The Nick & Nigel Show: Previewing 2024 Oregon State & Washington State Football with Yogi Roth

[Music] [Music] well welcome welcome welcome to the very first ever Nick and Nigel show uh that you can find us uh on the Pack 12 Insider on Samsung TV plus and uh if you have a Samsung TV also on Amazon uh free uh Samsung Channel 2392 or you can search Insider on Amazon fre uh I'm NAIC Burton former head coach at Portland State University also uh used to coach DBS at the Oregon State University and uh my uh my colleague my guy the coach of all coaches nick alote uh for defensive coordinator DB Guru at the University of Oregon coach man how you doing this morning I'm doing outstanding Nigel uh you know we got a little appetizer last weekend with a few games a little appetizer week zero and uh there were some pretty good games and I'm looking very much forward to the main entree this weekend well you know it was funny cuz we uh we started off with u an appetizer that you know how you know when you go and you sit down for a meal and they just keep bringing you bread and the next thing you know you got full it's kind of how it felt like uh when uh I mean just to start the season already a little bit of chaos top 10 team Florida State takes on Georgia Tech people think it's going to be one of those deals over in irand where some team just gets smacked and Georgia Tech with the upset Coach man of a top 10 team maybe that uh maybe that just proves that Florida State wasn't uh was the was the paper champ of the ACC last year and a couple of things we always discuss Nigel and uh really one of my pet peeves I think yours to is ranking teams before the season starts in my opinion is uh a little bit just biased or ludicrous in the sense that every year is different we don't know what these teams are all about so the rankings mean nothing because the 2024 season is so much different than the 2023 let's let them play out two or three weeks and then let's find where they fit after a couple weeks oh preach Co preach because I'm gonna tell you right now the 2024 season being different than 2023 you couldn't uh couldn't understate that uh I mean come on man let's let's just let's just deal with the elephant in the road both of us packs 12 guys our entire lives grew up on the west coast you grew up on the west coast loving pack eight pack 10 pack 12 football and uh and this year the Pack 12 is down to two schools Oregon state Washington State uh all the former schools have vetted off to their different uh conferences and things and so obviously that's the the elfant the room and what's what's crazy is you know I've gone around and um talked to a bunch of different groups and I said Hey listen you talk about two schools who turned the most unfair situation uh chicken ble in the chicken salad uh Oregon State and Washington State they ink a deal with the CW to not just have their games televised regionally but nationally whether you're in Mississippi Alaska Hawaii Florida New York California Oregon to be able to turn on your TV and even use buddy years to be able to pick up Oregon state Washington State Games nashley I mean coach you tell me if you were coaching one of those two schools I mean how big would that be for you in terms of recruiting and all the different things how that could help you in the next year or so it's a huge deal for both of them and let's uh let's face it the Pack 12 as we once knew it being dissolved is and Oregon State and Washton State getting left out is a very raw deal I feel for them tremendously I'm sure you do too A lot of people out there so I'm I'm really rooting for Oregon State and Washington State to have good Seasons Play Good ball hopefully make a good bowl game and and them being on CW is is a huge deal for them yeah no question about it and it's funny we got a our first guest coming up here in a couple minutes be Yogi Roth who was our colleague for a decade at the Pack 12 network uh you know I think he even mentioned he's gone around the country and talked about the whole country that those two teams are kind of America's teams this year because you know who's not going to root for the cougs and the beaves to be disruptors and when you look at the chance to make the cfp this might actually be their greatest chance to ever make the cfp if you look at the way the cfp has been constructed over the years because now no longer four teams based on how many fans what your tradition was whether you got Elephants or people throwing stakes in the ground 12 teams down getting the cfp the top five League Champs right top five ranked League Champs in addition to then seven at larges will get in to the cfp this year top four teams get buys right um You got on campus games with the first eight that play I mean coach how huge is this in terms of access because especially you talk about the beavs and the coups now they have a chance you know if they end up now they're not going to be playing for the Mountain West Championship necessarily but if they get a chance to run the table maybe even lose a game along the road find themselves in that top 12 space I mean it's a realistic chance for them to to get in that large bid when before when it was just four teams it was always based on in my opinion a bunch of nonsense yeah going to 12 teams I really like that uh I like taking the conference Champs I think that uh takes a lot of the guesswork out of it you win a conference Championship I mean that's what they used to preach but it didn't always happen acknowledge fla Florida state from last year so I think taking the the the conference Champs and then what I really like Nigel is is this you can lose a game or two you really can you can lose a game or two uh and still make it if that game or two obviously are against a cable or an AB an arable opponent so uh I am really excited about football not only getting started but as it goes through for this conference the the the championship games when we get down to the 12 yeah no and you know the biggest thing for me coach is just Clarity right because it was always like there were rules but then there were teams that got to break the rules and didn't apply to them so to me like this just provides so much more clarity in terms of hey does my team have a chance to really get in or as we were all sitting in Vegas last year all wondering like who are they gonna pick Alabama or they gonna pick for a state just to watch Alabama then end up losing in the first round of the playoff last year at the Rose Bowl against Michigan like just all that stuff a lot of that that guess work's going to be out it's going to be teams you know who's going to get in at large which to me seems a lot more fair than you know who's going to be one of these top four um that Happ to be in and you know what's the part that I'm really gonna be curious about is as much as over the years the Pack 12 used to get beat up right and we almost got penalized from the fact that we had so many good teams and teams would knock each other out while other leagues just had one or two really great teams and then everybody else was terrible right now that everybody's dispersed I mean let's be honest you live in Eugene the ducks have a great chance I mean right now they're one of the two or three favorites to win the Big 10 Utah to me is a former Pack 12 team that's is going to be a favorite to win the Big 12 Championship now stord and Cal a little bit off but I mean shoot based on what we just saw the Georgia Tech and Florida State who's to say that Cal with all of the transfers and all the momentum that those guys have had they're not going to have a chance to possibly play for the ACC Championship Game I mean how cool would it be to see a bunch of former Pack 12 teams end up winning or being in the conference Championship of the new conferences they're in absolutely and and I couldn't agree with you more going into this thing I think Utah and Oregon have a great chance of being in this 12 team playoff uh but like we like I mentioned at the start of this show here you got to play the season Florida State didn't show up uh by the way little t engineer all right Tech rush for almost 200 yards Florida State for less than a 100 preach it all the time you do two Nigel you got run the ball love it love it and hey and by the way don't forget my dogs too because look I know everybody talked about the fact that the University of Washington where I played my son is there now uh all the trans trans all the coaches that have gone and left and come in and Jed fish we know the job he did at Arizona but I mean let's keep it real if you look at their schedule they have a great chance now they got a head tohe head with Washington state that it's gonna be interesting that's gonna be a great game in Seattle uh when Washington State comes over they actually play in the Seahawks stadium as opposed to Husky Stadium uh depending upon what happens there and how that shakes out I mean they have a showdown possibly with Michigan and you know how it goes coach just because how you start the season you might be a little young in things you get a couple wins on your a little bit of confidence you never know what can happen there so uh it's going to be an unbelievable season can't wait to see it happen you know what I can't wait for our guy Yogi Roth joining us in the next seven talk little coups talk little beaves can't wait for a coach come up next on the Nick Nigel show hey welcome back to the Nick and Nigel show I got to make sure I put it in that order the Nick and Nigel show with magic bird Nick alote here on the Pack 12 Insider again on Samsung plus TV if you got a Samsung plus TV or Samsung Smart TV you can find us on channel 2392 also on Amazon phebe freebie uh search Insider on Amazon free v as well and uh we got to welcome our first guest ever on the Nick and Nigel show man if you don't know this guy you on the wrong Channel our guy Yogi Raw joins us as a first uh guest here on the Nick and Nigel show yog what's going on my guy oh dude I mean I got all the fields right now you know how much I adore you too and I I always knew we we're going to find a way to do something this fall so to have me on as your first guest is an absolute honor uh I know we can go for hours and hours and hours I I don't know how long with this segment is but double it triple it because we got a lot to talk about well we do we do we do hey you know what's funny is it's it's interesting because um obviously both of us have you know we just caught up in Vegas uh when we had the the Pack 12 kind of after after dark uh deal where you know got a chance to sit down and and really talk about the future of pack football and and the future of the beavs and the cougs and you know what's the interesting part is yes yeah I coached her for five years for Mike Riley but people don't know that my guy Nick alote also coached at Oregon State uh Nick you got to you got to at least give us a little something man from your time there at OSU you know I was there from 80 to 83 I was the running back coach at the time got hired at 26 years old by Joe avisado and I'm I'll be forever grateful for him for giving me an opportunity and this is what I remember about Oregon State and they've really changed in the years to follow we were horrible okay they're not horrible anymore they're relevant they're good they've gotten better and better and I have the great distinction of playing in the last ever z0 tie when the Ducks and the Beavers played in 83 to a z00 tie that story will live on forever it was a rainstorm nobody scored guys mfield go fumbles sloppiest game ever and a not only a tie But A Z Z tie there there there is a name to that game we won't mention what the name of that game is but uh but y uh men have times changed since uh coach alote was there at organ State because right now there's a ton of excitement of uh things that are going and and uh we got a little breaking news that a quarterback has been named the starting quarterback has been named there at at Oregon State yeah javanni McCoy look looking forward to watching him compete obviously we saw what he did last year at his previous School uh against Cal if you go back and you watch that game what he did for Jason xgroup uh interestingly I'm calling Idaho's first game of the season in the state that you guys are in right now so been able to go back and watch a little bit of them uh I'm excited for for this program I'm excited for the the coaching staff too I mean you guys both referenced you work there coach alot I think the photo is like you with the big FR coaching the running back so I we could pull that back from from back in the day that'd be that'd be great maybe put that as a little b-roll here um but but overall you look at Ryan Gunderson you know you guys know Keith Hayward so well and then Trent Bray I mean n you coached him how many times have we told that story of of how you coached him and how you known you know his family and his father and Coach y your crossover there too it's it's a really I think powerful group right their backs are against the wall I I love the concept of like welcome to the fight and now they're in it right they're in this fight and I just you know feel like the leadership from T Bray yes it's his first time in that chair and you guys know what that is like but I think he's got a really disciplin detailed way to him and I think that the staff they have their lanes that they're going to travel in and for this offense I can't wait to watch what it looks like because you look at gunderson's background it's got great variants you know it's got a very a variety of different elements the Brent brenn and tree uh obviously UCLA with Chip Kelly in that run game so what are we going to see I don't I don't know I'm going to give it a thumbs up like I just did on the screen there uh but overall I'm looking forward to watching how this thing shakes out you know Yogi I'm curious again you you you hit the nail on the head you got new quarterback new head coach new offense coordinator new defensive coordinator here's something I don't ever get I don't ever hear get asked because I mean when you step into a program I've done it coach alot has done it you know you've done it in terms of you know whose job is going to be the toughest and who's this going to be the easiest when you look at just how this program has been laid out in terms of at or or state you know is it Keith Hayward continuing you know things with that that defense has been I mean they've been dirty now over the last couple years you know or or you know is it is it Gundy who you know again like played when I was coaching he was our he was our our our our guy you know um who who's got the the best chance to really hit the ground run and who's really gonna have to you know figure it out on the on the Fly well I think that I look at Trent BR I think that's going to be the most challenging job because there's so much coming at you as the CEO of the team I love that you know even when he took over he said all right I'm not going to coach in our postseason I got to make sure that I assemble the staff I think very quickly he assimilated to the role of a head coach you know that extremely well you guys know this better than anybody I think for him what I'm probably G to be most intrigued if I was calling his game I know Nigel you'll be on a bunch of those calls is how does he navigate certain situations and games when is it a you know a four down situation you know in terms of hey we're not going to punt it on a fourth down not going to kick the field goal or then all of a sudden you get a big exposive play how do things change when are you going to kick an outside kick like the feel for the game and that crap is going to be something that I'm really looking forward to and I think it's very interesting Yogi great point you know he's a defensive coach and as a defensive coach we are a lot more conservative We Believe hey let's punt it let's win the field position game let's make them Drive instead of taking those chance on forth down so it be interesting to see how he does navigate that and to piggy back on what you said I think Hayward has the toughest job because he's the de coordinator for a head coach that was the de coordinator that's done some really good things and you know it'll be interesting to see does Trent let him have the Reigns or does he jump in there and uh put a little bit of his stamp on it so uh I think that D coordinator job is going to be interesting also and you know what's funny both you guys said that I was a former defensive coach who became a head coach and I remember K Malloy who's now the defensive coordinator UCLA they had like a like a special teams coordinator Symposium I didn't even know they did this stuff right so they all got together he came back he's like Notch everybody says you're crazy as you let me go on fourth down and fake field goals and fake punts and I'm like I'm like hey I mean you know I don't know maybe people expect me to be conservative let's do it you know I I will say most of them blow up in my face when is probably hung out with you guys for the last decade you know hey yo you know I'm curious you know you know this uh you know this this group of players better than anybody who's the guy who you think is maybe that next breakout star the guy that hey in the first couple of games if this guy goes then the bees will be able to hit the ground run yeah I I'm a Believer in like Trends especially from coaches and you look at where Ryan Gunderson has been everywhere he's been the tight end has had success so I I think Germaine Terry's got a shot to play really well I I'd be curious to see what QB Run game they have what the Run game looks like and then I think tight end is going to be a big part of it you this Germaine Tera was a huge recruit we got to meet him uh at media days the night with uh after hours with the cougs and beaves in Las Vegas as you referenced earlier he's a really talented player and I think that he's as confident as he has ever been so he's somebody that I probably would lean into I think also Jaden Robinson has got a chance to be a really gifted player for them to kind of continue that trajectory you referenced about the secondary he's going to be potentially that next guy I mean look look look at all those guys look at Jaden Grant he's still playing in the NFL right this guy didn't play till senior year like three weeks into the season they just develop there and Trent Bray knows how to develop Keith Hayward knows how to develop so I probably go both of those guys on either side of the ball I think it all starts with the jaavan McCoy yeah McCoy uh Heisman trop for of the FCS so to speak you know player of the year and I think that in today's game uh you must have a a guy to pull the trigger this quarterback will have to perform well I think if he is performing well then I think they have a chance yeah I I think ultimately man one of the things that was interesting was when you watched DJ we Ang last year I always kind of got the feeling that supremely talented guy always wanted to color with in the lines I think when you're in Oregon State like you got to just let it rip like I go back to the years when I was with Matt Moore and L moal you go down the list of all these guys Man favorite player L Moval had wasn't even a pass it was when he laid out Grayson gunheim against or against University of Washington on a reverse play like you got to have those kind of guys who are able to go off script and do stuff so that's why I'm super excited about seeing uh McCoy as as the quarterback and see what he does you know when he's able to do some of those Off Script plays hey speaking of going off script uh we going to talk a little CS coming up Yogi I don't know if you got time to keep hanging with us for another couple minutes man but love to love to have it if you got to go I get it you're a busy man doing all the Big Time Shows out there and and calling games and jumping on planes and everything but we love to have you if you want to stick around talk a little cougs with us next coming up on the nicka show welcome back to the Nick and Nigel show again on Samsung TV plus you can check us out on channel 2392 2392 on uh the Samsung Channel over search Insider on Amazon free uh Yogi Ross sticking with us talk a little C by the way uh you could tell the the neighborhood that that Yogi lives in because you know there's there's like lawn maintenance going on around you got like lawnmowers and everything like you know I've been to your backyard I've seen that deck all right they Yi's law and he's sitting there with us so you know you know life good in the Roth household hey speaking of life being good you know life is good for jakeob Dicker and the mighty cougs in Washington State uh these these dudes right here man again uh just named their starting quarterback uh John mattier I'm telling they I don't even think it's that sneaky anybody who's paid attention to college football Yol knows they better be wor the coups yeah look I've been calling him America's team really both of these teams I think you've ever played a moment of sport in your life and if you know what it's like to compete whether it's in checkers or whether it's in competitive football at any level uh you know that what's what's happened at these two schools uh was by no fault of their own and you also know what these two schools have done is greater than a lot of the schools in your favorite conference so whatever that conference may be look at what the cougs have done against Wisconsin the last two years they went on the road and beat him they beat him at home look at orgon State they had a first round pick last year on the offensive line so I just go to that um I've I've been pretty bullish about that of being America's team because I think outside of whoever it is that you root for your alma mater your next favorite team should be these two and I think that for the cougs the way their schedule sets up they've got an opportunity to make a lot of noise right they get the Texas Tech game and they get you dub at that neutral site of course in Seattle at the Seahawks uh Stadium I'm I'm big on I'm really high on this team uh to be honest with you uh for a bunch of reasons let's go with Jake dickard all right stability he knows what this roster is they didn't see a ton of guys leave I get it like cam Ward left uh who was probably their most gifted player a year ago but other than the guys that have gone on to the next level I think they've had you know a decent amount of retention that's going to allow this thing to possibly hit the ground running because it's not the first year for either coordinator like it is at Oregon State these guys have been around now in Ben Arbuckle and Jeff schmeding so I look forward to watching John hit a package last year to just to remind everybody within that system uh when he came in he felt pretty confident when he would go in now it's different right it's different than a couple snaps a game you got to really carry the thing and I love the group that he is around him in terms of frontloading the mental skills to navigate being a starting quarterback to navigate all the pressure that comes with the Pack 12 and realignment to navigate the expectations of maybe being America's team and I believe that he's going to be able to do that because the tools around him yeah I mean coach let be honest I mean there's a bunch of weapons in Washington state on offensive side when's the last time Washington State might have had might have they might have more Firepower on defense this year than they do even on offense when that when was the last time as long as you've been in this thing to Washington States been in that situation yeah you know Washington State we when I think of Washington state we think of spread offenses and and four wide outs and throwing the ball over the park it'll be interesting I'm a jake Dicker fan I to am a Wason State we're talking Washington State now and an Oregon State fan I'm pulling for both of these teams but it'll be interesting to me to see what type of offense with mater that Washington State actually is because what I remember of mattier is he'd come in for a couple packages and was mostly a running quarterback so I'm sure they're going to keep some of that in their offense probably a lot of that but how he throws the ball will be very interesting to watch as we get into this season well Yogi man uh as we get into the season the Nick and Nigel show uh we got to have you back it's always great to see your face always got the best hair on any channel on any in in on any I don't care what network you're watching best hit coach all right you second best hair and I'll be honest no hair over here uh but always love to see you my brother uh appreciate you uh look forward to uh seeing all your faces you'll be calling the game uh at Oregon this weekend correct yeah yeah I'll be in eug all right so we'll be in Oregon I'll be in pman they actually let this old husky go to the Poo I'll be calling the Washington State Portland State game on the sideline with my guy Ryan Le but by the way is the biggest sandbagger in golf of all time that's right you heard it here first uh and Ted Robinson old P from the Pack 12 Network and then uh and then trying to jump on a plane so if you see if you see a if you see a car going crazy down I90 man that's me trying to then catch a plane to go see my son run out of the tunnel for his first game ever at ubb so uh that just you know just kind of part the way for your boy qu always great to see you my guy and uh look forward to seeing you next week on the Nick and Nigel show on the Samsung TV plus Channel