All right, massive game.
As we've been talking about, We've had this date on Saturday circled on our calendar for a number of weeks. Both teams have stayed clean. Two undefeated teams in the top fourteen. It's Utah at Okay State. Our next guest will be there on the ground and he's one of my favorites.
Man, it's been too long.
From ESPN Radio, the Great Ian Fitzsimmons on a Wednesday, Ian, Happy Wednesday, Man, how are we doing?
Spence? Good to talk to you again, man, How you been passed?
How you been been good? Can't complain? Can't complain?
Love?
You know, love this time of year, and so far both these two teams have stayed clean. Before we get to the actual game, I wonder from your advantage point, what you make of the start of the season, just from a macro standpoint of the Utes. Now we'll learn more about them, but they have stayed clean despite some injuries, including an injury to cam So at three and oh what do you make of these Utah Utes? Well?
And you know, to be able to come away with wins, you know, down and Baylor after camp gets hurt hitting at Gator Ree bottle, which luckily it wasn't worse. You know, it was just a slight laceration to his hand if he did lose. Karini Reid, who I love that dude. Man, He's a sideline to sideline backer and one of your leaders. So that's stung. But walking you know, Johnny Hill down from linebacker, you know who's been there waiting to get
on the field, you know, for the former safety. I thought that was a brilliant move by Kyle Whittingham and morgan'sclly because he's an athletic guy and you can't coach speed and man, when you come into the big twelve, you got to be able to carry it tight enough to seem you know, bigger slot receivers at times. So you know, walking him down from safety to linebacker, I thought was a brilliant move. I know they're really high on him, but bottom line is, it's a different team
when cam Rise is a quarterback. I mean, I'm not breaking news here along the Washash front. I mean all of college football knows that. I mean, when I talked to Kyle Whittingham yesterday, I flat out asked him, if you forget a dollar, if you had a quarter for every time you've been asked about Cam Rise in the last year and a half. You're already in a pretty darn good tax bracket. Where would you be even after that. We just gave you a quarter every time you were asked.
He kind of laughed about it. But you know, all of college football knows what that guy means this football team. And we all know also, I don't care if it's big boy high school football, college football, or the NFL. You ain't got a quarterback, you ain't got a shot. And that's a dude who led you taught a back to backpack twelve titles. I'm a huge cam Rising fan, you know. I think he's gonna be if he wants to. He's so cerebral. One thing Wit mentioned yesterday he sees
the game like a coach. He's almost watching the all twenty two and if he wants to coach one day, I think he's gonna be an outstanding coach. He is a leader of leaders, so and you're gonna need it, man, Couspence. I don't know if you've ever been to Stillwater, but man, when they start slapping those damn paddles against the side wall, right here on the sideline. It is deafening, and I do mean deafening. It is a rough place to go play.
They've got seven guys back on the defensive side of the ball that started all fourteen games last year on a ten win team that played for a Big twelve title. You know, you've got the entire offensive lineback Alan Bowman. Their quarterbacks is as old as cam Rising, you know.
And they have the the you know, college football leading ropshter from last year and Ali Gordon the second who I know has been slowed down, but teams have been walking a safety down the box on him, which is free Bowman enough to be able to complete around sixty eight percent of his passes. So you look at this matchup, man, it's twelve to fourteen. It's logo on logo. There's gonna be some passion behind these pads. I cannot wait to call this thing on Saturday.
So we were discussing this earlier.
I and I wonder what you make of what really is at stake here because there are a lot of people talking about this game as the winner is in the driver's seats to win the conference and go to the conference championship game. I know, I'm just wondering how you would articulate what you believe is at stake coming up on Saturday.
But any of the conference game is big. You weighm double you know. Nick Stateman told me that years ago that you know, any conference game is is weighed twice as much because there is there is it's there's twice as much on the line. But man, like, we're a week four, you know, so let's not say that, you know, one game is going to decide who's playing for a Big twelve championship or not, you know, or who's playing in the title gameing Kansas State BYU. Kansas State is
really good. I mean damn good. Avery Johnson ran Will Howard out of town. And that's dude who won a Big Twell title a couple of years ago. I mean, you know, he ran him to Ohio State. I mean, Avery johnsons the heck of a quarterback. You know, you guys remember Maddy Wells, you know, former head coach at Utah State. He's uc there now at Kansas State. So you know, the Kansas State is not a team to be taken lightly by any stretch of the imagination. Arizona
is a pretty darn good football team. You know, we go on down the list, man, I mean so you know you talk, but God picked Utah to win the Big Twelve. At the start of the season, I thought Kansas would be better than what we've seen so far. I loved Chris Clembans, you know, culture, he's built there in the Little Apple and Manhattan, Kansas State. And Mike Gunn he's been around for twenty years. Look look at this man. Twenty six days separate Mike Gundy and Kyle Whittingham,
but two's longest tenured head coaches in college football. I mean, let that sink in. And that's hard to do in this day and age. That that you have to win consistently, and that's what they've done. So I don't believe that that whoever wins Saturday is now in some kind of a driver's sea. There's too much ball enough to be played.
So it's interesting Cam will be back under center. As far as everything that we've been told, I would imagine you're under the same impression. And Alan Bowman on the other side. These are two like six seven year quarterbacks. But Ali Gordon is the back that everybody talks about. But it does seem like Okay State has more balance, right ian than most people understand.
I mean, this is not just a one dimensional offense.
Yeah, no, you know, Parnell is a speedy wide out. He could have gone to the two in the draft last year. He would have been a I don't know, man like around a sixth seventh round pick. But he's around five eight, maybe a buck eighty. But he's a burner. He rubbed runs a sub four four. That's a guy you're going to have to contend with, you know. You know, Alan Bowman, think about this, Spence. The combined age of these two quarterbacks in this game, for I kickoff and
camerasing Alan Bowman will be forty nine. You know what the combined age of the two quarterbacks that started in primetime on Thursday night and for the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans is what is it?
Forty two, forty three.
Forty four, forty four. These two college quarterbacks are five years older than the combined age of the two starting quarterbacks the Texans and the Bears. Welcome to the FA last COVID year of college football, right But I don't blame any any of these guys for coming back Trey Rucker, leading tackler for the Oklahoma State Pokes. I mean, you know he's also a COVID guy. I mean, and keep
an eye on nine. Man, he'll hit you. He's another guy that it would have been around a sixth seventh round pick to you know, they may you make some money in il comes back for one more year even though you're waiting to start your in fel cycle as far as your next contract, if you're lucky enough to get one. But he came back to improve his draft stock, and he's done that so far. So you know, these
are two older teams, two veteran teams. As I mentioned, Oklahoma State's got seven guys that started every every single game last year. On defense, the entire offensive line is back. Bowman's back, Parnell's back, Ali Gordon's second is back who led the NCAA and rushing last year live was seventeen hundred yards and look, I know he's only averaging around three and a half yards to carry this year. Go watch what Arkansas did. They were not gonna let that
dude beat him. There was no way, I mean it was you know what we're gonna stack you're gonna walk the safety down, We're gonna stack the box. Bowman, you've got to beat this and he's been pretty good. It's completing around sixty eight percent of his passes. So again, this is gonna be strength on strength. We all know that a Kyle Whittingham coach team is going to be physical as hell. And that's why I think there'sn be a lot of passion behind the pass man because this
is a big game. Spence, I don't want to diminish your question about Driver's seating a Big twelve. I mean this is a massive game like Kansas State BYU is a massive game for all four of these teams when it comes to Big twelve standing and just you know, it's your first conference game. You want to start on a good note. You don't want to have that taste of a vinegar on your palate after, you know, after the first game in conference play. But this went up
in Stillwater. I'm telling you, man, it's this is the state of Oklahoma for that matter. The balls are coming in to play, you know, the Sooners, you got a youth coming in to play, the Popes, all four ranked. I mean it is going to be pandemonium cannibalistic in the state of Oklahoma on Saturday, in a great game of college football, well.
And also Ian. You know the deal.
When you do this job, you might want to rile up your listenership a little bit. So, hey, you Utah wins on Saturday. We're high speed out of the Big Twelve Championship. I'm hanging the banner in Salt Lake.
You know that. You know the deal.
I love it. I love it. I mean, I don't know if porta Call is still out there, right, I don't know if that place is still open, But go ahead and fly the flat. It's gone.
It's a courthouse now. Ironically enough, portocoll is a courthouse now.
Is that that's fitting? It's extraordinarily fitting. Oh, let's just go old school. We'll go up, we'll go over to pass right, we'll go to No Name Saloon. Go ahead and fly the flag right Sam, There it is there. It is man, Big twelve champs. U taught they beat the folks.
So yeah, there you go.
We got the sound bite from me and that we were looking for. Hey, I want to move over here.
Hey, hey, don't even think about it.
We're going to pre play that for the next three weeks, just so you know. But I actually wanted to follow up on what you said about still Water because I have never been there before at Boone Picking Stadium. But we have a lot of youth fans that will be making their first Big twelve road trip. It's our first Big twelve game. It's our first big Big twelve road game. Tell us about still Water, tell us about the stadium. What are the youth fans who are making the track in for coming up on Saturday?
Man, when it gets a third down, those damn paddles will be banging against the walls, you know, outside right there by the student section. It is loud, it is medieval. But if you are able to you won't be able to get in at night. But if you can get in and show up around three o'clock on Friday, Eskimo Joe's Great Bar, live music. The Chili Cheese Dog will make your left leg go numb. But it's so good. I mean, it's bar food to the m degree. It's
bar food on steroids. It's actually really good bar food. And the scene is magnificent. It is one of those staples like the library at Old Mess in the Innis Free Pub in Tuscaloosa, Archibal's Barbecue and Tuscaloosa you know, I mean powerin'es and Baton Rouge. These are all staples, you know. And when it comes to still water in Oklahoma State football, it doesn't get any better than Eskimo Joe's.
Put both hands in the dirt, get down like you're running the you know, the toush push for the Philadelphia Eagles, and fire off and attack some food, a cold beer and enjoy some live music. It doesn't get any better.
God love it.
You reference k State rolling into town coming down to provo. BYU stayed clean in the non con. It's Jay Hill's second years, their decordinator, and their head coaches Kilane. So now it looks like a team that is coached by Kilane and has Jay Hill as their decordinator. At least through three games against competition that's not overwhelming Ian They've been really good on defense. But it gets real on Saturday. What should BYU fans expect Saturday night when Case State rolls into town.
I'm gonna make this short and sweet, man, because I got under a zoom for our utuber for production meeting for the Utah State to Oklahoma State game. I'll be very very simple, Chris Cleman's squads will knock the snot out of you. They are a lot like Kyle Whittingham's boy so all like co Hawi Sataki was as a player. I mean, they will not be ever loving snot out of you. They are a very physical football team that's
faster than you think. I know, Desmond Parnell's numbers aren't there right now, but he's kind of their heart and soul on defense. Keep an eye on Parnell thirty two and Avery Johnson again. He ran Will Howard out of town. Will Howard was like a local legend. Avery Johnson is so athletic, and with Matt Wells calling plays and dolling
it up, he's getting better and better every week. Be very very careful here, because look, not a lot of people talking about BYU and undefeated BYU team that came down to SMU as a double digit dog and got a really strong win. Man, I'm telling you, you beat Kansas State, you're backed on the national map, and I don't I don't even know if Colinie wants to be on the national map. You know, he's one of those
guys kind of like me. You know, if I'm a head coach, I don't want you talking about my squad. Let me fly under the radar. Let me and you look up late October and here I am at you know, eight and one, nine and zero, and I'm shutting a lot of people up. You in this one though, a lot of people will be talking about BYU football.
Ian, thank you, my friend.
It's always a pleasure to have a great, safe trip and have a great call.
Okay man, always enjoyed spance.
Be well, all right, Ian Fitzsimmons from ESPN Radio.
He will be on the call for the NASH Radio broadcast coming up between Utah and Okay State. But don't forget our radio call with pregame coverage with that guy Porter Larson, will begin at ten am. HISS kickoff is at two. We'll throw it over to Bill Scott and slide. We'll have you taken care of, so appreciate you in time.