Inside the Den: Confidence levels in the 2024 Nevada football schedule

[Music] welcome back inside the den uh we got a good one today talking Nevada football um I'm joined here obviously by my co-host Chris Murray Chris how are you doing today pretty good how you doing doing well you have a big vacation coming up is that right I do well a little bit of a big vacation I guess a couple days off going over to Napa for Bottle Rock so that'll be fun and then next month a bigger one out uh in Mexico yeah what's the uh what's the ACT you're most excited to see at botle Rocket yeah probably Pearl Jam for sure number one and then Dominic Fike will be there uh Megan the stallion so The Offspring uh the we kind of went through the schedule it is a sometimes there's some overlaps so you got to make a tough decision on who you're going to see but yeah um yeah Ed sharan's going to be there as well he's playing as the same time as Queens of the Stone Age so tough call on that one we'll probably go to Ed sharan though yeah that that's that is a tough call it seems like great act so that's up there Napa right yes yeah are you going to take some time to drink some wine uh so Thursday is my wife's birthday so we'll go do that on Thursday and then the shows are Friday Saturday Sunday so we'll do a little bit of wine drinking on Thursday maybe during the festival as well we'll see yeah fun week fun week ahead for you I know you're cutting out of here on uh on Wednesday by the time this releases you're you're probably already gone oh thank you um so you know just think of think of those days ahead um and uh I'll be with you in spirit because that sounds like a lot of fun um but but anyways to today on the episode we're going to kind of go through this uh unique thing we're going to play a game of sorts um we're going to draft the most likely outcomes um back and forth between me and Chris for the Nevada football season in 2024 um so should be a fun fun uh fun exercise uh you know I mean Nevada fans have been used to two- win Seasons but you know we we can we can have fun and talk about the the um loaded schedule ahead because yeah obviously they added that SMU game um but yeah it should be fun um basically how we're going to get into this folks uh we're going to do an Immaculate grid college football Edition they don't have it on their site or else we'd be on there right now doing it it' be a lot easier but we kind of just are going to have to fact fact check each other the oldfashioned way um but basically The Griddle pop up here it's going to be the top row is going to be eight plus sack Seasons an NFL player uh a receiver with a thousand yards in a season um and the teams are college football teams are going to be Nevada Fresno State and Oregon State in honor of them semi or just you know semi joining the Mountain West for a year um but that that should be fun uh Chris you want to take a a first cracket you want me to go first yeah I'll I'll uh choose the square that you want and I'll I'll obviously cross I don't think you need to check this one I'll say Nevada NFL player I'll go Colin Kaepernick I can confirm there we go okay that's an easy one so we filled in one Gap there we go so we got C there all right uh yeah let's let's see um Nevada player with eight plus sacks in a season I'm gonna go Dante Mo yes that's accurate we don't got to check that one either we might as well stay with the Nevada category I'll go a wide receiver with a thousand yards yeah go Trevor eny Trevor eny yes you you don't have to look that up don't worry Chris he's an encycloped Trevor eny's a he's a qualifier okay yes he had like almost a 2,000 yard season so sure uh now I'm going to um kind of try to block you here I'm part my strategy okay um would be Fresno State I'll use the receiver category with a thousand yards I'll put Devonte Adams in that slot that works yeah y don't need to check that one so then I'll go Fresno say NFL player Derek Carr fair was the guy who for those thousand yards okay making it through only got four more I mean I I'm going to avoid the A+ sack president one right now okay I'm sure you probably know somebody um but I'll go to the NFL player at Oregon State uh Chad ooo Chad ooo yes I actually was gonna go Matt Moore on that one that's a good one uh the quarterback yeah his uh my uncle was his agent in the NFL so that's a that's an easy one cool connection yeah okay I'll go wide receiver with a th000 yards for Oregon State TJ hman we're going to have to check that did he not get yards we're going to see I mean he was a great wait he yeah he ended up going there whoan Zada I knew it went to Oregon State yeah we're gonna look up I imagine he had a thousand yard season but I actually don't know on that one so right so we're gonna we're going to check it Oregon State how do you spell that last name that's going to be hard to well I have it right here you want to give it a crack no that's fine it's a it's quite the last name it's a who manada is h o u s h m a n d z a d e h what okay what a last name I know we had a thousand yard season in the NFL yes of course let's see organ state I'm gonna go I'm gonna cross references real quick let's see college stats here we go sports reference we can always count on them all right he had two seasons at out there oh he didn't no thousand yard season 656 yards and six touchdown catches in the year 2000 okay so I'll say that your little thing here on my paper just says wide receiver with 1,00 yard season it doesn't say whether it's the NFL college so I'm going to give myself a point for that one we'll give you a half Point okay give you a half fill that one in yeah okay so I have my opportunity to still wide receiver with a thousand yards at Oregon State I'm gonna go Brandon Cooks okay I assume that's accurate let's let's check it out you're the one who made the list you probably had this all filled in before oh let's see let's see okay we're gon go Brandon Cooks reference all right here we go pulling it up now okay he he did had 11 1100 yards in 2012 and 1700 yards there you go 2013 I do know a Fresno State player had eight sacks Chris Carter not the wide receiver he was a defensive player in the wack era yeah yeah I think he played for the Steelers as well but him and Dante Mo were kind of going back and forth for wack Defensive Player of the Year who was that um God it was a edge rusher recently he had some NFL Buzz that didn't end up going um from Fresno State he was a I want to say a Latino kind of rusher forgot the guy's name it's from a couple years ago maybe they're in that Norville well I filled in Chris Carter he I know he had an eight sack season I can no I'm just I'm like people on here because I know that there was one recently so that leaves Oregon State 8 plus X if you get this I'll give you the first pick on our little scheduled draft say uh Jared Jared Allen did Jared Allen go to um Oregon State I think he went to he went Idaho state so that would be incorrect see the same colors that's where I got thrown off yeah true the Tigers Bal I think yes Bal yes uh I don't actually know an Oregon State player who had eight plus sacks honestly yeah that's a that's a tough one yeah I don't even know if I can name an orgon State defensive player at all which is kind of sad I mean you should know one I should but I don't know anything formally your safety for the Buffalo Bills Jordan puyer Jordan puyer yeah yeah I don't think he had eight sacks no he didn't uh one of the lron brothers played at Oregon State and he was a defensive player actually two of them did Matt Matt lron ended up playing there too after NADA so there a shot I think Josh was the other one who played out there yeah um but I don't think either that M eight sacks so we're GNA say might not be there for yeah we're gonna say we don't get that one but I'll still give you the first pick because TJ hman have a thousand yard season so rued it all right let's get into this so the first y have the second third fourth Etc um so you gotta pick the game and whether Nevada wins or loses if you get it correct you get one point at the end of the season correct most points ends up winning we're drafting the most likely scenarios obviously you know like things can change things happen like last year if we were to have this game we probably would have been like wi versus Idaho and then like that would have been wrong yeah that would have been wrong so that's zero points or that's negative a point I guess it doesn't really matter either way yeah I guess whoever has more points okay and we're stock into it okay um with the first pick in the draft I will take a loss versus Minnesota on September 14th 2024 that's actually what I had as well that was my number one pick yeah Minnesota's not I mean they're not even actually that good they did make a bowl last year but they were five and seven they only got in because there weren't enough Bowl eligible teams um you know that's a very winnable game when you schedule these Road games for like a million dollars your hope is that it can be a competitive game now it hasn't always been that way last year at USC you kind of knew what you were getting but you were also getting like $1.6 million you know they've played at Notre Dame they've played at Texas A&M Nebraska they've had a number of games where it's like okay we'll just take the money and we'll take the loss I don't feel like this is that kind of game I think this is like when they played at Northwest in the first game of the J norel era where that's actually a winnable game if you go out there and you play well um you know during Brian Pan's tenure they went and played at Purdue which was another big 10 team and you know Nevada was plus four in the turnover margin and still lost that game by double digits which was kind of a weird outcome but you know this is number one on our list for most likely outcome being a loss to Minnesota but you know I think if you're a quality Mountain West school and you're going on the road to Minnesota that's a game that you could be competitive in Nevada just hasn't necessarily been you know that qual Mountain West the you know foe as of late um Nevada has not won a lot of road games against Power five schools they've done it twice at Cal and then I think one against Northwestern I think that one might have been at home so you know it's been rare where Nevada goes on the road to be a power five opponent so I guess we have to call him power four now so I think that's a solid pick for you the new Power four yes and yeah it's a tough game um Minnesota um although you know they're not the the greatest team in the the Big 10 um but you know like they remain competitive year in year out and they have constant Talent on their offensive and defensive lines so I'm just looking at uh some weak points on this Nevada football roster as it currently stands um probably not the greatest offensive line uh and certainly they've been short of depth at defensive tackle um so that both those combinations uh won't lend them to perform well uh up there in Minnesota now it's going to be a little warmer obviously it's not like a November date in in Minnesota when it's like just frigid um but that shouldn't play any Factor as I think there's more Talent on both sides of the ball for Minnesota big game for Nevada's Kaden Johnson he's a transfer from Wisconsin he actually grew up like less than 10 miles from Minnesota stadium so uh that's a guy will have a lot of family there so I know he's looking forward to that game after talking with him during spring ball so that'll be cool cool opportunity for him so do I get two picks or do I get one pick is it a snake draft H I'll give you the serpentine yeah yeah you said it was a snake Draft before we sat down I was ious if you're going to change that I'm not going to change okay uh so my number one pick number two overall I'll say lost at Boise State I do know that's a huge game for Jeff Cho Jeff Cho coached that Boise state is an assist under Chris Peterson he was an assistant under Peterson at Washington um you know this is a guy who wanted the Boise State job uh two different cycles and wasn't selected as the head coach there so um you know I think this will be a little bit of him trying to go back to Boise State and showing you know this is what you could have had I just think you look at the rosters between Boise State and Nevada right now in the history the wolf pack has won at Boise State like twice in the last 35 years or so um one was 1998 uh where the wolf pack put up like 50 plus points and then you know that Carson strong um his Junior season they went to Boise and one so it's a a more talented roster at Boise it's a more established program and it's at Boise State and it's later in the season as well so third to last game so Malachi Nelson who's a USC transfer at quarterback was a f- star recruit will have had you know more than uh 10 games to get ready for this one and probably be in finer form so I will say Nevada loses at Boise State is my number two overall pick there you go yeah I I'd had to be on the same side that's a that's a good pick um definitely a tough thing to go up there to Boise and get the win which makes that that uh you know Carson strong Norvell season in which they did it that that much more special because it's super Rider go to that blue Turf and yeah W yeah they've even had some struggles there in bowl games as well so that hasn't been a very you know nice place I do think eventually Jeff Cho will get this program to the level where they can beat Boise State but you look at first year head coaches for Nevada against Boise State over the years it's it's not been very good for the wolf pack so I get another pick so I'm going to go loss at Troy that's the number two game on the schedule it was supposed to be the season opener before Nevada added SMU at home to open the season you might think Troy are they any good yeah they're pretty good they've won 23 games the last two seasons um that place is going to be very very hot and very very muggy I think that will the weather could have an impact on that game uh you know Nevada's not very deep to start and I think the reason I picked this game is I think Nevada will get better as the year goes along with this is the second game of the season so it wouldn't have had maybe quite as much growth now it is playing a week Zero game so you know it will have a game under its belt compared to Troy which will be playing its season opener but I think that's a tall t Troy's become a very very strong group of five program and um you know I think Nevada just in the early infancy of this season U might not be up to that standard so I will say AOC at Troy is my second pick there you go yeah that's a that's an interesting matchup obviously gota think about the travel too um just out there to uh it's Louisiana right yeah yeah just you know the the travel out there or Alabama actually it's Alabama yeah same that's right the school of uh Demarcus where I believe so I believe he play nice guy nice guy yeah we've met him up at the Celebrity Golf Tournament yeah he Shake everyone's hands there you go you shake someone's hands you're a nice guy and I'm an Eagles fan it's like this is you're so nice I'm I'm usually hating Cowboys so anyways uh let's move on uh now it's like so now you get yeah uh lot of losses so far yeah a lot of losses and you know it's not like we're being negative we just kind of being realists here with the with a tougher schedule you know if it wasn't an easier slip it would be a lot different but look at the schedule right it's a lot of a lot of uh former Bowl teams from last year um that they're playing this year and um you know I'll go ahead and give him a win I'd say against Georgia Southern um you know just elevation uh Georgia has to come up here and you know it's just you know deal with the the elevation and the potential heat um depending if it's a a day game or a night game um but I think you know Nevada needs to get that uh you know FCS School win under their belt because they've struggled Georgia Southern's actually in the FBS FBS they were in a bll game last year but you're still taking the win I'll take the win though okay it's it's tough for a Georgia team to come out to the West that's that's a lot of travel and uh these were old FCS Rivals back in the day they actually played for the National Championship in 1990 which Georgia Southern won uh Georgia Southern played a playoff game at macku which it won I think that might have been a semi-final game so it's been a while since they have played each other but they were old FCS nemesises uh Nevada moved up to the FBS well before Georgia Southern but they've since made that leap and pretty solid program I think they were six and seven last year so they lost their Bull game but you know making a bull's not not a bad outcome for a Georgia Southern so okay you got them as a win you get another pick then get another pick all right uh I'll go ahead and give them a loss against SMU lost to SMU yes SMU made the the jump from uh American Conference into for what conference the ACC they be in the Atlantic Coast Conference so a little tougher competition for them and there's a lot of money going into that program um so I think that'll be a tough challenge in the open yeah double digit wins last year it's a very solid program um you know they kind of been up and down over the years I wouldn't say like their recent history is all that great but they did beat Nevada in that 2009 Hawaii Bowl uh the wolf Haack was like almost a 20o favorite and they lost by like 40 so uh you know Weir things happen in bowl games but that was a super weird thing so um they had not played since that game so yeah that's going to be a fun one Jeff Cho's first game at Nevada home opener weather should be nice we'll see if it's a day game or a night game but you know one of the few week zero games so it should be a pretty nice Spotlight I know they're trying to get 25,000 out to macki Stadium the drive for 25 so we'll see where the enthusiasm level sits for the fan base as the season kicks off but if they go out there and they win that game at home and they'll probably be like a double digit under I think that that would be a great way to get people excited about this season and and the potential so yeah I think that'll be a fun one like you said it was a recently added game so um you know uh Jeff Cho uh taking one a little bit for the team there because it's a it's a pretty loaded schedule 10 bold teams from last year and I think SMU is one of the top two or three teams on the schedule this year yeah certainly and they now constitute as a powerful power for opponent yeah so uh yeah definitely a challenge but kind of a cool opportunity just to host somebody somebody at that caliber at Mackie yeah so okay my turn I will take a lost to Air Force is my next pick Air Force actually the least returning productivity of any FBS program that's 133 programs but I feel like that system is so well ingrained that they're going to be successful regardless you look at Troy khoun he leads his team to a bowl game every single season and recently it's been much closer to like double digit wins every single season um again you look at the schedule it's the second to last game of the season so while Air Force has a lot of Youth now entering the season by the time this game rolls around it should be a well-oiled machine this is a team that has been top five in the nation in rushing like seven or eight straight years and then they've been like top 20 in scoring defense for the last five or six because the opponent doesn't get a ton of possessions because you're running the ball a lot so you're minimizing the number of series that the other offense gets Nevada's history against Air Force hasn't been that great slowing down the triple option offense so I'm going to say in about it takes a loss to Air Force that is my next pick safe betat um we talk about the the thinness at the defensive line uh position for for Nevada and yeah it's pretty pretty thin um and the triple option is is no easy thing to defend I mean they just been consistently running that and uh it's led to a lot of wins for that program over the past few years and uh I I don't see him stopping it this year but who knows Str change of things can to happen and you know we we you know show on November 23rd and they're one of the better run stopping outfits in the Mountain West so yeah we have to see what the the product looks like on the field that's what you know kind of like the Jeff you know this new hire is about and we don't know until we see it because yep we have minimal access as uh as journalists and uh can't really see it so well and I don't think spring camp actually meant all that much you're going to see a lot of roster toonova heading into you know the summer and then the fall as well so we'll get a better feel for the team once training cap gets here I'm going to go win with my next round I'll say I win against Eastern Washington so that is the FCS opponent Eastern Washington traditionally is a pretty strong FCS team they did play at Nevada in 2010 and they actually gave the wolf pack a pretty strong game they had a number of NFL or CFL players on that roster you look at last year Eastern washon wasn't very good Nevada has lost back-to-back games against FCS opponent so it certainly doesn't want to do that again lost to Incarnate Word two years ago and then Idaho last year I do think Nevada ends that skid against FCS opponents I'll say a win over Eastern Washington is my fourth selection I'll go with my next pick uh and just a drawback on your FCS Point um yeah they need to pick up a win against the FCS school I mean they've been on the wrong side of of drings the past two matchups with with Idaho and um what was that Incarnate Word yeah those are both good teams good teams I mean one team made the FCS semi-finals and I think Idaho made it to the quarterfinals last year so you know you're talking about Elite FCS opponents and Elite FCS opponents versus lower level FBS opponents there's not much difference I know there's a scholarship allotment difference but I just don't think personally like Eastern Washington is going to be like an elite FCS opponent right um so I think that will help the wolf pack it's a little bit easier opponent from that level than the wolf pack is fac the last two seasons Fair all right with my next pick I'll go a win over Colorado State wow that's that's that's a bold move because I mean Colorado state is is returning a lot of talent um both both last few years under those are both close games yeah it's in Reno yeah it's in Reno it's a it's a good atmosphere I mean you're coming off the you know Nevada day so it's a it's going to be like a probably a Ruckus crowd like it was last time yeah um so I'm feeling that the that Nevada will have enough charge in that game okay to finally finish you know get beat norell and uh send him home with a loss I mean there you go but the past two matchups have been pretty pretty close yeah I mean the first one in in Reno two years ago that was the worst offensive game I've ever seen both teams were completely incompetent on offense Nevada should have won that game it just gave up two touchdowns from its offense uh turning the ball over return for touchdowns so um last year's game it was kind of like the reverse like Colorado State outplayed Nevada but Nevada kind of stayed close because they got a defensive touchdown right at the end of the first half and it was a competitive game in the fourth quarter so you know I think Colorado State's obviously in year three of a rebuild under where Jeff J year one of a rebuild but I do think that will be a little bit more emotional game I know there aren't a ton of players left from the J nor era on the wolf pack roster but I do think Jeff Joe might play that up a little bit that angle in the you know locker room so yeah that that that'll be an interesting game come November um now I'll get to one of the newcomers of the not not newcomers of the Mountain West but a team that's slated to play in the Mountain West schedule Oregon State um I'll take a loss there okay and I know Oregon State um is going to have a lot of turnover um DJ ugele left their coach left um so a lot of talent departed um but I just you got think with the infrastructure and their ability to year in year out compete in the pack um 12 rip um you just think that they should rebound and F the competitive team so so I've got two picks I'm going to go loss against unov I know Jeff Cho has been great in rivalry games GES when he was at Montana State he never lost to Montana and that was really bucking a trend because Montana had owned that series for a long long time so he has shown a history of being able to get his team when he was a head coach uh really up for these rivalry games and go out there and and get a victory another I've picked a lot of like late in the schedule games this is a late in the schedule game this is the last game of the regular season traditional rivalry week November 30th is the date for it so you would think Nevada might be playing better football I don't think Nevada is going to be going to a bowl so this will kind of maybe be like the wolf packs Bull game an opportunity to go and spring an upset against your rival um I do think there are some questions about youv in terms of who's going to start at quarterback that's not solved um but that's a talented UNLV roster and you know they won nine games last year I think they could be in the thick of the Mountain West Championship race this year so I'm going to say Nevada lose to unov is my next pick and the Rivalry is getting a little Spicer yeah I mean with uh coach odm and and Coach Cho throwing uh you know Twitter yeah tter Jabs at each other um so maybe it'll be a little more spicy as we've seen in the past few years when it's really just been outside of that you know epic game at Allegent maybe that was that the first year under Ken Wilson um it really hasn't has been one-sided especially with that blowout loss last year so I think yeah it it'll be a fun one down there um but yeah I could see the loss cuz yeah that team is talented once again all right so there's three games left we've got uh at Hawaii versus Fresno State and at San Jose State so those are the three remaining games I will pick a loss at Hawaii um Hawaii has not been great the first few years under Timmy changen but they did get a lot better hit Midway through the first year two years ago and then last year they showed some improvement as well they've been really rough on the road under Timmy changen that's not unusual for Hawaii that's a program that usually struggles on the road but they've been much better at home this game is in Hawai Hawaii Nevada's not had a ton of success at Hawaii and the wolf pack has been beaten by Hawaii each of the last two years in pretty demonstrable fate actually like they've been bullied in both those games and that's not necessarily what Hawaii is known for it's known for more of a passing attack they do have Braden shager coming back so they've got experience at quarterback they've got Steph McBride who's one of the best wide receivers in the Mountain West and again they're in year three of a rebuild so they should be at a higher level than Nevada in year one under Jeff Cho and they're going to be at home so I'll say that that's my next pick is a loss at Hawaii uh former Nevada defensive tackle Dion Washington he'll be at the game yeah he'll be with Hawaii be with Hawaii not in not in attendance in the stands but um so yeah that should be an interesting one um yeah it's always funny just those games out in Hawaii because it starts super late kind of inside baseball you know just like us covering it it's like a an 11 pm start usually later and uh yeah by the time it ends it's like you know nearly 1 2 am. and you know we have a lot of responsibilities out there so ends up being a uh an early morning we've broadcasted those the last couple years as well whether it's at home or on the road at Hawaii usually we'll partner with them to get it on the air here so uh do pregame and postgame shows and halftime shows and stuff like that so yeah we've done a postgame show at like 1:30 in the morning after Nevada gets its butt kicked at Hawaii and there probably aren't a ton of people watching but uh that's the responsibility so we'll see if Nevada can give a more competitive game to Hawaii I just feel like um you know Hawaii has really owned the series A last couple of years and and you know Timmy changen was at Nevada for a long time so that game probably means a little bit more to him yeah no that's understandable all right uh down to two between the two like I'd probably go a win against San Jose State uh Nevada has had like you know they've traveled down there well and and have played well at San Jose um short trip for a lot of fans um I know two years ago they played him and in a game that they probably should have won Under Ken um it's really really close and just you know the offense actually came to life and looked confident um but I think they they can get it done I mean it's a short drive for a lot of Nevada fans and uh yeah I I like him to get that that win that conference Victory and with the last pick Mr Irrelevant this one's yeah always interesting Nevada and Fresno State I'll probably take the L on that one okay um even though it's a home game I just you know I can't see him stringing together more than four wins in a season so you have them for three wins over there right yeah yeah yeah yeah I've only got one win on my side beating Eastern Washington so so it' be four yeah which would be like h i mean four you know four and Nine's not a great season but it would show some progress over back toback two and 10s right yes you know I think Jeff CH came in and he was setting high standards and high expectations most improved team in the FBS from win total from 2023 to 2024 and then you know you get on the job and you get a little bit of reality like you know this program has been pretty low back toback two and 10 seasons back-to-back losses to uh FCS opponents um almost all of the win losses by double digits so um you know the roster was not in a good space um you know it's partially because of a lot of the players who transferred after Jay orille left two years ago and then you know it just takes time to to put a roster together and you know you you hope that you can springboard it but this like this isn't basketball you can't get three or four guys and just automatically be good like in football you need 30 40 guys to be good and to be able to get that in the transfer portal when you have limited nil it's very very difficult to do so you know if you told Jeff Cho right now you go four- n take it or leave it he would leave it I would imagine I think he has a lot higher expectations in hopes for 2024 but you know I don't think it would be the end of the world if they went four- nine I I think especially if a lot of the games were close and especially if they started to form an identity um whatever that is whether it's you know being able to run the ball or being able to you know um you know rush the passer whatever you want your identity to be I think he wants it to be a really hard-nosed running team that creates a lot of turnovers on defense and wins you know close games with you know special teams and things of that nature because he was a special teams coordinator at previous stops I think if you're forming an identity and you increase that win total if you can double it it's not a terrible season but to expect them to get to a bowl and win seven games I think that that's a very lofty expectation given the schedule so yeah could be tough uh a big saying is uh know your personnel um I almost imagine like with the the shortcomings on on the offense with the lack of receiver depth that they will lean into the Run game like you've been saying um but you know at one point like does like tro look at like the stuff he has and if it's not working early on they're pounding the run early on and it's not like going well at all do do you think he will pivot or do you think he'll I I don't think so because I think you have to have an offensive line that can do something successfully and I think if you're at the group of five level it's really hard to get an offensive line that's going to be able to pass protect Su successfully 35 40 times a game unless your quarterback is crazy athletic like Callen Kaepernick and like impossible to sack so I think they really do need to lean into being able to run the ball being able to establish the Run being able to set a foundation of we're going to try and get five yards per carry and now once we have you game planning for that we're going to take some vertical shots down the field and expose you stacking the box and maybe playing one safety high or you know leaving your quarterbacks out on a corner so I don't think he's going to give up on the Run game if there's not a lot of success there early on yeah um and I think this offensive line is better suited to run block than it is to pass protect and I think that's usually going to be the case I think you look at Nevada's history it's been its best and it's one championships when it's been able to run the ball obviously those J Orel teams are super fun to watch and they threw the ball um and you know Carson strong was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation but they never got to the Mountain West championship game because in the end you need to be able to run the ball and you need to be able to stop the run and they just couldn't quite do that well enough they just weren't quite strong enough in the trenches despite having some prolific skill position players so um you know I think it'll be pretty I don't know if stubborn is the right word but dedicated to establishing the run and trying to create that identity in the first year yeah I think another team that does that in the Mountain West is is Air Force it's like no this is our identity MH they go and get players that that form around that identity of the triple option um so yeah it's a it's a it's a bit of a battle like being like hey in the short term like we want to get victories and and pick up wins and grow um but we don't really have the Personnel um you kind of just have to like go through those Growing Pains of like maybe you know just terrible offensive outputs and you know just in better service of like two three four years down the road when they're a more effective rushing team and it's like oh we wouldn't have gotten here if we didn't you know do these reps when as year one under that you know a not so talented offensive line a good stable of running backs I mean like that's that that's promising right because you you have your Shawn dollers and um the kid from Boston College that um that Patrick Garo well you look at who's won the Mountain West Titles since Nevada's moved into the conference it's been San Diego State and they're all about running the ball it's been Boise St and you know they had Kell Moore back in the day but that's a team that really wants to run the ball and it's been Fresno State Fresno State didn't win um you know a Mountain West championship game with Derek Carr and that great passing attack they won it under Jeff Tedford when they were able to run the ball uh you know in recent last four or five season so I do think that'll be the formula that they go with but uh yeah we'll see who ends up winning our little thing here I know you have seven games to my six I know not quite fair but I have Boise State lost Troy lost Air Force lost Eastern Washington win unov loss Hawaii loss what are your seven uh my seven uh Minnesota loss I have a win against San Jose State I have a win against Colorado State I have a loss against Oregon State a win against Georgia Southern a loss against SMU okay so we'll check back at the end of the year we'll see who got the most point to make it even if they miraculously make a bow you get to make the ball prodiction oh there we go so I'll say okay if you get it right you get a point but if you get it wrong you get minus a point so that does add a little more risk to you yeah see because you have an additional game so you have an additional potential Point loss R right sometimes with the risk you have to you have to bet on the win um you know there you go so we'll check back at the end of the year we'll see who wins this and we'll see if Nevada went over on that that four- win total that we currently have for him yeah uh I know like the our past podcast about Nevada football we've done like record predictions and we we were you know not we don't say we I think you had him win in like eight games last ridiculous we doing I think I had at five which obviously that was still bullish too high but you were you like going to the college football playoffs last year really believed I learned my lesson there you go got to be a little bit more skeptical marginal yeah growth from the program so uh they they'll be happy with that uh Chris before we get out of here you used to travel all over the mountain West and probably the whack when it was still there not not telling the people your age but like travel The Wack in the Los Cruis there you go so out of all those spots I know the wack has some interesting areas um what was your favorite place to like go and cover a game uh like San Diego obviously you know Honolulu as well that's that's not bad so you know usually when I'd cover a game at ha San Diego State I'd take my wife as well and you know stay a couple extra days or leave a couple extra days early so um yeah those are my definite favorite spots in the current Mountain West formerly The Wack I think boy is a really cool City I mean it's a lot like Reno it just has a much better downtown and maybe a little bit less access to water and um the kind of mountains and terrain that we have but yeah there's a lot of cool places in the Mountain West I think it's a it's an awesome place um an awesome conference and I I really am happy that it's more or less been untouch during this conference realignment yeah I mean you're talking about Washington State and Oregon State having to you know add Mountain West to the schedule in football just to try and stay alive as the pack two but you know given the craziness of the last 18 months it's cool that all of these schools have stayed together and you know uh you know been to larmy that's a interesting place I actually do like Utah State um you know it's a a smaller town it kind of reminds me of Carson City but I enjoy that I know a lot of people like Fort Collins I don't usually stay in Fort Collins I would stay in Denver because I have family there and then you know drive out and drive back but that's a really cool College atmosphere their football stadium which is relatively new open in 2017's cool uh you know being able to go to the Air Force and see what the academy looks like has been a great experience I've done that a number of times as well um you know obviously UNLV is in Las Vegas that's a cool City so um it's nice to be able to go to all these different places you got Albuquerque with New Mexico as well they're not on Nevada schedule this year but the non-conference games are always cool too you be able to like go to not Dame which I was able to do and cover a game was really cool or go to Texas A&M Kyle Field where 105,000 people go to a football game like that's more than Nevada's entire season combin often times um you know really cool as well so you got you know innesa Troy on the docket this year for road games at a conference you know they're maybe not the most rockus environments but Penn State the year after that and um you know it's really cool to see Nevada play in some of these more prestigious stadiums in the country yeah I always wonder what it' be like to go those Texas s m or you know norre Dame or even like you know just Michigan to an extent just those those stadiums that like you know field up to like over 100,000 yeah they got Ohio State coming up here soon so it's like it's that'd be just incredible I mean like you know I've been in NFL stadiums but those are like you know 40 50 60 usually so to like see an atmosphere over 100,000 people I'd imagine it's pretty deafening at times right yeah I mean it it depends where you go but I mean like the Ohio State game is going to be an amazing experience for Wolfpack fans that's a top five stadium in college football you know dot in the eye and the whole pump and Circumstance and having student sections as opposed to NFL games a little bit different vibe in it um as we mentioned the Penn State game you know been to the Rose Bowl UCLA that was really cool to be able to see that stadium and how beautiful you know one of the most iconic stadiums in in college football is and you know basically like sitting there on a golf course and stuff like that so um you know I don't know too much about Minnesota's Stadium um but you know that's a a fun opportunity to go and you like we said maybe beat a big 10 school I don't think that's an unwinable game if you go and you play well obviously Minnesota is going to have better athletes but you know NADA is beaten some power fours before and they'll have three opportunities this year SMU um you know in Oregon State at home that's the first time in a long time nada's had two home games against Power conference goals I actually think it's the first time that's ever happened then you got Minnesota on top of that so three opportunities to be a power conference schol on Jeff Show's first season yeah anyways it's where we sit here may was it May 17th or May May 21st right I'm losing track of days there you go uh anyways we see here May 21st fall Camp doesn't really start tell end of July so got some time and uh yeah we recently talked to Cho and uh he was just saying that you know spring cap doesn't mean much they lost a lot of their roster um so like it's really going to be a completely different look once fall Camp comes around um but yeah we'll we'll keep track with the the comings and goings of Nevada football like you have on on the website right yeah I mean spring Camp's kind of just forgetting everyone reps and then you know fall Camp is for getting ready for a season so it's definitely a different environment I do think spring camps are somewhat important for a first year head coach to install schemes and whatnot but there is going to be a lot of roster turnover generally but especially for a first year head coach so things really do ramp up here this summer and then heading into Mountain West media days which is in the middle of July which leads into training camp which leads into the season and once you get going if that thing starts snowballing either direction it's either really good or really bad obviously it's snowballed poorly the last two seasons under Ken Wilson we'll see if Jeff Cho can get some momentum in this first year you know I personally hope Wolfpack fans give him a chance I know how hard these players and these coaches work to try and have in this case 13 successful Saturdays um and I think Nevada Athletics needs football to be strong and vibrant and for people to care about it obviously people care a lot about men's basketball and that's really important as well but you need a healthy football program for a healthy athletic department and Jeff Cho has been hired to make this football program healthier than what we've seen the last two years yeah and it you know it feels like an impossibility that you know they'll be in contention um for a college football playoff but with the expansion to 12 teams you know the the height of this program finished at number 11 in the country um so again different eras obviously uh under all and the lack of nil you kind of just keep your guys homegrown you know like they they grow with you um whereas seems like nil as more of a um you know just free agency kind of thing so an opportunity to potentially get better players that fell out of good programs like like Kaden Johnson from Wisconsin um but also you lose out on like talent that is growing here so but you know they're they're I you know just as an Outlook I think it's important for the University to invest in football and to continue putting money towards it because that at the height you know like 12-man team college football playoff you know you never know I mean like you know these programs can surge you just don't don't know like what the f holds and who thought TCU when once they in the Mountain West would ever make it to a national championship and fast forward all those years and they're playing in national championship against Georgia albe it a blowout in an astonishing fashion but still you know you never know where a program can head if you put money into it well it's going to take fan support though I mean Stephanie R the athletic director has been very honest that they would like to support football at a higher level financially but the only way they can do that is with more donations and more season ticket sales and a higher attendance rate like they can't just pour money into it and say okay now we're going to be successful and people will come it has to be the reverse it has to be that support financially increases the budget and then you start to snowball in the positive direction and you start to win games and you start to actually build a program that can sustain a championship level over a long period of time so the spark has to happen with the product they put on the field and their sales team and then the community is probably going to jump on board um it's not going to be the reverse they're not going to hope the community jumps on board by pouring a bunch of money into to it I think everybody in the program understands that but this is you know Foundation year number one this is an important year to set that standard can you get the six seven wins can you have a bigger jump than everybody expects to get people excited for 2025 I think this is a really big year in setting the momentum of this program and trying to get fans back on board after a couple of down seasons and I'll say this for the fans like like I mean people really care about basketball but I feel like like there's like some real die hards about an out of football out there that like really care about the program I mean just like looking at engagement around Nevada football and and you know like even our our broadcast I was not like to give it away or anything just people watch Nevada football play um they really care on Saturdays because it's the big event in town but yeah obviously the past few years not so great and not not a fun product um but we'll see obviously we have some months until then um but any final thoughts before you head out to uh uh I'll just wish you good luck on your picks and yeah I guess maybe not good luck cuz if we get these all right they they went four and nine and I don't think Nevada would be very happy about that so maybe wish us bad luck on our picks maybe they go nine and four we get all these wrong but we will check back in December and see how we did we will we will well thanks for joining me have fun out there at bottle rocket and uh jam out to some pear jam I will I'll have a good time all right guys uh remember to like rate subscribe wherever you guys get this podcast we'll be back next time