Empty the Call Sheet (Sept. 8)

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

Week 2 is over, the West Coast is representing & what do we truly know right now in college football?

Welcome back to our Sunday newsletter, where I will share my thoughts from 30,000 feet flying home from a game. This week is a little different as there are no flights involved, having called the USC vs Utah State game late last night. With an 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT start I was able to catch most of the day in college football, and it was electric from 9am in Ann Arbor to midnight in Eugene.

Sandwiched between both, Justin Wilcox and the Cal Bears went into SEC country and beat Auburn and Northern Illinois won in historic fashion at Notre Dame with a postgame interview for the ages. Driving to the LA Memorial Coliseum those scores, and many others, served as a great reminder that regardless of team colors it's still 11 on 11 football and the team who plays the most connected, mistake-free and sound usually wins. Or in simpler terms: the size of a program’s collective doesn't matter on game day.

Yogi with Guy Haberman on the call of Utah State at USC on Big Ten Network

At the Coliseum, both Reggie Bush and Caleb Williams had their jerseys retired in the Peristyle end of the historic stadium and it was a beautiful site. The Trojans dominated the line of scrimmage, proved once again that their defense is not a fluke and are a legit contender for the CFP. 

At halftime, the floor of the stadium began to look a little different as shadows began to emerge, with a few of the stadium lights starting to shut down due to the record heat in Southern California. As bulb after bulb turned off, I turned to my partner Guy Haberman and said “we’ve seen a lot in CFB but have never seen this!”

And as the game ended and USC celebrated a win over Utah State 48-0 I looked around the college football landscape and had to admit, there were a few other things I had not seen in a while.

• 9 in a row! How about the Arizona Wildcats with the longest winning streak in the nation!?! It wasn’t pretty for Brent Brennan’s team, having not converted a single 3rd down, but it’s a win. They visit Kansas State this Friday night in a weird ‘non-conference’ game and both teams have had their shaky moments during the first 2 weeks. 

• ASU might be awakening the sleeping giant we often talk about, putting it on Mississippi State in Tempe. I’m not sure who voted the reigning Headset Hero, Kenny Dillingham’s team 16th in the Big-12 preseason poll, but safe to say you missed the mark on the Sun Devils. They could be undefeated when Utah comes to town on a Friday night (without overlooking a Thursday night game at Texas State). Look out Mill Ave!

  

  Cam Skattebo and ASU pick up their first ever win over SEC team (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

• The Cal Bears went into SEC country and dominated Auburn for the majority of the game. Still wild to think they are in the ACC, but they might be hosting Mario Cristobal in Berkeley undefeated in a few weeks. More on that as we get closer but major props to Fernando Mendoza, who hasn’t turned the ball over once this season. Fun fact, he went to the same high school at Coach Cristobal in Miami. 

• Texas, led by former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian, rolled Michigan in the Big House, or as one person mentioned to me ‘we made the big house a condo.’ They looked the part of a legit National Championship contender. 

• How about this picture! Walking out of my home Saturday morning I looked at this photo of the 2005 Heisman and realized it had been a while since I last looked at it and upon reviewing, went down memory lane during our broadcast on Big Ten Network.

  

  Reggie Bush & the USC staff at the 2005 Heisman ceremony

• Reggie and Caleb and Coli jersey’s. For Reggie Bush, it was long overdue. It was incredible to see his #5 adorning the Peristyle end of the Coliseum. All game, I was waiting for Zachariah Branch to break a long return, as the entire stadium rises to their feet when he touches the ball, just like they did when #5 had the ball in his hands. And for Caleb Williams, I truly feel he is in the 1% of college football players. He is the most talented college quarterback I’ve ever evaluated and, as the first true NIL/portal QB in this new era of college football, he set the blueprint on how to navigate the world of college, college football and creating a business.

  As the sun rose this morning I also thought of a few familiar things…

• The West Coast is rolling! In fact, college football out West is simply picking up where the teams in the 2023 Pac-12 left off. Interesting fact, the only former Pac-12 team who lost over the weekend was Colorado and those 12 schools are a combined 21-2 on the season.

• Speaking of the Buffs, while the Big-12 is nowhere near as top heavy as the B1G or SEC, that might be a negative for the Buffs. They struggle to run the ball and protection is an issue when it comes to Shedeur Sanders. I'm a fan of Coach Prime and regardless of their record, he's been great for Colorado and college football. But I don't think the floor is a bowl berth anymore. More on that this week on the Y-Option podcast as will be diving into what happened in their game at Nebraska.

• How about America’s Teams! Say it with me – WSU and OSU should be your second favorite teams. They have been written off by most, but again, none of that matters as they just continue to win. Many people thought we were crazy to call them “America’s Teams” on The Herd last month, but when you think about everything they have been through, it just makes sense. They also made Texas Tech and San Diego State look average on Saturday, or as Jake Dickert's said post game, “This is not a statement win. Washington State has played at the highest level forever. We beat another team that plays at the highest level.” The facts don’t lie.

• USC is reminding me of the early Pete Carroll years. Why? Well, their foundation seems to be solid. Year 1 it was lightning in a bottle, last year was up and down but this year, it just feels legit. Or as we said on our broadcast, it feels like this Trojan program finally has a solid foundation. As Penn State and Oregon struggled and both Michigan and Iowa lost yesterday, look out for the Trojans to take up some oxygen in the college football landscape, and this time it’s not hype. Heard it here first.

• While the Ducks won a close game , like they did last week, there were areas of improvement and concern. Explosive plays were at a premium and special teams made an impact. It's fair to be concerned about their offensive line as there were a variety of combinations up front. The Ducks schedule does Dan Lanning’s team zero favors with rival Oregon State this weekend in Corvallis. Last time they went there the Beavers won 38-34, with both as members of the Pac-12 Conference. Emotions will be high this week for both clubs.

• Utah looks like a legit CFP team with Cam Rising. They were efficient, explosive and physical. All hallmarks of Kyle Whittingham’s teams. But when Rising left the game late in the second quarter, so did the efficiency of this offense. The Utes should win this weekend against Utah State, but after that enter a vital stretch at Oklahoma State and home vs Arizona to wrap up September before the bye. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious for a signal caller who returned for his 7th season to take Utah to a place it has yet to be, the CFP.

So, what do we know for sure?

• I never thought I'd say rivalry games in September feel even more meaningful than in the finale of a regular season, but here we sit with the Apple Cup and Oregon vs Oregon State in 6 days. We all know how important this game is to so many, but this year it feels different. New conferences, the way everything shook out, the Beavs and Cougs left in their respective states without their longtime conference partner, etc. I'd imagine all four coaching staffs are reminding their players that they cannot get caught up in those emotions this week. Rather, use that motivation to pour into recovery, preparation and focus. We will be all over these games at www.Y-Option.com. 

  

  Steve Sarkisian and Texas with the win over Michigan in the Big House (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

• Texas is real. Ever since they entered the SEC under Steve Sarkisian I felt they would be the future of the league. I am sure Georgia will have something to say about that (like October 19th in Austin), but I'm buying the Longhorns. Kevin Carroll, a man who has impacted my life in profound ways, is working at UT with athletics and the football program, so I'll always give the Longhorns the edge. And if you're looking for an inspiring read, check out his book The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, it’s a top 5 book in my eyes. 

• The NFL is back, fully! So excited for the rookie QBs.

• Speaking of; we will continue to roll out our new feature, 5-Star Advice each week, stay tuned!

• And here come Y-Option’s Go Go Go Awards presented by 76 from this past weekend. Stay tuned as we reveal our award winners on Monday morning!