Deion Sanders’ plan to win + Big 12 expectations & predictions 🏈 | College GameDay Podcast

Deion Sanders’ plan to win + Big 12 expectations & predictions 🏈 | College GameDay Podcast

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss moments from the Big 12 Football Media Days, including Pete’s interview with Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy’s comments on Ollie Gordon’s II’s arrest for suspicion of DUI. Then, they give the lay of the land for the Big 12 going into next season, specifically their thoughts on conference leaders in Utah, Kansas and Arizona, as well as how Iowa State will do if they can get over the mental hurdle of losing one-score games. They also ponder some alternate name options for the conference…why not call it the Gargantuan 16?

0:00 Welcome
0:41 – A must watch: Deion Sanders & Pete Thamel
05:16 – Colorado’s issue last season was defense
12:12 – Mike Gundy during Big 12 Media Days
15:06 – Gundy contextualizes Ollie Gordon II’s DUI arrest
22:46 – OK State: Last season & next season
25:00 – Who will win the Big 12?
33:15 – Big 12 unforced error: Non-conference games
41:21 – Who plays in the Big 12 Championship Game?
46:11 – The stress of a Pete Thamel story chase

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no matter what the thermometer reads A sure sign that the crisp cool days of fall are on the horizon the arrival of media [Music] days this is the college game day podcast for Friday July 12th ree Davis and Pete th with you and you know the one thing that really warmed my heart there are times that you get into the doldrums of television in the summer and you don’t know what to watch and last night I spent a little time watching a replay of the Ohio State Utah Rose Bowl just to get a little bit of a fix but then but then media day arrives and I look on my screen and what do I see but the most charismatic flashiest nosiest one of the most polarizing figures in all of college football on the screen and also Deion Sanders was with Pete themill at that time so you’ve been to Big 12 media days you you pulled Dion into your orbit there to try to try to give him a little boost in credibility and a little recognition and attention what what did you take from Big 12 media days I have to assume that most of it started with uh with your interview with Dion right sure I mean it’s it’s just a spectacle uh Deon Sanders Colorado shador Sanders Shiloh Sanders they also brought the punter who Dion refers to his mate because he’s aussy um that’s electric by the way it’s so simple yet funny because it’s Dion which he loves him he was with him at Jackson State and he came he came with him so but just wherever Dion went like a beehive followed him like in Youth Soccer it was like around from where uh our PN position was looking at the main stage I was struck that like Brett yormark stopped everything he was doing and just watched Dion’s press conference right like everybody was just sort of transfixed and mesmerized at uh at what he was uh at what he was going to say uh he was great talking to me the with the ran on Sports Center and in a few other places um he he busted my chops because uh you know he been he’d been very convicted about winning we’re going to win we’re going to win was a a thing he had said a few times before he went to me and so I sort of said that to him you know you’re convicted about this he was like what are Pete were coaches coming in here saying they’re not going to win he’s like exactly a news [Music] flash Deion Sanders at Big 12 media day you’ve been very blunt today Dion you plan to win this year you want me to be different of course not who don’t plan on winning is any coach that came here don’t plan on winning like you said it like it was a news Splash he has a really interesting sort of cadence of how he speaks Reese and I and I thought it was pretty I thought it was pretty interesting um and again they overhauled their roster I think the number is 46 new players in the portal 52 left somewhere in that neighborhood our folks in stats and info uh sent that over are hardworking folks they’re getting calluses on their hands doing the Colorado number crunching um but I I thought this was interesting what Dion said to us in the espn.com room he said on the on the the necessity of an infusion of talent it’s hard for me to say that without being ridiculed you could say it and that’s what’s needed but I can’t say it like I can’t see or something and so he was just he just has like an interesting Pence and an interesting way of uh of of of going about it and uh it was it was fascinating just to sort of watch him in this in this orbit you you you leave there thinking they could go win nine games or you you know because they have what Dion calls maybe the potentially the number one and number two pick in the draft car didn’t have anyone drafted last year so if you need to like go bear brass taxs on the roster and why they are where they were that that’s a reason right and they they had they they needed the infusion from the portal again they needed massive upgrades on the offensive line um but they will have you know multiple first round picks this year I think it’s it safe to say that Dion was getting greedy a little bit he said they could have as many as four I don’t know if I’ll I’ll I I’ll hit pause on that as a little bit of media day hyperbole uh I I do think Reese they have maybe the one of the five best groups in the country will Shepard comes from Vanderbilt he’d been an all SEC type player there really fast got gives him even more great speed yes uh Leon Webster from from FAU led the nation for much of the season in I believe it’s like catches per game like he was a monster productive guy who’s going to fit well in that offense and they bring back Jimmy horn who ran all those go routes last year and obviously they have Travis Hunter um who you know could get drafted as just a receiver pretty high as well as being you know the best corner in the country so boy do they have some some skill I mean that’s that is an impressive collection tailback a little more pedestrian and unproven offensive line as we’ve said on this podcast glaring question mark But to to summarize uh news flash Dion was Dion was fascinating you know I don’t know that a lot has changed for them other than they have the continuity there because the number of sacks they gave up I think 56 as a team 52 of them to shadur um the defense couldn’t you know couldn’t stop the run because mostly because not because they weren’t well coached or talented they were mostly small you know that that was a significant issue for them up front and stopping the run so um and they couldn’t run it so I know football has changed and it’s not the old if you can run and stop the run you’re going to win but one thing still holds true if you can’t run at all and you can’t stop it at all then you’re going to lose now they did have a lot of onep possession games last year I think what I think five of those losses when they lost eight of their last nine uh you know by definition ended up being one possession games eight points or fewer so I think the jury is still out I think they have the best player in college football and Travis Hunter now you might Wibble and I probably would and say that um you know that will Johnson maybe above him as above Travis Hunter as a pure Corner maybe you find a receiver that as a pure receiver you like better but as a complete football player Travis Hunter is the best player in the country in my judgment shadur is one of the top two or three quarterbacks in terms of talent one would think but will the people around him around shidu I mean be good enough to let him to give him time will he adjust enough under Pat shurmer to get rid of the ball a little quicker so that they can that they can be a factor in this big 12 race or at least get the bowl eligibility and you know they’ve got an offensive line coach who I believe in Phil Lo lad hold whose name is familiar to college football fans but I don’t believe he’s ever been an on the- field coach am I I’m correct in that is that right this is his first coaching assignment it’s it would be his first room in college right because in the NFL you can go on the field when you’re like an assistant o line coach but like in terms of having first time he’s in charge first time he’s in charge so that doesn’t mean he won’t be great at it it’s like it’s like that old thing where you have to have head coaching experience Bob stops didn’t need it well Bob Stoops was born to be a head coach he walked in he was the head coach he didn’t need to you know go to double directional tech for six years to make mistakes you know some guys do some don’t and you know maybe load Holt is you know going to be the next ball you know maybe he’s going to be the next offensive line Guru or something um but we don’t know that yet much like we don’t know how the guys will gel together on that offensive line much how we don’t know that their star recruit Jordan seon every ability in the world every attribute and characteristic one would want from a young offensive lineman but he’s still that he’s still a young offensive lineman and at the highest levels of college football rare is the case where that doesn’t get exposed so I’m you know we’ll do predictions later on and we’ll talk a little bit about how we’re going to preview the season but I look at their schedule right now Pete and I still I I think bow eligibility would be a really good thing I mean they’ve got to go to Arizona and Kansas in conference play they’re at Nebraska they’re at Colorado state for a grudge match they’re at UCF where uh people might not realized that while UCF might not be in the orbit that it was in 2017 I think they’re still 39 and five in the bounce house over uh you know over the last seven years or something like that so that won’t be an easy trip after seeing KJ Jefferson in person ree I can I can I can confirm I would not want to tackle him he is a large human he’ll be running Gus mazon’s offense and Gus Maan knows how to get a quarterback going downhill as we’ve seen I was going to say I was going to say short of the ultimate Gus Malon quarterback and Cam Newton as as there ever been uh physically uh someone cut out to be a gus Malon quarterback more than uh more than KJ Jefferson he actually said he’s like Cam and body type um and he’s like basically we got of caught himself a little bit like I know he should let’s stop it there let’s stop it right there yeah Cam Newton was pretty good player uh but K Jefferson really a good player he uh a big smile cracked on KJ’s face when uh a reporter asked him about playing in Gainesville and I don’t know the stats off my head but do you remember when Arkansas went to Gainesville two years ago and it beat him down there and I don’t remember KJ’s statline but it involved many it involved a pinball machine going off um for between run the Run game and the pass game so um he kind of very subtly was like I look forward to going there again and getting getting a win well our favorite stat this time of year there and this is so misleading and maybe we’ll get into this a little bit more because we extoled the virtues of the number of starts on the offensive line that Florida state had last year and and you know I guess that proved to be a positive but as I’m going through you’re you’re winding up with a lot of teams with a really high number or what would traditionally be a high number of career starts on the offensive line on their team team but in in many of the cases a very small number of those have come together as a unit at that particular place doesn’t mean that the offensive line won’t be good if you don’t have it it’s just a little bit of what we’re talking about with Colorado that you don’t know and the same is true for UCF they have like 58 starts or something on the offensive line career and that includes the people that they’ve brought in but you know they’ve you know they brought they’ve brought in some dudes in the portal but they’re another team in this conference that you just don’t know a lot about I think the team because as a as a conference there’s more returning production in the Big 12 than any other conference and and probably the most uh the most experienced of the teams would be Oklahoma State and speaking of speaking of coaches who uh who can draw some attention and can be a lightning rod what did you make of what did you make of Mike Gundy and the Ali Gordon situation with the with the DUI that he was uh he was charged with well I I mean obviously Mike Gundy certainly knows how to take over a media day right like um it was it was just really interesting ree because you know he chose to bring olly Gordon to Media day Oli Gordon you know our listeners would know this is obviously an all am consensus all americ tailback Big 12 offensive player of the year arguably the best tailback returning in college football just a you know pound-for-pound one of the better players in the sport gets a DUI and you know that Mike gundy’s like media team they had a whole cabal around walking around with him prepared him to answer that you know and Mike Gundy just chose to you know when when you’re dealing with controversy and you and I know this because we’ve you know done controversial interviews asked controversial questions you know the the the Playbook is to keep it tight keep it simple move on and get the message across in a in a very like clipped you know direct way and uh you know Mike B Mike Gundy just went to Media day and pontificated on drinking and driving and pontificated on you know he said to me in the morning that he would punish Oly Gordon by having him carry it 50 times in the first [Music] game all’s very fortunate that he was able to get out of that situ situation without anybody getting injured getting hurt and uh when they called me the next day you know I shared that with all first thing I said would anybody get hurt no well you’re lucky um you could have hurt somebody else uh yourself and then you deal with that the rest of your life hopefully more than football you can learn from the situation you’ve been in because if not then we have a real issue um but uh he’s going to play and um I’m going to do what I think what we think is best for Oklahoma State football uh and I think it’s best for all to play uh if there’s any punishment it’s make him carry the ball 50 times in the first [Music] game CU I ask him a followup or would you assume that there’ll be some type of internal punishment because he was very clear that he was going to play and not miss games right and that was sort of the story from there are they going to do anything so just said you know are you gonna you know make him run steps do what you whatever some Collegiate typical punishment was and he kind of came off with that and the the way he said it it wasn’t because I went back and watched before I published it um it it wasn’t like a oh hahaa I’m joking no he was sort of like that it was it was it was said in a very like clear and clear and direct way and then um you know the comments he made on on the bigger stage about uh about having three or four beers and I’ve gotten away with that thousands of times um in my life I mean that those were just like a collective cringe went across the conference you could see the the Big 12 leadership the other coaches uh I remember seeing a couple of them late in the day as they were leaving to go get their flights like their eyes popped out their heads like their SIDS were showing them the clips of [Music] it not to get into the legal side of it but I thought really two or three beers or four I’m not justifying what ol he did I’m telling you what decision I made well I thought I probably done that a thousand times in my [Music] life so look this is this is Mike Gundy um Oklahoma state knows what they signed up for and one of the reasons he’s still there is because once a year he’s going to do something like this and I you know I I just think like they they they know exactly what they have and to get the results on the field which have been you know they they’ve made the Big 12 title game two the last three years they’re probably a favorite to go back there with 20 returning starters um you you have to deal with some of the self-induced headaches that Mike Gundy gives you and that was another one this week couple of things and I want to be very clear and precise in this so that I don’t get caught up in a Mike Gundy moment you know of of saying something that is um that is taken a certain way in a way which you didn’t intend it I I like you and watching how he said it about Gordon carrying the ball 50 times or whatever I didn’t take it as a big joke um but I you know I did take that and the comments at the podium as the latest clear indication of something that’s been true to quote the old country song and I’m not really a country music officient but I am somewhat uh somewhat uh conversive in it there was an old song entitled Mike giv aam is busted and Mike’s give aam has been busted for quite some time so he’s going to say what he so what he’s going to say what he thinks the idea that the only corrective measure that a coach can take when a player a a hopefully a young person that he’s trying to Mentor Shepherd along that the only corrective action possible to get the desired result is to take away game time is a little is a little bit misleading and just erroneous I think and we’ve seen this from you know Nick Sabin and the the famous example that he often cites about MIM Muhammad and people wanted him to kick him off the team at Michigan State he didn’t and what would happened and now you know he has kids who went to Princeton which you know kids go to pron is a really good thing but um the no compliment to the parents when that happens yes it is yeah exactly but at any rate I digress a bit there are other forms of corrective measures that coaches can take with players that are effective what those are between Mike Gundy and Ali Gordon between them does it mean that people on the outside like us can’t opine as to whether they were effective um if they were appropriate if they were Stern enough we can do that because they’re in the public eye and it’s okay but in this particular case the corrective measures at Oklahoma State impose on Gordon whatever they may be might well be enough and they might not be you know so that that’s where that’s where we get to opine as to whether we think it’s appropriate I thought the other was was more bothersome the Stu the stuff at the podium because that I know he was I know he was trying what he was trying to say that you know many people have made errors in judgment in this field sometimes you get away with it sometimes you don’t it’s not a wise thing to do I wasn’t sure that as I listened to that that he was quite clear enough about how unwise it is and you know that was I want to give Mike some latitude and some Grace here because I don’t think he was making a mockery or making light of any type of DUI situation I just felt like he wasn’t as clear and as definitive as he should be that a situation like that is unwise for anyone it is particularly unwise for someone in Ali Gordon situation particularly unwise because you are risking so so much everybody is it’s unwise for everybody and it’s elevated in a material sense not a moral or spiritual one that all of us would be on the same plane there about the wisdom of doing something like that but in a purely material sense Ali Gordon has so much at stake not a wise thing Mike Gundy has so much at stake that is an unwise thing to do for a head coach or for a media person it’s unwise for anyone it is particularly unwise for someone who has a lot more at state materially so yeah what Gundy said out loud is what you would say in the staff room as like boning this to your running back coach cuz we have to deal with this right like that that’s like the the the the behind the scenes thing that the one thing too I think is I mean again what Gundy said and I think he tried to say it to be relatable like right wait how many of us haven’t had three beers what he was trying to do and I think he he failed at it I think that was the consensus result but you know the the the details also don’t line up here uh I’m reading from the Pusa Journal Capital uh local paper in Oklahoma video showed that the trooper found two bottles of alcohol a half full bottle of lemonade vodka and a half full bottle of tequila the trooper poured both bottles out on the side of the road um so that like again drinking driving is dangerous I think you and I we don’t need to it’s ex dangerous have to break that Revelation people understand this but it wasn’t even the situation where he went to Eskimo Joe’s and had three beers instead of two and got pulled over he’s an hour and change from campus with two half full liquor bottles in his car like that’s just like to me that’s a different that’s a little bit of a different deal you may not you may not agree with that but when I heard him sort of downplaying it by trying to be relatable I was like I don’t even think that’s relatable to a half full bottle of tequila in your car as you’re as you’re getting as you’re getting pulled over um and forget body weight forget all that stuff that’s just like that’s just really unwise and I do hope Gordon learnr Reese and I I do think Gundy did lead his comments by saying the first thing I heard when I call was I hope nobody got hurt this is very serious like he didn’t just totally downplay drinking and driving but put himself in a position by saying the the the foolish cringeworthy things that he said to be criticized for downplaying drinking and Dr and and the other thing too is you know aside from aside from that and this is the time of year you talk about I talk about these things you talked about the self-induced issues that occasionally come along with uh with that give aam being busted um this is you know this is a team that’s one of the favorites to to win the Big 12 I guess Utah ended up being uh the team that was picked but you know Oklahoma State that’s not a that’s not a stretch and why would you want why would you want a distraction going into the season why would you want something swirling about instead of just sort of playing it um you know playing it normally with them um but from from an on the field standpoint there are some there are some things you look at you know they were actually outgained in Big 12 play last year they got you know they got run out of the building a couple of times as well at UCF that one stand out that was one of those like results like a top 10 of the Year where you’re like whoa see 443 coming there yeah it was a it was a bizarre thing sort of a they were a Mercurial team last year before they got fixed South Alabama smashed them in Still Water like 33 to7 or something um but they found quarterback they started giving the ball to Gordon all that uh you know all that changed they’ve got they’ve got three guys on their defense coming back all of whom made over 100 tackles last year and in addition to Colin Oliver a linebacker had half dozen sacks they’ve got a lot of pieces coming in they also M the portal uh pretty well to try to build some other spots uh they might be the new Florida state or at least close to it in terms of offensive line experience got 200 plus starts among the guys that are on the on the offensive line they’ve got guys coming back and receiving core who were injured last year and they’ve got you know Alan Bowman who has been around the block four or five times in college football and you know so an experienced quarterback who you know up and down last year do you view them as the best team in the Big 12 or one of the two best teams in the Big 12 I I will I will take Utah with some conviction to win the Big 12 and uh I will quote Dave Randa after that basically who I’m paraphrasing here said to me days I don’t know how you guys pick all these teams when they have 30 or 40 new players right because you can look at portal editions and say oh they got this guy and this guy was second Team all this and whatever but like there is some like some of the magic of college football still is like how it comes together and how it’s put together um and that’s what makes Colorado so interesting like you said like they have upgraded their offensive line but they have a new scheme with a pro style and how fast will it come together line coach tell me once it takes four weeks for a line to really gel of playing like you can’t mimic some of that stuff in practice and so that’s one of the tensions with a lot of these teams that have rebuilt through the portal is how can you expedite that but to go back to the to the bigger thought yes I think absolutely Oklahoma State can uh you know could could play for the Big 12 title for what it would be what the third time in uh in in four years I I sneaky like Iowa State I feel like they’ve just done nice job they found rockle Beck they found their quarterback they they they’ve kind of been through the fire they’re callous remember they lost at Ohio last year they had the seven starters gone from the gambling thing they are more talented one to3 than Matt than a team that Matt Campbell had now they’ve had some talented dudes right reys like they they had Brock pie and Bree Hall like they’ve had some High highend guys but if you look at some of these all all Big 12 teams they’ve got guys on the D they have like a lot more names smattered around that are amongst the higher end in the conference and they have really good deep skill at uh at receiver so I’m not saying they’re going to make the big 12 title game but like don’t be surprised if they’re in the mix they were in the mix last year Matt Campbell said it to to us in the ESPN room he’s like look we’re a few plays away here Kansas and Texas from playing for the Big 12 championship last year so um and there I think one of the cool tensions in this league is there is there is some you know it’s is is continuity competitive Advantage well for Iowa State they sure hope it is for Oklahoma State they sure hope it is for West Virginia who returns a lot from last year they they sure hope it is they’re a team Neil Brown I give him credit he came with a little uh pee and vinegar in in him last year at media days he was like clean it up yeah exactly last year he was I rate they were picked last and he was right they won nine games this year he came in he still didn’t think people were uh were respect him as much they returned three rushers with over 750 yards they’ve got one of best offensive tackles in the country um so and again we haven’t talked about K State yet right like a Avery Johnson has started one game and he’s the odds on favorite to win the Heisman in the league right so that speaks to the electricity and the promise and the potential that uh you know that that he brings a quarterback there they’ve got an elite tail back they’ve got a very good defense that’s probably been underappreciated during Chris climstein there so I I think like three to 10 in this league is like a big yatsi thing and it’s going to come down to field goals and some fourth downs and I I fully agree that this league is going to be a blast like it’s going to be it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch because there is going to be an unpredictability to it like we haven’t talked about Arizona yet right no F and T-Mac are you know probably the best pass and catch combo in the country so um there’s there it is going to be a wonderful muddled mess and I look forward to sort of sorting it all out Iowa State if I could quote a great American philosopher fool me once shame on you fool me Can’t Get Fooled Again obscure reference perhaps but at any rate I can’t I’m gonna need to see it I really like I really like Matt Campbell everything that I look at in their personnel makes me think if I’m looking for someone to not say Utah that would be them you know because of the way they play defense uh year in and year out out Rocko had you know broke a a ton of Brock P’s freshman records at Iowa State last year and and and set school records for you know completions yards by a freshman you know they’ve got a young running back who was good they’ve got a couple of receivers and Jaylen Noel and Jaden Higgins good they got a bunch of starts on the offensive line got some guys coming in from the portal here’s what it is Pete here is here is the obstacle for Iowa State and and as as we go uh literary here the obstacle is the way oh wise men once said in Iowa state has to figure out how to how to navigate this obstacle you mentioned oh there few plays here few plays there against this team that team or we would be doing this they were one and six in games decided by four points or fewer the last three seasons they’ve lost they’ve lost 13 of their last 16 onore games 13 of 16 until they figure out that mental hurdle or you know I is gonna be a onore game right that’s like contractually obligated and and that’s why and and they’ve they’ve broken that hex uh a little but for the most part they keep finding ways to lose that game and you know over the last several years now it might be mental that’s what I suspect it also could be stylistic you know maybe you need to be a little more aggressive in certain situations on one side of the ball or what to put somebody away uh you know there are a lot of things that hours and hours of self- evaluation and film study might give them an answer to it being something more than just a mental block in close games but they’ve got to overcome it they have the they have the capability of getting to the big Big 12 championship game and by virtue of that then you’re in the mix for a playoff spot but that’s that’s the obstacle to me that’s what I don’t that I’m gonna need to see before I believe I like I I really like Campbell he’s done a remarkable job there because that’s one of the hardest jobs in the country and he has been a consistent winner and he’s a bright young guy um you know he gravity yeah he doesn’t always love to do media but when he does he’s a pleasant guy to talk to you know he was great at media day he was just good to good to good to chat with he’s a big thing like he asked a lot of questions about hey what’s going to happen next with all the different stuff swirling in our chaotic environments and everything he’s a he’s he’s a he’s a thoughtful guy but he can be a little bit he can be a little bit elusive if they win at Iowa ree the schedule sets up really well for him right Arkansas State at home at Houston who’s going to be down Baylor at home at West Virginia again very tough game even the worst West Virginia teams are going to get somebody at home right um and this is a very good West Virginia team so yes exactly so that’s a hard place to play that’s not a gimme um then they have UCF at home Tech at home Kansas in Kansas City Cincinnati at home at Utah and then K State so they close you know I I think some of the Big 12 scheduling is a little bit Dynamic here right they are going to be setting themselves up for really big November games and that appears to be the case with just how uh Iowa state is going to uh is is going to close there but don’t be surprised if they’re going into that Utah game with a shot at the Big 12 title game which gives him a shot at the playoff I I really want my my logic in my head tells me don’t don’t pick against Utah you know especially if you know Rising is back and stays cam Rising is back and stays healthy I want to think that because this conference is so balanced you’re going to have something a little little bit unexpected and I want to pick Kansas or Arizona I I just kind of want to um not not be not because just I I like them but they you know Jaylen Daniels is as Dynamic a quarterback is certainly in terms of dual threat as there is in this conference and if healthy one of the best in the country and then uh you know of potentially this season’s man crush of Arizona wide receiver tedar Roa McMillan so you have you sent a love letter to certify it not not yet we’ll we’ll see how we’ll see how this goes for a little while you put like a little heart stamp on the envelope when you seal it oh depends let’s let’s see what happens early but you look at their schedule too um you know they even you know Arizona has the um has the early uh game against Kansas State that’s a non-conference game yes because it was already scheduled it’s obviously both in the Big 12 it’s already scheduled but they will both play a Full Slate of Big 12 games and one of their non-conference games will be against each other so you’ll get a little bit of a measuring stick yeah real quick that’s going to hurt the Big 12 because both of those teams theoretically K State and Arizona are going to be in the championship conversation and in the playoff conversation and again I this is not a criticism you by the time time these leagues shook out they did not have a chance to re rejigger their schedule and look it’s going to be a Friday night Prime Time game on a on a on a national television stage so good for those teams for scheduling it we’ll watch every snap and love it but one of those teams walks away with like a loss and that feels to me a little bit like an unforced error right like they guaranteeing one of your conference title contenders one of your playoff contenders in theory is going to have an extra loss to contend with to me that just feels like we’ll be talking about that more post than people are probably going into the season so end of interjection continue but no but in order for that to be the case I mean you could a could get a rematch which would be really fascinating if you know one was in onc conference game and then those two were to find their way to the conference Championship game but what you’re talking about though is is a potential second team from the Big 12 making it uh so what think two teams will make it from the12 R I was just about to ask you that but since you asked first I’ll say I don’t think so interesting I think I think it’s not because I don’t think their team’s good enough but I think the conference is so balanced that that you’re probably you’re probably going to find an extra loss or two somewhere along the way and it may be you’d have to look at the numbers at the end but at at first glance I don’t know that there is enough to offset it you know what I mean like there would be that there would be enough of a um enough value placed on you know winning a couple of those games even though we might know they’re extraordinarily tough that would that would lift them into the realm a lot of that’s going to depend on you know how does you know how does the third or fourth team in the Big 10 in the SEC how do they look you know it3 SEC verse 10 and3 Big 12 title game loser depends on becomes like the for the 10th spot or whatever 11th spot becomes the tension Pete I think it comes down to and I’m not trying to dodge the question generally I think generally it would be fair to say that it would be the SEC team but I think then you have to take into consideration which teams are you talking about what are the two losses what are the wins you know what did they you know what did they look like how efficient were they all of those types all those things that the people in the room exercising the football judge M um those are the types of things they should look at I don’t I don’t think it’s uh the right way to look at it to say well you know we perceive the SEC or the Big 10 to be stronger and therefore you know they can have one more loss than a second Big 12 team I don’t think that’s the way to look at it if you look at who I’m scanning through here who has the toughest schedule in the um in the Big 12 let’s just use Oklahoma State for example because there is there is a game against an SEC team in week two they play Arkansas week two let’s say Oklahoma State forget South Dakota State let me just drop that in there no I know they’ve got that long winning streak that’s one of those games that you there’s no value in scheduling that except except to the jack rabbits but I’m just saying for the sake of our comparison let’s say they’ won that game they end up losing a couple but they but they beat the breaks off of Arkansas and fville you know now all of a sudden I think that that water or fville uh I’m sorry you’re right it’s in still water so uh you’re right it’s in it’s in still water so let’s say they beat them home game they handle them and Arkansas is you know middle of the pack in the SEC or you know 75 something like that well you know you’ve got you’ve got a good win against this against the team from this conference that is supposedly boosting up everybody else’s schedule now you do that or maybe you know maybe Kansas is an example because they have a game against a big 10 team in Illinois I’m scrolling down to try to find another an example the responsible opposing view on the schedule West Virginia host Penn State week one I think that’s your you know that’s probably your bcow game and then Colorado goes to Nebraska week two that’s another one uh UCF in Gainesville which we referenced earlier Gus moan give him credit he’s an old hand he’s been in a bunch of leagues he’s like we need to win that game like for our league we need to win that game um and he understands the the and Whittingham said this the only way we really get respect is make the playoff and win in the playoff right like that’s going to help you know pull you closer to the top two than uh than that so sorry to inter interject no no no I’m just saying that if you don’t have that type of win let’s this is a terrible example because Arizona State’s not yet ready to be in that realm but Arizona State plays an SEC team if they play Mississippi State Mississippi State I’m not sure anybody thinks is going to you know if they win if they win two conference games that’s probably you know a pretty good run for old bully it seems like at least in the preseason maybe they’ll prove us wrong so to the to the example of do you take the three loss SEC team or the two loss Big 12 team it has to be evaluated on who did you play who did you beat how did you look doing it what’s your what’s the strength of your team you know as opposed to making these blanket statements that this league is tougher than that League therefore you can afford one more loss because you know maybe maybe that team in the SEC or the Big 10 didn’t play the same level of schedule the other Big 12 trapdoor ree is uh Utah host Baylor week two in a non-league game now conference officials would be very clear for you that they can’t root for any team but you darn well know they don’t want the big 12 doesn’t want its right it’s me it’s in it’s bcow losing to one of the worst three teams in the league because that would really upend the Big 12 reputationally so those are the two um inter-conference non-conference games phrases we didn’t use off in 10 years ago and um yeah it it’ll be it’ll be very interesting but I you know look you leave media days and you think everyone’s going to go and defeat it right you know what I mean there’s so much optimism and there’s and there’s and there’s so much whatever but I think if you distill the Big 12 fortunes down to a few factors a couple W’s in those non-league games would really really help them reputationally and for a team like K State that I think is going to be really good um that’s going to be you know you would rather have K State playing you know Minnesota or playing um Michigan State right something like that to go or you know Mississippi State or or or South Carolina or something um then uh then you would have him you know go play a league team in a marquee game like that and even like Kansas State plays to Lane again and yeah with even with a new coach that’s a difficult game but it doesn’t give you that same type of same type of bang for your buck in terms of wins unless you know unless too lame takes off and goes undefeated okay this sort of devolved or evolved is a better word somebody should edit that this is sort of uh this is sort of uh evolved D into a Big 12 Conference preview which wasn’t necessarily uh the plan for this but we might as well wrap it up that way who plays uh subject to change we make official predictions a little bit closer to the start coming off your uh scorching days of 194 degrees uh with no humidity at least in Las Vegas who plays in the conference Championship game let’s say Utah and Kansas that’s that’s what I was is going to sayik I know so I so I won’t I’ll go the other way because I told you I wanted to pick Kansas Arizona I’ll say I’ll say it’s a a Pack 12 reunion I’m gonna say Utah and Arizona then even though honest honestly uh I I think it Kansas State and oklah Kansas State and Oklahoma state will probably drop the Big 12 elbow or is it still the Big 12 we didn’t get a corporate sponsorship deal out of that yet did we no no they didn’t it’s not the bagio 12 after this week so okay I I saw where your mark who actually I got a chance to spend some time around in in New York back in April at an event and I I find him a compelling fella he’s a compelling character there’s no doubt they first wanted to they wanted to keep the 12 and he said if they Chang the uh name of the conference and decide to go away from the number 12 that they probably have to go back to the whole drawing board and start over make sure that they do it right if you do the corporate sponsorship and the corporate sponsorship has 12 at the end of it insert company name here 12 that makes zero sense you got to go to do the number that it is don’t I just think you have 40 Years of branding on the 12 so like no you don’t not 40 I mean it didn’t come into existence until until 1996 2 before that it was the big eight I think it was big it’s almost 30 so I just I think we think of the 12 you go right like like big 10 you think of the Midwest and slate skies and November weather and you think of the um SEC like just I I just think the 12 is that area so I I I am my sensibilities are not offended by keeping the 12 nor by the way am I offended by the corporate name like whatever um you know this this thing’s been for sale for a long time it’s just it’s just out of the black market so yeah I’m I’m not I’m not bothered that by that at all um do you know do you know what the what the ancestor of the Big 12 is the the original one well is it the Southwest Conference well if that was part of it or smile there’s like a Ry little twist here that I’m not gonna not gonna be able to get I think it’s the I think the the five Charter Schools some of whom are not there or in different ones now it was like the Missouri Valley interc Collegiate Athletics Association I believe there are five of them I believe that’s the I believe you can trace it back that was Kansas yeah Kansas Missouri Nebraska Iowa and Washington University in St Lou back I’m going way way back yeah so and I I think if I’m not mistaken I’d have to look and see but I think that um I think there used to be yeah I am looking now and confirming before it was the big 12 it was the big eight before it was the big eight it was the big seven before it was the big seven it was the big six so I mean we’ve changed the number before so we might as well can go 16 yeah Larry Scot the only one in my lifetime who’s changed the number so why don’t they why don’t they just um why don’t they really get aggressive with their marketing and and go away from Big everything has to be big just go large about like the Rand MCN 12 because or or the uh Trip Advisor 12 or the uh Zillow 12 or something the gargantuan 16 yeah the uh yeah whatever it is the yeah Trip Advisor the trip advisor the huge Trip Advisor 16 yes there you go I’m not gonna say Trip Advisor again because they’re not paying us one penny jumbo yeah I was just thinking of how I use maps remember his Map Quest back in the day you’d fly to some town have map map quest printed out to like get campus so are you are you old enough to have actually had a map in the car oh yeah like early in my career I kept going in my bag like yeah oh did you oh yeah that’s that’s that’s real I would honestly like drive like fly places drive to a gas station and just ask for directions well that’s that’s what people used to do and that was when we were proper society and spoke to one another now we just look at our phones and we don’t talk at all so exactly exactly precisely okay we’ve uh We’ve exhausted our time here but before we go this calls to mind give me your best I’m Pete theml I’m out chasing a story and I got lost trying to make it give me your best story of getting lost I mean I’ve been lost a lot you know just uh just driving uh driving around um ah man that’s a that’s a really good question I don’t know if I have uh there’s some stories of like I’m trying to break a story and I’m not in cell service and I’m like panicking pulling over like Marty McFly trying to catch a lightning bolt with my phone hit send on the Tweet have we told the story on the podcast of when I made an ill- time joke that made you fall out of your chair we’re not going to give we’re not going to give credit to the person that I claim but Pete have we told this I don’t I don’t think we’ve told this story no story I’ll tell it then this was not very nice of me I wasn’t I was not thinking I was not thinking of how seriously Pete would take this though I should have known we were doing a podcast I think it was last season and Pete had a story he had it before everybody else and but he had as the gentleman and professional that he is there was an agreement so that some people could be informed that he would wait until a specific time to release the story so he’s there’s some antin as one would because he he this is this is his currency this is how he has become uh the leading news Authority and news breaker in all of college football but he knows he’s not the only one working and he wants to be sure that someone hasn’t you know uh run the old fumble rusi On Him Gonna you know gonna sneak around the chicken ceop run a Statue of Liberty and get the story first so he waits he waits he waits and finally we get to a point he hesitates and asks for an edit point in the Pod podcast and he hits send relief and then I pretend to look at my phone and say rival reporter tweeted this at the time I remember the time the time was 12:30 that you could go I said tweeted at 12:29 Peak literally not figuratively literally fell out of his chair and onto the ground and and I’m like Pete I’m kidding it was a joke you won you got it you broke the story so if you ever doubt how seriously Pete takes his craft and also the Integrity that he has not to uh you know not to do different forms of malfeasance in order to get stories that’s a great example it was like my wife and I were watching uh the crown last night and this uh uh the tactics to the unscrupulous tactics that were used by the BBC reporter to get the Princess Diana interview back in the day that was that was that was not of high moral character at all I’ve have not seen the crown uh my wife does love odd British drama so I’m sure it’ll like pop up on a television in our uh in our condo soon but um I like I like the early ones better Pete because to be honest because now I don’t know if it’s because I was alive even though I don’t have much of a Fascination per se with um all of that royal family stuff I care less about the Royals yeah I mean I I don’t I don’t either but you know you were at least vaguely aware of everything that was going on with Charles and Diana because we live through it the earlier episodes it’s been quite some time since we started it we’ve this has been a slow process of you know between watching sports and other things to get through this the early ones about you know when the king abdicated the throne and how Elizabeth came to came to power those were fascinating because as I watched I would find myself Googling and say did that really happen this way you know you would see so you would a scene on the show and you would wonder how much of it was dramatized for a fact and a a lot of it at least from my cursory Google searches were fairly historically accurate so I like the early episodes a lot because I think it was something that you know maybe you learned in a history class someplace but youd you know you know King abdicating a throne for an american guy in you yeah that’s that’s that’s out of the Rolodex that’s that’s out I learned it I regurgitated it on a test we’re out of here you know and but you know I thought that part was pretty fascinating but unscrupulous tactics used by a reporter for which later according to a search um the BBC um apologized for so at any rate I’m glad you don’t do that I’m I’m glad I’m aggressive but not unscrupulous correct it’s a fine line fabricating according to the show again what fabricating bank statements to make someone look bad in order to secure an interview is probably not the way to go anyway that’s your life lesson for today kids we’ve given a few of them on here too so thanks for listening to the college game day podcast download wherever you prefer to get your podcast or better yet subscribe and in the coming days we have some season previews with a twist with a nod perhaps to the new 12 team playoff field have a great weekend [Music]