Previewing the ENTIRE 2023 Pac-12 Football Schedule | The Solid Verbal

hey thanks for checking out the solid verbal now would be a great time to subscribe to the channel for college football content all off season long welcome back to the solid verbal boys and girls my name is Ty Hildebrandt that fine gentleman over there is always you know him well he's in the heart of the Midwest he's the pride of Chicago Illinois Dan Rubinstein sir how are you I'm always good when you don't call me a native son because nothing could be further from the truth as we get to West Coast Football Best Coast Football America's conference yeah the Show everybody's been looking forward to the final year of 12 teams in this iteration I don't hate how pac-10 rolls off the tongue it's how I grew up Ty dude it could be the pack four by the time we're done with this podcast I'll do whatever it takes Ty to keep West Coast Football alive I don't care I don't care at all that's who I am that's how I grew up and you can't you can't deprive me of the joy that Kevin Warren and every single Fox executive try to to take from a USC administrators UCLA it doesn't matter I can't be hurts I'm already a West Coast College football fan Ty I'm already broken already broken well with that Preamble hello hope you're doing well I'm talking Stan this is the solid verbal thank you for stopping on by hit subscribe hit follow whatever you got the option to to click um that'll guarantee that you get all of our episodes if you are interested in going a step further because you really like the stuff that Dan and I are doing hello welcome thank you for your support give us a star rating or a review on said podcasting app you can also find episodes out on YouTube and if you're really a super fan of the show if you really want to join the verbaler hood you could go on out to verballers.com that's our patreon it's verballers.com we offer Early Access to this episode's pretty much all of our episodes at this point video versions of episodes live video versions of episodes get access to our Discord Community bonus episodes we did a bonus baseball episode recently which you can check out verballers.com yeah on today's episode though we are turning our Focus to the pack 12. we've already gone through the SEC schedule the Big Ten schedule the pac-12s time to shine is now we have got thoughts on the easiest the hardest the most interesting the episodes that are dripping with fettuccine alfredo if it sounds weird it's because it is we will explain gumpiness trappiness all of these words that we have made um to kind of amuse ourselves don't amuse our wives as much I've tried it but welcome into the verbal or Hood one and all I am ready to talk some Pac-12 with you sir as am I I mean we I don't know if there's any news and I know we're recording this a little bit ahead of time I'm peeling back the kimono type peeling back the curtain so do you want to just get into Best Coast West Coast scheduling give me that Tecmo Bowl sound baby [Music] Pac-12 schedule preview coming at you here Dad yes couple interesting schedule quirks oh related to the Pac-12 would we agree that the four best teams at least the four expected best teams are USC Utah Oregon and Washington in no particular order does that sound right to you that that's how I view it now I'm willing to change it three weeks into the season but yeah that's that's my expectation now just in terms of combination quarterback coaching experience returning Talent uh new Talent recent results I think that's there but look Oregon state was right there last year and with the bowl game one double-digit games against the premier SEC opponent tie in that bowl game and obviously beat their rival in Oregon and I think there's danger in this conference UCLA won a number of games last year as well but you know going through a number of changes both with coaches quarterback Talent whatever and they're especially active in the portal but but those are the right now those are the four in terms of I just want to acknowledge you know the the quality in the conference at the top but in terms of right now with the the ceilings the EXP collected ceilings I think those are the teams pending some ligaments in and around cam rising's knee um those are my expectations the case for a cannibalized Pac-12 is that all four of those teams play each other during the regular season some situations may vary and we'll talk about that that's why we're here today but they all play each other and that in and of itself is a great case for ah they might not make the playoff because they're all going to beat each other and week seven in particular I think week seven is when things start to go Haywire that's when we start to see things kind of congeal as I like to say and the Pac-12 enter a second gear but it'll be a fun back half of the schedule for sure if you're following Pac-12 football we have two lucky teams in the Pac-12 that play all four of those purported best teams and there may be two of the teams that are least equipped to deal with it in the form of Arizona State and Cal and my third bullet point here is that 10 of the 12 teams in the conference have really non really interesting non-conference opponents UCLA and Oregon State are were like um we're not going to do that we're gonna schedule San Diego State UCLA scheduled Coastal Carolina a team I believe they will destroy it's an interesting west coast East Coast matchup but sure outside of those two the other ten have really interesting non-conference slates that we will get into here yeah there's also a couple of I don't know if it's two or three instances of a team going on the road and then playing a Friday game I know usually the preference would be like both teams play home before the short week but I there's at least a couple instances where a team is on the road before a Friday game and also scheduling Quirk I believe USC has a buy before a potential Pac-12 championship game birth yes yes correct because they get two buys because they play week zero against San Jose State so uh I know that a number of USC fans look at I think it was Wazoo a few years ago with Sam darnolds that they had that short week Friday Road situation against Wazoo I think our friend Adam Amin actually called that game yeah yeah that was a huge upset that year that sort of derailed USC's big postseason chances so we get that once again we get two or three instances though I suppose it's better than Road and then Road short week India where do you want to start here where should we start with the Champs let's start with Utah because they are Loki extremely fascinating both because of their schedule and because of their personnel situation and because they're defending the crown um this schedule is brutal yeah this schedule this schedule is brutal they are still scheduling like they're a group of five team desperately begging for a power five conference to stroll along and invite them into their Hood we could hang we can hang look at me this schedule is stupid they open with Florida get them at home this year the next week they go to Baylor they're also at USC at Washington and Arizona the quote-unquote easy games on this schedule are Weber State Colorado and Weber Weber whatever uh and Cal and Arizona State there are no weeks off virtually no weeks off for the Utah Utes they're over under is eight and a half I feel bad for Utah I the Utah kind of fits into that category of teams that I described in the last two episodes where you want to root for them your game root for them you want them to take the next step but you look at the schedule and you realize even if the team is better the record's probably worse that's where I'm at with Utah right it's yeah and I I can appreciate like I I hear undertones of criticism Ty I can appreciate a team scheduling for recognition because Utah isn't necessarily always the school isn't always the part of the country that attracts a lot of attention so if we live in a world in which Utah beats Florida and Baylor in the non-conference portion of the schedule and is again the Pac-12 Conference champion then we're talking about something almost undeniable if you're comparing resumes because Utah is at that point coming off a Rose Bowl birth you know it wasn't great against Penn State but they're on the top tier of the conference squarely and so I don't love it in terms of a final win loss thing because it's at Baylor right it's Florida returning to Salt Lake yeah but it's at Baylor it's a road man now Utah I think they have Arizona buffers with the Washington game right on the road yeah the Arizona schools buffer it ASU would be that let down look ahead sandwich um and even though they have they're on the road at USC and host Oregon and back-to-back weeks I believe it's after it's the week after USC is at Notre Dame correct correct so that's at least situationally something I can play with I don't love it as you mentioned the teams that they do play with in the Pac-12 they miss Stanford and Wazoo those are two winnable games for Utah and so you know you want to maximize when you have a non-conference slate like they do you want to maximize hopefully you want to pray that it's maximized in conference but it's rough if Utah is indeed the best team they will absolutely prove it both Within in and outside of the conference and look cam Rising Taurus ACL against Penn State in early January I think he had surgery in February I don't know each surgery is shortly thereafter if he's back for week one I don't think he's going to beat the cam Rising no if he's back for week four I don't know if he's gonna be the cam rising and so it's just it's an additional data point that that worries me a bit with Utah that uh hopefully they can prove me wrong I I just I looked at the schedule I was screaming yeah going through this who did this why did they do this they don't need the schedule so much ammo the the schedule in and of itself just within conference is difficult but then attack on Florida and look Florida's over under is five and a half I haven't seen what balers is yet we'll talk about that next episode neither one of those teams figures to be contending for a conference title or a playoff birth but it's still a good opponent in both cases so to your point yeah if they make it through this even if they emerge from this 10 and 2 9 and 3 even 8 and 4 to an extent I could still be a really good football team that by virtue of the schedule by virtue of Cam Rising still getting over his knee injury you know they could be affected by all that stuff it seems to be a really good team despite whatever record yeah especially with some of their pop-up running back this year I'm curious to see and we'll get into this during preview time if if this is a different looking Utah team not that they were throwing the ball deep at all they were counting on those two great tight ends last year but I wonder I wonder what the the complexion of this offense looks like as they try to navigate especially early on it's a it's a toughy tie it really is Oregon Ducks Dan let's talk about the Oregon Ducks your beloved Oregon Ducks um I am looking at this schedule right now and there are a couple things that I think are are fairly obvious to me September should be a breeze September should be babies should be maybe I worry about Lubbock a little bit not a lot I think Oregon's more talented than Texas Tech you think that I think that the raw Tyler shuck energy is going to come back to bite the Ducks is that what we're thinking I just think year two of a wide open passing offense and what Oregon needs to show to America in terms of its own defense you know I I don't look at it as automatic I I like Oregon there I don't think it's automatic and I don't it's your term I don't think it's a Brady breed this is how you know you're a fan of a team yeah because I look at this and I say Portland State Texas Tech Hawaii Colorado and Stanford sure the best of Oregon should have no problem and you look at it and you say hmm I don't know how I feel about Texas Tech I would do the exact same thing talking about any of my teams so kudos to you you just validated your Oregon fandom yeah um but beyond September they do go to Washington and Utah Washington's off a buy there are organs coming off a buy the USC game is at home Oregon state is at home there are a few potential traps on here [Music] but I think by and large this is set up well for Oregon they don't have to go to Tucson right that's always a good thing love it and if you're an Oregon fan you know you rightly point out a couple of the road spots and situationally it could get weird here and there mm-hmm but I think I feel pretty good about this from afar with no vested emotional interest in the Ducks I feel good about it right now based on my interpretation and expectation for teams in the Pac-12 which is based in some fact and some gut and some just historical fear on my part as an Oregon fan it's very and I think you have the sound at the ready it's very Buffy there are buffers yeah there are buffers it feels that's what I wrote down very buffery that they have a buy before Washington which Washington also does before that game uh they have Wazoo at home before they travel to Utah I think Wazoo will be fine I just don't think there's upper level Talent there and there's a lot of shuffling in and out of that program right now um they have Cal before USC and they're at ASU and that's that short week because it's the Friday I think it's Black Friday when they're playing yeah that's a platypus cup or whatever we're calling it now um and look I expect ASU to eventually be feisty I just think it's once again an overhaul job with the first year head coach a no clear decent quarterback to me and so I look at ASU despite the recent history of Oregon being in a great place and losing on the road in Tempe I think it is buffery and the I guess the letdown look ahead saying which would be that ASU game on the road because it's between USC and Oregon State and as you mentioned they miss Arizona which is always wonderful they've destroyed them in the desert last year which felt great yeah and uh they miss UCLA as well always happy to miss UCLA and Chip Kelly because at any given time even without Zach charbonne DTR whatever they're gonna have weaponry the the transfer receiver should be good I'm I'm in on UCLA medium term I think short-term they're going to be fine but nothing crazy and so I guess the conditional fettuccine alfredo tie is if Wazoo is feisty that becomes difficult after the buy the conditional fettuccine I got it yeah got it so I think it's fine I think there's a great opportunity for Oregon and again we'll get into this on the the proper team and Conference preview portion of the the calendar I think if Oregon plays to its Talent level they're able to stay a little bit healthier especially at quarterback and the transfers work out some of the rotational freshmen especially up front on defense work out it's a new look secondary if it works out around expectation this should be a double-digit win team I agree with this schedule I I agree I couldn't agree more I provided they don't drop a dumb one and I don't think any team in college football is above the dumb ones but certainly the more Talent you add to your roster the less likely those things are I think to happen that's probably debatable that's probably debatable but um at I don't write in at Utah as a win I do not I I don't write anything about Washington yeah I don't write it in either but I see Washington Utah and USC as the most obvious losses and if you told me they're gonna win two of those three I'd sign up for that I would say yeah I don't know which two I know two are on the road but you lose two of those you win the rest of your games which seems plausible you hit that over nine and a half sure get the 10 wins so in order I think I'm most worried about at Washington USC at Utah I think that's the right order yeah because at at the heart of my my fear is quarterback and I'm not there right now with Cam Rising although again he's shredded Oregon previously but coming off of the ACL I'm and I'm honestly I think there is it's a toss I think they can win all three of those games sure oh I agree I think the best of Oregon can win those three games because these are not perfectly aligned teams so I I think Oregon is built as well this year for a big run as they have been in recent history Arizona State eight yeah let's talk about Arizona State as as I said at the top Arizona state is one of two teams in the conference that has to play all four and I have four baby in air quotes here yeah all four of the big guns in the Pac-12 at least a time of recording in late May they've got Washington and Utah both on the road they host USC and Oregon the final six weeks of this schedule close out at Washington home against Wazoo at Utah at UCLA home versus Oregon home versus Arizona for the territorial cup that there's a lot of fettuccine alfredo there any Alfredo and drank less water than I have in my entire life explain that reference by the way the reference yeah the reference is that Michael Scott was carb loading for a 5K and he ate as he said as much fettuccine alfredo and drank less water than at any point in his life and so we're calling it fettuccine alfredo because you need to carb load for what appears to be a really rough stretch of the schedule post bye week your bye week what happens after you need to carb load and hopefully yeah I mean the bye week I think delineates it a little bit cleaner for our purposes here but really I'm just looking at it in terms of any rough stretch you just gotta gear up for uh I I say that I bring up that rough stretch because I look at the over under here and I say ASD is at five it feels almost impossible to me that ASU gets to six with this schedule unless you believe unless you believe in the occult forces of the body blow oh oh the look ahead the letdown the look ahead I mean really like a dynamite legit sandwich because there is a little bit of 2022 Texas Tech on this schedule and Arizona State finds themselves in a lot of interesting spots I must have dragged me about 15 Dr Peppers asu's the all sound clip team in the Pac-12 wow because they play um a week after Washington they get Washington a week after Washington plays Oregon they get um a home game at home obviously a week after Utah plays USC and Oregon back to back in a week before Utah Goes to Washington they get um I think uh there's a USC or Utah scenario here as well that I'm that I'm botching here I will look that up they're at home a week after Oregon plays USC and a week before the Rivalry against Oregon State yep a week after Arizona plays Utah there's all sorts of scenarios I counted five of them here where Arizona State pops up in a very interesting spot on somebody's schedule and I think that's right so that makes it interesting it still doesn't make it possible to me that they would get the six five maybe four okay but six is a bridge too far well are you circling that Oklahoma State game as a loss no okay Southern Utah Oklahoma State Fresno State it I guess it depends on your belief in Alan Bowman on the road Arizona State plays one road game the first seven weeks of the Season correct that's pretty nice for Kenny Dillingham first year as a head coach new roster to get their feet under them a little bit staying at home staying in the Sun a lot of night games happening in September um USC has the buy before they play correct um yeah it's definite fettuccine alfredo I could see a Universe in which it's one two three four five I guess it hinges on the territorial cup and I guess Wazoo yeah and maybe sneaking up on Oregon in that spot but it means that you beat I believe Mikey Keane in Fresno State your guy Mikey Keane and unless it's a Logan five team uh Alan Bowman in Oklahoma State Mikey Keane yeah Colorado's winnable but also I think Colorado by that point might view ASU as winnable yeah right so that's interesting that that could be something that turns on both of them for those those win total over unders um but they they're gonna need to I don't know if it's what Trenton yeah Bourgeois um or or I guess um Drew Pine it's it's a lot we're just gonna write off Jaden rashada like that probably yeah um right now and man I would take Jaden rashada Lefty over Drew Pine so wait hold on so this means they missed Stanford and Oregon State Oregon State definitely not winnable um at least on the surface missing Stanford sucks because that would have been a nice pencil and yeah all right I I I I don't know why you're ruling out Jane rashada but really oh yeah true freshman starting day one you're gonna I would take him a thousand times over Drew Pine but I'm biased I well aren't they okay thousand times thousand and one times but whatever that doesn't that makes me feel worse against the schedule I don't know it's interesting I I actually have them down as one of my more interesting schedules Arizona State because I don't fully understand the over under and usually when I don't understand it it means that somebody smarter does well here's the other thing they fired their coach after whatever was two or three games last year yeah and also their coach didn't coach well and there is the idea that while the Pac-12 I think is going to be tough because of the returning quarterbacks this year that ASU underperformed last year now it's it's an overhauled roster but if we're to believe that ASU situationally finds itself in a good place and brought in some guys that maybe we're sleeping on them a little bit I saw him you're sleeping on the real Coach bump if Kenny Dillingham is a real Coach I saw an interview I think that Andy did with Kenny Dill Andy Staples did with Kenny Dillingham Kenny Dillingham may not be old enough to drive I don't know how old he is compared to other head coaches I know he's one of the younger ones yeah he he might be the youngest human I've seen on screen short of a player he just has a young look yeah big time baby face yeah that's all I wish him well I I think they're interesting this year yeah same where do you want to go next let's go to UW let's go to Washington you done right here didn't your brother go to UW he did proud alum Washington's over under his nine it is one of the easier slates in the Pac-12 in my view it's got a nice little setup here the road schedule is not bad it's a little weird in spots they got Rogue games at Michigan State Arizona Stanford USC and Oregon State but decent buffers right it's not bad November could get a little dicey but it's not like anything on here appears overwhelming things can change with injury but you're looking at a non-conference slate that not only features Michigan State as we mentioned before but also Boise and Tulsa it's enough juice to kind of give him some status with the names but I don't think any of those teams are going to be World beaters this year and I would expect that Washington would be able to take care of business so I look at this on the surface and I say okay we're talking we're talking potential over here with Washington um I feel very good about where they're at we did the interview with Mike verrell if you go back and listen to some of the first year coaching debriefs that we did a couple weeks ago and we talked a lot about how do you fix the defense how do you make the defense better because obviously the offense got to a really good place in year wandered under Caitlyn Deborah and Michael pennick's Jr et cetera et cetera but to me it's a question defense question of how do they handle what is a tougher stretch as we get into the back half of the schedule but by and large if you're one of the preeminent assumed powers in the conference you can't do a whole lot better than this this looks okay to me yeah schedule wise they're in a good place I worry about specific parts of their roster namely back half of their defense I think they're going to get after the quarterback pretty well um I don't love the offensive line but two great receivers what which should be a very very good year from Michael pennix if he can stay healthy which is that big if for him so I think Washington's in a good place now this is also a Washington team that struggled at times like their record was great for a first year situation record was terrific finishing out that Oregon game you know Escaping The Air I think was the Arizona game it was like a three-point game in the fourth quarter that was great they missed UCLA this year which they lost to last year I believe yeah um Washington they've got they're at Arizona which feels a little bit trappy before they're buy uh if you are to believe in the occult forces like you mentioned earlier Washington has never enjoyed the Stanford experience and they're at Stanford this year it's a different Stanford situation of course but that's before that rougher stretch of uh they're at USC Utah at Oregon State and Wazoo correct yep that's the stretch so I I think there are landmines here and I don't think Washington is a finished product which worries me a little bit on behalf of Washington which no Washington fan wants me to be on their behalf um I Think It's Tricky I think the Michigan State it's going to be a big test in terms of environment because I don't think Michigan state is all that great but it's a Revenge spot at home it's the first big game of the season for the Spartans um Boise State loves playing spoiler against Pac-12 schools traditionally speaking and you know again occult forces but all things considered missing UCLA you'd rather than miss somebody else other than Colorado because that would have been what what looks to be a pseudo layup right now Washington's in a good place they're in a good place they should well again that number is what would you say nine and a half yeah over under for Washington this year coming off of what they did last season nine wins uh I think they're in a good place I think they're in a good place I'd like to see more from that defense yeah well you me and the rest of Washington Nation husky Nation because again they'll have USC Utah Oregon State Oregon Arizona in terms of obviously going to have decent to very good offenses so that's the concern right now but again if you're a Washington fan you got to be happy about those games coming to Seattle and uh and by those games I mean Utah and Oregon great place you mentioned Stanford the Stanford situation and I'm reminded a little bit of Wedding Crashers what is our situation dad well I'll tell you Dan I'll tell you what it is Stanford has Road games at Hawaii USC Colorado Wazoo and Oregon State which isn't too shabby they do play Oregon UCLA Washington and Notre Dame at home it is not necessarily A blistering slate but it's a new coach it's a new quarterback it's a lot of not really knowing what to expect it's a lot of the baggage from what we've seen out of a Stanford program that's been in Decline over the last couple years and it's an over under of three as a starting point so I look at this and I don't see an obvious path before I don't know if I have enough information to say much of anything about Stanford at this point you may have more information than I but by and large just without all of the additional context and baggage of what we've come to know about the Stanford program as of late on the surface the schedule has decent enough buffers it's not like there's a murderer's row all right the road games are terrible but you just know that there's this other dimension to the analysis here that we need to get into which is why I expect that none of us are going to want to go Stanford over yeah I guess the if you Value Troy Taylor the new head coach and you value that David Shaw was a good coach but near the end just couldn't get it figured out and couldn't find ways to produce an explosive offense in the passing game consistently couldn't find ways to to build a defense you know everything was just off at Stanford these past few years even with like a weirdly up 2020 I want to say yeah they won some games I um ah I guess you just have to be a deep sleeping believer on Stanford this year that you can find the wins with what Hawaii Sac State look there are there are teams on this schedule that are deeply flawed like I don't think the Arizona defense is going to be as bad as it was last year but the game is at home it's after Sac State who knows maybe Arizona's looking ahead to what they have UW and USC the next couple weeks after that so they're they're in kind of a nice look ahead situation uh with this schedule and so look they're at Colorado after a buy um they're at Wazoo um I think in a a stretch of games that Wazoo is seeing as winnable but I don't know their sandwich right there in the middle I I don't hate this schedule Cal could be really bad they will get there but they made changes on offense I heard what Jake spavitol talk about Cal next I got all sorts of Cal thoughts um but this is sort of a wing and a prayer because again not many people even cover Stanford football so information is scant out there yeah yeah they're uh college football is North Korea can't get info out man weird uh-huh don't know what's going on over there okay um Cal yeah Cal I've got listed as my most interesting team in the Pac-12 okay in terms of schedule um for starters they're likely starting quarterback is a TCU transfer Named Sam Jackson which we will cherish and love and never forget to remind you of never who just came in I think Ben Finley transferred him from NC State after spring I want to say I hope that they go with Sam Jackson okay okay Don't Rain on My Parade sorry I want Sam Jackson we all want Sam Jackson but okay you also mentioned about Jake spavitol last year's offense was slow and it stunk and so they hired spavitol to come in and he wants to play super fast to be fair this version of the offense could also stink if the offensive line does not improve it was not very good last year but at least they're trying they're trying to make it different they're trying to make it better the defense notably took a really big step back last year as well they had almost no pass rush so they tried to patch up a couple of their holes in the portal we'll see if that helps there is a world in which the offense really stinks again but it's quicker and that stresses out a defense that has depth concerns and the whole thing goes bust that's a possibility or it could get better yes I have not done the full Deep dive on Cal football there will be a time and place for that maybe in the latter stages of July or through the early part of August but I would consider putting maybe one monthly mortgage payment on the under right now right now it's sitting I think at three and a half four and a half excuse me four and a half is the over under um they're on the road at Washington on the road at Utah on the road at Oregon they've got Auburn in week two I count two wins on the schedule that feel like sure bets and that's it but there is a Gumpy quality here is there not did you look there is I did can you hear me yeah I did I can't hear you anymore you can't hear me check check are you there hello hello hello hello hello I think I elbowed a button um I couldn't hear anything that you were saying so uh are you good now I'm good now yeah all right but there is a Gumpy quality to this is there not there is absolutely there's a cow sandwich situation I mean really like a dynamite legit sandwich Ed in between Utah and USC for Oregon sandwiched in between Utah and UCLA for Oregon State sandwiched in between Utah and Washington for USC sandwiched in between Rogue games for Washington at Michigan State at Arizona and then we've got an open face situation for Utah a week before they play USC I saw this as well so look four and a half's a bigger number than I expected I don't feel great about that number but I think Cal will be very interesting because the new offense because of weird situations because I think that this is probably like they gotta make it Fly this year otherwise I don't know what it means for Justin Wilcox yeah missing Arizona and Colorado is tough because you want to load up on those winnable defenses especially if you're a team like Cal and you want to hit that over you want you want the the schedule to be as advantageous defensively as humanly possible if you're a team that struggles on offense but your point is well taken because look they uh even though they lose what they had two good receivers last year one of them left for UCLA I believe um Jay Michael Sturdivant I I still think without doing a deep dive on this roster that they might be all right okay Justin Wilcox performs in September so maybe they have Auburn right they do have Auburn and you said when we did our SEC preview that you wouldn't count Auburn beating Cal as a sure thing Cal again this is traditional this is different rosters different times different opponents but Justin Wilcox didn't win a bunch of games early on in his career but seemed to exclusively win September games like his non-conference record I I think for whatever reason Cal I mean I understand the reason now but they've been overlooked traditionally they've beaten some big time programs in September and then collapsed or had injury issues during the Pac-12 season we'll see I just don't think they're in a great place right now they are interesting though I I did list them as one of my more interesting teams situationally interesting yeah because of the sandwiches in the in the Pac-12 should we talk about Colorado now let's have the Colorado conversation let's let's have the Colorado conversation um Colorado is in a very interesting spot we know about the roster turnover that's not going to help especially since in the first month of the Season they're at TCU home against Nebraska there's a Colorado State game which hopefully they'll win and they're at Oregon and home versus USC in the month of September that's not easy Colorado it occurred to me is sort of like the anti-forest Gump this year with the exception of their game against Arizona and maybe wazoo they pretty much go an entire season without catching anyone in a really advantageous spot look at this it is truly remarkable that outside of all the other factors that are working against them in many cases we could at least lean on the schedule we did with Arizona State you can't do that with Colorado in almost every game a team looks like they'll be loaded for bear ready to destroy them by about 50 points all it's true I know so your over unders three I I I'm not touching that I I want Colorado to be good and interesting and be back on the road to becoming like a blue blood program but man wow I don't I don't see it with the schedule it's it's not ideal frankly all right so which games you have down here is winnable and stretch for this Ty stretch for it winnable Colorado State's winnable Stanford I think is winnable um I Nebraska I don't know what Nebraska is going to look like but that yeah that's one Fair yep Arizona State it's at that's what I have down Arizona five I have Nebraska Colorado State ASU Stanford Arizona I'm not saying they're winning those games I'm saying because of the new because of the overhauled nature of both Colorado and a couple of those programs there ASU and Nebraska that there is a world in which the game is 50 50 and Colorado ends up on top so five is the like scaffolding number hmm so then you're saying to yourself at ASU is going to be tough Nebraska is going to be super well coached even if the roster isn't there in year one bringing a bunch of players who didn't really see the field of Georgia uh lose a couple quarterbacks and what Casey Thompson and Logan Smothers both left it's just very new especially in that quarterback room and Stanford we just talked about Arizona again I think they're going to have an improvement and improve defense but not crazy I think that's the best we can hope for is a a miraculous five and seven for Colorado a five and seven campaign in year one would be truly miraculous yeah that would be miraculous I don't I don't see it and I'm dismayed that the schedule hasn't done them more favors here they get USC on a second straight road game I think the same for Oregon State yes um they get Arizona after their fettuccine stretch which is um excuse me Oklahoma Oklahoma Oregon State UCLA at Colorado that's Arizona's fettuccine stretch yeah um their own is at UCLA Oregon State Arizona at Wazoo on a Friday night and then at Utah to finish at Finish things out um they get Wazoo after a short week and that's Wazoo coming off a road game like I mentioned at the top and before the apple cup which and before the Apple cups situationally yeah I mean I could see that one I could see that one that the two that I called out were the Wazoo game and um the Arizona game but otherwise it's I don't know Colorado's in a very in a very tough spot for a multitude of reasons definitely all right let's talk about USC okay let's talk USC USC it's great that they start with San Jose State Nevada and Stanford yeah comfy nice and comfy it gives them time to cardboard fettuccine alfredo and drank less water than I have in my entire life they're gonna need as much fettuccine alfredo as they can as they can Shuffle into them shovel down before they get to October and November because the back half of this schedule is a tester if they make it through this undefeated they should be the number one team in the country okay I don't think they will I don't think they've they've got the defense to do it but if they make it through this undefeated they should be number one all things being equal if there are other undefeated teams what have you this is a really tough schedule and I've got it listed as maybe the toughest in the conference after that opening stretch where they've got San Jose State Nevada Stanford they go on a bike they play week zero week zero yeah and even even after coming off of that buy just to close out September they're at Arizona State at Colorado okay big deal week six home against Arizona still not terrible but the remaining six games here are tough at Notre Dame home against Utah at Cal which is one of those cow sandwiches back home against Washington at Oregon back home home and air quotes against UCLA so it's home it's home it's home I know this is all to say that we will know a lot more about USC by December and it may not be until the first week of December that we know exactly what we've got here with with the Trojans because from week seven on is when we will find out what they're made of and we will find out if the defense has improved we will find out the limits of what kale Williams can do on his own but again that stretch of Notre Dame Utah Cal Washington Oregon UCLA will be brutal and um if USC emerges from this nobody can try to make the argument oh they play the Pac-12 schedule ah they played nobody this is a tough this is a tough slate man this is really tough it's also just in terms of offensive ceiling if we are to believe right now in what late May that defense is still very much going to be an issue even if they're improved and they've added some some interesting pieces it's at at their best an operating Sam Hartman Notre Dame offense that should have a much higher ceiling than they've had recently a healthy cam Rising what I think will be an improved Cal offense with Jake spavitol I don't know it'll be faster it'll be faster we know it'll be faster yeah whatever happens yeah it'll be faster it's pennix it's bonix it's Chip Kelly and I I guess for them if they're able to sudo make it through unscathed they have the bye week before the Pac-12 championship game in this new divisionless conference so yes if they're able to to weather that storm yeah hats off to the Trojans I I don't know how I feel about it frankly okay um I'm not gonna as a Notre Dame fan come on the air here and say I'm really rooting for USC this year that would be disingenuous it's never really a thing deep down into my into my core but this this slate will be a tester we will find out how they've grown in the off season and here's the other thing yeah starting in week seven so last year on the road okay you ready three-point win one point loss late eight point win which was good it's still good to win that's better than losing uh snuck away with a three-point win despite looking like they were gonna lose lose in the championship game Caleb Williams gets hurt they're just destroyed by Utah lose last second away from home Tulane in the bowl game this year on the road USC has ASU winnable Colorado winnable Notre Dame real tough Cal absolutely winnable Oregon real tough Austin Stadium so it's not even just that back half slate it's that there's just getting getting Notre Dame in Oregon on the road in that stretch is going to be an added test for an sc team last year that struggled now without a couple of huge pieces on offense that helped to bail them out at times if I told you now that USC beat Cal in the middle of that fettuccine alfredo plate whenever they play you know late in the season if they beat them 5150 in a shootout I think that's totally believable you look at last year 150 against Cal they beat Cal 4135 last year in a bit of a shootout I know I know so that was wild I don't know I think it's going to be a really interesting slate for them here the other thing too is as you look at that run of games again I'm giving you reasons to be skeptical of USC another one might be the universe and how turnover numbers work out and regression to a a more regular number and that could be costly for USC we're also not respecting in our conversation enough right now that at any given moment Caleb Williams can perform magic and there is no other quarterback in this conference maybe in the country that can single-handedly will his team to wins we didn't think are possible were possible whatever like Caleb Williams can agreed and so that's why and and I think this your sentiment is true but I just thought I think we've we've skipped over that fact that no matter what the schedule looks like no matter what this back half looks like they have a superhero and there are like three and a half teams who can kind of sort of boast that at any position let alone quarterback no that's fair that's fair I'm glad you brought that up yep Washington State the good news is no USC and no Utah yeah the bad news is that the schedule is kind of a joke it's the first two times I studied this I swear I counted eight Road games yeah it's tough it's tough and then it it does kind of feel like they have more Road games than they should there are only six but five of them are after week five which means that I believe they've only got three home games through the months of October and November yeah so what we'll know about wazoo by December is that they have a lot more travel miles on their accounts one of their home games also of note is in September against New Look Wisconsin so that is not a gimme by any stretch of the imagination I'm looking at this schedule I'm seeing an over under of six and a half I feel comfortable with three wins with four wins with seven I don't think so Dan where are seven wins coming from on this thing they lost a lot of guys it was not a great portal year players or coaches for wazoo they have a quarterback who I don't think I'm as high on as I think the consensus is in cam Ward and you were at least at the beginning of last year defense performed last year I didn't hate their defense last year and so I like that at least as an entry point and as much as you are looking at this as a like murderer's row and it is at times crazy about a lot of these teams on the schedule like Wazoo is not in the most stable of places but I think they're a quality team and when you look at like where Cal and Stanford and ASU and Arizona Colorado UCLA even a lot of these teams have recently as in last year done something catastrophically and abysmally not a word but they've just been abysmal at something and if Wazoo is merely a competent quality team even with this tough schedule I think there are wins to be had that's my devil's advocate I'm still worried plus we're so very much worried we just found out that they're like over budget they're implementing a hiring freeze non-essential travel and purchases and more as being yeah curtailed because of Pac-12 weirdness I mean that's not a Wazoo it's not a Washington wise we've got the headlines but right right um I don't know just weird Vibes for me and I I get what you're saying it's not like it's not like we're looking at this and we're saying oh watch out for Colorado on a Friday right it seems like a lot that they're on the road five times down the stretch not home through like the meat of their schedule I don't know I don't like that I mean isn't it like you don't have to be faster than the bear you have to be faster than the guy next to you and your buddy yeah right and so you don't have to be great you just have to be a little bit better than Arizona or ASU or Stanford or Cal or Colorado like as as much as they're on the road like how many people are gonna be out the Rose Bowl for the UCLA game how many UCLA fans are going to show up for the Wazoo game in the middle of the season twenty three thousand probably not right and so I just think you just have to be better than the UCLA defense you just have to be better than the ASU offense you just have to be better than the Colorado defense you just have to be better than the Cal offense like I don't know I think I understand that number all right well that makes one of us Yeah you mentioned UCLA I like this schedule a lot no no no schedule I I would do sensual things to this schedule I would nibble on this schedule's ears okay okay okay all right continue eight and a half steel over under why why are you feeling such Vapors I don't know for the schedule uh as you mentioned their non-conference is what Coastal Carolina San Diego State um North Carolina Central Coastal Carolina San Diego State on the road like two hours down the road it's not bad it's a bus ride um it's at Utah which for sure will be quite difficult but again that's week four we don't know cam rising's knee status then and then roadwise at Oregon State buffered by a Wazoo team you're not interested in 21 412 people at the Rose Bowl um at Oregon State's tough at Stanford less tough not a lot of people going to be at that game I don't think there's gonna be a lot of people at Stanford games in general this year a Colorado team at home that I don't think is going to be the the most difficult thing in the world Chip Kelly is just going to run straight at him at Arizona they lost this game last year it's in the desert It's Tricky I understand we're still talking about Arizona Asu at USC so yes it's a road game and that it's not in their home stadium but also they were right there to win that game last year USC needed a a great defensive lineman interception to seal that game and they get a cal team at home after that and that's both a post-rivalry game for Cal and UCLA I believe that's after the the game yeah the Cal has obviously every year with Stanford so UCLA Mrs Oregon in Washington is that what I'm reading correctly on the schedule you're correct sir nice little Duo UCLA beat Washington last year of course I just If This Were the schedule last year we'd likely be talking about a 10-2 UCLA during the regular season it's just UCLA is not built this year to go 10-2 but I don't know I think that schedule kind of rules Ty it's awesome yeah I jotted down sleeping Giants no I'm not there because I'm you know are they gonna start a true freshman at quarterback are they gonna start like like a perennial backup in Ethan Garber is like I just I don't know I I don't think they have the um the fire Firepower at quarterback this year I don't love their offensive line I think their defense they've got a couple of like interesting good dudes but I don't think they have the depth to do anything special this year they're going to lose one or two dumb games but I think the schedule will buffer that final buffer zone I agree yeah close things out with Oregon State mm-hmm Vegas believes in Oregon state with a win total of eight the question Dan is do you do you believe in your hated rival the Oregon State Beavers okay so they open with four winnable games San Jose State UC Davis San Diego State at Wazoo they beat Wazoo last year so it's winnable even though it's tough to play in the Palouse um they have Utah at home on a Friday right and they're you know at Wazoo the week before who's at Wazoo the week before Oregon State yeah well we're talking about Oregon State so yes if you're talking about Oregon State Oregon State's got a run here of San Jose State on the road UC Davis San Diego State to open then they go to Wazoo in week four so they've got road before Friday that's what I'm telling you that was something well before Friday excuse me road before Friday before they go to uh before the boy they come back home against Utah for the Friday night game and then they go on the road again the following week against Cal uh both Washington and Oregon and that's Oregon on the road are buffered um and Oregon has that short week at ASU as I mentioned they miss USC they miss ASU Oregon State what'd you say their number was I think they can get it I trust Jonathan Smith implicitly to run an efficient offense I think dju will be better we'll see on Aiden Childs by the way they have a freshman quarterback who might be like very low-key special ah defense improve lose a couple key pieces the secondary was so good last year but they bring back a number of of interesting pieces yeah I think they can win eight games don't you here's the thing about the schedule their toughest Road games are at Wazoo at Arizona and at Oregon on a Friday the Rivalry game relatively speaking and I underlined relatively because you know Stanford's got a strong case but they're starting from scratch this year and every team's kind of coming at this from a different spot relatively speaking I think it's the easiest Road slate in the Pac-12 in that it's to my eye far less difficult than some of the other situations around the conference and I think it's manageable for Oregon State I don't think anybody else really comes close to it Utah UCLA and Washington all those games are at home which itself those are tough opponents but they're at home and that's helpful in Oregon State and Corvallis can sometimes be weird I like what Oregon state did last year I like it a lot defense was solid they somehow won nine games with an accounting firm of Ben goldbrinson and chance Nolan playing quarterback if you are a DJ you or just otherwise a quarterback believer at Oregon state that that's going to take their offense next level this sets up pretty well for that it really does eight wins is not over aggressive eight wins feels like about the right number but just giving away the schedule sets up um I could it's a great schedule I could I could see throwing a few shekels on the over here and feel good about it you go back to the occult forces this is an Oregon State program at least under Mike Riley 100 losing the San Jose State are you see this teams I know I know I don't want to say one of those games I know San Diego State I feel less I'm confident in uh them beating Oregon State in Corvallis so let's say that Oregon State if I were to tell you I can't tell you the record I can't tell you how it happens yeah but if future me visited this show and says Oregon state is legit pretty good no that's all that you have about Dan from the future comes back to May and says I I come from January no of 2024 and I can tell you Oregon state is legit pretty good if not good at times how many Sims having that information how many Universe simulations out of a hundred is Oregon State 10-0 heading into Washington and Oregon so beating Utah and UCLA essentially would be the big questions in that scenario 40 40 out of 100 40 out of 100 if and they're pretty good going 10-0 I was in on like 17 13 to 17 simulations out of 130 . wow so that tells me that your interpretation of Oregon State as pretty good to legit good is you're all in on Oregon State I'm not sure I fully understood your question but uh what I'm saying is if if the information that you have without detail is that Oregon state is pretty good to at times legit good yeah that what that looks like in your brain is really impressive well what within the context of Oregon State yeah I mean what it looks like obviously it's winning the the very winnable games that we outlined yeah if we're talking about 10-0 we're talking about UCLA and Utah can they be yeah can they beat UCLA and Utah short week Utah Friday night short week Utah don't know the status of camerizing that'll be a bit of a grinder but games at home that they could win that game we've seen Utah lose games like that Definitely Maybe UCLA you know with the UCLA's defensive issues if Oregon State can get its defense playing a little bit better and sure you know if they can take their offense Next Level to score with UCLA I think it's doable so I don't think it's far-fetched that they would start 10-0 I don't think it's likely okay but I don't think it's far-fetched at all so for me to say 40 or 30 out of 100 simulations no that doesn't feel like it's too big of a stretch at all I'm at eight and four with them overall eight and four I think they're gonna take care of business more consistently than Oregon State teams have over these past few years against teams that they should beat and they'll jump up and be I think they'll they'll go I think they'll split UCLA and Utah let me ask you this yeah looking at the schedule what is the dumb loss that will annoy Oregon State fans when they look back if future Tai comes back and says they had a great thing going until this game and after that point fans were very frustrated that they lost it uh at Cal or at Colorado um yeah at Cal because it's sandwiched right it is a sandwich on the road and I don't know that game that game could be like a you know 10 p.m eastern time kickoff and at Colorado because Colorado has well they have UCLA the week before but it's just one of those one of those games where you know maybe Oregon State just doesn't have it and it's on the road it's at altitude you know how I'm a big believer in that yeah so yeah I I would I would put that as like they have a good season but they lost to Dion and they're like oh I need a shower hats yeah all right in closing here as you look through all of the schedules for each of these 12 teams did it change your opinion or your projections or opinions um on how things are going to shake out this year well I not again we've talked about camerizing's knee way too much but no not especially I I think Washington looking at their schedule if they're undefeated going into the bye week I think they're going to be crazy difficult in the back half even having Oregon USC Utah in there if they're undefeated there I think I think they're going to be in a good place um no I I think there are just too many teams here with new coaches or fully overhauling things in ways I was just like I have no idea what to expect from ASU or Colorado or uh Stanford like I think there is going to be a team that is like last year's Oregon state that is written off as being so-so and is actually dangerous who that team is Eileen Arizona but I'm not positive yet yeah I mean all too often the best compliment you could give any team when looking at this schedule in May is not really saying much about them at all and I think Arizona falls into that category I think Oregon falls into that category as well you know I'm high on UCLA because of the schedule you are to I like Washington's like Oregon States I think Cals is interesting because of situations and some changing Dynamics those are teams that I came away from this more interested in I don't know if it necessarily changed my opinion about how successful they'll end up being on a Saturday afternoon but again if you come out of this no notes looks okay to me generally I think if we did the math on on how we've done over the course of our our stay here as podcasters um we would find that the teams that we have the least amount to say about they they generally end up doing okay am I losing my mind or did we not talk about Arizona I don't know if we talked about Arizona did we not I don't think we did because you said that's a compliment to a team quietly jumping up oh we did and I don't recall I don't really I think I went into a Fugue state if we did because I have Arizona schedule thoughts yeah okay I I I'm sorry Arizona people let's knock out Arizona right here five and a half over under yeah because I feel like I would have talked about Mississippi State and like they've got incredible home road splits do they not they they do so okay my first thought after looking at this was I'm not sure how to get the six wins since the over understand okay it is not that brutal of a slate though and I'd probably put it fair to say in like the lower half of the league in terms of difficulty yeah they miss Oregon they miss Oregon and over assumes that they go 4-0 against Northern Arizona UTEP Stanford and Colorado and that they're stealing two more along the way from the following slate at Mississippi State home against Washington at USC at Wazoo home against Oregon State UCLA and Utah and on the road at ASU they do catch USC a week before USA USC excuse me plays Notre Dame on the road and they also get Utah at home a week after Utah plays Washington I think six is asking a lot but um this team just scares me they frighten me because I feel like there's a lot of a lot of potential energy here that we can't quite always account for watch out for tmac this year that's all I'm telling you watch out for tmac I okay so this is a good question of do you want your winnable games at home or on the road yeah for Arizona as they try to make take the next step it's great that their home road splits are look they're at USC as you mentioned but getting Washington UCLA Oregon State and Utah all in Tucson if I'm reading the schedule correctly that's great from a can Arizona beat good teams well I think they're more likely to beat those good teams in Tucson than they are on the road but also if I'm Arizona and I'm trying to get to seven wins six seven wins get back to bowl eligibility I want to load up the home slate with winnable games and that's where I'm a little bit worried which I think Echoes what you're saying yeah where it's just like get those tough if you're gonna lose those games well if you're likely gonna lose those games you might as well lose them on the road yeah I mean it's it's a matter of where are you coming from if you're Arizona and you want to get to a bowl game I think you want to try and have as many of the easy ones as home as you as possible if you're a team like I don't know it depends on your aspiration yeah if you're Georgia and you're playing the same teams it's helpful to have them on the road at least he could say well we played UTEP but it was on the road you know we played Washington but it was on the road that type of thing um I would just want the wins over I could get them and a I think it's asking a lot that they go 4-0 against those four teams I don't think that's a given I like Arizona a lot but I don't I don't think we can necessarily just go to the bank with four wins and of those other games I believe they're good enough to win two of those and get to the over I just don't know which ones they are some pretty good teams can they beat ASU in the Rivalry yeah they can beat ASU in the Rivalry but going to wazoo I don't know starts to get a little hairy are they going to knock off Washington or USC or UCLA I'd it starts to get tougher for me to find that path to six so I can see five and seven yeah six and six I am I would not want that bet can I counter the counter to the counter please can you name me two good defenses on the schedule no uh at least on the past Oregon State schedule Oregon State should be fine Utah should be fine yes Utah Oregon state is the two and we're I think Oregon State right now is a maybe yeah Mississippi state is a maybe but a lot a lot of change there but at least on the Pac-12 portion of this schedule starting with Stanford two legit good defenses I think Washington will be decent at times but I think at times they're gonna look like they did against Arizona last year I think so yeah I think I am I would like Arizona better if Don Brown were still calling the defense it just blitzed the hell out of everybody like he always does but otherwise I think so I think Arizona will play offense as well as most teams do their best thing this year if not better are there any other teams that I forgot in my hastiness to try and get this Pac-12 show over we talked Cal Stanford Wazoo Oregon State ASU Arizona now we did Colorado we nibbled on UCLA schedules here we did we talked to Oregon Washington SC and Utah yeah we're good you want to talk San Diego State just to cover our bases by the time people listen to the show in August or something oh no um I'm excited I'm I'm excited for this slate of games it would it would suck to me if there weren't a representative from this conference in the playoffs sure it would because I believe there are at least three very legit contenders in The Pact poll of USC in Oregon at the top but then Washington would yell hey what about us Utah depending on where they're at with camera Rising that could be another situation we won't talk about his knee again Oregon state is lurking UCLA's got a beautiful schedule I mean it really is a treasure yeah so they're we're talking six teams there that are very interesting for a variety of reasons and so I know that there are a lot of folks who listen on the east coast and don't care as much about West Coast Football be it because of time zones or because they're just not into the teams but there's a lot to like this year and I would hope folks approach the conference differently in 23. so who's the playoff team that you would have well originally it was USC I don't think so after seeing the schedule I think it's Oregon to be honest with you who do you okay do you think if everybody played the same exact schedule who is built to be that playoff team if everybody played the exact same schedule yeah if we if we put the all these teams in a bubble yeah they all just played each other who's Best Built to go 12-1 essentially probably again you haven't preview this is just me putting you on the spot this is just something you're esophagus I would say all things being equal exact same teams I might give them the nod to USC because of Caleb Williams sure um but that's not above Oregon yeah I'm uh I think I'm a little bit closer with Oregon because I think they beat Washington and Oregon State with a healthy bow Knicks last year but you know ifs and buts are candy and nuts if I had Wheels I'd be a bicycle so um I think Oregon's in a better place because the defense and or at least the ceiling of the defense this year no and so um the best the best part of Oregon and USC is Caleb Williams so I'm totally fine with that answer let us know what you think we're at solidverbal gmail.com also on social media we would encourage you to reach out and Twitter Facebook Instagram wherever whatever you got reach on out let us know your thoughts on the uh on the schedule here if you are listening to the plain old-fashioned podcast hit subscribe or follow leave a star rating or review that stuff helps of course and if you want to further support the stuff that Dan and I are doing here with the show with the bonus content with the patreon community the Discord server go to verballers.com v-e-r-b-a-l-l-e-r-s.com and sign up to be a certified or premium for baller it really does help can I ask you one final question please what are your thoughts on fettuccine alfredo um not so much into the Alfredo sauce yeah not not a big alfredo sauce fan you like a vodka I do like a vodka sauce you like a cream-based pasta sauce yeah not not yeah little two yeah a little goopy yep yeah I can't say I'm a huge fan love pasta remember really enjoying going to Olive Garden as a kid I love Auburn get those breadsticks get the get that salad bowl going I still buy the Olive Garden uh Italian dressing not a sponsor is it good it's very good salad dressing is fantastic all right I don't remember what I used to get from Olive Garden maybe ravioli of some kind but uh fettuccine alfredo not um not something I see myself ordering for that guy over there my good friend Dan Rubinstein for myself Ty Hildebrandt thanks for walking through another conference with us we'll be back soon in the meantime stay solid peace