Empty the Call Sheet (Sept. 29)
Empty the Call Sheet (Sept. 29)
Yogi's weekly Sunday newsletter written each week on the plane home from his game*
It was 2:17 a.m. Central Time on Sunday morning and we had just signed off on the Big Ten Network. A full day of covering games from pregame to postgame and it was a memorable end to Week 5 in college football. As I reflect back on my first time working in the Chicago based headquarters of BTN it was a weekend full of surprises, bounce-backs, and dominant performances. It also led to a series of questions as conference play unfolds and stars emerge. So let’s get to this Sunday’s newsletter from 30,000 feet as I fly back to Los Angeles, coffee in hand.
What Surprised me
UNLV: After starting quarterback Matthew Sluka left the team citing an NIL dispute, the Rebels didn’t flinch and turned to former zero-star recruit and 6th-year senior Hajj-Malik Williams and he delivered in a massive way. Facing future Pac-12 team Fresno State, which nearly beat Michigan earlier this year, UNLV rolled behind this transfer QB from Campbell. I had never heard of Campbell and I'm going to assume most of our readers haven’t either. It’s an FCS school in Buies Creek, North Carolina where he threw for over 8,00 yards and nearly 60 TDs for the Camels (yes, the Camels). Fun fact, he was born in 1999 and will be 25 in late November. College Football, can’t make some storylines up if we tried.
UW: Flying across the country on a Friday night, in a hostile environment, is not easy for anyone, especially a team with 44 new faces on it. But while watching Jedd Fisch’s team play at Rutgers, I thought they would find a way to win the game. After all, Coach Fisch grew up in New Jersey, his DC Steve Belichick played for Rutgers under Greg Schiano and I felt they would bounce back from the Apple Cup loss. Instead, UW keeps finding ways to lose: 1-4 on field goals, huge and rarely seen penalties in critical times and only 2-12 on third down. I love what he said post game, “We can’t play ourselves and our opponent.” In Year 1 or Year 10, Coach Fisch is spot on. But UW fans, keep believing. Coach Fisch has a detailed plan and it will just take a little time to reload this roster. The Dawgs will get someone this year and it might be Michigan this weekend in Seattle in the national championship game rematch. You read it here first.
Colorado: Coach Prime wanted his team to show up in all 3 phases at the same time in a game and on Saturday they did in a big way as the Buffs dominated Big-12 foe Central Florida on the road. The Buffs won by 27 points (their largest road win since 2005) and it was the most impressive win this team has had since week 1 last year against TCU. Travis Hunter continues to put on a show each weekend and is building his Heisman case in a strong way after 9 receptions, a TD and another spectacular interception where he yes, posed for the Heisman. Having former Heisman winner Charles Woodson in attendance only led to more support for his Heisman campaign. If I had to vote for that award today, Hunter would easily be in my top 3. Agree?
GameDay coming to Berkeley! The news broke Saturday night and the longest running college football pregame show will head to Cal for the first time in its rich history. The #Calgorithm has put a lot of eyes on Justin Wilcox’s program the last month and will be front and center for the Bears vs. the Miami Hurricanes. Get ready for the old school high school yearbook photos as both Mario Cristobal and Cal starting QB Fernando Mendoza attended Christopher Columbus High School. Does anyone else see a feature on GameDay coming? I do. If not, don’t worry as we will do a deep dive on Fernando and what drives him this week on the Y-Option podcast.
Who Bounced Back:
Arizona: The Wildcat beat #10 Utah 23-10 in a classic #Pac-12AfterDark turned Big 12 Conference game. While Cam Rising didn’t play for the 3rd straight week, the Utes surprisingly didn’t finish in the Red Zone at home and were stopped 4 times on 4th down on offense, including their first 2 possessions. The Wildcats came off a bye week and looked the part of Big 12 championship contender. Arizona has the top QB/WR duo on the West Coast in Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan and the Wildcats found tight end Keyan Burnett all game long as he had a career night (5 rec, 76 yds, 1 TD). Brent Brennan’s team took the crowd out of the game early as Fifita completed 13 of his first 14 passes and Arizona was up 16-3 after 3 quarters. This defense, led by the legendary coach Duane Akina, held Utah to 84 rushing yards after the Utes ran all over Oklahoma State for 249 yards a week prior. While disappointing for Kyle Whittingham’s squad it also proved that the preseason hype around Arizona is legit and when Arizona plays a complete game they are Big 12 champion worthy. Let’s hope for a rematch in the conference title game.
USC: At times against Wisconsin, Lincoln Riley’s squad looked like a version of the 2023 Trojans, down 21-10 at halftime. But unlike last year's team this year’s USC team flipped the script and ran away with this one, winning 38-21. We continue to pound the drum that the 2024 Trojans are in a “foundational year.” Meaning, the foundation is strong at USC and the resilience is real for the Trojans. While they struggled in the first half in back-to-back weeks, they found ways to respond and this week, found ways to finish. USC outgained the Badgers 205-92 in the 2nd half and DC D’Anton Lynn made the proper adjustments after the midpoint, suffocating the Wisconsin offense. In addition, one of Y-Option’s preseason breakout stars Ja’Kobi Lane did just that, as he had his first career 100+ yard receiving game and the playmakers at USC put the Trojans on their shoulders. My favorite play came from Miller Moss on a 4th & 1 play at the 7-yard line. He took a zone read, kept it around the right side and for a moment looked like Caleb Williams flying through the air. When he landed it looked as if the QB may have been a little banged up, but he seemed ok postgame and continues to be the leader and playmaker the Trojans need.
Who Dominated
Bama, kindof: Kalen DeBoer’s team was up 28-0 on Georgia before the Dawgs roared back to take the lead. After the Tide regained the lead on a 75-yard TD, corner Zabien Brown (from Mater Dei HS in SoCal) picked off Carson Beck to win an epic game in Tuscaloosa. It was a big time win for Coach DeBoer and I am so happy for him. Following a legend in anything is never easy and if nothing else, this win quieted the naysayers that said he wouldn’t be able to fill Saban’s shoes. While I don’t think he will replicate what Saban did in the BCS and 4-team CFP eras, I also don’t think Coach DeBoer spends more than 1 second even thinking about it. He’s building his team, in his era, and it’s going to be special. Speaking of special, Jalen Milroe is exactly that.
True freshman Zabien Brown (from Southern California) seals Alabama’s win over Georgia (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Clemson: While Troy Taylor’s Stanford team outgained Clemson in the first half 230-227, they turned it over and failed to score touchdowns in the red zone in a 40-13 loss. It’s not going to be an overnight rebuild on The Farm and the Cardinal should bounce back this weekend hosting Virginia Tech. In addition, classes have started at Stanford so let’s hope for a good turnout among the fans.
Oregon: I get it, Oregon hasn’t played a ranked team but I see a team improving every week and still think they are a threat to win the B1G. They will get that chance in two weeks when they host Ohio State, which might be the best team in the nation. In the meantime, this defense was in the UCLA backfield all night with 4 sacks and 9 TFL’s. Dillon Gabriel and Tez Johnson continue to thrive together and Gabriel became 2nd all-time in all of the NCAA in total yards, became the fourth FBS player to throw for over 16,000 yards and moved into a three-way tie for third with 134 touchdown passes. Think about that for a moment – he would have thrown the ball from Eugene to NYC and back to Eugene. If he keeps balling like this he will be flying to NYC in December for the Heisman on a PJ.
Questions:
When will we see Cam Rising play again? He’s an icon in Utah and when he’s on the field the Utes are special. Hope it’s soon, they need him.
The OL in Los Angeles? Both the Bruins and the Trojans need to shore up their offensive front. What changes do they make? What changes can they make? If not personnel, switching up the pass protection? More TEs? Backs chipping in protection? Something has to change and knowing both staffs, they will adjust. More on that this week on our preview podcast at Y-Option.com.
Is CU real? That’s it. Can Coach Prime’s team play the way they did on Saturday every week? If so, they will make some noise and a bowl game. I’m not convinced either way but rooting for them.
FSU? What is going on? This just feels off. This team may not roll opponents but under zero circumstances should they get drilled by SMU 42-16. To make matters worse, Mike Norvell said after the game that even though DJ Uiagalelei banged up his hand in the 4th quarter, he was going to make the change at QB anyways to give Brock Glenn an opportunity. They host Clemson this week, DJU’s original school. Let’s hope they get it back on track in Tallahassee.
What gives when the CFP is deciding the “11th seed”? This storyline for the final at-large berth will pick up speed over the next four weeks so let’s get ahead of it. Will it be all about Notre Dame and beating USC? Will it be a debate among the superconferences? If WSU runs the table will they have a shot after their loss at Boise State?
The onside kick and offside? I need Mike Pereira on Line 1, asap. Minnesota lost to Michigan 27-24 on Saturday and were dominated for the majority of the game but had an entertaining and gritty 4th quarter comeback. They called an onside kick after scoring a TD to cut the Wolverines lead to 3 and recovered it, only to be called for being offside. For almost 20 years, I've stood in the broadcast booth and watched kickoffs, and have re-watched hundreds of kickoffs every season on film. I could pick out a guy who is offside on over 80% of those kickoffs, but it’s never called. Why was it called on Saturday at the most critical time in the game? I’m not sure, but am heading to Minneapolis this week for the USC and Minnesota game and will be sure to ask.
Ok, we are about to land and it’s been almost 24 hours since sleeping so I’m off to see the kids, take a nap, and gear up for Week 6. But before that, I want to give a helmet sticker to my colleagues and crew this past Saturday. I was able to get back on set with Ashley Adamson and Anthony Herron, two former Pac-12 Network broadcasters, as well as meet former UW receiver turned NFL fullback Marcel Reece. Dave Revsine kept it together on set and we had an absolute blast. So thanks to all of them, they made my first appearance feel like I’d been there for weeks.
And big thanks to you! The first 5 weeks have been incredible at Y-Option and none of this is possible without your constant love and support. So much gratitude your way, on so many levels.
Much love,
Yogi