Wyoming game preview and predicting Arizona State’s season

bus show I'm your host Mark Harris alongside Colton Dodson although his uh screen Avatar is showing someone different yeah it's great to be back man yeah um great to be back with you Mark it's been a couple weeks my camera on this laptop has um unfortunately I think taken a dive for good um so I decided i' honor one of the more underrated characters in television history um one of my top five probably Stevie Janowski um maybe we'll switch it up every week but I'm going with Stevie and his his all black attire um for this episode okay well it's better than your or uh your original screen background of our first episode that showed the 2014 ASU team losing yeah no that was something else that was something else I tried some of the iconic moments in ASU history um unfortunately that was a finite run I think there's only so many you can go with but who knows maybe something similar we'll make a comeback here uh we'll go with Stevie today and and I'll mix it up we'll see who we've got for for next week I can't wait well uh before we get into this show wanted to remind everyone to like And subscribe on YouTube rate and review on your podcast platform of choice um and remember to follow the college huddle at Twitter that's colge huddle and their website is the colge Huddle for other uh great college football fan podcasts out there and with that let's get this show going so ASU hosts the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium to open their season this is a game ASU should win because they are seven to seven and a half Point favorites among most sports books I'm looking on ESPN and ESPN bet has ASU favored by exactly seven points so this is a game that ASU should win but Wyoming is a real team they this is not the equivalent of facing Southern Utah last year Wyoming is like if ASU played Wyoming last year they would have lost to Wyoming uh so this is a team that beat Texas Tech in laramy last year open the year they beat Appalachian State they went eight and4 in the regular season and won a Bull game so that's a pretty good pretty good team they did lose some guys including their head coach uh Craig Bow their starting quarterback I believe his name was Andrew Peasley and then for this game specifically they won't have their top rusher Harrison Wy uh and he rushed for like 950 yards and five touchdowns last year so he's a legit player but it will obviously not be an easy game for sure so Colton as I uh um intro that what are your opening thoughts on this game against Wyoming um you know one thing that that stands out is I think asu's a little a little beat up coming into this game I I keep seeing updates about guys who you know are are um ways away from playing I know rayley Brown comes into my into mind I think Kenny Dillingham called him doubtful who was the guy that I was most excited to see um and I still will be most excited to see play uh eventually when he gets on the field um but you're right I think last year and and in years past ASU gets one of those FBS um or I'm sorry FCS schools or um you know less than heralded division one or um FBS schools to to start the season and then this time around you're you're starting with a Mountain West opponent um who it was a formidable team last year I mean obviously you've got some roster turnover some coaching turnover that sort of thing um but it it is a test right out of the gate a more absolutely a more legitimate test than you know the southern Utah which I mean obviously weird game but that that wasn't the blowout people expected even before the uh the haboob delay but um definitely a game where you're gonna have to be ready to go you're you're not GNA have the margin for error you typically have in season openers um Sam lit's gonna have to come out sharp in his first start um and I'm excited to see who starts to um starts to ascend a little bit starts to make themselves stand out um in this game because you always see that and that's that's the benefit to playing you know legitimate um group of five yeah Conference team right is is you're not looking at the results of this game for better or worse and thinking oh hey it's a southern Utah or it's na this is a legitimate team so what happens in this game there's something you can build off here it's not like some preseason tuneup sort of deal so I'm excited to see kind of what we get we'll get to know more quickly than we typically have uh what they look like and what has translated from the offseason into into real game action but um unfortunately the wait for some of those guys especially Rayle Brown for me um is going to have to wait a little longer yeah that's unfortunate with some of the injuries so here let's go over the injuries first uh so this is from Chris Cartman earlier this week so there's four players that won't four uh notable players that won't play in this game so starts out linebacker Tate Romney is out four to six weeks with a broken arm defensive end Prince dorba is likely to miss first two to four games with a leg injury offensive lineman sha naah is in the same spot as dorba and then as you mentioned Ray Le Brown uh he is close to coming back but won't be back for this game which I think is a I think that's smart don't rush Ray Le Brown back especially since we've just the the theme or one of the themes of the show this offseason is like this running back room is good and it's deep so do not like there's like them playing Rayle Brown in this game would be idiocy you know it just would like it it's it's not like he's the only good running back you have so 100% no it is smart I um I completely agree with that yeah it's somebody where like dude's going to be a weapon when he is on the field you know but you're 100% right I think that that's why something we've hit on so often over the the course of the off season is this idea of depth and and not only depth but quality depth and ASU I think running back is probably among the top positions that ASU has that quality depth at so um you're right holding pumping the brakes until he's 100% is is definitely smart um now you just hope you can you can not I mean you're seven seven and a half Point favorite depending on the book um just winning outright seems to be heavily favored obviously so so make that happen and then figure it out from there for sure and uh I want to go over the other three so Romney um so I think Brown uh just because we know he's coming back soon and then Romney even though Romney's out for a good bit like Miss half this season but the difference is he is Romney wasn't scheduled to be a starter right like with with the linebackers they brought in um I'm not worried about his absence as a longterm thing uh dorba and naah are definitely you'd love to have those guys out there for sure uh the difference is or not the difference I just you just mentioned the depth like with dorba you have Elijah O'Neal who's backing him up and he's had a really good camp and then Kade Briggs uh was it was it was either him and or uh naah competing for the Right Guard spot and so not I mean I'm sure the coaches like would have liked naah to you know be the starter there but going to Briggs isn't that bad of an option considering he played last year uh and was already competing for the job anyway so I think losing I think in this specific game you would rather have naah out there just because Wyoming is a good stingy defense um and I you'd just rather have him out or him available at least and then I think dba's presence will be more missed uh week two against Mississippi State because Wyoming's just more of a run first team and so he's more of like your pure pass rusher pass rusher type guy and so I think dorba will be more missed against Mississippi State uh so I guess you could I don't know I'm kind of struggling how to like look at the injury situation because on one hand like you would just love to have them all out there but it's not like like if Jordan Tyson were out or if uh kesan Elliott linebacker were out like I don't think I I think you can get by with uh dorba and na being the only ones projected starters missing um at least early on so it's not the end of the world but it's also less I mean it's not ideal you know so something to watch for for sure 100% it'll be good to get all those guys back but you kind of at the top hit the nail on the head with the cautious approach is going to pay off especially um as you progress through a season and a schedle where they you're obviously playing some really good teams but you know you have more of a shot and we've talked about this before you have more of a shot in the Big 12 to beat some of these teams than you did in the Pack 12 to beat you know the top teams in that conference last season so right this is a season where keeping those guys on the field for as long as possible is the most important thing especially early on so I I agree with you there yeah um so obvious I think we kind of touched on some of the general things with this game I do want to look at two interesting uh secondary aspects of this so number one I'm looking at Wyoming's schedule from last year finished nine and four very good season uh there's some interesting things to look at though so they beat Texas Tech to open the year 3533 in double overtime that was in laramy uh they beat Portland State the next week then they're at Texas and it was a tie game at one point but then Texas pulled away to win 3110 host new Appalachian State they win host New Mexico they win host Fresno State they win but then they go on the road at Air Force lose by seven points at Boise State lose by 32 to7 beat Colorado stayed at home then go at UNLV and lose 3414 uh beat the crap out of Hawaii and then their only Road win of the year last year was a 46 or a 42 to6 win over a bad Nevada team so this team is one team in larmy and it's another team on the road and to add to that pulling up the weather app on my iPhone here [Music] onh Saturday the high is supposed to be 106 um geez I just hate the people with the loud cars man I cannot stand it what do you mean they're the coolest people alive you know I know you're a high school teacher but you shouldn't be your car opinions from high schoolers um it's supposed to be like 100 degrees at kickoff upper 90s at kickoff that's just an adjustment that's going to be really tough when you're coming from laramy Wyoming down to Arizona I I I think that's that's something we can't really quantify and I think that that's going to be a real benefit for ASU in this first game even more so than when they play Mississippi State because even though it's not the same type of heat it's still you know they're practicing in freaking Mississippi it's hot as F like so uh I think those two factors that Wyoming last year and this is with uh Andrew Peasley who I think I saw him in like a preseason game so he wasn't just some like bus driver quarterback you know I mean I'm sure he's gotten cut by now um I can't even see yeah so he got cut by the Jets but you know he made it that far and now they have another guy coming in Evan svaboda I don't know exactly how to pronounce his name it's spelled s v o b o da and uh he's actually from Mesa but limited last year and who knows exactly how he'll do against the nasu defense we think should be pretty good you know so I I just think the fact like I know it's a dumb like oh being at home it actually helps the home team like obvious point but just the fact that Wyoming is based on last year was not a good road team and they're playing in a temperature that's going to be at least like 20 to 25 degrees hotter than what they're used to that cre that's just if if you're a Wyoming fan those are negative things going against you you know absolutely and I I was just looking through um reading some of Jay Saville's comments um the Wyoming head coach talking about the unfamiliarity right and I think that's a big element here you've got um you know the transfer portal the new roster and then he's talking about opening games uh this is his quote I'm looking at CBS Sports he says opening games are really hard when you don't know uh how people are going to use their players and that's in traditional opening games now you add all the transfer elements to it um I really do think Wyoming based on that ASU is gonna have the element of surprise here right uh the way that Kenny Billingham is able to you know scheme up an offense and and some of the things he did last year with catching teams off guard and obviously that was a product of depleted Personnel but um you would think that that Dillingham is aware of that and Dillingham knows hey we we have not only the HomeField Advantage with the advantage um of that unfamiliarity so I just thought that comment was interesting you also have the local element with uh Evan Sada I think I said that right yeah not started one game last season but he played at Red Mountain so you got the you got the homecoming for him but um yeah I do think that that element of surprise coupled with the the home game angle of this is is pretty interesting and honestly plays into asu's hands quite nicely yeah totally so one other thing W Wyoming has is uh their offensive coordinator Jay Johnson was the OC at Michigan State last year so he would know some of Levitz Tendencies theoretically now I don't know how much that's really going to matter especially it's a it's a new offense um levit didn't really play that much last year but obviously saw him at practice so they won't Wyoming won't come into this game and be surprised that levit is a good runner let me put it that way they'll they'll know but that I mean that doesn't mean they'll be able to stop it or stop it to the level to win anyway so that's something to keep an eye on as well probably the best Wyoming offensive player or skill player at least is John Michael gillmor he's a 65 250 tight end three touchdowns 360 yards last year which for a team like Wyoming that's pretty good numbers uh so he's definitely someone to watch for but the fact that Wyoming doesn't have their top running back and I I just don't expect any Wyoming wide receiver to be a real threat to ASU defensively I think asu's defense should be in good position to have a a really strong performance in game one 100% um you know I I think you kind of hit the nail on the head quite a bit here they they've got the the right opponent um honestly a a more desirable matchup here than just playing some we talked or I talked about it a little earlier but playing like a southern Utah or um some other scho that your double digit 20 point favorites over and you don't really know what you have going into a big game against Mississippi State they will probably be tested in this game which I think is a good thing right um You don't want the test to come too late and then you have no idea what to do so or no idea what you have so um I think they should win this game um and I think they should win it in a way where they're going to have to fight for it a little bit and not one that you know they're supposed to come in and and blow the doors off of Wyoming yeah and I mean this this ASU team cannot have that mentality and I don't I don't think they do no no absolutely not that's what I mean is this is a game where you you have to not that you know they don't you don't respect your opponent when you're playing an FCS school but you could definitely take them a little lightly right um I don't think anybody's taking a Mountain West School lightly especially a Mountain West school that albe it with a coach that retired won nine games last year so um it's a test out of the gate it's a test out of the gate and I think that bodess really well for this team well it it's particularly this specific ASU team that got destroyed by Fresno State last year at home and there were some weird circumstances in that game obviously I'm not going to deny that but ultimately it was still a blowout loss so there's no like oh we look past him we didn't know no like you need to you they should be treating this team like a power five team honestly they Wyoming beat a power five team last year now again it was in lar me but uh still so yeah I I I do think if if the ASU offense gets to like 30 points in this game or higher obviously that would be a that would actually be a real like oh like okay this this offense could be pretty good if they put you know 31 points on Wyoming so that is one thing to look out for yeah the defense I think if the defense like holds them to three points or something then that would be incredible I'm not expecting that but if if if the defense gives up like 20 points then that's going to be kind of concerning but again it's also game one so that you can kind of only take so much from it 100% it's it's GNA be a good um sort of measuring stick game right to kind of see where they're at and finally get a look right I I that quote from uh sville stands out because like him like Wyoming trying to game plan for this team they really don't know what to expect right and and we don't know what to expect we have kind of an idea but last year was at at certain points you know kind of duct taped and Elmer's glued together that like we don't even really know what to expect when when Dillingham has the Personnel will he have the Personnel will this look completely you know so there's a lot of questions that we're asking too um you know especially with so much production uh leaving and and so many shoes to fill outside of scabbo and some of the other guys but what is this team going to look like um offensively and and defensively right that's the unit where you would think they have some some of that cohesion and familiarity under Brian Ward so uh you're right you don't want want to see them give up you know 24 2430 points something like that to Wyoming um so a lot of a lot to gauge in this first game and I think it'll be an accurate gauge um I think we're g to get a good feel for kind of what this team could be or where they're they're at currently where they could still grow yep and this I'm not t I'm this isn't really a commentary on what you've said but more of some some of the general ASU fan perspective Al not I haven't heard this too much but like this is a losable game like this is 100% a game that you can lose and it's it wouldn't be like that shocking right it would be much it would be more shocking if Wyoming won don't get me wrong but an ASU loss would not be that surprising either so no 100% I completely agree with you that's why I think it's such a good measuring game right they're playing a team that could realistically beat them going into Southern Utah we didn't really think southern Utah could beat ASU it was a little closer than we thought it would be and obviously the circumstances um made that a weird game but we we weren't going into that game thinking there's a scenario ASU could lose this game same with when you know na comes to Temp or or whoever else it is that opens the season um we we don't think there's a way they can lose those games however this game is definitely losable you can't afford to come out slow um you have to hit the ground running if you're you're going to win this game at home so I think that'll tell you a lot about where they're at where the coaching staff is at if this team comes out ready to play and looks bought in and looks locked in I think I think we're on to something so that's that's what we I think I'm G to be watching for is how does the start look does it take until halftime to kind of kick it into high gear um what's the margin like if that happens that sort of thing so yeah I would love for this to be like a game where it kind of just feels like ASU is a 10-point lead the whole time whether you know whether that be football or basketball uh any game like that where it's just like I mean obviously I'd love for an ASU you know going away blowout I don't think that's gonna happen but like if ASU can kind of maintain a 10-point lead throughout this then that'll be a good uh step in the right direction what's the score prediction you got for this one Colton let's see I man they're just such a mixed bag I have no idea I s's comments are like hit the nail on the head man that's like you don't know what they're going to look like in years where college football didn't have its own version of free agency you know and now it's just completely different um I I think based on everything I've seen over the course of the off season I I I think I believe in what Dillingham has has built I I think I believe in the foundation that he's laying and um the the Buy in right by the players I think that that is gonna play a big role in what they do in this game outside of personnel and schemes and all of those things right I I think Dillingham can run an effective offense um obviously the defense has proved to be pretty formidable I think they'll surprise a lot of people um it's either going to be they're either gonna they're either gonna win this game by three points or they're going to win it by like 17 points that's I don't know if it's going to be likei totally kick a field goal to go up by 10 with four minutes left I I don't really see it being one of those I think we're either going to be really excited or really concerned that's kind of how I view this I mean they could certainly lose I don't know if they're going to if they do lose I think that it would be lose on a last second field goal or you know lose by four as you're driving down the field to to go ahead take the lead and you you don't get it um but I'm going to go with I got to put my money where my mouth is with my Dillingham belief I'm going to say they win this game by between 13 and 17 points and they cover I no I'm looking for a score prediction final score oh final score okay yeah um give me let's see trying to do math Now give me is 31 I want to say let's say 31 to 14 that's 17 right no 3113 so give me an 18o win 3113 okay yeah wait no 28 283 I would love that so 3113 that no give me back the field goal the field goal makes me nervous make it 2813 2813 okay either way 2813 I would be very happy with um and honestly I would be I wouldn't be like Overjoyed with the three-point win but I would also be like you know what Wyoming is a tough team a win first game Kinks exact yeah so yeah for me I'm gonna go I'm gonna go 24 16 ASU I think I like that I think this will be a game like I think by the end it won't feel like Wyoming will be able to like like I think it'll be a closer score then the game plays out if that kind of makes sense like I think ASU wins 2416 but like misses a field goal in there or something so 24 are you thinking like a slow Offensive start where the defense keeps them in and then kicks it in a little bit is that what that would be is that kind of I think more of a I think they I think ASU gets to like 10 points pretty quickly okay and then stalls a little bit and then uh you know just kind of makes its way through the rest of the game I guess I don't no I like that I like that I think that's a good prediction also I'm changing mine to 2713 2713 yes there gonna score 13 I I like two field goals from ASU more than I like four touchdowns so okay hey that's more scoring drive so yeah all right uh we got so yours is uh 2713 for Colton 24 to 16 for Mark all right well hopefully we're right about that yeah it would be bad if we're not but we'll see that's why they play the games all right we're gonna predict asus's big uh schedule for the whole season shortly but we have three kind of mini stories to get to so this we're gonna get the bad news out of the way um I am looking at an article on the Orange County Register written by Dan Albano uh titled quarterback M Michael butter toson ineligible to play for Tustin this season the Dual threat senior in ASU commit enrolled in Tustin in late March after leaving Jay Sarah basically the reason why he is ineligible from what it looks like is just because it um took a bit longer for him to transfer he transferred late in the process but this is bad news for ASU like I'm sure that he'll butter Tolson will be able to find a way to play competitive High School football this year but if he doesn't like you don't want just a year off of High School football you know especially if it's not an injury so I just that this worries me and maybe it doesn't matter at all like I mean he's already committed so it's not like from that perspective it's not terrible but I just uh you know you just would rather this not happen so if you have any thoughts on this uh we can move on but yeah no I'm looking at it real quick I think this and I remember when because let's see has been ruled and eligible to play for the tillers this season it looks like he was trying to transfer to a different High School is that right is that how this happened I don't I I haven't like because it's not I want to say right um yeah I mean I have no idea how the high school transfer stuff works I'll be honest oh the senior's transfer okay has been ruled who enrolled at the school in late March after leaving J so it looks like he did try to trans for even though he did it in March right which I don't know this is the one thing that yeah and I've seen it I've seen it quite a bit with even like local Twitter you know like Twitter for high school football is is a really weird SP what' you say yeah I I was just saying agree High School Twitter is high school football Twitter is is a very very strange space um and I think that the way that college football is treated now with the transfer portal and the nil stuff and everything the the autonomy that college football players and programs now have has has kind of trickled down a little bit to these this High School level right and I'm not saying it's 100% to blame for all of this stuff but you know I I remember a prominent recruit in Arizona going from Pinnacle to Chandler to here to there and just bouncing all over the place right it just it kind of seems unheard of like I remember being in school you know you didn't transfer you played your year all four years there and and you moved on this waso like a this isn't even like a old man yells at Cloud thing I'm 10 years removed from high school it's just the landscape now is is so so strange and these kids are they're they're kids man like yeah to deal with this level of responsibility or I guess to to be handed this level of autonomy off the field instead of just focusing on I'm here I'm going to play the best ball that I can here I I think that has over complicated a lot for a lot of these kids right yeah and um I do think I do think that's a byproduct of the landscape of college football and the way that that coaches handle it the way that the media handles it the there's a lot of pressure on you know 14 to 18 year olds and that level of autonomy at that young of an age can be can do way more harm and and in my opinion very little good so it's it's really sad to see it looks like it was a transfer issue I I don't want to speculate you know who knows why he was transferring who knows what was going on um but you I just know that you never used to see this level of transfers um you know you saw them sometimes but this is like on a whole another whole another level and and almost the marketing that goes with it right kids kids tweeting stuff out and you know respect my decision and that's it's like you're moving high schools you know I I don't know it's just all the stuff they're seeing all the stuff that goes on with college players on the internet and trying to emulate that I don't know I don't want to sound too like ranty here it's just it's a very very strange time and high school sports Twitter is extremely strange to me yeah I mean I totally agree like I just I just could imagine being in high school and I just wouldn't want this much uh just hassle like there just so much having to go to a new school every time like with college I get it much more so because it's kind of your career and at this point like you're good enough to play college football so it's like I get it more so right in academics academics are completely different you know like you're you could be you could be finished with your major or you could be moving on to something where you only have to take three more classes to finish a it's not a high school workload where you still have to hit certain credits you know what I'm saying so y i I completely agree and I I want to double down on the like I I I guess we just don't I don't know like the level to which some people care about high school sports it's just is is mindblowing to me and it's one thing if you're in a I mean I still kind of don't get it if in a small town but I get it a little bit more but if you're not in a small town then it that's just just so much weirder to me so that's a whole different topic I'm not but like no I get it if you have like kids who play right that's obviously there for your kids but people with with no investment outside of living near a school is it's just odd to me um but I mean we see it man it's it's it's massive now and Arizona is high school sports scene I know we're talking about California here but I mean a lot of it's the same thing yeah yeah you know a lot of the guys at ASU is going to be looking are will be looking into are products of this High School sports landscape in Arizona it's it's strange here too man like there's a lot so many so many players transfer into Arizona high schools too from out of state like dlan Rola and then he finished his high school career in some other state it's just yeah I think I think he went from Pinnacle he was who I was referencing earlier I think he went from Pinnacle to Chandler to yeah Nebraska committed to Ohio State committed to Georgia he was like baby grank before baby groon dude like it wasck Ms and everything he yeah it's again it's all that um the trickle down it's the trickle down and and kids who who feel like they're emulating it when really it's it's you end up in situations like like the one we're seeing here again don't want to speculate who knows why he transferred and all that other stuff every situation is different I just I I'm a firm believer that you know High School football should be let's go let's play high school football right yeah I don't know but then again I the reason I the reason I uh didn't go division one for football was because I want wanted to avoid all of this that's the only reason I didn't so of course yeah well anyways switching it back to butter Tois and I hope that just from an ASU fan perspective I hope that he just gets to play football somewhere this year 100% yeah I think you mentioned a year off is is is really tough to bounce back from so yeah especially when it's like maybe it doesn't matter but like if it's an injury it's just way more um understandable or just common place I guess so anyway uh done with that hopefully butter Tolson can play this year and uh there aren't any more weird high school scheduling stuff that he has to deal with so on to basketball I'm gonna present share the screen oh wait no that's that's not what I'm gonna do hold on we looking at the Yukon stuff uh well I'm going to get into asus's all Duke not yeah not even with Duke oh okay sorry I'm I'm whole uh screen layout I I'm we're new to uh streamyard so I just want to share well here let's talk about why let's talk about Yukon first while I'm getting into this so Brett McMurphy reports and it's all over the Internet that uh this is on Monday Big 12 presidents and ads heard data and value points today regarding Yukon as potential Big 12 member sources to Action Network there was never any plan to vote on Yukon today so League will continue Gathering and full on huskys impact to Big 12 by joining as a football member in 2031 and not football sports as early as 2026 sour said so I'll share my thoughts on this first while we get this uh the uh screen sharing going but I just I am not that excited about Yukon potentially coming to the Big 12 I just the fact the fact that that their their football program is so bad that they have to get it up to speed in seven years I just I think that is the big red flag in this and I I just think you're adding a horrible football school into your league that you will have to you know divvy up the pot a little bit with them in and their basketball program both both men's and women's basketball programs are amazing I just the Big 12 is already going to be the top basketball conference you already you you have Kansas bayor Arizona Houston like you have these teams already so I just I don't know maybe this is just coming from an ASU men's basketball Fan's perspective and it's like like I just don't think adding Yukon really does makes that big of a difference but I mean it'll be cool to watch them if they're in the league don't get me wrong but I I and another thing is I don't think Yukon like they're not just gonna win back-to-back championships all the time you know like that's not how it works so that's my thoughts on it I wouldn't like be super upset if they do come in I I kind of understand why but I just think the football brand is so bad worse like worse than a worse than U OFA has ever been worse than Kansas has ever been like they're they're one of the worst teams in thep group of five level like this would be like adding New Mexico State football into the Big 12 so um I don't like that aspect of it and I think the fact that they have to wait till 2031 to get here is telling so what are your thoughts on it no I agree man the first thing I thought when I saw that was just basketball super conference right right like yeah it's it's going to be absurd um should it happen um so from a basketball perspective just another unbelievably elite team that you're gonna have to contend with and and probably see somewhat often right um which isn't great and then you're right from a football perspective just not the polar opposite of their basketball brand right um so polar like yes absolutely yes so I don't know you're you're getting The Prestige of their basketball program and all that that will do for you know the recognition of your conference and and ultimately you know boosting resumes we talk all the time about losing 11 games in the Big 12 could still earn you a what six seed in the tournament something like that right um so that the strength of your your schedule is going to go through the roof if you're playing a conference with Yukon um and then I mean as far as Football goes I I know the Big 12 has been looking for that you know with with the Rumblings of Florida State and in Clemson been looking for that maybe that anchor program a little bit they have some some solid top-of-the-line programs with well I guess we it's not even they anymore the Big 12 has some some solid uh pop the line programs with you know Oklahoma State and uh West Virginia has been up there a little for you know some seasons and and Kansas State and you know so on and so forth but you don't really have that perennial playoff Contender that you would have in a Clemson or a Florida State now that they're kind of back outside of their trip to Dublin but um it doesn't really it doesn't really give you that for the football element um but I mean basketball you know what it'll bring it's it's kind of just it's described for me by the contrast between the two programs that's kind of how I would sum it up and you mentioned the strength of schedule aspect I don't think adding Yukon meaningfully changes that I just don't like I think the league is going to be looked at basically the exact same with or without Yukon because it's already so strong of a basketball conference already I mean very well could be I you're right it's already a super conference and at that point it it's kind of like if you're already viewed in such high regard how much higher could it be right by adding one team no I that makes sense I agree with that like I would much rather have Yukon if they were like a let's say they've been in the Mac for a few years and they're kind of like a seven and five Mac team for example which they haven't even been like they would be at the bottom of any like that's how bad their football programs um and like a basketball team that like made the elite eight often or something like I maybe I wouldn't want to anyway it's just it's It's just tough just because their football program is so bad like it I don't know so it's hope I mean seven years is a long time to get it up to speed but like who even knows if ASU will be in the Big 12 seven years from now you know that's the other thing yeah I just I don't know I mean I think there's a there's a like ym Mark's been trying to get this to happen for a bit too so I think it's also telling that the university presidents are not like jumping to add Yukon either so we'll see we'll see all right uh now staying with basketball quickly Let's uh touch on the ASU non-conference schedule which has finally been finalized so there's the Duke game you were talking about uh Exhibition at Cameron indor I mentioned this on the last show but thank God that this game is an exhibition game like thank God I just I I know like I would be much more pre preferable preferable of it being a you know regular season game if the schedule wasn't so difficult but the schedule difficult so like uh it'll be fun to see ASU play Duke and Cooper flag and those guys but uh not not upset that it won't count in the standings um and then their only true Road game is at Gonzaga that'll be a fun game home schedule is pretty lacking they host Idaho State on November 5th November 17th they host St Thomas November 20th they host calply and December 3rd they host San Diego those are all games you pretty much need to win um and then you know eighth is Santa CLA and Vegas they play Grand Canyon University at the footprint Center on November 14th that'll be a fun game New Mexico in Palm Springs either USC or St Mary's the next day uh late November play Florida and Atlanta on the 14th and then play UMass geez I do not like this December 21st schedule play UMass in Springfield on the 21st of December four days before Christmas that don't like that part of it but uh I like the overall difficulty I guess what are some things that jump out at you at this schedule Colton yeah um razor thin margin for error right you can't you know playing Gonzaga and possibly St Mary's Grand Canyon um New Mexico's tough good program Florida's a good program you know you've got schools that you can't really afford to drop the games you should win right then ASU Basketball has been prone to those slip UPS in the past so those games that you're one year yeah right right you can't have that this year you you have to take care of the games that you were projected to win when you are favored you have to make it happen and it's college basketball I get it in in the noncon though you can't have those slip UPS right you you have to take care of that the business when when the opportunity is there um so that when you get to the Big 12 maybe there's a little more you have a little more wiggle room should you have an off night or yeah and you you mentioned that game in in Springfield on December 21st every time or anytime you get that close to Christmas I'm remembering the San Francisco game two years ago any time you get that close to Christmas you're prone for you know a bit of a maybe a stumble but try to take care of business at home obviously super uh winnable home schedule there outside of the Grand Canyon game but I mean that's footprint Center technically neutral um is that is that New Mexico game does that say California New Mexico it's a all the gold games are neutral site so I don't know where the New Mexico one oh uh let me it's in Palm Springs okay yeah so they're not going too far either outside I mean even Gonzaga is Pacific Northwest you're not flying cross country it doesn't look like oh well yeah the furthest games they play other than Duke are the last two Florida and Atlanta and then you at UMass it's part of like the Basketball Hall of Fame uh tournament or something so I guess the fact that it's like a special tournament or showcase or whatever is encouraging like I think that'll block some of the oh it's right before Christmas stuff as opposed to just going on the road to play San Francisco but it's still tough it's still a tough game you know so 100% you can't look past it um but yeah a lot of neutral sight stuff and and nothing super far until you get to those Florida newas games it doesn't look like so um that's encouraging but again you you have to make it to conference play without any critical stumbles in the noncon so that's that's what I'm looking for and the roster I mean it should be one of the more talented we've seen in a while so hopefully yeah I can't wait to watch this roster I know man it should be awesome and you know we've made we've talked about Bobby Hurley and the resources he's he's had to work with nauseum on this podcast so um those excuses aren't really in play here now it's his job now it's his job to to coach these guys and and make that Talent translate to wins in an incredibly diff difficult basketball conference so that's where I'm I'm thinking that razor thin margin comes into play for sure before we move on to uh predicting A's schedule I do want to I I I want to push back against one point you made with the ASU Basketball schedule I think they can lose one of these four home games if they beat gona or if they like if they beat uh I don't know what gr Canyon's gonna be let's say they beat New Mexico and Florida but they lose to St Thomas and then they win the rest of their home games and split the rest of their uh I I I guess my point with this is like I think they can lose one of those four home games so long as they make up for it with other really good wins in the nonon uh that would be my uh take on that so but no I agree with that I think that's a good point um it's always GNA be that numbers game too right if you know you go out and beat a Gonzaga or you know New Mexico or GC or whatever it is then you're definitely right that margin for eror gets a little wider so um yeah just take care of business where you can and and let the chips fall where they may correct uh but it is an exciting nonconference at least you know that that so that that's one thing to look forward to if nothing else all right switching back to football uh got the ESPN schedule for ASU up on the screen here at least it should be um I don't know if you can see it but it's it says it's shown uh there it is okay so let's let's pick the games Colton uh we have Wyoming done already I I have it as 2416 we don't have to give scores for these uh you have it as 2713 Mississippi State ASU according to us enters the game against Mississippi State one and0 Colton what do you think happens in that game okay um do we have okay so it's to get super detailed no I know I'm trying to think here um yep night game night game I trying to pull up this I want to see the point spread I doubt it's out yet but sometimes they get two to three weeks in before they do it um yeah you think these are somewhat evenly matched teams right not at the top of the Big 12 definitely formidable um my gut probably says ASU drops this game just because I think that they're going to come out and play pretty well against Wyoming they're still trying to get healthy I think if those injuries if they're able to get past those injuries a little quicker right if if a lot of those guys come back for this game who knows I mean ESPN's fpi has it at 51% Mississippi State uh 48.9% ASU so literally literally a two 2% difference here in uh percentage to win the game so if it's that close of a toss up H this is this isn't this is how so many of these games are going to be because this conference is so so deep um you know what I think I think the home team gets the edge in a game this close I I'll lean home team I'll say ASU wins it um by the thinnest of margins maybe like a field goal or something like that okay uh I agree with you that ASU wins this game um Mississippi state was not good last year they bring in a new head coach I don't think I don't think that like this is this isn't like playing I like this is a this will probably be one of the bottom three teams in the SEC this year and it's still going to be a brad environment I think the crowd for this game will be pretty good unless if if ASU like gets loses by 10 points to Wyoming then the crowd will not be that good but I I think the crowd will most likely be pretty good for this Mississippi State game and I think that'll help as well and I think it might just be a a little bit of after playing Wyoming like you're just kind of shake off the rust a bit uh for the second game so I think I kind of agree with your assess assessment on Mississippi State I don't think Mississippi state's defense is that good either could be totally wrong you know but I think that'll be a win on National Television so I think we can get to two and0 I wonder if ASU I if ASU reaches two and 0 do you think they could be ranked entering week three it would obviously depend it always depends on what happens in the rankings right but yeah I I would lean probably not just because team they've beaten you know what I'm saying I think it would take a little bit more um no they would need to they would need to like Drop like 50 points in this game and like yeah win by like a 30 point margin or something which that's not happen 13 of the top 25 lose in week two who knows who knows what happens no and now if you beats Texas State on the road which is four days after five days after this game then I bet they would be ranked is that a Thursday it's a Thursday September 12th at 4:30 pm hour time I I do not have ASU winning this game I think ASU loses this game and goes to two and one um yeah I think that's a good call um tough their first road game of the year first time traveling um this group together that sort of thing yeah um Texas State didn't they have a pretty good year last year if I'm not mistaken in the Sun Belt like there's a lot of Buzz that they could win the Sun Belt and I I've seen a few people I've seen like one person pick them to be the group of five representative in the playoff I don't think they're gonna I I don't think I think Texas State's defense isn't that good but their offense is really good so we see but I just don't have a issue winning this game yeah um I'll I'll go with you there I think this will be a test um for the defensive side I think this would be if they step up and they they play a really good game um then who knows what happens here but I think you're right first road game of the year um THS yeah Thursday night on a short week I think ASU drops this one yeah so we both have it at two at two- one first Big 12 Conference game is nine days later so they do enter the game at Texas Tech with a bit more rest um I think most people see this game is a loss I agree with most people I think this game I think this will be kind of a game that teases us a little bit where I think there will be spots in this game where ASU looks like it'll be able to win uh but it won't be able to get the job done so I have ASU losing a kind of a pretty competitive game in LC to fall a two and two yeah I agree with that I I take ASU to lose that one are they and I guess I I wouldn't know would they stay in Texas over no they're gonna they're gonna fly back would they fly back okay I guess it's long enough I'm like I wonder what they would do there but yeah I I say two and two after the first four weeks which gives us some margin for error to in our predictions right if I mean they drop Mississippi State then be Texas State we're we're still we're still perfect so two and two yeah and I mean okay let's would you if you know let's say a magical Janie shows up and it says hey Colton ASU football will start out the you're two- two will you take it but they can only start out two- two they can't start out three and one I wouldn't take it I think ASU can get to two and two just regardless but if this same scenario was like ASU will start out three in one I would take it because starting out three and one would be it would in terms of making a bowl game it would make that so much easier however I just don't think that's gonna happen yeah and I think you need those three games are so important when you look at the rest of the schedule I think if they drop Texas State the road to a bll birth becomes even more complicated right if they're two in one going into Texas Tech I don't think they can they can beat Texas Tech um and then you go number 22 Kansas number 12 Utah so yeah which I I don't know how you can project those as wins if you're just doing a wins loss exercise right so well okay so you see kind of Texas state is the hinge game for ASU potentially making a bow I have a different game as that I'm not gonna say okay but either way we both have Asu at two and one of the hinge games right if we're looking at a gate with two hinges I would say one of those hinges is probably the Texas State game okay that's fair um so and regardless we both have ASU 2 and two entering it's fifth game of the season so they do get a buy the week of September 28th they will be off and then on October 5th uh time is not decided yet they host Kansas I have this game as a win for ASU I I think that Kansas is gonna be a little bit worse than people think this year I don't I think there's a decent chance Kansas is not ranked at this point um and I'm gonna kind of tie in my theory about Wyoming coming down to Tempe and having the weather be a factor I think that you could kind of see a version of this as well with Kansas you know it's October at that point in Kansas which it's not going to be like horrible weather but it'll still probably be like 90 90 100 degrees in Phoenix at that point yeah so that could be a shock and I think Kansas has six straight game it'll be their sixth of six games so they'll enter less rested um and you know I think people didn't expect ASU to beat UCLA last year they didn't expect ASU to almost beat udubb um some didn't expect them to beat wazu I don't I bet we didn't predict them to win that game so I think they beat Kansas it's a good prediction I like that I think let's see I think I could I could definitely see that I would not be shocked if they took one of these games the Utah or the Kansas game right back-to-back home games coming off of the the buy um I'm not telling I'm not don't like don't it would probably be better if you gave a different like a different prediction no we can't all have I'm just looking at it here you know what give me give me ASU to upset Utah and they lose to Kansas I'll flip because you're probably going to take them to lose to Utah right I I do think they'll lose to Utah okay too but I'll flip it okay I do like I do like that October in 10p back-to-back home game thing um the Friday night the Friday night for Utah that adds a little spice to it right I don't see ASU beating Utah but I I get that point all right so you had them beating Texas Tech right or Kansas no no no okay we we both have them at three and three at this point all right I'll deviate I swear okay well I already did deviate but you already did yeah uh the following week they go at Cincinnati I I have this game as a extremely frustrating loss for ASU I think it's a game you're going to look back and be like we could have easily won that game and I I just think it'll be some Road issues I don't think the weather will be in play really it could be though um so I have them losing at Cincinnati and I it's going to be a it's gonna be a tough pill to swallow but yeah I I have that game I know this is going to make you mad because it's gonna be but my rationale is going to be completely different if I'm picking them to beat Utah right yeah I I can't just ignore the classic ASU let down off of a signature win yeah right and especially going on the road it's a longer week right you get the one day Friday Saturday whatever one day can make all the difference but I think you're still going to get that let down that's that's what ASU is known for um you know pulling off that signature win and then reminding everybody that we're still ASU um so give me a loss to Cincinnati we're both three to four uh and the deviation is is coming okay um then we have a buy the following weekend of the 26th of October then we head to Oklahoma State Colton where do you have this game at as who enters three and four at Oklahoma State and you have the little buy then you're going on the road does that say tickets as low as $17 yeah I don't know I don't know what these like that's absurd I don't know how these are actually like yeah I think it's Vivid Seats but anyway um yeah I don't see depending on how asu's Rush defense looks and I I think their front seven should be formidable um Oklahoma state is going to be a real tough team to beat this year um I don't see how they win this game I'm going with a loss here especially on the road okay I have it as a win there you go see I think they beat yeah I think they beat Oklahoma State I think Oklahoma State there's two reasons I'm a little like I took their under eight and a half wins yesterday I don't think Allan bone is that good of a quarterback so that always keeps you keeps the worst team in a game theoretically and I just I I saw Oklahoma State play ASU last year and they did not look that good so and another thing with Oklahoma state is they won a ton of close games last year which is great but like that stuff does uh catch up with you and I think ASU this would be a defensive win I think as you can come in catch an OK like an Oklahoma State team that is overlooking them most likely and I think they can beat Oklahoma State so I have them getting to win win loss loss uh I have them getting to four and four here and you have them at three and five correct right with their only win being over Utah okay yeah yep all right uh after that they host UCF that's another win for me you have that as a win okay another I have that okay so we both have them at four and five by by completely different routes here Mark yes yes we do what what do you think about Kansas State are you gonna say lost because I'm gonna say no chance yeah that Kansas state is the only the only game I see on this schedule where I look at it and there is a zero% chance of ASU winning that game yeah like yeah I can I can kind of like twist in my head into oh maybe they can beat Utah maybe they can beat UA it's gonna well for one it's gonna be late November in Manhattan Kansas so like it's going to be cold Kansas State's good I don't I don't have them winning the league but they're good and yeah that's just going to be no so uh that would drop them to four and six for both of us right uh yeah yeah four and six and then the next weekend on November 23d they host BYU I have this as a win for as I also have it as a win okay yeah I think BYU yeah I just I don't think they're gonna be that good and they didn't really like when you're BYU you can only do so much in the transfer portal as well right and I saw a recent uh Twitter post of it was ranking the uh each school by their uh average uh High School recruit ranking and BYU was pretty low so I just I just think that's a game that ASU is capable of winning and will win 100% plus that gets us to a scenario where ASU gets to play u OFA yeah for whole eligibility which is the the most fun scenario I think we could ask for this season right uh I mean I think the most fun scenario would be ASU already having six wins entering that game but but like the most if yeah yeah okay I think truthfully playing U OFA for that sixth win would be more intense than the bowl game oh 100% why I'm like that would be yeah I see the celebration of them if they were to beat U OFA would probably you would think still be ranked around that time right they should have a pretty solid season depending on without should you you I would I would I would say they were most likely ranked at that point but we don't you know who knows right who knows what happens but either way goes down then not you're five and six going into a game against U OFA your two programs that have been moving in opposite directions if you can kickart well I guess the rebuild has already been kickstarted let me rephrase if you can add a brick to the foundation by beating your instate rival to clinch bull eligibility I think there would be a lot of excitement about Kenny Dillingham and what he's doing absolutely so do you have that happen for the sake of the scenario and me manifesting it I'm gonna say they beat U of A to go six and six okay I love that I do not agree I think uh I think it'll be a close loss I think I think tetar Roa McMillan it makes a few plays in this game I think he is the best player I think in the Big 12 honestly and he has the CH to be the best top wide receiver taken in the draft and I think he just made makes two or three plays in this game that are the difference so I I have ASU losing that game to drop to five and seven um so you're going five and seven I'm going six and six yes what is there those are two reasonable records we're not drinking the we're we're not drinking the Kool-Aid all the way no no what is their like total on the books right now do we know it's like four and a half oh then I think we should both take that I yeah I already took one that was uh to win more than four so we'll see but this these first two games are very crucial in that um yeah I I uh I feel good about my predictions I think I think both of us correctly identify that at Cincinnati game as a pretty crucial game in this season right like it's just it's going to so I when I ranked the games last week by importance I put Mississippi State Texas State and cincin in the you need to win two out of these three games to go bowling and how it played out if they had won you know according to my prediction if they beat had beaten Texas state or Cincinnati then that would get to to six and six so that's where I have it um you have them beating Utah and U OFA to get Colton that would be the most satisfying six and six of a ASU football history if it happens the exact way that you foresee it you start out you have them starting out uh you have them winning four big 12 games right because you yeah you have you have them winning their their last three out of four big 12 games yeah UCF that would be momentum going into next season oh that I mean if if it plays out the way which it's going to of course um well and I mean just think of the amount obviously UCF no but in in your prediction just think of the amount of overlap there is just in like Social Circles of Utah and then especially BYU and U OFA fans in the valley like for ASU to go three and 0 against those three that would be awesome and I know you didn't like predict that with that in mind but that would be pretty cool and you know that's exactly what I was thinking about so obviously and six would be awesome like that would be an awesome record for a that's probably the ceiling how would you feel I you think it's their ceiling maybe seven wins would be their absolute ceiling I don't think it's possible that they I think it'd be extremely rare that they win more than six but six is their for me like within the realm of possibility but still extremely overachieving okay I don't see six as extremely overachieving I see it as slightly overachieving I see seven and five is because I I do think seven and five is possible but I think it's just unlikely um so but I think we're both kind of on the same page let's say four months from now ASU finished the season five and seven how how would you feel if they went five and seven this year well that's what two- win Improvement right it's a two- win Improvement but you're still not going bowling no and to me man the bow games outside of and now that the playoff exists they have even less important I guess it means more for the players because you get to you know go to these locations and be treated to all this stuff and there's some buildup for the game and whatnot but it it it really does just feel like an exhibition to me outside of like well yeah you know because ASU if they if they go bowling they're going to the boa Ron bowl or something you know I'm saying like we're not looking at the Alamo Bowl or one of the bowls that will become the top bowls now that all of the other games will be playoff games um but yeah I I mean it would be a step and this was always build as a rebuild that wouldn't happen yeah super quick right so to me five and seven would be like okay it's progress you moved forward yeah they didn't win two games they didn't win four games five games is that's a decent step forward right that's and it's two win Improvement you almost got to 500 I that's a logical Next Step um and then I I think a lot of pressure would be on the program to at the very least get to a bowl game the bowl game would need to be their floor in year three oh absolutely yeah so where it's to me it's not so much about like playing in a bll game you know it's not so much about the actual Bull game getting to six and six is more about you were good enough you were able to qualify for a bow game you know what I'm saying it's not so much about yeah it's not so much about the actual bll game that like that's played on the field it's about hey like you you met this threshold to get to it ball game you know what I'm saying so for I get that that that makes sense yeah and then when it comes to five and seven I agree with you because it's it's obviously it's Improvement but it also shows clear progress right they go 4 and eight I mean how much different do we really feel about the program this time next year if they go four and eight like not that different really like had they like uh I've told this story to some friends like as you know like I root for udub football as well just because I grew up in Washington and that was my team prior to as I was not rooting for ASU in that game against udubb because I didn't want a bad ASU team to mess up their season um and that was a weird game to watch with that perspective because ASU probably should have won that game but like had they had ASU won that game what they would have gone four and eight last year instead of three and N like that wouldn't have changed anything about the season honestly like people wouldn't be thinking of ASU differently if they went 4 and eight last year right like now if they went five and seven people would think of them differently but I like I do think going four and eight and three and N is just kind of interchangeable like they're both you're not going bowling but you're also not like a complete disaster where you go one and 11 or something so uh yeah so that's why getting to five and seven is a big it's it's a it's a I think most fans are like let's just get to that level and maybe I won't be jumping for joy that we went five and seven but I can at least be rest assured that things water yeah that's how I view it you're Your waterm Mark gets a little higher right yeah so I mean we had to tear it all down effectively with all the Herm Edwards stuff and the the sanctions and all that other stuff so I now it's about you you mentioned it recognizable progress yeah so five wins to me is is the next logical step correct absolutely uh okay let's let's just uh who do you think plays in the big or the Big 12 championship game and who wins that'll be our only other I can start out first so you can think about it if yeah you go first okay I've thought about this I think Utah goes 11 and one I do not have their one L I don't know what their one loss is goingon to be I don't have it being isue no this are my prediction I have them going 11 in one and they face a N9 and3 Iowa State team and I think Iowa State wins I have Iowa State winning the Big 12 in an upset I guess beating Utah uh so go go Cyclones I guess ni right well I think Utah is still probably the best team in the Big 12 top to bottom right so I'm still gonna take I mean I kind of agree yeah yeah I'm still going to take them to go to the conference Championship Game although they've dropped the game to Mighty ASU right yeah for the sake of this for the sake of getting getting wacky actually you know what never mind I'm not GNA get wacky let's go hang on I don't want to look foolish here there's no divisions right any two teams can play each other I think it I'm almost certain that's yeah yeah any two teams other all right I'm still learning I'm I'm new to this conference um give me Kansas State Utah Kansas State wins okay do you have a record for either of those teams or give me two losses for Utah okay and a two losses for Kansas State so it's two 10 and two teams that play yes and the winner is Kansas state and play okay I like it I like it um yeah hopefully everything we said comes true even though I guess that's impossible because we have conflicting game results but this was fun this was a good little window into the league and window into ASU um I'm I'm nerv I just I just don't want to be sitting here next week and talking about a loss to Wyoming because that that just kill so much momentum of this season you know at least from the outside perspective and I don't want to deal with that I don't want to deal with deal with another loss to a group of five school it's been two years in a row already so yeah well if it makes you feel any better um I don't think they will I hope you're right it's just that like it's it's it's a nonzero outcome um but yeah I think this season we just have no idea what to expect honestly 100% man we won't know I don't think we'll have a good feel for what to expect from this team until like maybe three games in until that Texas State game I think it could be even I think we like a like it it might be like entering November like it could easily be that there's a wide yeah a wide array of outcomes I think and another thing like I I here ASU enters the year facing they have five teams that are currently ranked on the schedule right now I I am going to a prediction I have is by the end of the year when the final regular uh when the final playoff rankings come out they will have played fewer than five ranked teams I think one of these ranked teams is not going to finish Rank by the end of the year and it might be more and another one pops up but um I just none of these teams um maybe aside from Utah are like World beaters and that could open a door for ASU so we'll see all right Colton thanks for uh hopping on or Stevie I should say um yeah we'll see what I have for you next week I'll I'll get in my bag and see for sure for sure all right well for all of you uh watching and listening thank you for um consuming our podcast please like And subscribe on YouTube rate and review on your podcast platform of choice and as always go sundevils and recording is