One of my favorite guests.
You guys have come to really love his interviews. The dashboard indicates as much. The great Josh Paton joins us on a Wednesday afternoon. Josh, Happy Wednesday, Sir, how are.
You, greetings of my friend, How are you doing?
I'm well, I'm well. Great to have you on as always, appreciate your time. I know you're a busy guy, so let's do a little local stuff that you know you're gonna make a really fun trip coming up this weekend. Is he essentially the biggest game maybe that we've seen so far this year, with the exception of Bama Georgia.
But Josh, I hate to ask.
You the same thing, but we're sitting here once again with a game coming up on Friday night, and we do.
Not know who the quarterback is going to be for the University of Utah.
Now, over the past ninety minutes, the line went from Utah favored by six and a half now to Utah favored by four. Seems to indicate Isaac Wilson is going to be under center. So we're going to operate off that premise. If once again it's Isaac Wilson under center, temp you Friday Night against ASU, What do you think that looks like?
Expected? So sorry, I just put a new piece of gum in there. I was trying to get all the sweetness out of it. So I have adopted a mentality with them, as I told you last time I spoke, where I'll just be surprised and I will be pleasantly surprised if Cam plays, and so I'm just gonna plan on backup here. I'm going to be in backup mode. I almost think at this point, also, if you're an odds maker that you bake that in, I'm kind of taking aback that we still see those line moves the
way we do. But who am I to tell people how to bet their money? So I'm looking at my numbers right now. I got Cam already baked in as not playing, and I got Utah winning by five. So like, I think that number is right. I think that they will go in there and find a way to win. It's not a team certainly that finds out they're starters out and they're shaken by it. They're used to it.
That's their life. So I mean they're almost the most battle tested team as it relates to quote unquote major injury as there is in the country because they've all lived it for multiple years.
Now, do you believe it's a competitive advantage to withhold injury information from your opponent.
Yeah, I don't know to what degree. I mean, there are different schools of thought on that. I think that I was at a game last week where I know it happened. I mean candidly, I was at Texas A and M on Friday, met with that staff. They knew Connor Wegman was going They knew he was going to start, and that was not publicized until Saturday, and Missouri's staff was of the opinion that Marcel Reid was going to start.
Those are two very different preparations, by the way, and it showed and I firmly believed that Missouri just prepared as if Reid was going to start, and they were convinced Wegman wasn't going to start. Not only did he start, he threw the ball all over him all day. So yeah, it's a competitive advantage case by case. I just don't know in Utah's case, if any staff's going to be caught off guard by that particular situation because it's been so frequent, So.
How commonplace because Utah is getting getting injury. You know, injury information is like breaking into the Kremlin. Okay, so it's like impossible, you know. They just don't discuss it unless it's season ending. How commonplace is this policy across the landscape of college football.
Josh, it is fairly common. I mean, I'm in the South now, so I'm in sec country where what Kyle Whittingham does is commonplace down here, and so much so without naming names that, I will tell you a lot of these staff have burner accounts on opposing message boards and team sites, and they will intentionally float false injury information and false depth chart information, which I love because that is the kind of toxic thing that makes me
love the sport. So it does happen. I think that college football in general wants to move away from that, much as the NFL has, because that is, in the gambling world, the only way that you insert kind of a grain of sand into the micro shop. If you have injury information that's being withheld, then you increase the market likelihood that someone gets a hold of it and does very bad in various things with it. And so I think in time we'll alleviate this as a problem.
If you think it's a problem, if you don't care, whatever, But we're still dealing with it right now.
Do you believe that we are high speed ahead to uniformity with the policy of you have to report for P four football?
Yeah? I do. I think that's a matter of time. And I know that some conferences or some programs within conferences may be drug kicking and screaming there. But I mean it's very clear to me that yes, we're headed there. Yeah.
No, I tend to agree, all right, Josh, big picture, big twelve question, who's good?
Who's good? Who's good in this conference?
All right? So I think a few teams are good. No, great, But I think a few teams are good. Now there are two of them along with Utah. So let's talk about three teams here. I think that we are looking at your Kansas State and Iowa State and Utah's of the world, all of which I've got rated in like the thirteen to twenty range. What I wonder about those teams is is there one of them that has a ceiling above that? Like I mentioned Texas A and M a second ago, that team's got top ten potential about it?
Because it just has that kind of talent roster. It's not right now, at least we don't think, but it could be that. I wonder if any of those teams that I just mentioned in the Big twelve have that kind of high end potential that remains to be seen. But then behind them, I also wonder team like Brigham Young total enigma to me, did not see this coming. I wonder about you know, West Virginia, for example, got a big game against Iowa State this Saturday. They could
really pop on the scene. Those are the teams. I don't think I'm leaving one out. Arizona, eh, kind of enigmatic. Those are the teams, the ones that I just mentioned prior to that. And then Colorado of course the ultimate unknown there that game with Kansas State. I'm looking really forward to watching I think an eight to fifteen local
time kickoff there Saturday night. So I don't think there's any great I think we still have four or five, maybe as many as six teams in a handful of teams, and I'm not riding off to win that conference.
So one more question.
I want to go back to the youths for a minute, because there's a debate going on in the market this week, and it's based off a conversation I had with somebody up there over the weekend who listened to the SEW on Friday and called to just kind of talk talk me through.
Some of the camp stuff.
And this, by no means is a report, and I don't know what's going to happen moving forward.
There seems to be.
Some momentum in the direction of just rolling with Isaac, just giving him the job, because week in and week out they're splitting reps with the ones, and according to what we understand, Isaac finds out pretty close to the game that it's going to be him. And you know, seven interceptions for young Isaac Wilson. No other top twenty five team as a QB with more than five, and it's been fun to watch him grow.
But there have been a.
Lot of mistakes, which is what happens when you have an eighteen year old quarterback. At what point, Josh, in your opinion, do you kind of just look at maybe we should just roll with the freshman so he knows he's going to get the job, or whenever Cam's ready, he's backed on her center.
Period.
I think that's tough man I get what you're saying. I probably agree. I'd probably sit here on a couch in Nashville and without any emotional tie to the situation, say I do that today, I do it yesterday. I mean, I am not splitting reps with the ones in the middle of the season. I am rolling with a guy, and I mean, if Cam gets healthy, then okay, we
can have that discussion. But I'm not doing this thing every week because it doesn't put my team in the best position to win, at least I don't think it does now. The difference is I don't have any loyalty baked in there. I don't have any emotional attachment, you know, I don't ultimately have to look those players in the eye. So it's a whole lot easier for me to say it. That doesn't change that it may or may not be
the right or wrong decision. It just changes how easy it is for me to say it, as opposed to Kyle Winningham actually happily having to implement that.
Sure, you reference Brigham Young.
They welcome in Arizona, Fox Big newon Kickoff will be there, which I don't know if you are old enough to remember Urban Meyer. I'm older than you, but Urban Meyer coaching Utah. He just loved to needle BYU and he'll be back down there as a media member, which will.
Be interesting to see how he's received.
As you reference, they're clean, they're five and oh two and zero conference. Arizona rolled in a salt lake, can smoke the Youthes. Then lost to Texas Tech. Maybe maybe Texas Tech is good. I don't know anymore.
BYU a slight favorite at home.
They're getting four and a half. So what do you what do you think happens? Is BYU welcomes in Arizona coming up on Saturday.
I got him winning by three. I am telling you, pound for pound, there may not be a more unpredictable game in the country. An Arizona Bringham Young Saturday. I have less than zero confidence on that game. I sit there and watch Arizona do what they did to Utah and think to myself, Okay, I mean I saw them get smashed by Kansas State a couple of weeks ago. Now they've righted the ship, they've rectified things, and then Texas Tech happens. And that's just basically that sentence right
there is classic Big twelve. That is the Big twelve in a nutshell, and so Brigham Young. Conversely, I watched them beat Kansas State and it was so weird because they beat them, I think thirty eight to nine and got out gained by over one hundred yards. And you
tell yourself, boy, that can't continue. And then they go to Baylor and Baylor looks like they're mailing the game in Baylor almost comes back on them, and it's there's just so many things I've watched with Brigham Young that make you say, well, the next team will get them. But the next team doesn't get them. And so if I had to guess, I don't think this team gets them either. I think they'll continue it roll in in. Every single year there is a team that just defies
conventional or mathematical wisdom. Maybe that's Brigham Young this year. And if it is good for them.
Yes, sir, all right, you reference you're in Nashville, and you know, my buddy Frank, who is the one a couple of years ago that sent me your stuff, is a Vanderbilt.
He went to Vanderbilt, got his law.
Degree, Vandy loot degree, and so he was very excited last week. Help us understand, help me understand put that into perspective and context, just how big of a day that was for Vanderbilt football.
Upsetting Alabama.
Those are the biggest day in the history of the program. It's one of the biggest upsets in the history of this conference in the SEC, dating back to whenever you want to date it back to. I mean, Solwane used to be an SEC team, So I don't know how far people want to go back, but this was a monumentally big upset. And what was crazy for me is I mean I live I don't know, I'm about a mile from that stadium as I sit here right now
in my apartment, I could have walked over there. Of course, no one expects it to happen, so I'm trying to find the biggest game of the week to go to. So I fly seven hundred miles to College Station. I watched A and M blow out Missouri, and I'm sitting there in Houston on a tarmac waiting to fly back to Nashville as that upset goes final. So about the time I get back, I land in Nashville and I only live about five or ten minutes in the airport.
So I'm driving over the bridge over the Cumberland River right into downtown. They've got a crane crew that is trying to use a like a pulley system to lift the goalpost out of the river. That these people have marched two miles to the river to dump it INIM just an amazing, like surreal scene. You never thought you would see it in a million years. I saw Tennessee fans do it two years ago at kneland when they beat Bama. But that's Tennessee and that's one hundred thousand people,
and the river's right next to the stadium. This is an entirely different animal. So I don't think you can overstate how huge it was. Now Vandy goes in place Kentucky this week and they are about a two touchdown underdog again, so who knows what happens, but at least they had this week if nothing else for sure.
All Right, a couple of minutes left, let's look ahead. I heard you say on the pod that the Red River Rivalry say that twenty times quick is your favorite game in college football. Now I can't speak to it because I've never experienced it.
But why is that, Josh, Why is that your favorite game?
It's so unbelievable. I used to think people overhype that thing so much when I grew up in the South, and I'd see him talk about the Red Rivers shootout and look at the State Fair and it's fifty to fifty split. And then I went three years ago for the first time, just unbelievable. Everything I love about this sport is on full display there. There are so many elements that they have kept pristine, like first off, just having it at the Cotton Bowl, which is a place
I think Roman gladiators used to fight. It's a million years old, it's wonderful, it's decrepit, it's old, it's uncomfortable, it's all metal bleachers, it's great. No luxury suites. That day, I was standing next to someone on the sidelines watching the game. I look over and it's Mark Cuban. So you got a billionaire on the field. And the reason it's called there are no luxury suites to my kind of stadium. Also, so the way they split the crowd is you don't draw the line down the middle of
the field, goal post to goal post. You draw a line with the fifty yard line, and that's how they split the stadium. So there's this weird dynamic where like if a ball goes up in the air, like it's a long path, you have one side that's full throat because they're on defense, and then everyone goes quiet, and then sometimes the other side explodes because their team just caught the ball. Is so weird you almost get like PTSD, but in a good way from it, because that sound
is so unique to that stadium. Also, if your credentialed media, actually none of the other ones do this, but I do it. There's a ramp. It's kind of like Michigan Stadium if you've ever been there, there's just one tunnel, one ramp that goes right down into the stadium onto the playing surface. When they hit halftime, you can run up that ramp, walk right out of the stadium, go out to the state fair, get fair food, coin, dog, funnel cake, whatever. I mean. It takes five to ten minutes,
play a couple of carnival games. I did last year, won a little stuff chicken by the way, and then you can run right back down the tunnel and be right back on the field in the third quarter. These are things you cannot do anywhere else. So I absolutely love that place.
Wow, that sounds like a damn good time. Can Oklahoma? Can the Sooners keep it close? It seems like everybody it's obvious that Texas is awesome, but this is a game we have one similar here with BYU that ultimately, even when there's a big talent discrepancy, the rivalry nature of the thing makes it weird. Can Oklahoma make this interesting?
Josh, that's got to be what happens. I mean, there's nothing on paper that suggests it'll be close. I can't find a single matchup and I looked because I had to break the game down last night, but we don't play football games on paper, and Britain venables with a week to prepare. I think Steve Sarkisian said it best earlier this week. He said, we got to be prepared
for the stuff they haven't put on tape. And you know what, if that ends up forcing you into three turnovers and Oklahoma's plus three turnovers on the day, then it's a dogfight. They may end up winning game. I just don't know. Absent some non offensive points being scored or big time turnover differential advantage towards Oklahoma, I'm not sure how they win that game. They are a very poor matchup for Texas, but I'll watch it because I know what the sport.
Can do every year.
And this is me coming from Salt Lake City radio host perspective. It just I don't remember the last time USC entirely lived up to the hype that's bestowed upon them.
Now.
I think they're better and improved, but they welcome in Penn State to the coliseum and the Ninny Lyons are getting four and a half?
What do you think happens with that game?
All right? This is the one I'm most conflicted on. So my numbers love USC. They think USC wins outright like ridiculous, almost to the point where it looks flawed. But my model has nailed USC every single game this year. It thought that beat LSU, it thought they would lose to Michigan. It had it's ahead every USC game now, So I'm not ignoring this. I'm sitting here looking at
the matchup. I think it heavily leans Penn State. And yet I also know what travel has done to teams in the Big Ten so far this year, and I know what you know, Lincoln Riley and a team being embarrassed then going back home with their back against the wall, could mean there are some vulnerable spots, specifically at corner for Penn State. Now, the downside is Penn State gets to the quarterback faster than any pass rush in the country.
This year they are number one in the country, So you have got to be able to get the ball out fast or that us. The offensive line is just got to step up like they haven't all year to this kind of degree. I'm so conflicted. I picked Penn State to win. I picked the USC to cover, which is kind of a cop out, but I don't know.
It's a classic head versus computer game. For me, I am very interested because one way or another, this is a huge sledgehammerge of the face for one of those head coaches, because both of them need it really, really bad.
For sure, Final one and you will be there, heard on the pod, You're going to be up at Autson. I've experienced the Aughtson experience. It is amazing. You've been there before as well. I think Ohio State certainly is one of the teams that most people believe is top shelf. They maybe have not been tested, and you know they're not going.
To be afraid of that moment or that place.
They play in stadiums that are bigger and maybe equally as loud, and you know, Oregon has been a little bit up and down, but they both have stayed clean. This is going to be a fun one. You're gonna be there. How do you think it plays out?
Yeah, I'm very curious about Ohio State's offensive line. I know everyone in the Buckeye camp is convinced that they've upgraded there. Maybe they have, but there was a ways to go from what they had been. Now that's relatively speaking, because this is considered one of the best teams in the country. The way that Landing recruits, the way they develop, specifically on their defensive front. They are deeper, they're more athletic, and they're more multiple than anything that's been thrown at
Ohio State so far this year. Now, I can say the same thing on the other side of that matchup, and I acknowledge that, But I do think that there are enough minute edges here and matchup advantages that Oregon find some way early season to win that thing. At home field and travel I think plays a big part in that.
Well, my friend have a safe trip up there.
It's a great atmosphere should be a great game, and I appreciate the time.
Thanks Josh, Yes, sir, appreciate it all right.
Josh Pate The College Josh Pat's College Football Show is one of the best college football podcasts out there. I like to think we introduced Josh to the market. Get him on Twitter at Josh Pate CFB. It releases two or three a week, does a great segment on some of the picks, and then talks all things college football, Big Picture, Big twelve. So definitely check him out, give him I follow