Empty the Call Sheet (Sept. 15)

Yogi's weekly Sunday newsletter written each week on the plane home from his game

Hello from 30,000 feet somewhere over the midwest.

As I fly back to Los Angeles, it’s wild to look back on Week 3 and think of it as a version of Rivalry Week in college football. My Pitt Panthers scored 2 touchdowns in the final 3:06 for a come-from-behind win in the Backyard Brawl. The Oregon Ducks looked like the team the nation expected in a dominant 2nd half to get the win over Oregon State. And Jake Dickert locked up our Go Go Go Headset Hero (we’ll announce all 4 awards Monday morning) with his Washington State Cougars win in epic style over their rival Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup.

Around the nation there was drama, starting on Thursday night with ASU winning at a good Texas State squad and it concluded on Saturday with upsets, near upsets and some straight up dominant wins as non-conference football concludes for the most part in major college football.

I was in Lincoln, Nebraska and the hype around all things Cornhusker football delivered. Matt Rhule is a phenomenal culture builder and among all of his stops, this one has a chance to be a true juggernaut in college football. 

On Friday night, I spoke with a current head coach in college football and he asked me a compelling question: “What is a must have today to win in college football?” After a few seconds my response was pretty straightforward. “Resources, history and a belief in football from the top down at your university.”

Reflecting back on my first time calling a game at Nebraska, it’s crystal clear that this program has all of those in spades.

Nebraska has the resources, facilities, fan base and talent to return to the top of the college football world. Saturday night was their 399th straight sellout at Memorial Stadium, which is amazing as this team hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2016! They recently opened their $165M Osborn Legacy Complex and it’s hard to imagine many facilities that are more impressive than this one. Add in the new revenue sharing model entering college football and it’s even harder to imagine many places pouring resources like this into a new facility moving forward. Great timing by the Cornhuskers. 

Add in Matt Rhule’s approach to teaching, accountability and his connection with his players and this thing is about to take off in Lincoln. They have talent too. Freshman signal caller Dylan Raiola is as unique of a QB as I’ve seen in quite some time. Raised by an All-Everything offensive lineman father who also starred at Nebraska, Dylan has elevated his entire team with the way he prepares and his discernment. It helps that his dad, Dominic, played center in the NFL for over a decade and has shown him that there is no substitute for hard work. Add in the veteran elements of this program with 17 players who are either 5th or 6th year seniors and this team has the maturity, physicality up front on both lines and scheme to be in the top third of the Big Ten.

Dylan Raiola in Nebraska’s win over Northern Iowa (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Lastly, their Tunnel Walk was EPIC to start the game and their light show between the 3rd and 4th quarters was a memory that I’ll always cherish. This stadium should be on every college football fans bucket list (UCLA comes to Lincoln on November 2nd). I couldn’t help but imagine a CFP game in Lincoln…safe to say about 80,000+ in Memorial Stadium would agree. And to those two people high up in the stadium, I hope you print out your photo!

As the sun is rising outside my window on this flight, here are a few others things that stood out to me over the weekend:

• I’m convinced that veteran teams will be the last ones standing. They just know how to win. Last year the National Championship featured two defenses that had a combined 13 players that were either 5th or 6th year seniors – they knew how to meet competitive moments in tight games and even more importantly, bring a focus to practice every Tuesday and Wednesday that elevated both Washington and Michigan. This year Ohio State, USC, and Oregon are a few of the teams that have that type of experience and I think it will pay off for them in November.

• America’s Team: We've been saying for months that if the Washington State Cougars or the Oregon State Beavers were undefeated after week 3 then they would be America’s Team. The Beavs couldn’t hang with the Ducks in the 2nd half but the Cougs reclaimed the Apple Cup in historic fashion. A goal-line stop to win the game, Jake Dickert crying on the field post game and the quote of the year “We said we were gonna win this game not because we hated them, but because we loved each other.” I mean could Hollywood script anything better?! 

• The final play from Washington. A lot was made of the speed option call by Jedd Fisch and per usual, he owned the call in his postgame comments. I’ve always admired how he addresses the media. Honest, straightforward and thoughtful. I didn’t have a problem with the call and after watching it back the execution was the issue. When you’re running the option there needs to be a free edge defender to threaten with the option, WSU’s DE was actually blocked and that forced Will Rogers to stretch the play toward the sideline where he and Jonah Coleman would run out of room. Part failed execution, part great play by the Cougs and former Y-Option guest Kyle Thornton. I’ll say it again, the details in this game make it the greatest sport on earth–How Great Is Ball!?

• Speaking of How Great Is Ball?! We have some merch and get yourself a Y-Option t-shirt that reads HOW GREAT IS BALL!?

• The Pac-12. If you read this newsletter you know the love I’ll always have for the Pac-12 and for the first time in a while it was truly innovative and bold. Commissioner Teresa Gould stated from the day she took over as commissioner that she would be bold, aggressive and open-minded. She’s been all of those, in spades. With the additions of Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State, the Pac-12 takes the first step toward re-building a historic conference. Some seemed to laud the move, some felt like it was just ok. I think it’s a home run. Why? Well, there was no need to invite 6 or 8 teams at the same time. Commissioner Gould is not only building interest, but receiving it. It’s been reported that over a dozen schools contacted the Pac-12 within 24 hours regarding their desire to be invited. While who those schools could be or should be can be debated, what I’ll ask you to ponder is this: imagine a world where each of these schools make more than $25 million per year in media rights in a 14-team playoff and the Pac-12 gets an automatic bid. Would Cal or Stanford come back? How about some of the other teams that left? With the competitive depth of other leagues and the goal to A) get paid and B) make the CFP, I’d think that university leadership at dozens of schools would listen. Stay tuned as we break it all down on the next Y-Option podcast.

• Speaking of Cal, they are 3-0 after dominating Auburn out of the SEC and Saturday night, the future Pac-12 member San Diego State Aztecs. Justin Wilcox has a QB in Fernando Mendoza and a schedule that suits them well. At 0-3 FSU this weekend, a bye and then undefeated and Top 10 Miami comes to town. College GameDay needs to give the West Coast some respect and find their way to Berkeley if both are still undefeated. I’d charge up the golf cart as that game will have Memorial Stadium rocking and Beast Mode in the building. I’d vote to mic him up.

• FSU, what’s going on with Mike Norvell and DJU? While the head coach and QB often get too much praise, they also get far too much blame. This team just doesn't look good and it’s not all on the QB. It makes me wonder what their off-season program looked like. So much is built there and that is often where a chip on one’s shoulder is cultivated. After last year's CFP snub, I’d imagine their off-season did not lack motivation. This week's game will be a must watch if you love the culture elements of a program, as I’d bet the Seminoles come together and play their most complete game of the season. 

• Former Coug Cam Ward is balling and Miami is rolling teams, but I want to see how they are when they face a ranked team. Their first ranked opponent should be the Bears.

  

  Dillon Gabriel on the move against OSU (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

• If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about the Oregon Ducks after the first two weeks I’d feel like an NIL QB. My response has been the same on the Y-Option podcast and on Big Ten Network– “I’m not worried about the Ducks.” That proved to be true as they found their offensive line and Dillon Gabriel used his legs as the weapon we knew they could be in a dominant win over their rival in Corvallis. Equally as important, the Ducks only had 3 penalties and are starting to clean the little things up. In Week 1 and Week 2, those small miscues led to explosive plays by Boise State or negative plays by themselves. I still think they are a CFP team and have the 2nd most talented roster in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State. They are off this week and then head to UCLA before a stretch that includes Jonathan Smith returning to Eugene, where he coached his final game as the head coach at Oregon State. 

• What happened at UCLA? I watched that game back on the flight home and like Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster said post-game, “We didn’t execute.” I'd 100% agree. This team had their chances. After seeing the final score, I was surprised to see the game at 28-13 with about 8 minutes to play and the Bruins moving the ball. Bottom line, when there were contested plays to be made at critical times Indiana made them for the most part. I thought the Bruins offense was creative and their defense made some plays, but when the ball was in the air the Hoosier wideouts showed out. How the Bruins respond will be a must-watch as they head to Death Valley this weekend to face LSU. Thankfully for them, it’s a day game.

• Speaking of Indiana, I’ll be there this coming weekend as they host Charlotte and have a chance to go 4-0. Remember what Coach Cignetti said when he was hired? I’ll give you a hint, “Google me.” I might have to pick up a tee shirt while there this week. I’m a huge fan of him and his staff, after all, it’s full of Pitt guys!

• In the Big-12, ASU continues to find ways to win and again remind people that they are not the worst team in the Big-12, no matter what the preseason poll said. Cam Skattebo is playing like one of the top backs in the nation. If they can find consistency in the passing game, this team will make noise in that league.

• Cam Rising didn’t play but the Utah Utes saw their future in freshman Isaac Wilson in a comeback win over Utah State and Bryson Barnes. College football is still undefeated when it comes to creating storylines that no one can predict.

• How about San Jose State? They didn't receive an invite to the Pac-12 but they showed out on Saturday night. Their QB, Emmett Brown, continues to spin it, as he threw for 355 yards and 4 TDs. That name may ring a bell as he was a backup QB at Washington State the last 2 years. In addition, Nick Nash, a former QB turned wideout had 17, yes 17 receptions and 3 of those TDs. They head to Pullman Friday night and their offensive coordinator is Craig Stutzmann, who was on Nick Rolovich’s staff at WSU and was one of the staff members fired for failing to comply with Washington’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. The storylines each week in college football write themselves once again.

Finally, a note on freshman quarterbacks, as a few found the field this past weekend across the country. This is the most challenging position in sports and requires the most development among any position in sports. It’s easy for fans to praise their signal caller and even easier to blame him. We have seen it in the best ways and recently, some of the worst (google Payton Thorne). After being at Nebraska and around Dylan Raiola, one of the highest rated recruits last year and one of many former Elite 11 QBs in his 2023 class to be playing each Saturday, it was amazing to hear the Nebraska staff talk about his preparation each week.

Raiola (top, far right) with the 2023 Elite 11 finalists

He shared his process with myself and our broadcast crew and it’s evident that he pours into the craft. Film on Sunday, game planning all Monday and Tuesday, and his process is one that has even forced the Nebraska staff to get ahead of their plan even earlier than they have in years past. It’s a brilliant reminder to all parents of QBs and young signal callers that there is no substitute for the work and that your preparation will set you free on Saturdays. Be sure to lock into our newsletter each week as we share 5-Star Advice, a new feature where we share wisdom directly from quarterbacks or those who have worked with them or drafted them as coaches in college and the NFL. 

As always, thank you for the support of Y-Option as without your subscriptions this community is not possible.

Much love and more soon!

Yogi