like, hey, we came back when they were sleeping, we beat them, and uh and that and and and we beat a good team. And I don't want to hear about you know this, uh freshman quarterback.
Uh.
I think if the other guy was there, we still win that game because we dominated both sides of the ball.
Uh.
Let's not forget that quarterback beat the hell out of Oklahoma State.
Yes, localho absolutely right, Absolutely, that's so.
So we said in the last segment that there's no there's no game that you can circle and say, Okay, that's definitely a loss. But is there a game in there that you could say that there's you know or no, none of that. You're going to be like, hey, that's that's definitely a win. But I don't think anyone's a loss either. I mean you can assume there and go we're going to lose that game.
We we said that at the you know, before the season that after the Kansas State and Utah games, arizonmost could be now could could have been favored in the rest of their games, and they might be, but they might they're not going to be favorite of BYU. That's in two weeks, so you know, they're gonna be an underdog at b YU. They probably be favored over Colorado. Who knows what happens to Central Florida from here on ou,
you know, they I don't know. I looked at the schedule now and I see them favored in all but maybe two road games.
It's funny because ESPN, after after Colorado beat the Central Florida last on Saturday or whatever day it was, they us being projected that they'll be the favorite for every game the rest of the way.
Yeah, and maybe they will be okay, but if Arizona, here's the deal that Arizone's only got three road games left. Yeah, they're all winnable games.
They're all winnable games.
Now, they're going to be hard, you know, if they win all three of those, I mean, that's a hard thing to do. But you look at the home schedule, they shouldn't lose at home.
So let me ask you, Jay, we talked to Laman, as you heard, and then you coaching the switch for offensive coordinator. I can't remember, and maybe it had and I just don't remember because I don't cover football like they did basketball. That ever happening in season one and two, that obviously was a spark.
Well, something happened for sure, right because the play calling was I mean you I don't remember sitting there and saying, well, that was a bad play call or that was a bad play call. Now when when when Noah Cafita winds up to throw to go deep on third and eleven, you know, on that last touchdown drive, I'm like, you only need eleven yards? Why throwing it over every and then and he made a great throw, and then and then the and then the throw to key On Burnett.
You go, they saw some somebody is seeing something because they just moved the ball, not at will, but pretty damn well all night long. Yeah you're even questioning, you guys are running the ball really well. Okay, so, but they threw the ball really well too, And so you have to give them credit for going with what they thought was going to work and not just continuing to run the ball because it was working. That maybe they knew that they needed to keep them, you know, off
balance with the throws. And when I mean, Steve, I've been watching football here for a really long time and I've said this a million times. I don't remember a throw like the one no made at key On Burnette from the touchdown on the run forty yards in the air to a spot at the back of the end zone and then for Keon Burnett to make that catch. I can't think of a pass like that in the history of Arizona football. Now there may be one, there may be a few, but I don't remember any. None.
Come none, come to my you know, come right up front. To think of a throw that won. Was that good at a time that it meant that much?
Okay. I don't want you to lose your job and have to come back here, so you better get off the.
All right. I just want to say, let this team play. Quit calling out the coaches because they make one bad call. They had a bad game. They they they made up for all you guys who are out there on social media ripping on this coaching staff. I want to see you come back and say I was wrong.
Thought you were talking to me.
You look there was I mean they for what happened at at Kansas State, criticism was was warranted. Right. You guys looked bad, from the coaching staff to the players and even you said they just looked lackadaisical and yeah, but to take it a step further and say, after three games, friend, Brennan is a terrible coach and he's not the guy. Those are the people that I'm like, what the hell? Those are the ones that piss me.
Okay, okay, all right, man, thanks for that cou.
Time.
Okay, thank you.
Okay, that was Jay obviously, but it makes good points, which of course that was. That's the first time in four years. Maybe he's better as a caller than there. You go, better and better calling it.
That's it.
Yeah, and he's right, I mean, give it a give it a rest. Everybody's reactionary. Here's also too though you have a good game, you're gonna switch to the other sign says we're.
Not gonna get well, sure, you know, it's like going what when when you're winning, everything is great. But the other thing about social media, how many likes or comments do you get by saying that was a good game? You know, no one's gonna be like okay, no, no, you get them when they're when you're when they're pissed.
Yes, right, exactly.
It's like going you know that the bad takes are the things that people comment on, and that's what people People don't go on social media, so they don't get likes.
You weren't that outside. Oh you're just like that almost say hey you look good, right exactly exactly. Okay, we gotta go, we gotta go, we got to come back. We got breaking news. We've got some big breaking news in fact at the top of the hour with Henry involving basketball, men's basketball.
So let's go and come back.