Strettitch working on Zach Keller. Zach really extending the pressure. They broke cross sport intercepted by Sharff Jons. You're Sharroff Jons. Get fast, wide open Gate. That's it. That's a bullseye. It's a triple for Gate. He won't be more wide open all year long than he was on that one.
And that was the Voice of the Utes, Bill Riley on the call the UTES Sports Radio Network, and of course, right here on ESPN seven hundred and ninety two point one FM, you can hear Bill on the broadcast for each and every one of the Utah men's basketball games, of course, Utah football and more, joining us to preview the Thanksgiving weekend of football and more. It is the voice of the Utes one, Bill Riley. I presume live from somewhere in Salt Lake City, possibly on campus.
Bill, how are you, friend, I'm at my office. Porter. I'm great.
I haven't been to your office yet. What's up with that? Where are you at the Huntsman Center.
I'm at the Huntsman Center. Have you been up to the Huntsman Center?
I have, I just haven't been to the Bill Riley Grace Huntsman Center. Since obviously I've been there, just not to your your your digs. We'll make that happen. Appreciate
you for joining us on this Wednesday. Happy early holiday to you, and uh give us a make get us excited for what is actually the only Big twelve game on Big twelve Finale weekend that doesn't have any conference championship or CFP implications, the only one between UCF and Utah, which if you would have asked us in August or September, both of these teams may have been on a short list of maybe contenders.
Yeah, well, I don't know much that I can add much more to it than that it's a play for pride kind of exact out of a Saturday you taught trying to end its longest losing streak in thirty eight years, and UCF trying to send their seniors out on a
senior night with a k the right way. So there are to be fair a ton of storylines inside this game outside of those, but you do have some guys that are playing for pride, and you do have some guys that are trying to impress, trying to show the coaching staff that they want to be part of this program moving forward, because I think we all know there's going to be some changes in rosters and things like that.
There are every year now in college football, So I think there's a little bit of that for Saturday, or I should say for Friday night as well.
Yeah, well, Utah is that you know, underachieving team this year a rare situation where that has been the case. They've been right there to winning some games against some really good teams over the last few weeks. What have you liked most in terms of what you've seen with the strength of this team showing why they were considered to be among the favorites in that conference when the year got started.
Well, they're still playing hard, Tony. Their defense is still very good. They're just asking the defense to do a lot right now. The offense has been very inefficient and inconsistent, and a lot of that's quarterback play. Clearly it's not all quarterback play, but some of it. But the defense has been really good, and last weekend we saw the special team show up and make some big plays, block punts,
covered kicks and fumbles and things like that. So I don't think you can question the effort of this team. The results certainly haven't been there, but they've still been putting forth the effort.
Gusmels On and UCF have lost I think six of seven. They started the season off three to zero and looked pretty good doing it. What challenges do they post to Utah specifically in what they do? I will say specifically on the offensive side of the ball, because although they haven't obviously been able to win many football games, they've been able to move the ball and put some points on the board fairly routinely and at least in their wins.
What is it about their offense that might pose problems to a Utah defense that, again, although not winning football games, is still a top three or four defense in the Big twelve.
They run the football better than anybody in Power five Football Power for Football. I mean it's not even close. They're averaging two hundred and fifty five yards a game rushing. They have ninety three runs this year of ten yards or more. They have more explosive run plays than anybody in Power for Football. They've got a running back in RJ. Harvey that's on the precipice of setting a rushing touchdowns record. He's got twenty one rushing touchdowns this year. He's got
forty two in his career. They run the football and they've got two quarterbacks, a red shirt freshman and a transfer that both can run it as well. So Utah is going to have to load up and stop the run. They just said, I mean, I know that's cliche every week, guys, but this team, they they really run it. They can throw it a little bit too. I mean, they can throw it. They've got a couple of playmakers on the outside, but they want to run the football and it's R. J.
Harvey and a couple of other guys. But when you're running for two hundred and fifty five yards a game and I think they're thirty yards better than the next closest team in power for football, that's what Youah has got to gear up for.
When you're laying out the depth chart the way that you do, and you're you know, putting in information on each different individual and when you see the number and the name, and different thoughts are going through your mind. You mentioned there's some players that are trying to make a statement, trying to make that last impression and a
lasting impression. Are there specific individuals you're really excited to see in this matchup and in this game with that opportunity to run through the finish line on what has been a tough season.
Well, I think we saw some glimpses last week. You know, it's mostly the young players, you know, the older guys, they're the you know, twenty three seniors aren't going to play again. So Doriyan Singer is a really nice player, but he's not coming back to Utah. But the Zachariace Williams might be and Dadrin Zipper might be. Those two guys they flashed the last couple of weeks for Utah. I'm very curious to see if they can continue to do that. I want to see how some of the
guys like John neu Hall on defense continue. He looks like he's got all the potential to be one of the next great linebackers at Utah. Does he continue to evolve in that linebacking core and that playmaking that kind of that playmaking form. Landon King got his first catch of the year a couple of weeks ago. Ken he continued to stay dialed in. I know it's not been the year he wanted to have. Carson Ryan, He's got some eligibility to tight end transfer the American FOURK kid
from UCLA. These are some of the guys that could be cornerstone players in the years to come, next year and beyond for Utah. And I'm just very curious to see how they play in the final game of the year, because again the last couple of weeks we've seen some glimpses from him.
Of course, Bill mentions the final game of the year, the final Big twelve game of the Utah first first run in the conference, and they visit Orlando, they visit Florida for the final conference game of the season. Bill, Obviously, you know you spend time in Florida. You have some experience down there before Central Florida really started to burst
on the scene on the football side. But give us an idea, your knowledge, your perspective of what they call sometimes the bounce house down there in Central Florida, a place where they've won forty two of their last fifty one games. I believe, regardless of how good UCF is, they have a lot of success at home.
He has sixty nine wins since twenty seventeen. Porter they're an emerging program. The school is the largest school in the state of Florida. From an enrollment state, it's bigger than Florida. It's bigger than Florida State. It's over fifty thousand. It's a big emerging school. And Malzon's had success. He hasn't had it there quite yet, but he had it at Auburn for a minute. So it feels like they're
kind of getting close to a breakthrough. You don't have you don't have to hop on a plane to recruit at Central Florida. You can hop in your car and drive within about a three hour radius and there's just tons and tons of talent. I don't know what kind of a crowd they're going to have, honestly, again, much like Utah, they're not having the season that that they expected. But it's a good program in an emerging school and it's you know, again, it's not Florida or Florida State,
but it's it's coming and when they're good. You know, a couple of years ago, when Scott Frost was there, when they when they hung their banner as pseudo national champions, they were really drawn and so I'm I'm I've never been there for a game when I lived in Florida, they didn't have the bounce House, they had a uh they played at the old where they where they played the they played the New Year's Day Bowl game. It's
now Camping World Stadium and stuff like that. So I'm curious to see what it looks like in what it might be like when we go back there again. But this is this is a program that it has the potential to be really good.
When I watched Utah a couple of years ago, they go to the Rose Bowl with this massive amount of injuries, and I remember hosting this exact show with Porter saying like, this is not normal. This is the most abnormal thing ever. Last year, the injuries were just overwhelming, and they still, you know, put up a decent number of wins there. This year, injuries mixed in with you know, a flag here, a miss field goal there, you know, bizarre sequence of play here and there, and it all adds up to,
you know what, this season has been. Out of all the years you've had a chance to be around teams, You've been around great teams, some teams of that uphill climbs. Did you ever just get the sense that if you shuffle the deck this many times, with this many challenges, something like this is just bound to happen, where you know you have a difficult season with very few wins.
Well, I'm not sure anybody see for the program like Utah that's had so much sustained success, I'm not sure you necessarily saw this. Their last two losing seasons were twelve and thirteen when they were new in the Pac twelve. They had injuries then, but it was a lot of it was just they didn't have the overall talent level to compete. This is just a season, like you, I just for a program that was it was picked to be a college football playoff program. There's still a ton
of talent in it. It's bad quarterback player, inconsistent quarterback play, and injuries at the quarterback position teamed up with just a gazillion injuries at attrition, and you know you mentioned the flags and calls. I'm a big believer that good teams, teams that play well, you kind of create your own fortune. Sometimes when you're just off it a little bit, sometimes those bounces don't go your way. But I don't think that this is something that you say, yeah, this happens
every now and again. This is a historianly bad year for the University of Utah. They just haven't had this kind of a season in a long long time. So I don't think it was expected or you say this could happen every now and again. I hope that it's just one of those one off seasons, and you know, then you get that bounce back. You know, you make the adjustments you need to make this offseason, you bring it in, the players you need to bring in, and
all of a sudden, you're back in. I think if we've learned anything this year, it's that the Big Twelve is a really competitive league. But there's not a dominant program in this league. And I don't look forward into the future next year and see anybody emerging as a dominant program. Shoot, even if Utah was going to win the league this year, guys, I didn't think that they
were going to run away and hide with it. I thought Kansas State would be very good, you know, I thought, oh, well, Oklahoma State's probably been as big a mystery and a disappointment this year's Utah has been because they were picked second or third of the league. But my point is, I don't see I see a lot of programs that are very good right now and some that could get a little bit better. But I don't see anybody just breaking away from the pack and becoming a dominant program.
So the foundation is still there for Utah. They have to make some changes, certainly from a personnel standpoint on the roster, but I don't think if they have a good off season, they're very far away from being back if they make those right decisions, right calls. Does that make sense?
Yeah, absolutely, And there's obviously a long term discussion we're talking about with Utah, obviously with with Wit and Scali in that conversation that'll be had when Kyle makes his decision and we know what that holds. But in the short term, Bill, you mentioned the things that they have to address in the off season. Well, the quickest thing that you can address and the quickest recipe to get back on track is on the quarterback room and in the quarterback room front, where do you see that as
of today? And where do you see that going for the for the youths. Obviously, Cam rising and you know his decision on on a future is still TBD. And then when we talk about the new landscape of college football, Bill, this might be something that you have to start to address literally on Friday night, with how quickly things start to turn once once your season ends in this in this landscape of college football.
Well, I think that you're putting out feelers right now, but I think the one thing that you have to address that was the offensive coordinator. Right It's gonna be hard to get a kid to commit to your program if he doesn't know what your offense is going to look like. Does that make sense? I mean, you just you just you have to figure and I think that they've been working on that, probably since the day that Andy Ludwigs stepped aside, that would be my guess. And
so we'll see what happens. But obviously you're gonna put out feelers. You're gonna know who's gonna be in the portal you're doing that. You're seeing a bunch of names. But to me, you figure out your offensive coordinator spot, and then that offensive coordinator works in conjunction with the head coach to try to find a quarterback that fits his system. Well. Well, in the best of worlds, maybe you find yourself an offensive coordinator that's bringing a quarterback
along with them. We've seen that happen before in college football or knows somebody that is you know that they want to bring along with them as well. But I think before you can figure out the quarterback position moving forward at Utah, you have to figure out the guy that's going to be coaching and developing that quarterback, that's your offensive coordinator.
What has surprised you the most in your experience of having the broadcaster seat during this year, because as you go chapter to chapter, I mean you're really absorbed completely in each and every play and each and every day of preparation. As you kind of reflect on this, what surprised you the most during this experience.
That they're in the same position they were a year ago when Cam Rising didn't play, that they that they are struggling again in back to back years at the quarterback spot. That's that's the part that's been so and the fact that they're down to maybe the most surprising thing of them all is that they're they're they're playing their fifth string quarterback in the final game of the
season as they did a year ago. You know, you had last year was Cam Rising and it was Bryce and Barnes and it was Brandon Rose who got hurt. Really was never able to be there, and then you know, Luke Batari starts against Colorado and finds a way to win. Well, this year, it's Cam Rising, and then it's Isaac Wilson, then it's Brandon Rose and you know, we never got to see Sam Heward because he got you got hurt during practice, and so now your fifth quarterback is Luke Patari. Again,
it's just I can't even imagine. And again I wish somebody, maybe ESPN or Elias or somebody's got it, but I can't imagine a program, a D one program, in back to back seasons, being down to their fifth string quarterback starting in their final game in back to back seasons. It's just it's it's just you couldn't You couldn't imagine it. But that's where we are, and injuries and attrition it kind.
Of led to this well, And yeah, if you would have asked a Utah fan Bill in twenty twenty three, hey, we're going to be you know, next year, we're going to be down to Luke Pattari as a starter versus Colorado on Senior Night, again, you probably would have you know, recoiled. But then at the same time you fast forward to twenty twenty four, you probably would have welcomed the side
of Bryson Barnes in your locker room. The fact that you had had to flip that one point eighty so far back in the other direction is just a testament to how weird this two years has been for Utah. When we're talking about the quarterback room bill, you mentioned it, injuries have a huge part to doing this. Isaac Wilson, although he wasn't quite ready for a lot of the offense,
it seems he also dealt with some injuries. But the other part of this bill is getting a quarterback in your room that is going to be willing to sit and not play when in today's college football he might be able to get paid to go play at a lower level, or he might get in an il deal to a bigger school where he's going to go and
be the backup. There's there's more complications here, and I wonder how you think you Tah needs to address this going forward in what is again a different reality of the sport.
Well, I mean they had that this year. Brandon Rose has been here for three years, right, I mean Brandon Rose probably could have gone somewhere else I think you can find that. You know, my hope is a guy. I think Isaac Wilson still has got a future. I do. I mean he I mean, to be fair, I know he's been a scapegoat for some of this stuff. He has been beat up this year and he's an eighteen year old freshman. He I mean how many I mean Dominic Ryola, the guy at the guy at the Nebraska
who was supposed to be you know, Patrick Mahomes. He's wearing fifteen and he throws side arms these He's been average at best this year. Nebraska might miss going to a bowl game again, but they look gangbusters early. And this guy was the number one quarterback in the country, the cat and you know what he is, he's a true freshman. It's just really really hard. And remember it's one thing. I mean, Ryola was different because they knew he was going to be the guy all through fall camp.
Isaac wasn't that guy. I mean, Isaac might have been better had he been the guy going all through fall camp. And that was Cam. So you know, sure he didn't make the improvement. I think a lot of people wanted to see him make. But yeah, he dealt with some injuries. He's a tough kid, but he's also a true freshman. So my hope is that Isaac chooses to come back and maybe he gets to sit for a year behind
the quarterback. You know, we don't know in this day and age, or maybe Brandon Rose comes back, or maybe they both come back, because you know, there is some you know, there's some wisdom in being old like I am and look down through the years at great quarterback play. Most of those guys sat for a year or two or three before they got their chance, and then they were a starter for one or two years, and then they moved along. There was always that pecking order. We're
in a different world today. I get it. I understand same thing in the NFL. They plug these rookies in immediately. But I think, you know, if it's possible, you'd like to get back to that, especially at the most important position on the field, because it's just so hard as a youngster without a lot of experience to come in and have a great deal of suggests right away.
Bill, when Kyle Whittingham does hang it up, when he does retire, it'll be his news to break, and he'll probably do it in a very short and unremarkable press release sent out by the Utah football staff. We know this, but there is he's.
Going to do it. You know that he's going to do a TikTok video order.
I don't, I don't. I don't think he's going to do anything with this, Harley or any announcement there. We'll get a Sunday, Sunday afternoon, oddly timed email and that'll be the end of it. We'll get a press conference
as well. But I want to ask how you are kind of following the head ball coach, or you know, maybe just how you're consuming this weekend knowing that whether it's this year or ne there is talk of Kyle Whittingham and possibly the swan song of his career, whether it is this year, next, or even you know, a few in the future.
I tell you anything I told everybody else. He's given me no indication that he's going to hang it up. People ask me that all the time because I get to hang around him coaches, shows, pregame interview stuff like that he's giving. He's given me body language, verbal cues. He's given no indication that he's going to hang it up. Now, maybe he's a great poker player, and he is that Kyle is a very close to the best kind of a guy. But I haven't. I haven't seen or saw
seen any indication. And I can't imagine on the charter or at the team hotel, or on the sideline Saturday or Friday, I should say that will see anything else. I have no doubt in my mind that he's probably examined it once or twice and probably has an idea of what he's going to do, because he's not just going to wake up on Sunday morning or whatever it is and decide. But I haven't got in any sense
whatsoever that he's stepping aside. Doesn't mean he won't, but from my vantage points, I haven't seen anything.
All Right, Bill, I wanted a hoops question with you because I love the college basketball is up and going. I remember covering the college basketball season in seventeen eighteen. Oklahoma looked amazing in the non conference, then stepped into the conference season, and you would never have known how great they were because they dropped a good number of close games in a stacked conference that is the Big Twelve.
Now I know they're not in the Big Twelve. Now the Big twelve looks different than it used to, but there's still such a good number of quality programs there. I watch Utah basketball and I like so much of what I see, and I look at this saying they could be that much improved team from what I even saw a year ago and have the brutal challenge of
going through what this conference is. What are your first impressions of this group with Utah basketball, where they've improved, and how challenge that could be when it comes to conference playing well.
It's going to be really challenging. It's the best league in college basketball, so that that that goes without saying. But I've been impressed with what I've seen so far. Having nine new faces, they're very connected. In fact, they're they're they're as connected as just about any team I've seen in recent Utah memory, going back to maybe some of the Parker van Dijk and in Cedric Bearfield teams of the Larry Kerstoviac era. I just I like what
I see. I think they've got good leadership, They're they're good at point guard with Miro Little at Mike Sharp Johns. They've got shooters all over the floor. You know, last night they finally got their big guys back and lost and lover and you know, he's just having a seven footer on the floor helps. But having a seven footer on the floor of communicates can play defense and rebound. It's been fantastic. So I think that that's going to
help a ton. I don't know what the conference season is going to look like, but I've said this to a lot of people. I am, I am really, really, really confident they're gonna outperform their preseason pick. I just I just you know, I mean, it's not hard to do that. Finish fifteen and you're you've outperformed it. But that being said, I just I like what they have here.
They've got a bench, they've got guys that can bring in off the bench, and again, there's something to be said in this day and age, especially where you've got so many new guys, and then I have this team. They're they're just they're they're they're very well connected, and they seem to like each other and they hang out together and all that stuff, and it's been fun watching them. I know the competition necessarily hasn't been great. Saturday will
be a little bit better. Eastern Washington's not bad. They'll be in here on Saturday afternoon. But you know, they went toe to toe with with Mississippi State down in Mississippi, who's a middle of the pack SEC team has been to the NCAA's the last couple of years. But it's a fun brand of basketball because even with loss and
lovering back, they're gonna play a lot of times. You're gonna see four guards and four shooters on the floor, and they're gonna get up and down, and they've got a little bit of bite and toughness, guys like Mattson and Ericson, and they get a little dog in them.
So I think this team's a fun team. And I know when in recent years people have said that, well, you know, and they see the preseason picks, I would tell people come out watch them, yeah, because I think they're they're fun to watch and they're gonna continue to play that brand of basketball. It's you know, to quote Larry Krosoviac, he used to like to say, the price of poker goes up. Yeah, the price of poker is gonna go up quite a bit when the Big Twelve begins.
But if you play hard on a night in a night at Basis, and you've got guys that can shoot, and Utah's get a bunch of them. You're gonna surprise some people. So I think it's gonna be fun. I think it's gonna be a fun season for Utah basketball. Bill.
As you mentioned it, they're Utah Basketball taking on Eastern Washington. That's a Saturday matchup two thirty pre game, three pm. The tip Utah Football on a Friday. Give the folks an idea of what to listen in for on the station and with the voice of the utes over the course of the next week. And what else is on your radar? Is Thanksgiving approaches?
Well, I will be flying to Orlando at seven am tomorrow, which would be fun, spending the day somewhere in the Orlando Greater metropolitan area. It's hunting down some Thanksgiving dinner. Then we'll be on the airport, will be on the air at two. We'll be on the air at four from the bounce house, as they like to say for
Utah and Central Florida. I'll hop on the charter fly home, get home very early Saturday morning, get a quick nap, and then be back up to call Utah and Eastern and then volleyball has their selection show on Sunday, which I'll be MCing. It's not on the air, but the selection show, and Utah's in a very good position to host the first and second round at NCAA. Volleyball Bethlyneers team has been fantastic this year, so they're likely to host.
Then we've got coaches shows and basketball next week as well.
Bell Riley, the always busy voice of the youths, but not too busy to make time for his former family here at ESPN seven hundred.
Thanksook, not former fan family. I'm still in the family. Don't don't you excommunicate me
Larson, you're you're our step brother, Billy, all right, you later, Thanks Billy.