It's @Brett_McMurphy on No. 16 Utah @ ASU, Rising return(?) + more

the Utes. But joining us now the man who dropped some very welcome news around these parts yesterday, Brett McMurphy, who reported that Cam Rising will start tonight at Arizona State.

And then you know, for the next couple of weeks, I was told that there was some some swelling there that that didn't go down and that was limiting his ability to talk. Obviously grasp the football. You gotta have a grip if you're going to throw it. And now I was I was told, you know, he's he's good to go for uh, you know, I guess in a few hours, which, of course, when I tweeted that, there was the automatic reaction like, yeah, we've heard this again.

We're not We're not going to believe until we see it. But you know, that's that's what I was told. And it's it's huge for for Utah because you know, basically that that lost to Arizona, you know, you you don't you can lose again and make the college football playoffs, but that means you've got to win the Big Twelve championship. If you went out and then lose that Big Twelve title, game and you're eleven and two, you've got a legit

shot for a large bid. But there's there's no way a Big twelve team with three losses that does not win the Big twelve is going to get in. So, you know, Uta is kind of in a you know, kind of the cliche back against the wall and you know, rising being back, hopefully you can stay healthy the rest of the way. You know, I think that this schedule

sets up nicely. You know, if you get in November where you get harder than expected at Colorado game obviously, uh, you know b YU is going to be b YU and then Iowa State, So Utah is in a good position, but that Arizona game kind of put him in a tough spot.

he's starting against Arizona State. That's all I can go by, you know, until he walks out on the field and we'll all know. But again, I don't take these things lightly. I don't. I have never reported all year that he was going to play or he was not going to play unless I knew that, And you know, I haven't reported he was going to play anytime until there was a mistake game. You know, I didn't report he was

playing at Utah State, Oklahoma State, Arizona. I know. You know, some of the Utah beat guys are in the press box and the season taking first team reps and like Cam Rising's playing, and I knew he wasn't, But I'm not gonna I'm not gonna call out other people and say you're wrong. So yeah, I mean, how confident And I'm confident enough that I reported it. I don't take that lightly. I can report a hundred things correct, I get one wrong. Nobody's going to remember the hundred things

I got right. They're going to remember one thing that's wrong. So, you know, unless something happened from I think I tweeted it around three or four Eastern yesterday. Unless something has happened between three and four yesterday and tonight's kickoff that I'm not aware of, then I'm one hundred percent sure that he will start.

I reported earlier today Hudson card perdue he's out. So I usually focused more on the quarterback or skill position unless it's, uh, you know, obviously Travis Hunter is a defensive player with somebody that would warrant that type of attention. So yeah, sorry, no help there, No.

The Big twelve. I'm afraid it is not going to get a second team in the college football playoffs. I just think they're gonna everybody's going to beat it, get beat up on each other. But yes, certainly, I think Utah is in a in a as good a spot as anybody. I'll be fascinated to see what Colorado does against Kansas State. You know, Colorado is a lot better than I expected. And certainly, you know, maybe people overrated. You see F that they handled you see excuse me,

you see f very easily. Are they a legit contender Iowa States? You know contender? I mean, heck, we're talking about all these teams. Texas, Texas leaves leaving the league at three and oh what I'm talking about Dan? So yeah, I mean it's I think it's very simple. You can't lose. I think you can lose two conference games and then you're going to be You're going to be in a tiebreaker to get into the conference championship game. And I don't see Utah losing more than two more conference games.

But like I said earlier, if you get to that conference title game at ten and two and you lose that game in your three losses in your large team, there's no way they're going to take a big nothing against Utah. I could be any Big twelve team you want. There's no way the selection committee has taken a three loss Big twelve team over a three loss Alabama, Georgia, LSU, you know, and go through the laundry list of Big

ten and SEC teams. So that's why it's imperative if you want to have a little you know, margin for air, if you will is to get that championship game with one loss. If the Big twelve has two eleven to one teams in that game, then I think the runner up's got a very good, very very good chance of getting in. But unfortunately, I would be stun even though we're talking about Texas Tech being undefeated, I would be stunned if both teams in that championship game will only have one loss.

got different strengths. It's not like, though, you're going from the spread to the wishbone. It's not like you're going from you know, the veer to the to the RPO. You know, it's you're still going to do what you're gonna do. I understand that mentality. All I know is,

you know, I was at ESPN for six years. You know a lot of folks there, and I talked to, you know, several other of the college analysts, several of the NFL analysts, and they tell me the difference in going into an NFL facility a couple of days before game and a college facility a couple of days before game is a one hundred and eighty degrees different. He said, you go into the go into NFL, you know facility, and you say, hey, what's what's the status of you know,

Tom Brady, what's the status of of bnecks whatever? And they like, Okay, he didn't practice, he's this, he's he's fifty percent, he's he's got a bad hammy, he's got this. You want to sit here's his x rage. You want to see like they don't hold anything back. They they are upfront and all that. And obviously you get both sides do that. I know what Kyle's saying, because not required by both teams to do that. Heck, I'm i

don't remember. I did a story a couple of years ago basically making fun of all the schools that don't put out depth charts. I believe you Todd does, but I can't remember they do it. But anyway, it's yeah. So it's like, you know, there were probably like twenty schools in the country that don't put out a depth chart because coaches are so paranoid. And like I talked to different you know, ESPN analysts, Tom Lougan, Bill and different guys, and he's like, look, all these coaches have

recruited against everybody. The people are in the portal, they know, they know the personnel. Why don't you put on your freaking a piece of paper who the starters and backups are. It's for some reason college coaches are so paranoid about that, and you know, you had, you know, everybody in the Big Ten supposed to do it. This is obviously when Harvall was coaching the Harbor wouldn't do it, so then other coaches wouldn't do it. I think it was Mexico State.

The first week they played somebody, they had their depth chart. The next week they played Minnesota. It was Minnesota's opener. New Mexico State second game, Minnesota didn't put out a step chart, so New Mexico State did not give out a depth chart in week two, although they did in week one. So that's just kind of the asinine things that these coaches are thinking. I understand what Kyle saying.

I guess, you know, the SEC now has a standardized availability report, the Big Ten does to Once we get everybody doing that, then maybe some of these college coaches will be more upfront with this. I mean, they'll have to be or they'll get fined. But I guess to answer your question, I don't think it's an advantage at all. I think it's more mentally. I think maybe it's more it's a game, and you know what, I just know. This is me. I'm in Florida, Okay, this is me

from a distance a million miles away. I've heard a lot of people that are actually down on Utah. But that's the best way I can describe it. Not necessarily the players or anything like that, but just the way that they have and I guess it's Kyle's the guy's top. The way that they've handled the injuries you know last year, you know, the whole every week well, we don't know about about Cam. He may may. They never just flat

out said that the guy's done for the year. Like just I'm you guys experienced it, you were at ground zero. How much easier your life would have been? And just the constant you know, oh it's Friday, is Cam in

or out? And there was never any you know, official statement that, look, this guy's not going to play or he's not gonna he's out until we tell you he's not, he's coming back, and that I think that you know, a lot of people for what it's worth, you know, I don't know got turned off by that, but I understand, and it's thinking I don't agree with it, but I understand why he's doing it, and he looks he's not the only guy.

So it's like it's playing games like that. You know, did Texas change their game plan because Gabriel was in pregame warm ups? No, they didn't. But it's like stuff like that. So the right or wrong way, that's impossible.

I noticed that that. Again, I haven't I haven't heard all of Kyle's press conference this on my Cotenna have, but I heard him mention something like week two, three four somewhere in there, somebody was asked about Cam and he basically said, if it's a season season ending injury, we'll tell you. But other than that, we're not going to talk about injuries. Well that's great, But did he not have that policy last year? That would be the question I have. But I don't necessarily think there's a

right wrong. If it's a season ending injury, then yeah, you need to come out and do it. The stuff about the depth charts I talked about. I talked to Mac Brown about that. I talked to Jetfish he was at Arizona then. But like, look, these guys should be recognized as having won the starting job. You should you

should listen them in the depth chart. You shouldn't play games don Don Brown of UMass first game of the Year last year, five players listed he had or four times Joe Smith or Joe Smith or he had five guys. Come on, you got five guys listed as your starting quarterbacks.

So you know it's it's college football. Until we get a uniformed availability report, I guess from memphisiit up with it, But you know, I don't I don't necessarily think there's a right or wrong way, But I think when you're when you know a guy's not starting and you run him out there first team, taking first team snaps, like Cam did. I don't remember if it was Oklahoma State or another game and he's not going to start. I think that's kind of Look, it's everybody wants a competitive edge.

I just think that's neat. You really don't need.

time before before the call. I'm sure I could have I could have thought of a dozen of those. So it happens a lot. It happened, happens very frequently in the the thing. I think that's frustrating for me, and I'm sure what's fans is and I don't Again, I'm not I'm believing. I'm I am. If it sounds this way, I don't mean it to sound a sway. I'm not

railing on Kyle. I'm gonna make that very clear. I know some coaches have done this, and I don't know if he has or not, where they come out and say, well, we can't talk about injuries because of hippo, because of the hippo laws. Yet the same coach the next week will come out and say, oh, well, you know Johnny Smith broke his leg. He's out for the year. Well what happened what happened to your hippo rules there? I mean, it's like when they want to use that, they use it.

When they don't, they don't. Again, It's just it just boils back to college coaches just have a different mindset regarding injuries that they do in the NFL. I mean, Heck, there's some coaches that, you know, when a kid's hurt, they'll be up front and say, look this kids, this kid's out, he's not going to play. You know, we're

hopeful to get him back, we're you know. So it's just when coaches are inconsistent that's probably the most rating for me, and I'm sure frustrating for fans is they'll talk about injuries one week about a certain player, and then another week they clam up and say, well, that's hip, but we can't talk about it or you know, we don't discuss injuries unless it's a season season ending injury.