Big 12 Preview Part 3 — Power Cleaned Transcript
Source: Podcast(3).txt
Speakers: Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein
Format: Speaker labels and timestamps preserved
Transcript
Ty Hildenbrandt — 00:18
Dan Rubenstein, welcome back to the show. It is Big 12 Part 3. Go back and listen to Part 1 if you want our tiers. Go back and listen to Part 2 if you want the first half of the conference, or I should say eight teams within the conference. We didn't order them any which way. On today's episode, we've got more in-depth team previews for Utah, Houston, TCU, Oklahoma State, both of the Arizona schools, Cincinnati and UCF. My friend, welcome back.
Dan Rubenstein — 00:49
Thank you for having me back. I'm glad I was able to convince you to bring me here for Part 3. Always excited about this. It is going to be another episode chock-full of me saying things like, man, and then after that they have this team, who the week before that they have that team, and then the week after that they have this team. It could be an interesting sandwich spot. And then, as you look at these teams, right, the fun thing about the Big 12, or the maddening thing about the Big 12, which will keep me watching in perpetuity, is Oklahoma State might be really fun, or they might not be. Cincinnati might be really fun, or they might not be. Arizona could be really fun again, or they might not be. Arizona State could be really fun, or they might not be. TCU's offense with a new quarterback from the Ivy League could be really fun, or it might not be. And I'm not sure we're going to know until, like, Halloween, and I'm okay with this. I think it's kind of fun that this conference specifically, for whatever reason you do or don't think, has so much variance. And you're like, well, maybe this Akron left guard will work out. Maybe he won't. And I know there's a lot about this sport that drives people kind of crazy with NIL and the portal and starting over at so many position groups at the same time. But genuinely, after the first three teams in this conference, anything absolutely goes. And it's probably true of the SEC. I've jumped in a little bit, but there are a lot of coaching changes in the SEC. It's probably true of the Big Ten. And even in a season where there's so much back that's familiar at quarterback, you look at these position groups and you just say, man, if this defensive tackle from West Georgia works out.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 02:40
Right, right, right.
Dan Rubenstein — 02:42
He is 6-foot-7, 360 pounds. Is it a good 6-foot-7, 360? Time will tell.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 02:47
Well, the other thing too, and I was noticing this as I went through the Big 12, and this is probably not unique to the Big 12, but I do think it does add to the allure. Very few unmitigated disasters.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:00
I think so.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 03:01
A lot of wondering if something will work. And if it does, to your point, that will make the conversation more interesting. And if it doesn't, well, then we'll understand why. But a bunch of teams in this conference in particular are sort of living on that knife's edge, where if it falls one way, it's a much, much different, more optimistic conversation. If it doesn't, at least we'll know why. There are no fires burning out of control, at least not at this juncture in the middle to end of July here as we record Big 12 Part 3.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:34
There is a very, very strong branch for all of the potential Wile E. Coyotes to grab onto after falling off a short-to-medium cliff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 03:42
That's right. That's right.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:45
Like the branch won't snap. Drew Mestemaker is there to make sure that branch won't snap if the Oklahoma State defense does not carry its own weight.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 03:50
That's right. That's exactly right.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:56
So, we have a Wile E. Coyote branch situation potentially in the bottom half of the Big 12.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 04:04
Well, on that note, if you are new here, please hit follow or subscribe. You informed me at the end of our last episode that I didn't do any of the housekeeping that I normally do at the top. I was too eager to get into Big 12 Part 2 that I just blew right past all the stuff I'm supposed to say. So, yes, please hit follow or subscribe. If you've already done that, leave a star rating or a review wherever it is you listen to or watch the show. We would greatly appreciate it. It informs the college football public that, yes, we are indeed a show worth following, listening to and having fun with. So we'd appreciate that. If you do want to support the team, man, we've had a bunch of new Patreon signups here over the last couple of weeks. I think new people whose names I have not recognized before are popping on in.
Dan Rubenstein — 04:46
Nice.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 04:47
I hope people are finding these previews useful. I know what we've put into them. Certainly, it's been a labor of love, to an extent, to make sure we can speak knowledgeably about all these teams. But we're having fun with it. And if you get any value out of it, Verballers.com is where you can go if you want to help support what we do. And last but certainly not least, two things on the email front. One, solidverbal.com/newsletter, a free weekly newsletter. No questions asked, just go and check it out. Our friend Tyler writes it and does an awesome job with the newsletter every week. And if you have anything you would like to add to the discussion, the best way to reach out, yes, you can do it on social media, but if you want to make sure we read it, solidverbal@gmail.com is the most surefire way to do just that.
Dan Rubenstein — 05:34
And if you want to text Ty directly, it's 610. Yes, that's the area code.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 05:39
Settle, settle, settle.
Dan Rubenstein — 05:41
There are people that I am friends with that do text me directly very specific thoughts about very specific thoughts I have, and without fail, I remember zero of them. When somebody's like, I don't know if I agree with you on that Michigan thing. I was like, I don't. The episode is done. I have moved on. We're on to Cincinnati. And I never remember.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:03
None of my close friends listen to this show.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:04
So, okay. I've got a couple. I would say not close-close, but friendly acquaintances. So, like, yeah, decent friends.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:14
None of my friends listen to it, so I don't have to worry about that.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:16
I don't know if my parents have ever listened to this show.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:20
Mama H runs it on loop at her house.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:23
We could Secret Verbal my parents in a way that they would never figure out.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:29
You would have to give out their home phone number or mailing address, though, wouldn't you?
Dan Rubenstein — 06:30
I would have to do some sort of contact situation, like contact people they know to then contact them. So, a second-degree Secret Verbal. They would 100 percent never know.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:45
Well, if this is something you would like to entertain, I'm in, but that's going to be your call at the end of the day.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:51
No, we're good.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:51
All right. Where do we want to start? Big 12 Part 3. Go back and listen to the first two parts. We did cover Texas Tech and BYU in Part 1, in addition to a number of other schools. Like you said at the top, I mean, so many of these schools are really interesting for a whole multitude of reasons. Though there are some commonalities, they're all unique in some way, shape or form. Why don't we go to Utah?
Dan Rubenstein — 07:13
Okay, let's do it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:14
Why don't we start with the obvious here with Utah, which went 11-2 last year and 7-2 in conference? Kyle Whittingham was there for 21 years. Perhaps, Dan, perhaps against his will, the university decided it was time to pass the baton over to Morgan Scalley, who had been the coach-in-waiting for a while.
Dan Rubenstein — 07:34
Yeah, offered him one year instead of a new deal. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:37
Yada, yada, yada, Whitt is now with Michigan and took a handful of players and staff with him. What's left now for Morgan Scalley is, I think, first and foremost, a chance to give Utah a fresh start. But he's going to have to do so with new coordinators and eight new position coaches. A lot is new along both lines, which I want to get into here. It's that last part in particular, I'd say, about the lines that concerns me the most because, as you know, that's been a big part of the Utah identity over the Whittingham years. That's part of the reason why they've always been so steady, because of the line play. So maybe we can start there, because the way I see it, five new starters along the offensive line this season. It seems like there is an open debate among other people who have authored previews on how much of the Utah identity can be retained, given the amount of turnover that we're seeing, certainly on the offensive side, but on the defensive side as well. Just in general, with the trenches being so volatile this year compared with previous years, there is an open question: What does this new version of Utah look like moving forward?
Dan Rubenstein — 08:52
Yeah, also new offensive line coach. I think with some seven or eight new assistants position coaches in total.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 08:57
Eight new assistants, yep. Eight new assistants.
Dan Rubenstein — 08:59
Obviously, two new coordinators under Morgan Scalley. So this is a new-look Utah program, even though there are familiar pieces and pieces with experience here. This is a reset. I think this is fair to say: a reset, though the pieces there and the pieces that return seem to be of quality. But you're right. When you've looked at Utah over the years, when they're not catastrophically injured, which has happened one or two times recently...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 09:24
Unfortunately, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 09:25
There's a steady stream of, like, okay, this redshirt or this rotation defensive lineman, or group of them, they're now starting or they're now getting more time. Or this offensive lineman who subbed in at left guard because of injury and became a full-time starter with five games left in the season, he's now starting. Or this tight end who was in 12 personnel, he's now the main guy. He's now tight end one. There was this steady stream of next man up with experience at Utah. There was just an unbelievable amount of continuity. Or, you know, in the secondary, you'd always see those dudes stepping up, and it's just not that right now. It's just not that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 10:04
Yep.
Dan Rubenstein — 10:04
I think they lost 20 dudes or something. It's 17 new players. There are familiar faces, but when you look at where they are at tight end, where they are on both lines, where they are in the secondary, the hallmark of the best of Utah these past 10 or 15 years is not there. There is not that internal, dynamic promotion kind of system anymore. And so, look, they're counting on Devon Dampier to take the next step forward as a more complete quarterback. I think that's reasonable to think he can, though with a new offensive coordinator. He has a familiar running back next to him in Wayshawn Parker. That's great. But new receivers, new tight ends, new system, and then a defense that's probably not going to be as helpful for the offense's cause as it's traditionally been when healthy. And so, what does he look like as a more mature quarterback in reading more defenses and having composure in the pocket instead of trying to force everything himself? And then defensively, it's still Morgan Scalley. It's still his vision for the defense, but he's not the day-to-day guy. And so, with a new defensive line, a lot of transfers, linebackers I think are in okay shape. Secondary, I want to give the benefit of the doubt to, but it's transfers once again. And the development there has been quite good over the years, but so many new names everywhere kind of tells me Utah will be good, but with some issues that are still going to linger later on into the season. I have them, and I'm looking at their schedule, in, like, an eight-win zone. Look, if they're fine, not great, but fine, starting out 4-0, 5-0, 6-0 against this schedule seems okay, seems reasonable. It gets a lot more difficult in the back half: Houston, at Cincinnati, BYU, at Arizona, at TCU, West Virginia to finish out the season, whatever West Virginia is. But unless there are catastrophic issues immediately, they should be ranked in, like, the high teens, 18, 19, low 20s, purely based on brand name and record, not necessarily this year's actual quality.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 12:21
Yeah, I think we, well, I'm on the over. Right now, the win total is 8.5. I'm on the over, but I'm kind of on the edge a little bit with that for many of the reasons you described. I spent a fair amount of time going through Utah, trying to understand what it's going to look like, especially on offense this year. How different will it be? Because Jason Beck leaves, goes to Michigan with Whittingham. They hire Kevin McGiven as the new offensive coordinator, who comes over from Utah State. And what I was picking up is that generally it should look very similar to what we saw last year. But our friend Brett Ciancia from Pick Six included a little nugget in his preview that Morgan Scalley wants to be more attacking and aggressive on offense. On offense. Never saw that one coming. So, vertical shots, trying to be more aggressive on offense. What does that look like with Devon Dampier? And I know you alluded to him having Wayshawn Parker with him in the backfield. Obviously, Utah fans are hoping that Devon Dampier can take another step forward with his development as a quarterback. I think all of that, as you mentioned, is reasonable.
Dan Rubenstein — 13:38
And it should be mentioned, he was playing beat up for a good chunk of last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 13:40
Was beat up. Was very beat up.
Dan Rubenstein — 13:41
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 13:42
He was very beat up. But what does it look like if you try to get a little bit more aggressive? And you're in a situation like Utah is this year where you lose your top three pass catchers from a year ago, and suddenly all your starters are transfers from, like, Mountain West schools. Good players from the Mountain West. I'm not demeaning them at all, and this is their shot, good for them. But there's just so much different that it's really hard to hang your hat on Utah getting back to where it was a year ago, which was an 11-2 season. I don't see that in the cards for them in 2026. I think 8.5 is probably the right number. I tend to go a little bit higher than that. I would say 9-3 for me, but I understand why you might fall short of that number just because, what is the identity, right? As I said at the top, what is the identity and how much of the old identity is going to carry into this new regime?
Dan Rubenstein — 14:39
Right. And typically, maybe not typically, but there are teams, there are situations in which, okay, there is an obvious internal candidate. In the case of Morgan Scalley, he was named the coach-in-waiting. But usually you do see a lot of continuity on the roster when there's a coach with whom the roster is familiar. Now, maybe last year, with where the offensive line was age-wise and where the defense was in terms of experience and age, maybe it was never going to have a ton of continuity. But a lot of the dudes who you would have said, okay, there's star power here, there's potential star power there because they're back, those guys left.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 15:18
Well, it's funny you say that because one of the things that I flagged here in my notes, just looking at the defensive line, there is an obvious question about pass rush and where they are going to generate that pressure from. There's also a very big question, a void of sorts along that line in terms of just star power. Who am I hanging my hat on here? And they will probably develop. Again, this has been a program that's been very successful at developing that side of the football and has made hay by being very good in the trenches. But some of those guys went elsewhere, went with Whitt to Michigan. It's a little bit unclear to me if they're going to.
Dan Rubenstein — 15:55
Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. It's an unusual situation, maybe a little bit more common now, of a coach leaving a big place for another big place. We've seen it more recently with guys like Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin now. But, yeah, typically when there is that new coach, the internal promotion, you're like, okay, well, he recruited a lot of these guys and he's familiar with a lot of these guys, they're familiar with him. It's a reset on two different levels, which tells me I think we're getting a step back here. I think last year was kind of a special year offensively. What'd you say it was, 8.5?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 16:29
Eight and a half, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 16:30
I think I might take the under. I think I have, like, 8-4. I think I'm on that other side, for me, on that side of the edge.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 16:36
I'm going to go, I'll stick with what I jotted down here at 9-3. But it's an easy case to make that it's just eight wins, not nine.
Dan Rubenstein — 16:46
Yeah, if they can. Look, it's Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State, Iowa State. Those are all winnable games. First-year Arkansas coach. Kansas might still need time at that point, working in a new defense and new quarterback. Colorado, a ton of questions. And that gets us to October 24 with no obvious, like, oh, this team is built in a way that it could take advantage of Utah's deficiencies. Houston at home, which I appreciate as, like, maybe that's a 50-50 moment. Cincinnati on the road could be tricky depending on where this offense is, but Cincinnati has a good offensive line. BYU, at Arizona, at TCU is a stretch where, like, man, if they can come away from that 2-1. West Virginia at home after playing at TCU, I don't know if that's a letdown moment. But it just feels as if there are too many pop quizzes for this Utah team, even with the schedule that seems workable.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 17:38
Well, let's shift gears then and talk about the Houston Cougars.
Dan Rubenstein — 17:44
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 17:46
10-3 last year. Their win total per Vegas is 7.5. It just so happens that you and I are both crazy for Houston this year. We love ourselves some Houston Cougars. They bring back Willie Fritz and all of his coordinators. They're also 17th nationally in returning production, notably 71 percent back on offense, which is seventh-best in the country. The interesting note on Houston is, I think, how they're being portrayed by some of the other preview publications that I know you and I have been studying intently. This could easily be a situation where the roster is better than it was a year ago, but the final record is worse because of the schedule. The schedule is pretty tough. They've got games at Texas Tech, at Kansas State and at Utah. The road games against K-State and Utah are also laced with potential letdowns and lookaheads, with UCF before K-State and Oklahoma State in between K-State and Utah. So there's a bunch at play there with respect to the schedule, but with respect to the roster, we like this team a fair amount, don't we?
Dan Rubenstein — 19:02
I think so, yes. I planted my flag and had them losing to Texas Tech early and then beating them in a rematch later on in the Big 12 title game. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm not taking it back. I think there is something about the obvious, whether it's Miami or Texas Tech, the obvious favorite in a conference, that just rubs me the wrong way in the sport. There's just too much weirdness to college football. With respect to Houston, Conner Weigman is 37 years old. I like that starting point.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:35
And for the first time in his career, the same offensive coordinator for two straight years, Slade Nagle. Good for him.
Dan Rubenstein — 19:40
Yes. So, okay, the quarterback that I think can be successful plays with moxie, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:48
Gotta have Moxie.
Dan Rubenstein — 19:48
Plays with some moxie. An offensive line that is put together once again. Like, there's a bunch of transfers that are going to need to figure it out pretty quickly with how quickly they get some of these teams. I don't know. I think at the skill positions they'll be fine. They lost a good tight end, but I think they're going to be able to fill in that production with promise at receiver and a couple good running backs, including Makhi Hughes, who now steps in from Tulane via Oregon.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 20:16
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 20:16
A changeover?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 20:17
Speaking of the Odyssey, I have some thoughts on Makhi Hughes, but please continue.
Dan Rubenstein — 20:17
I don't know, a layover in Eugene. Up front, they're going to need some help from transfers. But with where they are on the back end of this defense, I think it's a thin but maybe decent linebacker room. I think they're pretty good at defensive back. And also, you mentioned the schedule being tricky. Good year to get a first-year coach in K-State with a lot that's changing on that defense. Good year to get a first-year coach in Utah with a lot changing, especially on that defense. The November part of their schedule is extremely workable. I think I go the opposite way. I think they could have a better record than they actually are good.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 20:59
Interesting.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:00
I think you could look up and see 10-2 Houston and be like, all right, they're going to...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:00
Okay.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:04
They're going to give BYU or Texas Tech something else in this Big 12 Championship Game and then not have it work out. Like, I think the record will inflate them a little bit. I just think it's a good year to have this specific schedule. I mean, these are good programs on this schedule. But, I mean, the November of home against Cincinnati, Colorado on the road, West Virginia on the road, they lost that game last year in a weird one, Baylor at home to finish things out. I'm just not seeing any defenses right now that I'm absolutely blown away by. And then Utah might not have a defense like it's had lately. Oklahoma State might not have a defense. Kansas State might not have a defense. I'm pretty sure UCF will. I'm pretty sure, I'm positive, Texas Tech will. And that's everybody on the Big 12 slate.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:48
Okay. All right. You are goo-goo for Houston, then. I didn't realize this was that bad.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:52
I'm a little bit horny for Houston, Ty, I got to tell you.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:54
All right. Well, look, for me, the story for Houston in 2026 is going to be line play and the health of Conner Weigman.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:02
Yeah. And I think precision on offense too. Like red zone, third down, high-leverage stuff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:07
Yes, and I'd add, as a secondary thing, whether or not Conner Weigman develops more as a passer.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:07
Yeah. Late-game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:14
He's not a bad passer by any stretch, but
Dan Rubenstein — 22:15
I agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:16
I think right now, anyway, at this stage in his career, he's a little bit more feared as a runner. The usage of him will be something interesting to watch because there have been durability questions surrounding him, which I think is worth noting, if only because he's a good runner, and if he's healthy, you can use him in that capacity. He finished with over 700 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns last season alone. This is the area where I think, to the earlier point, Makhi Hughes could be really significant. Makhi Hughes, previously with Willie Fritz at Tulane before, as you said, the layover at Oregon. As Sean McDonough would say, he entered the witness protection program, got just 17 carries with Oregon.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:58
Yeah. A weird situation, by the way. Like, all of the previews last year, you were like, oh man.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 23:04
What happened? Was he just not good enough?
Dan Rubenstein — 23:05
I think Oregon didn't fully realize what it had with Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. I think they'd rather have played him than exhaust Makhi Hughes' eligibility. And I think they did right by him. And so I think he hung around and everything was fine, but he wanted more playing time. And with two freshmen coming in last year, he knew that was going to be tough.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 23:32
Yeah, you got to go elsewhere.
Dan Rubenstein — 23:34
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 23:35
I think it's going to be imperative for Makhi Hughes to take some of that pressure off Conner Weigman by getting it going on the ground. As you mentioned, they do need the line to get a better push in the run game, which is not something they were particularly good at last season. But it seems as if they're at least setting up to do some of that this year. Whether or not that comes to fruition, I guess, remains to be seen. And I'm with you on the defensive side, too. I feel better about the back part of the defense than I do the front. I'm a little concerned about the line because Carlos Allen Jr. and Eddie Walls III are both gone. I've read a lot about Ashton Porter, another guy from Oregon. Do we know anything about him?
Dan Rubenstein — 24:13
Yeah, he's versatile. He's a big edge that I think can be moved around the line a little bit and seemed to flash a little bit in rotations. They were just crazy deep at edge last year, so he didn't see a ton of snaps along the defensive line and would have, obviously, given the losses Oregon has had in the rotation along the defensive line this season. But I think he made a smart decision to go to a place like Houston to really show what he can do.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 24:37
I'm with you, though. I'm over 7.5, and I've got Houston as a fringe contender in the Big 12. I like this team a lot.
Dan Rubenstein — 24:48
All right, so we sort of agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 24:50
No, we agree.
Dan Rubenstein — 24:51
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 24:51
You're probably a little bit higher on Houston than I am, but we're both, I think, comfortably going over 7.5.
Dan Rubenstein — 24:57
They're another chain team, by the way. We talked about that a little bit with Kansas State. They were going third-and-7-plus too often. And so, if they can, and look, that's the run game, right? You're not going to be good if you can't run. Setting up third-and-manageable, you're not going to be good in the red zone if you can't run. And those things came to pass, no pun intended. So, you know, they have their homework.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:22
TCU, 9-4 last year. TCU is sort of the inkblot test of this entire freaking conference. And you know I've said this about other teams in the past. It feels to me like it very much applies here for TCU in 2026. How you feel as a person about TCU this season probably says more about you than it does about them. And what I mean by that is, if you tend to focus on things like line play, the potential for younger players to develop, that sort of thing, if that's your jam, then TCU is your jam. If you think about things like, hey, how is that transfer quarterback going to translate from FCS? Or how is the pass defense going to be this season? Then you're a little bit more leery. Then you're seeing the goblin in the inkblot. Vegas has it at 6.5 as the over-under, which I think represents this dilemma quite well. They're not really sure where TCU is at either. I think there will be an emphasis on the obvious winnable games, and there is certainly some runway initially that we can discuss here. But on October 3, they're at home against BYU. In November, they're on the road at Arizona. They play K-State, Utah and Texas Tech to close it out. I could see a swing game somewhere along the lines, but this is a game in particular, that BYU game on October 3, that's going to tell us so much about TCU and is going to set up the remainder of this season. In truth, we may not know until that BYU game which side of the inkblot you should be on. We might not have any idea until they get that measuring-stick game. But after that one, and certainly as we get into November, that's when things start to roll downhill a little bit quicker, and it's going to get real here for TCU. So, where are you at in that conversation? I feel like I'm talking in circles here, but I'm genuinely on the horns of a dilemma with how I feel about the Horned Frogs, just because there is a lot to like. There is also, I think, a lot to be skeptical of.
Dan Rubenstein — 27:49
I think it's just a Jaden Craig thing, right? If Jaden Craig, who was very, very good at Harvard, different level, if he gets into the rhythm of succeeding in the Big 12, the speed of the Big 12, the comfort of an offense with more around him at TCU. And it's not a new coordinator for just him. It's a new coordinator for everybody. It's Gordon Sammis, who did an amazing job at UConn.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 28:16
Gordon Sammis, yep.
Dan Rubenstein — 28:20
With Jim Mora last year. Really great. And I think their quarterback, Joe Fagnano, like, 28 touchdowns to one pick.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 28:28
Yep. Yeah, he was good.
Dan Rubenstein — 28:29
So he was very, very good.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 28:30
He was really good up at UConn.
Dan Rubenstein — 28:33
And just the underlying stats with where UConn was last year. Now, the UConn schedule is different from the TCU schedule. But it checked a lot of boxes in terms of, we talk about the precision needed to succeed at a high level in a tough conference like the Big 12. That's encouraging to me just internally with TCU. I look at this team like, okay, where is the upside in this room? Where is the upside in that room, right? There are obvious things, like the homework TCU has had: running the ball. They're changing the way they run the ball. Their pass defense, which has a lot to do with a pass rush that needs to improve. The full five on this offensive line is still up in the air. Center, I think, is still a battle. You've got to find your center. So there are a lot of things internally. I just want to know, like, who is that unguardable receiver in the way that Quentin Johnston was, right? Was that his name? Quentin Johnston? I'm old. I forget all my names.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:29
Went to the Chargers.
Dan Rubenstein — 29:30
Right. I think up front they're probably at a decent starting point.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:34
I think the line's better. I think it's deeper. I think that should help Jaden Craig. It should certainly give him some cover and open up the run game. I'm pretty crazy about Jeremy Payne this year, their running back, who I think could have a really nice season.
Dan Rubenstein — 29:46
Sure, that's reasonable.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:51
In this new offense, he's not so much of a north-south type of runner, definitely someone who likes to get in space. And you could do all sorts of creative stuff with him. If you're Gordon Sammis, especially if you're running more out of the pistol, which is something that I think, if you're wondering as a TCU fan, okay, new coordinator, what is this going to look like? More under center, more pistol, more tight end usage. Hopefully, as a result, a better run game and offensive line. And if you're doing it right, fewer turnovers, because that was the thing. By the way, on that point, and I'll kick it back over to you. I don't mean to hijack your side of the conversation.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:27
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:28
Josh Hoover is out. By his own volition, he decided to transfer up to Indiana. Who could blame him? That's how Jaden Craig got the nod to come down from Harvard. One of the stories coming into this year, in addition to Hoover transferring out, is the way Sonny Dykes responded when they asked him about it: 'Josh started 31 games here and turned the ball over 42 times.' End quote. So, maybe a little bit ruffled by the transfer, maybe not. Speaking truth to power, at least in some regard, Josh Hoover was not always the most responsible with the football.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:02
Correct. TCU is in an interesting position. I think they're built well enough and coached well enough, and we'll see how Gordon Sammis works out in Fort Worth. Even with this secondary getting torched a bunch and not being able to get a ton of pressure on the quarterback last year, if they had only taken care of business in the Big 12 and beaten teams that were vulnerable, had injured quarterbacks or were just kind of a mess for long stretches of the season, teams like Arizona State or Iowa State last year. They won some close games. They lost some close games. If they're taking care of business, which is always easier said than done, they're, like, 90 seconds away from being a 10-2 team last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:42
I know.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:43
And look, you can say that about a ton of teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:43
Crazy.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:45
I understand this, but we are talking about TCU, and I think it is important to point out they're one of them. They're not that far off. They're in, like, a perennial frisky zone, which is a term you use a lot on your After Dark podcast.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:01
Always.
Dan Rubenstein — 32:02
I understand. People haven't found it yet, but my God, is there a different side of Ty Hildenbrandt out there?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:03
No. It's true. It's very true.
Dan Rubenstein — 32:08
The frisky zone for TCU is very familiar.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:09
Yeah. The frisky zone.
Dan Rubenstein — 32:12
So now the question is: like, I use the word boring a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:12
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 32:16
What is TCU doing in terms of, okay, they don't run well, but they're competent at running the ball. Their pass defense isn't amazing, but you can see that there's a plan and a vision there, and they've gotten better and they've gotten off the field more. Stuff like that, if TCU can just take obvious steps, they're threatening double-digit wins once again. I think they get not that far out of the frisky zone. I think I'm again in, like, because the Jaden Craig thing is an unknown for me. So I'm going to say they're, like, an 8-4, plus or minus one, which is, like, rinse, repeat any other year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:51
I think Jaden Craig could run this offense. I think this offense suits him well. He's obviously an experienced hand. He was a three-year starter up at Harvard, and he's a big boy, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds. So he can run it, he can obviously throw it. Your earlier point, though, about adjusting to the speed of the game, we picked up a little bit of that in some of the spring practice reports that we read back in, like, May. Whether or not that's something that is a real concern the deeper we get into fall camp and start getting ready for the season, I don't know. The guys who are at practice can talk that through. But it is a concern with any FCS quarterback coming up to the Power Four ranks. I think that's something that we'll be talking about with a number of other guys as well. I do like the setup, though. I think this suits him well. My final point is that I'm actually pretty high on this defense. I like the defense.
Dan Rubenstein — 33:46
I understand that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 33:47
Andy Avalos is back as defensive coordinator. They were good against the run, not so good against the pass last year. Some critical losses, I would say, on that defense. But overall, I'm optimistic that they're going to find some pressure up front. They're going to find some way to take some of the heat off that pass defense. I'm on the over for TCU. I think 7-5 is the floor. You could probably talk me into 9-3. It sounds like we're both beating around the same bush here, though. That eight-win mark is kind of where you and I are struggling right now to figure out: Is it more, is it less or is it right on?
Dan Rubenstein — 34:23
Yeah, look, a 10-win team in a conference that has this many teams that seem to be bunched together means not doing anything catastrophically bad in some elements, having transfers work out and winning many more 50-50 games. Like, what did Houston go last year in one-score games? Something crazy, like 6-1?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 34:44
6-1, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 34:45
Right. They went 6-1. Conner Weigman was clutch in fourth quarters, beating teams that they very well could have lost against, teams like Arizona, which had a terrific defense last year. So if you were going to say, what is the difference between 8-4 and 10-2 for TCU? It's just stacking little things. It's just stacking those little things and not being clearly deficient at a big thing. And so that's your question, because I think you're right about optimism for this defense. But there is a lot new on both sides of the ball, and this is okay. What kind of handle does Sonny Dykes have on a game with 4:37 left and it's a three-point game either way?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 35:23
Yeah. You mentioned Arizona. Why don't we talk about Arizona next? Arizona had a really rocky 2024, the first year for Brent Brennan. It was not a slam dunk at the end of the 2024 season that they were going to bring Brent Brennan back. We had picked up rumblings that they were thinking about, like, maybe we should cut bait here. They didn't. They brought him back for 2025. Clearly, he learned from his mistakes. Clearly, he figured out what wasn't working and what he could do to make it all better, because we saw a huge resurgence in 2025. For Arizona to go 9-4 after they looked virtually hapless, disorganized and all out of sorts in 2024, that in and of itself was a really nice accomplishment for Brent Brennan. So now we come to this point in time where Noah Fifita is back, where it feels like there is some momentum on this defense given where they left off last season. It feels to me, with Arizona having been a borderline top-20, top-25 team, that there is real, genuine optimism going into 2026. You and I both had them in our next tier down, comfortably in the top half of the Big 12. And we were in agreement that they belong somewhere below that Texas Tech-BYU line. But I think there is some debate as to how high up in that second tier, how low in that second tier, Arizona belongs, given what they've got coming back on both sides of the football and this renewed sense of optimism. So I don't want to be blinded by the fact that I'm optimistic about Arizona. I want to try and be as realistic as we can. But I feel like what we saw last season is definitely reason for hope moving forward with this coach.
Dan Rubenstein — 37:25
Yeah, I think so. I think the immediate gains on defense. Look, they had experienced guys last year who are now gone. The safety duo was probably one of the five best safety duos in the country, in the sport. Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith were big-time playmakers for this Arizona team, all over the ball, all over the field, excuse me. The starting point that Arizona has is pretty incredible, right? So they have proof of concept that these coordinator hires from last season have worked out pretty well.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 37:55
100 percent.
Dan Rubenstein — 37:55
Seth Doege is back. So he's another situation where I think Noah Fifita has the same coordinator in consecutive seasons. And then Danny Gonzales got an extension for this defense. When they flipped and went to the 3-3-5 last season, had the active secondary and empowered the guys in the back half of this defense, the proof of concept was obvious. They bring back enough quality beef up front, I think, on both sides of the ball. But it stood out to me on defense that, along the defensive line and on all three levels, there is enough experience and enough promising transfers from big enough places. Not that smaller-school guys can't work out, but I always do appreciate when, okay, this guy played a little bit for Nebraska, seemed to be pretty good and was practicing against at least decent Big Ten players every day. There's something to me. Maybe that's just some sort of big-school, big-conference bias. I don't know. But I appreciate that from Arizona. Noah Fifita is good. Noah Fifita cleaned his act up last year in terms of the turnovers and trying to force too much on offense. I don't know if there's necessarily star power in the skill corps, but if you've got a good quarterback, I agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 39:08
Well, that's my thing.
Dan Rubenstein — 39:12
But you didn't know all of these receivers. Kris Hutson was in his seventh year last year, or something like that, and he had already been at Oregon and Wazzu before he got to Arizona. Guys can succeed in decent systems with good quarterbacks. I think Noah Fifita is a good quarterback, also 37 years old, has also been at this level of the sport for a minute. So if the starting point is a potentially confusing and annoying defense, inexperienced playmaking, a pretty fearless, sometimes to his detriment, quarterback and a tough place to play. Listen, I'm an Oregon fan. There is no level of Arizona, good to terrible, that I, as an Oregon fan, felt comfortable with my favorite team going to the desert. I have too much Tucson scar tissue to ever say anything bad about Tucson. I'm also a University of Arizona legacy, so I don't know. I always have a soft spot. Shout out Miles Simon, Eugene Edgerson, whoever. So, the back half of the schedule is tough. It definitely is. But they can get momentum other than the BYU game, and that's in Provo. That's almost like, I don't know, man. If Arizona has something special this year, they'll win that game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 40:20
Week two right away, week two.
Dan Rubenstein — 40:21
Because that's real tough. Right away, Week 2, September 12. But the back half is difficult. The middle is not terribly meaty. And when you look at a lot of these teams, look, Texas Tech should be good. There's nobody bulletproof on this schedule. Texas Tech is away from home. They get TCU the week after that. They don't have to go to altitude again when they play Utah. They have K-State. They have ASU. These are all flawed teams that a B-plus/A-minus Arizona team can beat, maybe with a little bit of late-game luck, maybe with a little bit of injury luck. Because they're another one of those teams, as we mentioned last season, with an overtime loss to BYU. It's an absolutely winnable moment against Houston. They were in the College Football Playoff with 90 extra seconds. You could say that about a lot of teams. They were just a good story. They were a really good team.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 41:14
My biggest issue with Arizona is that the heartbeat for last year's team was very much the pass defense. And now that pass defense is almost completely gone. I like that they were aggressive in the portal. I like some of what they brought in. It stands to reason that the back end of the defense is probably going to take a step back. But to the point, I do think Danny Gonzales is the right guy for the job because he runs a scheme. You said 3-3-5. But more than that, it kind of shape-shifts. He's willing to adjust it based on personnel. And I think there is enough back at the first two levels of the defense that they'll still be pretty formidable. They might not be bulletproof against the pass, but they're still going to be pretty good on that side of the football. It's not like the bottom is going to fall out. So they've got that as a starting point, which I like, even if it's not as ferocious as it was a year ago. I have more questions about the offense, though, because the line took a big step forward last year but then lost three starters. I'm not entirely sure how they're going to look on the ground. Their leading rusher is gone. They have a couple of good options, and I think they'll still find ways to run. But how they assemble their running game will be interesting to me. They've got different types of backs that they can use. They've got a power guy, they've got a speed guy. How Seth Doege brings all that together, I think, remains to be seen. And out wide, I think Tre Spivey is wide receiver one. He's got really good size.
Dan Rubenstein — 42:40
Yeah, big receiver, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:41
He flashed, definitely flashed at moments last season. He just wasn't a volume wide receiver. So I'm not sure what the target distribution is going to look like coming from Noah Fifita and who he locks in on as his primary guys. I feel confident that they will work this out because, if we learned anything from what we saw a year ago, this is a coaching staff, this is a head coach, if nothing more, that can kind of understand, do some self-scouting and figure out how they can make things better on the fly. I feel pretty good about Arizona. I've got them down as, like, a feisty 8-4.
Dan Rubenstein — 43:17
Okay. I think I lean more 9-3, but I think it's just the seasoning this team should have by the time they get to the trickier parts of their schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:20
Okay.
Dan Rubenstein — 43:27
By the way, speaking of which, you must hold a special place in your heart for this Utah matchup. Arizona-Utah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:36
Why?
Dan Rubenstein — 43:37
Two 5-foot-9 quarterbacks. This could be the shortest quarterback matchup of the season at the Power Four level, right? Representation for people like you, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:47
People like me. How dare you?
Dan Rubenstein — 43:51
I saw that late in the schedule. I'm like, wait, is this the shortest, like, two-good-team quarterback matchup of the season?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:56
That's pretty good.
Dan Rubenstein — 43:59
Devon Dampier, Noah Fifita. Not getting to 12 feet between them.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:06
All right.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:06
I like it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:07
All right. Feisty 8-4, you're more feisty 9-3, but we both feel pretty good about Arizona. That's why we have them where we have them.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:14
Yeah. By the way, I should say, you can live, like, a complete, thorough life not being 6 feet tall, right? In your experience?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:22
Thus far I've been okay with it, but
Dan Rubenstein — 44:24
Great.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:26
Arizona State. Arizona State, 8-5 a year ago. I think you have to grade them on a curve. Sam Leavitt got hurt. They were playing with Jeff Sims. Kenny Dillingham found a way to win with Jeff Sims. Kudos to him. This season, your over-under is 6.5. I'm pretty sure, pretty sure, that it'll be Cutter Boley at quarterback, the transfer from Kentucky. They have not officially said that yet. There are a couple other options, one of which is Mikey Keene, speaking of guys who are 37.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:59
Which, by the way, here's the sidebar: It's not a great sign. Not a great sign if you're going after a Power Four quarterback and you're like, we are not ready to say he's the guy yet. Starting SEC quarterback, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:12
They're not ready to say he's the guy yet. And here's why. Cutter Boley has, first off, he's a big kid. He's a tall drink of water. He's like 6-foot-5, 213, something like that. He's a big guy. Has the arm, has mobility, has pocket presence, has all the things that you want as a starting quarterback. The one thing he doesn't have quite yet is...
Dan Rubenstein — 45:33
He's too charitable.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:34
Too charitable.
Dan Rubenstein — 45:34
He wants everybody to have a turn catching the ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:35
Thank you. Still a little too raw.
Dan Rubenstein — 45:37
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:39
Had 12 picks. Am I looking at my notes right? I don't know. He had a bunch of picks. He threw more of them this spring. The physical tools are great. None of that stuff matters if you're going to be throwing interceptions. I think that is the hang-up with this guy at the time of recording. He needs to get a little bit more responsible with the football and not shoot them in the foot if he's out there.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:03
Fifteen touchdowns, 12 interceptions last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:05
It was 12 interceptions. Okay. I knew I wasn't pulling that out of nowhere.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:09
You nailed it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:10
I love the wide receiver room. I like what they did on the wide receiver side of things. I've talked about Omarion Miller from Colorado.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:17
Amen.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:17
We haven't talked as much about Reed Harris from Boston College, but two really big-time gets in the receiving corps this offseason cycle in the transfer portal for Kenny Dillingham. If you want to go deeper into the portal haul, we can talk about Raiden Vines-Bright. What a name. From Washington, he's a potential impact guy out of the slot as well.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:37
Yeah, there's promise there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:38
I think they did a really, really good job on that side, just trying to give their quarterback, in this case, presumably Cutter Boley, some targets. But again, he needs to be more precise. He needs to be a better decision-maker back there if any of this is going to fly.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:55
I don't know what to think about ASU. ASU is wild to me, the variance that we could have on our hands with ASU. Last year, Sam Leavitt gets hurt. They don't do anything especially well. They have talent at running back. There was talent on this defense. There was some production on this defense, which was ahead of its offense. They weren't especially good last year and won eight games, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:17
That's right.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:19
So the question then is, okay, if their act is more together in more places this season, but they still have a wild card at quarterback, are they truly any better? What could they learn and build on from last year? Now they're attacking the portal at a number of different position groups, as everybody is.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:37
Let me add this, though, before you go any further, right?
Dan Rubenstein — 47:39
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:40
Attacking the portal, they bring in the quarterback, they bring in the wide receivers. I think we both have optimism to some extent there. My concern, though, is that, though both the running back room and the offensive line have a fair amount of depth, both of those position groups are relatively unsettled.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:59
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:59
And so what I'm fearful of is we come to this point at the end of September, early October where no one's popped at running back, the offensive line's a bit shaky, and suddenly we've got ourselves a situation with an interception-prone quarterback having to go out there and play hero ball. And that won't work. That would be the rub on Cutter Boley. That would be the reason you wouldn't want a guy like this to start.
Dan Rubenstein — 48:23
Well, look, the glass-half-full part of that would be he should have much better quarterback coaching in Tempe than he had in Lexington.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 48:31
Yeah. Oh, yeah. For sure. No, that, I mean, that part goes, I think, without saying, but...
Dan Rubenstein — 48:37
When you look at what they got out of Sam Leavitt, when you look at what Kenny Dillingham and his assistants have done at various places, when you look at the receivers available, when you look at the fact that you know ASU is going to game-plan around any of the deficiencies. If their offensive line isn't good, they're not going to make Cutter Boley sit in the pocket and get drilled throwing the ball downfield. They'll get the ball out of his hands, they'll run screen stuff and they'll figure out ways to maximize this offense. So that's the glass half full, that the architecture and development and system of this ASU offense should be much more advantageous than where he was at Kentucky.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 49:13
And Kenny Dillingham is really smart as an offensive mind. His first year, I mean, they were playing without a quarterback for half the season, if I remember correctly.
Dan Rubenstein — 49:20
They were lining up offensive linemen all over the field.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 49:23
You know, they were running, like, the old Cleveland Browns Dennis Northcutt thing, where they were just trying to find ways to get yards, regardless of who was playing quarterback or if they had a quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein — 49:23
Yes. Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 49:32
So I have a lot of faith in this offensive staff to figure this out. And I think the talent of Cutter Boley is definitely a thing that we should keep tabs on. I am leery of that specific situation, though, where a lot falls on his right arm and maybe he's not ready for it. What I'm not sure what to make of is the defense, because 10 starters from last year's opening game are gone. They did go hard after secondary help in the portal. I think it'll be okay. My bigger concern, though, is along the line, which was already dealing with some injuries, and now MyKeil Gardner went down with an Achilles injury and he's going to be done for the season. So you combine defensive questions, maybe some offensive line questions, with what looks to my eye to be a really tough schedule, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:17
Well, you look at the quarterbacks they face in the back half, and I agree. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:21
I mean
Dan Rubenstein — 50:21
There's a lot of potential upside and star power just within the Big 12 there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:24
It's Week 2 at Texas A&M. They've also got games at Tech, at BYU and at Arizona on this, in addition to home games against K-State and Oklahoma State, who we'll get to maybe next.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:38
Buddy, they're playing on a different continent, too.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:40
I know, I know, they've got that game over in Wembley.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:44
Yeah, in London.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:46
I've got them at 6-6.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:48
Yeah, but I think the question with ASU, just because there has been some variance, because they won the damn conference going away two years ago and looked really good in the playoff, is: What is the intention? What is the reasonable expectation with this roster? Right? If you could see them with an absolute upside of, what, 8-4 with this roster? You don't think you can Cutter Boley your way to 10-2 with this schedule, this road work and this roster.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 51:14
I don't. I don't.
Dan Rubenstein — 51:16
Okay, so if the absolute upside is 8-4 for this ASU team to you, it's, okay, where are the game-changers up front on defense? Or where's the depth up front? Or is the pass rush going to be there on defense? And then, how much can you do with an offensive line that you don't know to what degree you can depend on? Like, was that English? That was maybe English. That was, like, in the vicinity of English.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 51:43
Yeah, it was close enough.
Dan Rubenstein — 51:47
So that's the question to me. I don't think this is a team that's built to contend for the conference right now, just because I would want more returning, more familiarity with the system and more like, okay, they are going to, you know, the strength is the back end. The strength is the defensive tackles. The strength is having Raleek Brown back another year, right? You're like, oh man, the gravity of this dude. So I think I like them a little bit more than you do, but I would settle into that seven-, eight-win range. I think a lot more would have to go wrong, or Cutter Boley would have to be similarly careless with the ball. I think he'll get better. If he's the guy, I think he'll be put in a position to succeed: 7-5, 8-4.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:27
Oklahoma State, Dan Rubenstein. My sweet, sweet Pokes. Oklahoma State's the one, Dan. They're the one that's going to get me this year. I can tell you right now, they're the one that's going to get me.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:42
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:44
They're going to break my heart.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:47
Okay. Next preview, next team.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:51
I think Oklahoma State's going to be pretty good this year.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:54
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:55
Let me say this, okay? Can I have the floor here just for a moment to kind of get this off?
Dan Rubenstein — 52:59
It's all yours, Ty. The spotlight is yours.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 53:00
I got a lot to get off my chest here with this.
Dan Rubenstein — 53:02
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 53:02
I've been thinking about this little diatribe here for weeks, if not months. Listeners of this show know that I've had a love-hate thing with Oklahoma State over the last couple of years. We have fielded emails about this, some people saying I'm being too harsh, others saying that I'm not being harsh enough. I think that's actually been a pretty accurate representation of where the Oklahoma State fan base has been. I thought, like most people, that with Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12, there was an enormous opportunity for the Pokes to step in and fill that void. Obviously, that has not happened, at least not as of yet. Texas Tech has sort of been that team. There are a couple other teams that have bubbled up, but Tech and BYU, I think, have claimed that mantle, at least for the moment. Last year, Oklahoma State beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 1 and then never won again. And so, in effect, that was the end of the Gundy era. It was, I think, an almost symbolic way to prove the point that Oklahoma State was falling short of the possibility of becoming that new tentpole within the Big 12. It was an utter cluster-F. This year, I love Oklahoma State with my whole heart.
Dan Rubenstein — 54:25
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 54:26
Let me do the thing here. I'm doing the thing. Is this a Taylor Swift thing or is this just a
Dan Rubenstein — 54:31
I think just a life thing. I don't think she invented it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 54:35
I'm doing the hand-heart emoji.
Dan Rubenstein — 54:35
Ty's forming a heart.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 54:37
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 54:37
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 54:38
I love this team. I'm all the way in. The new coach is Eric Morris. He comes up from North Texas. He was very successful there. Eric Morris has an unbelievable track record for finding and/or developing quarterbacks, in particular quarterbacks who go under-recruited. He recruited and developed Cam Ward, Cam Ward at Incarnate Word, which is really tough to say.
Dan Rubenstein — 55:02
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 55:03
He found Baker Mayfield as a walk-on. He got him initially to Texas Tech. He was the offensive coordinator for a moment for Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech. He played a role in getting John Mateer to go to Wazzu. Now he has essentially done the same thing with Drew Mestemaker, who we're going to talk about in a second. Do you understand? Can you quantify how important it is to have a coach like that with an eye for under-recruited talent like that in the year of our Lord in 2026, especially at the quarterback position?
Dan Rubenstein — 55:37
Yeah, especially when you're taking over a program that hasn't won a conference game since 2023.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 55:42
Do you know how important it is to be good at identifying talent at that one key position? So now, this is the guy taking over at Oklahoma State. The entire roster is new, everything. But more importantly, he managed to bring over North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker. He managed to bring with him Caleb Hawkins, the star running back, and he managed to bring up the top target, Wyatt Young. This is like rocket fuel for this offense. I suppose there will be a question out there. It isn't so much from me, but I think it's fair to ask: Okay, is it going to translate to the Big 12? Is it the speed of the game? All this, all that. I am completely confident that this is going to work out just fine and that Oklahoma State is going to have a really good offense this year. Drew Mestemaker is the real deal. You watch one or two series with this guy, it's fairly apparent right away that he could be a high-level quarterback. And I think that trio, in and of itself, gives most decent coaches a chance at building an offense. So I am all in. I am all in. Eric Morris knows offense. He knows it well. I think, for sure, he will find a way to put a product out there that is far and away superior to what we saw each of the last two seasons.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:06
Well, it kind of has to be. They went 0-18.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:08
It has to be.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:10
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:11
But provided the line is not a total disaster and provided this team does not have any kind of run of injuries, I think this offense is going to cook, and I think they're going to be fun as hell to watch. I'm all in. I'm perhaps biased here, okay? I'm just so intrigued by what this could be. And I'm so intrigued by the potential of Oklahoma State now under this guy, at least on offense.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:36
That's reasonable.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:38
I'm excited. I'm just genuinely excited.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:41
Look, they don't have a run of crazy defenses that they'll face. There are some good defenses that they'll face. The defense is a question, and what they're trying to do is essentially a High Plains version of what Curt Cignetti did, right? Bringing over proven talent from a winning place.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:00
I cannot confidently say they're going to be better on defense. I think they will be.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:06
I think, just because they're bringing in so many new faces and a new coordinator, and the vibes are fresh, they will be.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:14
I think they should be. I don't think there's a ton of depth on that side of the ball, but I think the defensive line will probably be better than people think. I know there's been some optimism there in the run-up to the season. Provided they don't get hollowed out with injuries, I think it'll be sufficient. I have a longer-term question about Eric Morris building a defense, building some sort of functional defense.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:37
Well, Skyler Cassity had a really good defense a couple years ago at Sam Houston.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:41
I know.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:41
I think they were, like, a top-15 national defense. Last year's North Texas defense was not good. It was a below-average defense that didn't fully hold them back from having a great year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:49
No, it was certainly not good a year ago. I know Skyler Cassity's track record, and I think that's another reason for optimism. That is one side of the football, though, that I'm curious about whether they can scale up the model. I'm confident Eric Morris can do it on offense, but in terms of defense, getting the right guys in place, playing against much tougher competition in the Big 12, can they scale that defensive model up and do it repeatedly? I'm not sure about that.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:16
Yeah, I think the top level of what Oklahoma State could be, especially on offense, is fascinating because I think it's not crazy to say they have the best quarterback in the conference. Now, look, he played at North Texas, Drew Mestemaker, but look at the teams that were willing to pay a crazy amount of money to bring him in. Oregon, Indiana and Texas Tech were all entertaining the idea of bringing in Drew Mestemaker.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:43
Watch two or three series with Drew Mestemaker.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:44
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:46
Just watch how he throws the ball.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:46
Right. Yes, it's in the American, but yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:48
Just watch. Just watch. I don't care where he was.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:51
There was no shortage of interest from huge places.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:54
Watch him throw the football. It comes out differently. You can tell right away, if you watch enough of this, he is built different. He is legitimately positioned to be one of the better quarterbacks in the game. So, if you're an Oklahoma State fan, that's like music to your ears, given where you've been.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:00:12
So the question to me is, it's not the high-end talent on this offense. You mentioned the offensive line. It's: Who are the second and third receivers who attract enough attention away? Obviously, teams are going to have to respect Oklahoma State as a complete offense because of Caleb Hawkins in the backfield, another player who could have gone wherever he wanted in terms of who needs a running back and who has a budget, because that's a high-end name given his eligibility left. So the question to me is just, what do the full rooms look like? This is football. People get hurt. What teams are going to shade one direction or the other with this team? If the offensive line doesn't work out, then Drew Mestemaker is going to be running for his life and it's not going to matter as much. And look, he's great off-platform. He's a strong quarterback. But if you're able to get to the totality of this offensive roster, it's not going to matter that Drew Mestemaker is awesome because he's going to have fewer awesome moments to make something out of. And I like this Oklahoma State team. I like them. It's Year 1. There's a reason they are where they are. I like the idea of bringing in all sorts of new names to reset everything. I'd be thrilled as an Oklahoma State fan with a bowl game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:27
With a bowl? Oh, dude, I've got them 8-4, 9-3.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:30
I'm not that far.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:31
Come on, wade into this pool with me.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:35
Look, the vibes are going to be better. I think they're a 7-5 team.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:40
Ah, you're killing me.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:43
I do. I think he's really good. Look, you can win a lot of games. This is what their schedule is. This is what Oklahoma State has.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:49
Dan Wet Blanket Rubenstein.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:51
I'm not being a wet blanket. They were 0-18, and now I'm saying they're going to win games.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:57
This is fair. This is fair.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:57
Okay. Oregon beat them by 70 points or something last year. They come to Stillwater.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:03
Right.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:03
That will be a more competitive game. Oregon should beat Oklahoma State. Same page? There's one loss. They have Houston on the road, and that's a week after Oklahoma State has what should be a good UCF defense. I think we agree on that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:18
We'll get to that.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:18
It's an Alex Grinch defense, so there's an asterisk there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:19
But yeah. There is that.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:21
But yes, UCF should be a competitive team this year with a combination of what they have on defense and Alonza Barnett III, depending on his health.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:22
That was going to be my point, but okay. Correct.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:30
We'll get there. Colorado seems to be a winnable game. Iowa State seems to be a winnable game. Kansas State on the road could be a 51-48 type of affair.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:40
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:40
We agree. Somebody's going to win that game with a score on that level. Texas Tech is going to be very tough. ASU on the road, I think, is tough. Kansas to finish out the season could be another 51-48 situation. I just think there's so much new here that I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here. I think they're going to be fun. I think they're going to be entertaining. And I think 2027 is the year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:07
I think they start 4-1. I think they pull an upset against either Houston, Kansas State or Texas Tech. And I've got them at 8-4, 9-3. The over-under is 5.5. I'm aggressively on that over.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:23
Okay. You look at people's schedules and everybody's penciling in wins against teams like West Virginia and Colorado. They're going to win some games.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:29
Well I know. I know. You're not wrong about that.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:32
West Virginia's offense, you like Cam Cook, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:35
I do.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:35
He gets to run into a brand-new defense at Oklahoma State, and that's on the road in Morgantown. I should also mention, I think we get a Rich Rod reunion this year, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:45
We do, yep.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:45
Arizona-West Virginia in Morgantown.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:47
Yep, yep, yep.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:47
There's that. All right. I appreciate your enthusiasm. There's always going to be a team or two that makes a huge leap. And if your starting point is the best quarterback in the conference, it's pretty good.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:58
Another team with a 5.5 over-under is UCF. You've been mentioning UCF and that defense for a bit here now in this episode. They were 5-7 a year ago. It was Year 1 in the second Scott Frost era. They started with 70 new players a year ago, 19 new starters, basically everything new. It had all the hallmarks of a Year 1 situation. They were not efficient at all at turning yards into points. They had too many penalties. They had turnovers. They had red-zone troubles. Even still, they almost made a bowl. They lost to Kansas by seven, Cincinnati by nine, Houston by three. In reality, UCF was competitive because of that defense, especially against the pass. A lot of stuff that they still need to work out. And we can get into that now, but you're right to point out that the defense, and I would say doubly so against the pass, was a big part of why this was a bowl-adjacent team a year ago. What is your optimism level for UCF now turning a corner and maybe getting to a bowl or aspiring for even more?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:05:07
I think they're going to make a bowl game. I think they're going to improve on where they were last year, which at times seemed frisky and at times seemed less than frisky. They've got a tough game against Pitt, I want to say, yeah, Pitt on the road in Week 2. Their home-road splits are not bad. And I kind of appreciate, one, having a home-field advantage; two, starting point, interesting, dynamic quarterback; three, having proof of concept with a pass rush and new names, especially in a place like, coming home to the state of Florida. UCF can be that destination, has shown itself that it could be that destination, for homegrown talent not working out somewhere huge, playing at UCF. I think you can develop speed. I think Scott Frost will continue to develop speed-position guys on offense. I think this should be a fun offense and a difficult place to play. Also, geographically, you're taking long flights to Orlando from a lot of the Big 12. You have body-clock time-change stuff, especially in night games.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:05
Yep.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:07
So, or I guess especially early games for teams flying east. You know, there's a whole body-clock situation with UCF. They lose what they were up front a little bit, but there is that Year 1-to-Year 2 jump. And I think they will get better and more experienced at enough positions with this schedule. So they host TCU, they host ASU, they host Baylor, they host BYU, they host Iowa State. I think there are enough of those winnable games, and then winnable games against teams that seem vulnerable: Colorado, Kansas, maybe this Oklahoma State defense if Alonza Barnett III pops in a new system. Those are defenses against which you can score points. And so, for that reason, Ty, for those reasons...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:55
For those reasons, you're in.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:57
I'm kind of in. UCF as a bowl team in Year 2, taking a step forward. I'm never going to be fully in love with Alex Grinch. Everybody's always going to point to that one special year with Hercules Mata'afa at Wazzu. That was his name, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:10
I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:07:10
Undersized, like, speed rush on the inside.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:12
I've never been able to say that name, so sure.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:07:16
Pitt's not perfect. That's going to be a tough win. I think six, seven wins.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:22
All right, well the over-under is five and a half.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:07:26
I think the floor is rising in the Big 12, that there aren't teams, maybe, like, we don't love the upside of teams like Iowa State and Colorado, but there's no Gundy lately in this conference. So, yeah, I'm in on UCF.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:44
Okay. I think they're going to dump someone. I'm going over 5.5 as well. I think they'll be better this season. It feels like things are moving in the right direction. Now, bear in mind, a good chunk of the pass defense is back. But my concern, and I think you alluded to this, is whether or not there's going to be a pass rush at all this season. Because if there's no pass rush, it kind of defangs the pass defense, makes it harder to cover the pass. I think they're going to need someone to step up front, and Isaiah Nixon is a name I've been reading about. Maybe he's the guy who can give them that pass rush. But that side of their defensive play is something I'm most interested in, and we'll chart. Offensively, though, you mentioned Alonza Barnett III. Scott Frost pried him away from JMU. Dude is a baller. He is a baller. He is 21-6 as a starter. Didn't do much over the spring because he's recovering from injury. But both Barnett and Scott Frost are on the record now saying he's a full go. I think he is a really good fit for what this offense wants to do. And I'm super excited to see what he can do against a Big 12 schedule. Broadly speaking, UCF got faster and deeper on offense, especially at both running back and wide receiver. I think a lot of this offense is based on getting to the edge. So whether it's an outside-zone run or a quick RPO through the passing game, they're going to try to use that speed. Alonza Barnett can be really good in a system like that. He himself is pretty quick when they choose to put him on the move. So they just have a lot of options. I'm not saying it's going to be full oop-de-oop, but I think there's going to be a lot of creativity in what you see out there on Saturday afternoons. And I'm excited about that. TBD on the line. The good news is that it's no longer a question of, hey, who are our five starters? It's more a question of who are the Nos. 4 and 5 starters along that line. There's a lot less upheaval than there was a year ago. And so that, to the earlier point, is, I think, also a sign that things are moving in a positive direction here. But I just, I like the ingredients. I like what they've got. Whether or not they can assemble it into a beautiful soufflé, I don't know where that came from.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:07
I like that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:07
Remains to be...
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:07
I don't know if you assemble soufflés or you just bake them, but yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:10
You've got to assemble something.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:12
That's true.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:13
What this ends up being after a nice stint in the oven, I guess, remains to be seen. But I think there is talent on hand, and I tend to agree with you. I'm going over. I like where UCF is at, and it definitely feels like there is positive momentum here, which is good for Scott Frost.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:31
Okay, fair enough.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:33
I believe we've got one team left.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:36
Cincinnati.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:37
Cincinnati, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:38
We waited to get naughty till the very end.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:40
The Cincinnati Bearcats, let's talk about them. 7-6 a year ago, win total 5.5. Last year, they started 7-1 and then lost their final four games of the regular season.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:52
Ran all over teams. It was sort of the, they had GameDay in Salt Lake City, I want to say, right? And then laid a gigantic egg.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:59
And then they went to the Liberty Bowl, a rain-soaked Liberty Bowl against Navy, and they lost. So they closed out the year with five straight losses. All that being said, still a nice bounce-back year, excuse me, for Scott Satterfield, who was a bit on the hot seat maybe going into last season. Definitely some turmoil among the fan base. I thought he did a pretty good job. Now they're getting walloped in terms of turnover. Brendan Sorsby leaves, goes to Texas Tech. The top three rushers are gone. The top five pass catchers are gone. The defense lost most of its back end. All told, about 17 starters are gone from 2025. They went after the portal pretty hard. They also brought in two new coordinators. There's just a lot different here. There's a lot new on the Cincinnati side. So if you're optimistic, you point to the offensive line as a building block.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:11:54
The only team on this episode where you can be like, man, they're pretty solid up there, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:11:57
Yes, this might be the best offensive line in the Big 12.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:11:59
A great starting point. It's them or Texas Tech, probably. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:06
So you'll like, you'll take that, right?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:12:08
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:09
You'll take that as a starting point. There is also a fair amount of steam on the transfer quarterback, J.C. French IV. I did read some reports saying, you know, he looks better than Brendan Sorsby did this time last year. Make of that what you will. Make of that what you will.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:12:20
Okay, I think he was developed pretty well. It was Clay Helton at Georgia Southern. Yeah. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:26
But there's some optimism there. I'd also add, on the other side of the ball, that they hired Nate Woody, defensive coordinator from Army. He seems to also have a plan to bring back a little bit more pressure, switch schemes up a little bit, find a way to make opposing quarterbacks a little bit more uncomfortable.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:12:45
Yep, Army did a very nice job limiting big plays last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:48
It seems like there is a plan. There is reason for optimism. There is also reason for skepticism. There's a lot new. There's a lot new. Skill-position guys, defensive backs, a really tough schedule to my eye. I'm unsure where I stand on Cincinnati. I think I am a little bit biased in that, coming into last season, I was really out on Scott Satterfield. And then I saw the way they started last year. Obviously, it did not end on a great note. But it seems as though he was able to pull things together and move the needle forward. So I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, B of the D, as you like to say.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:13:36
Of course, B of the D.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:13:37
Just because I feel like Satterfield, with his back a bit to the wall, did a pretty good job last season.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:13:43
Yeah, also schedule-wise, there's not anything, I don't think, in the nonconference schedule that leaps out at you. It's Miami of Ohio, a good MAC team; Boston College, which it looks like may struggle this year; Western Carolina should be a win against an FCS opponent. So then you're saying, okay, can you find three wins to go bowling again? I think you like that they have a bye before they travel to West Virginia. They're at Iowa State, so it would have been nicer if that game were at home. They're at BYU. They have Colorado late. I mean, they have Kansas State at home after those three nonconference games. If J.C. French continues, I think he's throwing to a JV, right? J.C. to JV.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:14:25
That's right, that's right.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:14:26
Throwing to a JV. If the transfers work out at the skill positions and up front on defense, you're just, you're rolling the dice here. The Army defense wasn't especially good last year. I mentioned they stopped bigger plays. So I don't know what you can turn to get a great idea of what Cincinnati is going to be on defense with what they lost.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:14:44
No, I mean, they lost nine starters. I don't know if anybody knows who they're going to be.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:14:46
Right, right. They have, you know, pieces in the back end with experience that were productive last year. That's not good enough to feel great about. So they're just another one of those teams. If they're not horrible at any one thing, if they develop over the course of the season, they do have those winnable games late. I think they're going to go bowling. Is that good enough? Cincinnati has been in a four-team College Football Playoff. This is not a nothing, like, it's not a happy-with-6-6 type of program.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:18
No. No.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:20
So, I think they're in that zone as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:23
I think they need
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:23
6-6, 7-5.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:26
To get going on the ground. And it is not a backfield of household names. But they need to figure something out with Zion Johnson, Gi'Bran Payne, by the way, who comes from Notre Dame.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:39
By the way, that's where they succeeded last year, too.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:41
It is.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:42
It was a lot of the offense and a lot of the running.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:42
It is.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:44
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:44
Zylan Perry, another name. If they can't get going on the ground, I think it's curtains. They've got to get going on the ground because, for as much as there has been real optimism around J.C. French, again, the transfer from Georgia Southern, J.C. French was, like, sixth, I want to say, in the Sun Belt in terms of, not completion percentage, quarterback rating.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:07
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:08
I don't know if he's such that they're going to rely on his arm to throw them out of danger. They're going to need some balance. I think that's how you get over that 5.5 total. I am 6-6.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:24
Okay, so we're on the same page.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:25
6-6. Yeah, the schedule gives them a little bit of a ramp-up period to get things sorted out before it gets tougher. I think they could probably find themselves in a situation where they go 0-6 against the good teams on the schedule and 6-0 against the bad teams. And that's how you get to 6-6.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:42
Okay, fair enough. By the way, I should mention, because we started to bring the episode full circle, there are some Gumpy moments for these eight teams, schedule-wise. Gumpy meaning finding themselves in interesting situations and places historically. Because, you know how TCU at Arizona is like attending the 'I Have a Dream' speech. TCU in November, they're at Arizona on a short week on the road, but it's after Arizona has Texas Tech. They have Utah a week after Utah is at Arizona. And TCU, for the second time in November, has a short-week road game, playing Texas Tech on a Thursday to finish out the season. So TCU, not in the most amazing place in terms of what November offers them. Oklahoma State has West Virginia a week after West Virginia has the neutral-site game against a tough Virginia team. They have UCF a week after UCF is at Houston. They are at Houston a week after Houston has Kansas State. Colorado, after Colorado has Utah. Iowa State, a week after Iowa State is at Arizona. And they have Arizona State on the road after Arizona State is at UCF and before the Territorial Cup on the road. And then Kansas to finish out the year after Kansas has BYU. So your case for Oklahoma State having a thrilling bounce-back season is kind of fortified by some of those situational moments.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:18:18
solidverbal@gmail.com. Write in. Let us know your thoughts on any of these eight teams that we discussed here today, any of the eight we discussed back in Part 2. We're going to take a bit of a reprieve after today's preview episode. We still, of course, have the Big Ten and the SEC that we need to get through. But as has been the case the last couple of seasons, once we get into preview mode, we just rifle through all the previews and we don't leave any buffer to talk about what's actually going on. So, at the time of recording, we've got all sorts of quotes that are flying around from various media days, some other college football stuff that I think you and I want to make sure that we touch upon. We don't want it to be a situation where we've got to wait six weeks to talk about these things. So we'll take a little bit of a break. On the next two episodes, we'll talk through news and other happenings in and around the world of college football. And then we'll pick back up. We'll start back up with Big Ten Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. We'll finish it out with the SEC. As we get a little bit closer to the season, we will, of course, do our prediction special, maybe the week before Week 0.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:24
And you didn't even mention, we haven't talked at all about summer hardcourt season coming up here. So Tommy Paul got married.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:19:31
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:31
What does that mean for his summer? We've got Marta Kostyuk looking to build on her sensational spring on the women's tour. I don't know, man. We've got Carlos Alcaraz trying to come back from a wrist injury. We've got Sascha Zverev peaking right now. You know, Jannik Sinner, unbeatable as he gets into the heat of playing places like Toronto or Cincinnati. I don't know if he's playing D.C. The U.S. Open is always hot. So you've got a lot of thoughts. You've been hitting me on Slack a bunch. And, yeah, Jess Pegula?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:20:00
I have been keeping a little bit more up to date with it. I've been trying.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:20:06
Should be a fun summer.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:20:08
Again, Verballers.com is where you go if you want to support the team. Hit follow or subscribe if you have yet to do so, and leave us a star rating or review. All that stuff really goes a long way toward helping us out. Thank you so much for your ongoing support. We greatly appreciate it. solidverbal@gmail.com. Again, if you've got anything further that you'd like to say, for that guy over there, Dan, for myself over here, Ty, we'll catch you all next episode. In the meantime, stay solid.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:20:33
Peace.