it's the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone I'm Christian aspara Alex Napolis with me as always it's a big day here in the state of Utah we've got a rivalry game of course it is not the main one between BYU and Utah but it's Utah traveling up north to Logan to take on the Aggies kickoff is at 2:30 pregame is going to be at 1:30 here on the zone and then we're going to have the the Utah State pregame on the AM signal that still starts at 1:30 but big big game here locally Alex huge game um and I think it kind of gets a little bit bigger I'm sure we'll dive into it a little bit more too but it gets a little bit bigger when you look at the quarterback situation for both sides right this is per reports this is most likely going to be Isaac Wilson's first star as a member of the Utah Utes and then depending on what's going on up in Logan we might see Spencer petus take on the Utah or we'll see the former Utah you in Bryson Barnes getting the start against his former team yeah and that's the funny thing is nothing is ever official until kickoff but the potential is there for a battle of the backups and I mean it's the probability is there for battle of the backups I hope they I hope it's Bryson Barnes yeah just for the fact just for the storyline right you know him going against his former team um everybody's I think for a long time is going to remember that win against USC live last year at the Coliseum oh yeah where Bryson Barnes the backup was able to lead Utah to a win over USC and you know people are going to remember that and so now you have that opportunity to take on your former team and kind of you know if you're Bon Barnes obviously you're going to want to make a statement yeah I I totally agree and before we dive too far into the talk about this game I do want to replay uh Kyle Whittingham head coach of the UTS he joined Hans and Scotty earlier this week to talk a little bit about this game and uh talk about you know that situation facing his former quarterback and he's still got a l lot of love and respect for him so here's Kyle Whittingham on H and Scotty earlier this week H and Scotty 975 the KSL Sports Zone Utah and Utah State resumes their rivalry after a long layoff these two teams back at it game coming up in Logan you'll hear it right here on 975 the KSL Sports Zone Kyle Whittingham head coach of the univers of Utah kind enough to join us as Utah prepares for Utah State and Coach look I know this rivalry doesn't have the same cache as maybe Utah and BYU but it's got to be nice as a guy who played at BYU coached at the University of Utah You' faced Utah State a bunch of times it's got to be nice to resume this rivalry coming up this Saturday yeah I think it's good for the state of Utah generates a lot of interest and uh gosh it's been a while since uh since we have played and particularly up there I think it's been 12 years and so so uh it was a late addition to the schedule um we uh were scrambling last year to try to fill out that uh 12th game and and uh they were good enough to to put us on the schedule and so that uh you know another another uh positive for us to go up there and and play the aies in uh in the instate rivalry game well you're coming out of this Baylor game now coach and you're probably feeling pretty good about the team but you had a couple bumps and bruises can you give us any date on cam Rising no we don't unless it's season ending we don't uh give any injury report so that's our policy we'll just stick to that so when you look at um Utah State what jumps out at you on film when you see that team and and what they bring to the table after their first two weeks of the Season well they've had two uh very different ball games obviously and uh you know it was a rough tough sleding at uh USC last week USC is a obviously very talented team and and uh much improved on defense I can say you know studied that film quite extensively but so we know you know I I don't believe anybody really gets a true feel of who they are uh until you're in week you know four five six right in there that's when you really settle in and and decide who your Playmakers are and and you know who you're who you're going to be offensively defensively and that type of thing and so I think uh both us and them are still starting are still uh feeling themselves out and deciding who and what Direction they're going to be heading saw you talking a camp or a practice yesterday about the quarterback situation Isaac Wilson number two let's say he starts in in this game you did mention that Brandon Rose would be number three kind of kind of walk us through how difficult this quarterback hierarchy has been for you to put together coach yeah it has and and uh you know Spring ball uh Sam hu speaking of him in particular wasn't wasn't available at Spring ball he didn't transfer until late so that that put him a little bit behind we still think he's a a really good addition to our team but but uh uh Isaac being there in Spring and of course Brandon being in the program for three years now gives them a leg up but but it's been it's been a close competition and then Luke patari also you know was in the mix who the the young man who uh played in the Colorado game for us last year so we feel like we've got a good quarterback room and uh it has been a little bit difficult to sort out you know after cam but uh Isaac you know we still have a great deal of belief in him and we think he's getting better daily and uh it's just a matter of him continuing to absorb uh Coast lud's offense it's it's a pretty involved offense and you got to you got to really uh study it and and uh be uh you know in your playbook constantly to uh to really get it down you know from the outside looking in um you know we can make judgments on Isaac Wilson in his performance you guys take a closer look you know what receiver may not have ran the right route or an off offensive lineman may not have picked up the block that may have disrupted the play and caused the quarterback to do something that he wouldn't have done otherwise overall how did you evaluate him and how did he look in that game against uh Baylor when he had that extended time well I think he took a step forward based on uh or in comparison to the week prior uh he seemed to have more command and confidence in himself in that game still uh few route structures as you said he didn't didn't see the field quite well enough and had uh some some options to to get the ball up the field a little bit more but but uh you know he's uh he's he's improved uh you know like I said since he's got here uh continuing to improve we believe he has a big upside he's got a big arm that's probably his number one attribute is he can make every throw uh he's also got a great deal of athleticism and and the Q Run game is something that uh he excels at as well and and uh so you we'll see where we go with it but but we believe in him bottom line we we uh we really believe in Isaac and think he's got a bright future so coach let's talk about your running backs a little bit and just your belief in that running back room we we've seen a mix and match and we've seen a new name we've seen some old names but give us your thoughts on kind of the hierarchy of your running back room because we've seen a jumble there yeah excuse me well coming out of this past game uh maai Bernard made a strong statement for you know for or made a case for rb1 and and uh you know he's been uh guy that's played a lot of good football for us through the years I believe he was at right at the top end of his workload last week 19 carries uh 40 46 snaps overall which which uh is about uh you know as much as he can handle and but if we can get 19 carries for you know 30 whatever yards you gained that's that's pretty good production and so he uh really had the you know the apprehend in last week's game but but we still believe you know Mike Mitchell is going to be a really good back for us and and uh serve a role uh Jaylen Glover did not play last week but but uh you may see him in the game this week and then uh dejon Stanley's got his package of plays that that uh you know had really great success with in week one didn't didn't show up as much in week two and then Charlie Vincent came in and gave us a couple nice runs uh in the game this past week so so we still have got a uh stable of backs that we think is pretty talented and if there has been some separation right now it's McKai Bernard slightly separating himself from the pack as the as the lead guy Kyle Winningham joining us right here on 975 the ekl Sports Zone coach uh this defense looks just absolutely loaded um you took a little bit of a hit on your depth at quarterback but overall just how good can this defense be this year well they've been really good for eight quarters I can tell you that they've uh even though we had a little bit of a A Lull in the third quarter this past week gave up a few things but but they have controlled uh both football games that uh that we've played so far uh stingy against the Run uh you know limiting big plays up the field tackling us very efficiently and and that's something that typically takes a few games to settle into with with your tackling but they've been tackling lights out since game one one thing we got to do a better job of is we got to get more takeaways you know that's something that's been a a calling card for us for for a lot of years and uh given our offense short field situations we've only been able to generate two takeaways in these first two games and so that's something that's got to become uh you know more productive in that area I was going through my stats yesterday just uh getting taking a look at the conference coach and where everybody stands and I'm looking down my socks list Connor otou checks in at number one in the Big 12 right behind him at number two van finger with uh two and a half sacks and it's like just wash rinse and repeat with your defensive ends and pass rushes where does this come from is it your identification of talent out of high school recruiting is it is it more on the developmental end once you get there like how is it that you're having you know top sack leaders every year well I think it's both of those uh factors involved I think our I don't think I know our assistant coaches do a great job in recruiting overall as far as evaluation uh seeing the upside uh and it's when you recruit it's not from high school you know the portal is a little different when you when you take portal guys but in high school it's not where is this kid now where can he be in two or three years and that's it's projection and our assistant coaches do a great job of projecting talent and uh you know getting those guys with the big frames and that can run and that have athleticism and you know all we got to do is is fine-tune a little bit of their fundamentals and technique and slap some weight on them and and that's been our Mo for a lot of years and right now we I got to believe we have one of the best defensive end rooms in the country we've got five or six guys that are that are absolutely uh game ready and and uh guys that would probably be starting pretty much anywhere in the country how strange is it going to be to see Bryson Barnes on the other sideline wearing a different uniform and he's doing for Utah State what he did for you a lot and that's you know come in and help out and and try to keep the ship rided when a starting quarterback goes down exactly and we we're not sure which one we're going to see you know we're not sure if the pet trust kid is going to be ready or not but but in any event Bryson has done just what you said what he did for us and and has filled in for them he won a bunch of games for us the last couple years and did and and uh really did some good things he's a he's a really good athlete he's a High character individual uh he's competitive and uh very very proud of him and and glad to see that he's having an opportunity to play hey uh really quick coach I hesitate to ask because we're limited on time but Cole Becker won a three in field goals a couple Miss field goals and then a a bumbled snap I believe it was on an extra point um just talk about the kicking game you you have trust and faith in it because that Oklahoma State game is going to be crazy coming up in a couple weeks you might need that kicker well we do have faith in Cole he was the third best uh kicker in the Pack 12 last year from a field goal percentage standpoint he's got a strong leg he's a proven commodity Saturday wasn't his his best game he understands that he nobody's harder on Cole Becker than Cole Becker I mean he's he's extremely hard on himself and so he's had a great week of practice so far you know we're only about halfway through the week but uh he's he's a guy that we still have a lot of belief in uh the two field goals even though they weren't gim me some they're 45 yards somewh there in that range they're ones that he makes probably 80 90% of the time but and then the the field go or the Pat was just a botched hold we didn't even give him the opportunity to kick the ball but but you're right every Point's going to count as the season wears on and that was what seven points right there that we left on the table and and uh we've got to uh obviously get that corrected coach appreciate your time as always good luck coming up on Saturday thanks coach thanks guys always good to be with you guys thank you all right byebye there you go a lot of good things to say about Bryson Barnes so I I think again we don't want to say anything's official until kickoff but uh cam Rising unlikely to play according to Brett McMurphy he came on JJ and Alex earlier this week he said he had stitches put on that finger and is circling next week as the return date against Oklahoma State so that's a big game for the youths but of course they've got to take care of business in Logan then on the other hand you've got Utah State coming off a 48 to Zer loss at USC last week Bryson Barnes got the start in that one he didn't look particularly amazing but the Aggies just couldn't do anything anywhere it was it was a real butt kicking um but back in Logan this afternoon again 2:30 kickoff like it it's exciting if nothing else than for the storyline of Bryson Barnes former walk-on at the at the University of Utah who led them to a signature win last season at USC now gets to face his former team uh as an Aggie I think that's pretty exciting no matter how you put it it is it's very exciting for for Utah State and I look I think we can kind of have that same conversation that we were having a little bit with Wyoming where Utah State didn't get invited to this new pack 12 they're going to come into this one with maybe a little bit of a chip on their shoulder obviously Bryson Barnes is going to come into this one with a chip on their shoulder playing his old team so like there's a lot on the line I feel like for Utah State in this one man obviously you're at your home stadium you want to get that win against your fans it is a rivalry it's maybe not the biggest rivalry here in the state of Utah right we that will probably tribute it to BYU Utah but I mean for for Lo for for Aggie fans it is probably this is a huge game man yeah and the last time that Utah went up there to Logan and played Utah State the agies won yes so uh yeah it's a it's a big deal and I'm not I'm not predicting that the agies are going to win this afternoon here today but I'm saying that you know there's a reason that Utah has not been up there since 2012 and a lot of people didn't think they that they would ever go up there again and you're right Alex the Aggies do have a lot kind of going into this game I mean they look dead in the water last week against USC they want to see something today and then uh they're they're hoping to get back on track obviously not they're not thinking that they're going to win this I don't think right they're kind of expecting to be one and two after this game hopefully they're they're going to go to Temple next week and pick up the win be two and two and then they have a buy after Temple and then they can kind of reset after such a fast start just bang bang bang I mean USC and Utah back to back that's really tough no matter how you spin it so absolutely yeah Utah State uh I mean the herd always shows up and shows out and Jaylen Royals is a name that we haven't heard a ton yet we'll see if they get involved Bryson Barnes will probably I'm betting that he'll have an exciting player too simply because of the factor of you know he knows these guys he knows these guys and like I said man he's going to want to get out there and steal a win from Utah because that would probably be for Bryson Barnes that it's probably the biggest thing man is just going out up there and still one from Utah yeah and man this Aggie team has just had bad news after bad news yeah all summer long and you brought it up earlier let's talk about this for a sec like getting left out of you know the Mountain West teams that are going to the Pack 12 why was Utah State not chosen for that who knows who knows the full story maybe Utah state was selected and they said no they want to stay in the Mountain West I don't I don't know what the reasoning is but maybe that does add an extra chip on their shoulder as far as like hey we want to prove that we can be good enough if they get this wi against Utah I mean we're you're having that conversation right we having that conversation of why why not us why can't we get invited to this as well we just beat Utah right yeah but if on the contrary if if they don't beat Utah and and you know we're talking about a Utah win after this is Utah State up to that level at this moment right because there was so much change this offseason yeah then there's still a little bit of uncertainty towards the future right where where does Nate drying land after all this where does just what does Utah State look like after this season yeah it's it's a a big unknown just because of everything that's gone on and frankly I don't think we're going to get a lot of answers and I was worried from the second that this nose broke that they were gonna move on from Blake Anderson I was worried that this season would become just a like a let's get through it kind of deal like let's just get through it it's gonna suck we're not going to look like we're loving it and then we'll figure things out at the end of the year we just got to get through this season that was my biggest worry and frankly I haven't seen anything that's change that hopefully a decent performance against Utah and then you know again like I mentioned picking up a win next week and then maybe make some noise in the Mountain West play maybe that'll change things but right now from Utah State I haven't seen anything that's going to make me changed my mind yet on these players are just trying to get through the year absolutely and it's that's what it seems like that's what it feels like of course I think when we get into Mountain West play we're we're probably having a different conversation especially if they can string together a couple of results but for now I just want to see more from Utah State I got to see more from this Agy team yeah I agree uh let's talk about Utah a little bit because they've got their own kind of storyline again I mentioned that according to Brett McMurphy from the action network camera Rising had stitches on his finger um negative x-rays so nothing's broken again this is an injury he sustained last week against Baylor he collided with some Gatorade coolers on the sideline did not return to the game and then it was Isaac Wilson the true freshman who came in and filled in for him if Cam Rising does not play today it's going to be Isaac Wilson uh presumptuously getting the start Alex if Isaac Wilson is the starter what are your expectations from him from a true freshman that has has not really shown much over what amounts to a full game's worth of of snaps between the suu game and the Baylor game I'm I'm going to go back to some of the conversations that I saw online where people were talking about it's a little bit different when you're preparing for this it is a little bit different when and I mean Kyle mentioned it too during his his weekly press conference it is a little bit different when your your number one is taking 80% of the snaps I'm hoping that's the case for Isaac Wilson when you're in train when you're in practice when you're getting ready for the week getting ready for the game and you're in there as the number one taking 80% of the snaps that hopefully gives you a little bit of confidence to kind of grow in the offense and a little bit of confidence to kind of link up with those receivers and and and generate more offense because I mean the reality is Utah stalled out once cam Rising went out yeah we didn't see any fight or any spark from this Utah offense after cam Rising went out now again I hope it's different and I want it to be different under Isaac Wilson now having most of the Reps during practice this week knowing that Isaac Wilson's going to be your starter this week and preparing him during the week for this for this opportunity and look it's a hostile environment it's going to be a tough match up for Isaac Wilson to head out on the road at Logan with the herd for his first start and so I just I'm again just all the attentions on Isaac Wilson right now and can he R to that occasion yeah I do wonder how big of a difference that's going to make getting the week preparation right we're just going to assume that Utah even though they haven't said anything we're going to assume all along that they were planning on holding cam rising out all week so Isaac Wilson has been getting reps with the ones okay we'll we'll make that assumption I am curious to see how big of a difference that really makes because to be honest with you Alex watching his performance against seu watching his performance when he filled in against Baylor and they didn't score any points once he was put in that to me did not look like he should be the backup quarterback and this is something that you know I kind of brought up with Steve ble when we talked with him a couple weeks ago I was like you know a lot of people say oh yeah he's he showed throughout camp and throughout spring training and whatever that he's the second best quarterback and that's why he's the backup except when I watch him and when I mean a lot of people have watch him like he doesn't look like he should be the backup right mm so that's what want answered for me in this game if Isaac Wilson starts I want him to go out and show me why he is the backup over Brandon Rose who's been with this program for two years and Sam hu who has several not several but you know multiple years of college experience right I want to see what the coaches have seen to put Isaac Wilson as the backup quarterback yes and look I I don't doubt that that's the case right I don't doubt that you know he he I don't doubt that he did not like he did not show up in during spring camp and fall Camp right I trust that the coaches saw something in him and that's why they've G allowed him to do that to to come and be the backup in this situation however we need to see that translated onto the game field now we need to see what they see in practice we need to see that in a game situation I'm like I said I'm hoping that having 80% of the snaps during the week allows Isaac Wilson to flourish this weekend um just not only for Utah sake but I mean for the future sake of this program right because Isaac Wilson is the future of Utah football he's supposed to be he's supposed to be and if we don't see it in his first start if we don't see something different than what we saw against Bayer and what we saw against seu may be the whole tone of this season and the future of Utah football changes right if he comes out and really struggles against Utah State then you've got some big questions because number one you you're right there like this is supposed to be their quarterback for the next several years right and those questions pop up if he struggles three games in a row and no offense to any program but suu Baylor and Utah State are nowhere near the level of competition that Isaac Wilson will be playing in the Big 12 right MH so if he comes out and struggles that is a big worry on if if he really can succeed and I get that that he's a true freshman and it's it is a hard transition and you know if if that's your point then I'm going to say then why is he playing right then why is he play well and that that that is my next question are we putting way too much expectation on Isaac Wilson's shoulders as a true freshman as a kid who just came out of high school are we putting too much expectation on Isaac Wilson yeah and naming him the backup right away well not right away because Whittingham didn't want to talk about it during camp or during spring training um but yeah naming him the backup over these two other guys like I mentioned that does set the expectations really high he needs to live up to those at some point and I I'm not doubting that he will I don't want it to come across as I don't think Isaac Wilson is ever going to live up to those expectations I'm just saying that what I've seen so far through two games is he's not looking like he should be the backup quarterback right now and maybe that just speaks to how bad Brandon roseen Sam hu have been I don't know um but I I do think the potential is there for Isaac Wilson that's obviously why he's with the program Kyle Winningham sees it uh and they they all see it over there so that's why he is in the position that he's in right now because he does have the potential and so yeah I I hope that he can put it together at some point because I want to see that potential I I I'm excited for it absolutely I'm right there with you man like and I mean we've seen time and time again Utah really develop some of these guys and and work and it works out really well you know down the road right right Kar Reed I think they've done a fantastic job with his development you look at a guy like Cole Bishop they did a really really great job with his development and so I don't doubt this coaching staff has the ability to continue to develop Isaac Wilson but it does come down to having a better performance against Utah State yeah I am I I agree and they've got the weapons I mean receivers have had quiet games stat-wise for Utah so far but there's no no doubt that Dorian singer Damen Alfred money Parks Micah Pitman brand keithy like he's got he's got the weapons abolutely there's no doubt you can put it together so I really I I can't wait to see what Isaac Wilson does this afternoon and I mean in turn right if there's any positive to this whole cam Rising situation I don't want to overlook Utah State because they're going to be competitive it's going to be a tough game it's going to be a tough environment but this is probably best case scenario for Utah if Cam's going be out for a couple of games this is probably the best case scenario where you can rest them for this one and then get ready for Big 12 Play because next week is going to be huge for Utah Oklahoma state is one of Utah's biggest games of the Season absolutely um yeah no doubt about it so they need cam healthy we'll see uh what he looks like we'll we'll help those we'll hope those stitches get healed up we'll talk a little bit more about the Utah Utah State game coming up later but next uh we're going to hit our quick five minutes of segment we've got a lot to talk about still got a little bit of time to talk about everything so we'll hit that coming up next this is the Saturday show 975d KSL Sports Zone it's the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone Christian aspara and Alex Napolis Alex it's time for five minutes of we've got so much that we haven't really touched on yet in today's show so little time to do it so we're just kind of going to Rapid Fire and we'll start with uh Mountain West you ready let's do it let's get into to it okay so the Pack 12 is back it was uh informally referred to as the Pack 2 with Oregon State and Washington State being the lone survivors after everybody left saying it out loud it's kind of crazy to think everybody left that conference that left just Oregon State and Washington state for two seasons but they are making a comeback the Pack 12 announced that starting July 1st 2026 they are going to officially add four more schools all from the Mountain West uh conference that will be Colorado State San Diego State boisey state and Fresno State I mean look ultimately it's going to be good for the Pack 12 but I mean where does this really where does this leave the Mountain West yeah well so the Mountain West is still they meet the requirements to be a conference right but they're losing San Diego State was a founding member I believe uh Colorado state was as well and then boy state has been a Powerhouse there yeah uh for the last 10 plus Seasons right so those are some big time programs leaving the mountain the Mountain West what I think is funny is all these schools are staying together joining a conference that only had two teams so it's basically going to be the Mountain West still right right right so that's what's funny me to me um we mentioned it earlier in the show this new pack 12 Conference still needs two more teams you need eight teams to be an NCAA conference so they still need two more teams to meet that requirement keep an eye out I think they're going to be looking East uh Memphis is a target that I've seen rumored to join this pack 12 I think that would be a little weird because they would lose the regionality aspect that made the Pack 12 unique you know what I think happens Christian what do you think happens and this is pure speculation you know this isn't coming from anybody or anything this is just what I think is going to happen um I I do think that the Pack 12 adds a couple more schools from the Mountain West they do end up from the west from the Mountain West they do end up stealing a little bit potentially like we're talking about UNLV um they obviously will pick off maybe a couple schools from the other uh from the other conferences but when this whole realignment thing happened when when the Pack 12 was dissolved and when the Big 12 stole a bunch of schools from the American Athletic Conference schools were promoted FCS schools were promoted to the FBS level right Sam Houston Kennesaw State a couple others here and there kennes State different conference but still they were promoted to the FBS level so I do think the Mountain West ends up rebuilding by maybe taking some of these better FCS schools and brings them up to the FBS level and that's interesting that you bring that up I brought that up on Jake and Ben and at first they didn't really like the idea but then I think they kind of warmed up to it um again the mount West does not need to add more teams they they do meet the requirement but if they choose to do so and they definitely can it would not hurt to kind of strengthen you know after losing strengthen the conference after losing some big time programs and if that does happen I'd look at Montana State in Montana in the Big Sky again they're they fit right there in the footprint of the Mountain West they kind of fit the the tough gritty brand that the Mountain West represents um obviously Montana and Montana State not huge markets I don't know what the the benefits of ADD them would be I'm not really here to get in all that I'm just saying purely from a football standpoint because that's what matters most in collegia athletics those are two of the better FCS football teams and they have been and they've the other thing is if you add one you got to add both because of their rivalry yes and the Mountain West needs a rivalry like that especially after losing their rivalry with Colorado State and Wyoming uh they need to have a premier rivalry so I think that could be really fun for the Mountain West to kind of dip into those Waters I'm for it I'm for it if we can get Montana State and Montana that rivalry to be at an FBS level uh in the Mountain West I would absolutely love that man and I mean like I said we've seen it before teams from the FCS level getting promoted up to to the FBS level uh joining these conferences joining the group of five I can definitely see the Mountain West take especially considering that statement that was brought out by their commissioner um glor narez after kind of reading that I kind of got that feeling that the Mountain West doesn't want to go anywhere they don't want to you know they want to continue to be a conference they want to continue to be competitive and what better way to do that than to you know you're losing schools rebuild a little bit with some of these FCS schools some of the better FCS schools in the like you mentioned the Big Sky yeah I agree okay so I pulled up a little bit of what Navar has said in response to all the the reports and stuff she said the requirements of the scheduling agreement will apply to the Pack 12 should they admit Mountain West members that's referring to the scheduling agreement um you know having to play Oregon State and Washington state right our board of directors is meeting to determine our next steps the Mountain West has a proud 25y year history and will continue to thrive in the years ahead so I I do think that's interesting because sitting in doing nothing would not be thriving right I I really am interested to see what the Mountain West does next um I would abs like I said I'd absolutely love to see them bring up some of these FCS schools um and continue to continue to have Mountain West football I think Mountain West football is fun and especially in the case where like Utah state stays in that conference yeah it I think it's important for schools like Utah State to continue to be competitive in in in a conference like the mount West that right now is getting picked apart yeah it sucks getting left out but you know all all Utah State can do is stay behind and help rebuild the Mountain West exactly uh let's move on to RSL they played a night they had what like a week off they did yeah they had the international break last week so there was no game but now they head down to Houston a very tough environment to play a place where rake have not won since 2018 and oh my gosh I didn't realized it had been that long yeah and last time we were down in Houston wasn't the best of performances from Rell lake so RSL is tied for third place in the Western Conference uh they have 47 points oh excuse me not tied I was looking at something else they sit alone at third place uh behind LA Galaxy and lafc they've been at third for quite a while and you think I guess with not too much longer remaining in the season would you expect them to to make the playoffs as kind of a third seed the number three seed or do you think they have room to rise I think that has to be the goal you have to be a top three team especially with the season you've had the reality is Christian Rous are n rut yeah they have they have not been they have not been the best team in the last couple of weeks it's a little bit distorted because they have had so much they've had a lot of time off in the last last three months but the reality is they've only won two games in the last six matches not the best of results for reala Lake they are in a little bit of a rut going down to Houston a place where you're struggling to win and and against a team that you haven't really beat or and had a good result against in a minute it's going to be a tough environment it's going to be a tough tough place to play but three points are so important for real sl8 because we talk about them you know being a top want wanting to finish them in a top three three spot but you look at teams like Colorado who are right under them and a team like Seattle who's right under them if Ras Lake loses and Colorado wins and Seattle wins Colorado jumps them on the table Ral fall to Fourth and Seattle's at one point right behind them it is Big trying to get that second win in a row uh of course they're coming off a win against New England a couple weeks ago Alex they have not won back-to-back matches since uh they beat Houston earlier this year and then they beat Atlanta the next week so that was the beginning of July and now they did have the The League Cup break and then the international break so they've had a lot of time off in that span but it has been so long since we've seen RSL win back-to-back matches let's see if they can get back on track tonight again kickoff excuse me again first kick is at 6:30 the pregame show will be at 5:30 tonight here on the zone and let's wrap up five minutes of talking a little bit about NFL we had a big division rival matchup Thursday night it was a buffalo at Miami and oh my gosh Buffalo are they back or what they beat Miami 31- 10 Miami couldn't do anything of course Tua Tava left the game because of a concussion but even while he was in there I mean he really struggled uh I think he finished the game with two or three picks on the day and couldn't get his guys involved well first of all man we wish nothing but the best for Tua yeah a very scary situation again getting yet another concussion um it didn't look good after he took that hit uh scary scenes there in Miami we wish nothing we wish nothing but the best for two we hope he's okay but to to to answer your question Christian Buffalo looks good yeah Buffalo looks good and buffalo looks scary um I think a lot of people maybe I don't want to necessarily say wrote them off considering how much turnover and how much changes they had in their roster yeah that's a fair that's a fair point I mean I kind of did but they look good man yeah they good and I I think the you know their division will continue to be run by Buffalo everything will go through Buffalo and the question is can they finally get over that hump can they finally get over the Kansas City Chiefs hump down the down in the playoffs yeah uh the defense they lost in free agency they lost both starting safeties Mah Hyde Jordan puyer both guys who had been to Pro bowls uh they lost Trey white who was at one point in all pro Corner before he kind of dealt with some injuries but some big losses in free agency and that that defense is already banged up but I'll tell you Alex I couldn't tell on Thursday they looked like one of the best defenses in the NFL at least against Miami and we raved about the BYU defense earlier in the show and buffalo's defense looks similar in the fact that no matter where the ball was for Miami there were always three or four Buffalo Bills right there just swarming to the ball I mean they looked fast they looked aggressive they looked tough and it was kind of an interesting change from you know a buffalo defense the last couple of years that they haven't been bad but just to think that they lost so many key players and they're still playing this well like that that got me really excited honestly man coming into this year I thought maybe Buffalo super Super Bowl window had closed after trading away Stefon Diggs and y y y after all the moves that they made this offseason but not only did they help themselves in the salary cap with all the moves they made but they're continuing to be competitive and they look good yeah and so it'll be interesting again just to see if they can obviously sustain this performance continue this performance on into next week and continue it on through the season but right now Buffalo looks good and it looks like their their window is still wide open yeah so and they didn't need a big game from from Josh Allen 139 yards and a touchdown um but he didn't play poorly I'm just saying that they didn't ask him to do Josh Allen superhero that we see so often no they let James Cook yeah nice uh but that brings up another interesting point before we wrap up this segment passing has been down across the NFL and it's really interesting I mean the technical answer why is because since Patrick Mahomes came in NFL defenses are playing too high safeties all the time so it makes it a lot harder to throw the ball down the field and that's credit to Patrick Mahomes I mean literally changing the way that defenses across the league are playing but basically they're forcing you to run the ball they're forcing the bills to use James Cook they're forcing the Dolphins to give Devon hen 25 carries a game you know right so all these running backs I mean running backs are it's kind of the return of the 90s right where we've we've got teams playing fullbacks I mean the Dolphins gave their fullback a couple carries last night um and Workhorse running backs are becoming kind of a thing again and I think it's really interesting how the NFL shifted away from that you know 10 eight years ago and then now they're shifting back towards okay we'll get our our star running back we'll feed him the ball and then quarterback don't turn the ball over and we'll be good it does seem that way um through the first couple of weeks it looks like teams are leading a little bit more on the running backs which kind of makes the whole running back reshuffle that happened this offseason a little bit more interesting right with Joe Mixon going over to Texas Tony par going to the Titans you know there's so many changes in the running backs and and starting running backs across the league now it's kind of interesting to see how and how those will shake up for those teams because they're star running backs that have moved all over the league and now they're kind of leaning a little bit more towards the running game Bengals Chiefs one of the games I'm keeping an eye on I know the Bengals looked really bad last week and a loss to the Patriots but that is kind of a fun rivalry that we've seen the last couple of years with Joe burrow versus Patrick Mahomes uh T Higgins probably won't play for the Bengals but Jamar Chase should be back to 100% of snaps they kept him on kind of a a count after missing a lot of camp with the hold out obviously the Chiefs looked really good against the Ravens so that could be a fun matchup um the Broncos are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers it was supposed to be Russell Wilson's return to Denver Russell Wilson dealing with the calf issue looking like Justin Fields is going to get the start there any other games Alex that uh kind of got you excited for NFL week two I got my eyes on Texans Bears Caleb Williams versus CJ strout last year's number one overall pick versus this year absolutely I think that one will be super fun CJ threw two touchdowns in the last game looked really good Joe Mixon looked really good um I'm not I'm not sold on the Bears no I'm not Caleb Williams really didn't do anything in that their offense didn't score any touchdowns last exactly so a interesting game to me because obviously CJ versus Caleb but I do also want to see kind of what Kaleb is able to do in week two yeah another thing I want to point out and we're really pushing time here but man Kirk Cousins looked so bad with the Falcons he looked stiff and it really has me worried because I drafted Drake London in a couple of fantasy leagues I started Drake London yeah I started him in every League I mean I took him in what third or fourth round so you got to start him right and he definitely burned me uh so that will be a situation worth monitoring for the the next few weeks is how long is the leash for Kirk Cousins after Atlanta gave him all that money if he cannot like if he literally physically cannot move in the ET how soon did they go to Michael penix Jr their first round pick I believe it was eighth overall what do you think there that's kind of a weird deal a tough match up against the Eagles first of all this week uh super tough the Eagles looked really good last week against the Packers so interesting to see kind of how the Eagles follow up uh against the Falcons but I need to see more from them man I need to see more from Kirk I need to see more from the Falcons and now I think you know there was a lot of criticism when they picked p in the first round yeah now it's starting to see hey now it's starting to seem like maybe it was the right move yeah the wrong move the wrong move was giving Kirk all that money yeah oh he looked so it was literally sickening anyways we'll talk more Utah coming up next uh Utah at Utah State kickoff is coming up here pretty shortly so we'll wrap up the show giv another quick little preview of the Utes at the agies this is the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone