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Boscoe’s Boys
Happy Game Day. Friday Whip Around: Cats vs Cats
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That's linkedin.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. Linkedin. The place to be. To be. [Music] ♪ Lord of mighty. ♪ ♪ I feel my temperature rising. ♪ ♪ Football fever ♪ ♪ Spurning through to my soul. ♪ ♪ Yeah. ♪ ♪ Cats, cats, cats. ♪ ♪ You're gonna set me on fire. ♪ ♪ Mm-hmm. ♪ ♪ My brain is flaming, but I know just where to go. ♪ ♪ Yeah. ♪ ♪ The seasons kick it off and ♪ ♪ The bell will feel rockin'. ♪ ♪ She passed on when they're talking. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ My school boy. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Oh, just a hunk, a hunk, a purple love. ♪ ♪ And just a hunk, a hunk, a purple love. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Purple love. ♪ ♪ Oh, just a hunk, huh. ♪ [Music] [Music] Boom, the boys are back and happy game day. I think this is... I think this might be the first time we've had an episode drop on game day. I think since we've been doing this podcast, maybe outside of bowl games, which maybe we had episodes drop on those days. I can't quite remember, but maybe we had a Black Friday episode on Courtney Messinghamsless game. Can't quite remember, but it is good to be here, good to be here, and we have a great, great whip around episode ready for you guys to get ready for the top 20 match up later today. No audio difficulties this week. Luckily, I know last week was a little tougher, but I appreciate you guys powering through. So, today, shortly here, I'll go through my takeaways from press availability with Connor Riley and Joe Clanderman. Then we will send it over to Mason Voth of K-State online for the K-State Primer. Then I have my conversation with Shane Dale of the Wildcat country podcast for the Arizona Primer. Then we will kick it over to the Sons of UCF podcast for a preview of the UCF TCU game, which is the first big 12 game that will count towards the standings this year, so that will be our big 12 game of the week. Then I'll quickly touch on at the end a little bit of K-State volleyball and soccer. Both teams have games Thursday evening. This is being put together before those games get going, so I apologize about that, but we'll get a little takeaway on those. Two sports before we send it in to a game day Friday. Before we get into the coordinator conversations, how about our friends Charlie Hustle? Folks, you know I will be rocking some Charlie Hustle gear in at Bill Snyder family stadium tonight. You know I'm already trying to figure out which crew next sweatshirt I'm going to be rocking up in Provo, Utah next week, and speaking of next week, keeping eye out on Monday, Monday afternoon, because we will be launching our September giveaway, and it's a little bit more than just some shirts, and we're just going to leave it like that. You guys are going to be happy and you're going to want to be tuned in. So shout out to Charlie Hustle, vintage made fresh. They are truly the best. I love those guys, and I appreciate what they've done for our podcast. For the big 12, for the 10-12 network, shout out to our friends at the 10-12 network. So yeah, we'll just get into it. We'll start with Connor Riley, then we'll get to Joe Clanderman. Sadly with Connor Riley, it sounds like so on the plus side, it sounds like Carver Willis should be able to go on Friday. Sounds like he's been practicing this week. It sounds like Hadley Panzer has been very limited. I don't know if he's going to be able to give it a go. We'll see. You guys know I had Andrew Leinging is my pick-to-click yesterday. No, I guess it would have been Wednesdays, you guys are listening to this. So two days ago, I think we should be all right. Now if Hadley can give you a handful of snaps, I would be fine suiting him up, getting Andrew Leinging to go, and then have Hadley Panzer around for any sort of emergencies or, you know, a play here or there. But I would tend to lean towards being conservative and making sure he's healthy for big 12 play starting next week. Coach Connor Riley did say he was pleased with what he saw from Andrew Leinging and a past story last week at Tulane. Said there are some execution things that the entire unit needs to improve on, but very pleased were those two guys are at. Again, I think those are good, good, you know, players to have in reserve. Again, you're sitting at seven guys that you feel good about. If Carver Willis can give it a go on today, then you have six out of your seven. And I'm feeling a little bit better about all that than where I was on Tuesday and Wednesday. He was asked about some of the stuff that was going on with the quarterback running game. It seemed like there's a disadvantage in the numbers game. And he said that for a couple of those, those were blocking situations that can be fixed. There was one that maybe Avery should have given instead of kept, but he said, hey, it's nothing that we can't improve on. Arizona runs a lot more foreman fronts than we see. Typically said that it is going to be a challenge. A lot of the guys don't have a ton of experience going against foreman fronts. It does change some of the techniques. It changes some of the double teams and how you attack the second level when you're going up against foreman fronts. But it does sound like they've had a good week of practice when it comes to that. Connor Riley also put his hand up and said, hey, he wasn't nearly aggressive enough in the final series. Need to continue to get into rhythm to make easier third downs, get our play kit, count up. Some other conversations about playing with a little bit more tempo said that, hey, yeah, we need to go with a little bit more tempo. A lot of praise for Keegan Johnson, Avery Johnson, the Johnson and Johnson connection as Gus Johnson might say. There are some praise for that connection to continue to deepen. The closer we get to kick off, I'm starting to think maybe we see a bit of an offensive explosion. I don't know. I like the vibe that Connor Riley was giving off. Joe Clanderman, you could tell that the mistakes from that game were really eating him. He said, hey, it wasn't even communication errors. There's eye discipline errors. He says that the team needs to clean it up. And then he said, hey, I need to make sure the guys have a better understanding of what they need to be doing. Some of it's on me and he says, but hey, at the end of the day, players do need to execute as well. He did say that they have a lot of confidence in themselves and they have a lot of pride. It is better to learn after a win than a loss, but he goes, we are a better team than that. Our unit is better than that. And he goes, I'm a better coach than that. So again, I think he's really taking what he saw on film too hard. And I think that I think the defense is going to come out with an edge on Saturday. He said it's rare to see a team go under center as much as Arizona does. Says that they do it because they're not designing a bunch of runs for no fafida, but he does say, hey, they're going to do boot legs. They're going to do play action and get them outside of the pocket, get them rolling a little bit to test the discipline of the secondary. He also says that they are going to try to have a lot of downhill running out of under center formations to really set up that play action as well. I talked about how they really need to be disciplined for downhill running, need to own the line of scrimmage. And you can't be giving up the big plays due to I discipline. Two more things I took away from them said, hey, you can't let short passes turn into a catch and run big plays. That's a massive one. You got to be close enough if you're, if they catch it, you got to be close and you got to capitalize when you get the opportunity to make a tackle. So I'm right there with him. Then he was asked, hey, who are some players who have really shown out in the first two games? And he singled out Marquis Segal, Jacob Parrish, and Brendan Mott as guys who have been excellent through two games. And again, I agree with those. I think those three guys had played well and I'm looking for them all to have big games tonight as well. All right, before we get it to Mason both, we give a shout out to Manhattan Brewing Company. Of course, if you're coming into town tonight, make sure you stop by Manhattan Brewing Company first. Make sure you come bearing gifts to all your tailgates. A couple crows, a couple four packs. You're going to be the most popular guy or girl at your tailgate. If you're down in Wichita, not making up to Manhattan, make sure you go to the Manhattan Brewing Company lounge for their watch party. Little taste of Manhattan right down there in the air aviation capital of the world. All right, that's all you have from me. We'll have a quick recap of what's been going on volleyball and soccer at the end. That'll be quick because again, we don't want this going two hours. So we'll go to Mason and then we'll get things rolling with our friends for this weekend. What is up everybody? I'm back. Always enjoy coming on to give you the primer whenever Scott goes to the bullpen and he's like, man, who's out there. He's much better about selecting people than Matt Quittraro is because he's decided to just no funny business. Lucas Ursig coming out of the pin. Yes, that's right. Mason Voth from K-State online here to give you your K-State Arizona primer and I am with KSO. Again, believe it or not, two years in a row now employed by the same company. I know that's a big upset to a lot of people who thought that I might be going for a fourth different employer and four years. Nope, I am here currently. Very happy. So if Derek Young is hearing this, let's just let's renegotiate the contract right now. You can find everything that KSO does over it on three or also on the KSO YouTube page. That'd probably be the best place for you to subscribe to make sure that DY does give me a second contract. So yeah, let's hope he does that there and let's get on with this thing because you want to hear about K-State football and not Mason Voth and the financial benefits he needs now with a family. Okay, so for K-State, I want to get this out of the way. I've been using this comparison a lot this week. Some of you might find it stupid. Others you might go, "Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about." I think K-State is kind of like the coach's kid right now. If you think about the way this season is played out, there are a lot of other teams, not just in the Big 12, but in the top 25 that would easily take what K-State has done to start the season. If you want to start within the Big 12 and look around and say, "Okay, who would want what K-State has done?" Well, of teams that had expectations, Texas Tech would absolutely kill to have what K-State has had so far. KU, after their road trip to Illinois last week, they would kill for what K-State has done so far. There's really only two other teams in the Big 12 that would probably stand pat and say, "You know what, actually I'm good with what we've done to this point." That would probably be Iowa State and Oklahoma State. But even those two teams, you could start to find reasons to say, "I'd probably rather have what K-State has done in the way that their offense is looking." And then if you want to expand that out and you say, "Okay, where in the top 25 would somebody rather have what we have going on here?" Well, I think it's pretty easy to me to state. Oregon wouldn't much rather have what K-State has done to start the year. The Ducks started way up there in the top five, top ten, wherever. They've dropped all the way down to nine after a 24-14 win over Idaho and a three-point win over Boise State. Yes, they scored 37 points. But in that game, Oregon had two kick returns for touchdowns, one point, one kick. Their offense is not working the way it's supposed to right now. They would absolutely love to have what K-State has had to start the year, which is a blowout win over a bad opponent from the FCS ranks, and then your offense being able to go out, score 24 points on the road at Tulane, get the additional defensive touchdown, and get a road win against the team that in my eyes was probably better than what Boise State ends up being by the end of the season, even though I know Ashton Gente is really good. But that's what it's been for K-State, where I think me included and a lot of others tried to make the start of the season against UT Martin and defensively. We tried to make that be what K-State was going to be the entire time overlooking the fact that, hey, they're going to have some tough moments. They're going to have to try and figure some things out there. They're going to still be pretty good for the most part, where the Tulane game, then I think everybody would just want to say, oh, they're going to get gashed left and right. Chris Klimann has been open about it, that they were very bad, but also the mistakes they made aren't mistakes that take five to six weeks to get fixed. They are things that once they fall into place, boom, they're done. You don't have to worry about them again. On the flip side of it, the offense is kind of like the reversal, where I think people started out the season after the UT Martin, getting going, oh, no, what's going on here, and still had those moments against Tulane. The offense to me is not going to be that bad, and they've done some really encouraging things as the game is progressed on. Their biggest thing right now, they have to start faster into me. Yes, there is execution that has to go down with these players, but it's more so on their coaches being able to put them in the right spots to execute. Connor Riley is still trying to feel his way through things, trying to figure out how to correctly sequence plays. The best example would be that drive at K-State got the ball back from Tulane, forced upon up seven late in the game, little over five minutes left, chance to kind of just ice the game if you can pick up a couple first downs. That was bad play calling right there. He did not put his team in position to execute, and thus they had to give the ball back and leave it up to a shaky defense, which ultimately won out. So I think K-State, they've got some of these things going on, but once they click, they'll be fine. And another thing, if you want a little boost of positivity, K-State beat Eastern Kentucky 10-7 to start the 2011 season, and they went on to have a 10-2 season, I think things will be okay. In terms of if you're looking for what K-State might have a problem with in this game against Arizona, probably comes on the injury front with the offensive line, which is already trying to break in all these new guys. Well, now Hadley-Panzer might be questionable for the game. Carver Willis also got banged up in the game against Tulane. They're going to probably have to be working around and trying some things out. And this gets into a dangerous spot because if both of those two guys get to a point either before or during the Arizona game where they're out, we know K-State does not feel good about where their offensive line situation sits after you get past the first seven guys. So if they have to get to the eighth offensive lineman, it could spell some trouble for the K-State offense. That would be something to keep an eye on. In terms of who needs to step up for K-State to win this game, yeah, Avery Johnson go out there, be a baller that goes a long way. It would be nice to get a receiver again until we get that consistency. It's just really tough to bank on that happening. Dylan Edwards is my other pick though. Everybody listening to this podcast, everybody that has watched K-State this year, they've said get Dylan Edwards the ball more. Well, Chris Kliman finally said this week that they need to get Dylan Edwards the ball more. Get it to one of your most dynamic players. Let him go to work, get him involved in the passing game a little bit more exotically as well. Let's see a little bit more DJ Gins and Dylan Edwards on the field at the same time. Boom, that might fix some of your offensive problems. Defensively, Marquis Segal should not be grouped in with the bad safety performance last week. He was still pretty good. He's been one of the better defensive players this season. He just needs to be able to make more impactful plays, great opportunity to do it against Arizona on Friday night. Now, in terms of my next pick defensively stepping up to make a difference in this game, people are going to laugh. I'm going to go with Jordan Riley. You need a pass rusher in this game. Noah Fafida can be a little bit of a statue back there. Believe it or not, he's not this great run threat in any way. The last two seasons, he's actually had negative rushing yards. So if you can get to him, it can cause some problems. You just actually have to get there. So it'd be nice if a pass rusher stood up. But I think Jordan Riley had a bad game last week against Tulane. But if you look at it, he tied Austin to remain for the team leading tackles at eight. So he was good in that department. And a lot of those were solo. So it was up to him to kind of save and stop it. Some of his errors in the coverage game are not as close to being bad in terms of, oh, he's just not going to be able to catch up. That touchdown that Darian Mensa threw, he thought that he threw a pick in the second half, or at least a bad ball. And it turned into a touchdown because Jordan Riley just didn't go up and try to make a play on the ball. He just kind of whiffed in total. It's those little things. And Chris Klimann talked about it after the game that if that falls into place, things will be right. Waiting to see that breakout game for Jordan Riley, who has the Chris Klimann transfer DB tag on him. I think it could happen in this Arizona game. It would be big if it did. So that's one of the things that's key for K state. These guys that had these little errors that kept them from having good games and made them have bad games against Tulane, got to step up and do those things right when it comes to playing Arizona. And the other thing, you got to start fast in this thing. You got to be able to go out there and score on that first possession if you get the ball first or conversely, do not give up a big play to Arizona to start the game. If you're down seven, nothing in the, the play chart looks like three plays 77 yards, it might be a time in Bill Snyder, family stadium at least hold Arizona to a field goal to start the game. And that kind of highlights everything else there. I've kind of zagged where a lot of others are going to probably zig. I think this actually ends up being a more low scoring game. I take the cats of K state 27, 24. I think they're able to pull out the wind. These early in the week road games are not favorable to the team that has to travel or night games, excuse me, that they're not favorable to the road team. So I think that hurts Arizona. K state found it out last year when they went on the road and lost to Oklahoma state, took them a long time to get going there. I think K state wins their first week night game, at least in the regular season since the KU game in 2010. So 27, 24. And I go low scoring because I think K state, while they do better when they play a little bit faster and they feel like they've got this rhythm, get that lead early, let the defense kind of just keep them at arm's length. And then you can use that running game to kind of salt them away and keep that dangerous Arizona offense off the field, which is what was talked about in the off season by Matt Wells and Connor Riley. They want to be able to throw the ball to score, but run the ball to win. And I think that's what you're looking at in this game against Arizona. So I take the cats of K state 27, 24. Can't wait till we don't have to see another wild cat opponent this season. So I can go back to saying cats freely and everything else that goes with it. So that will do it for me. Thanks to Scott for giving me this opportunity again to talk to the boneheads. And we'll see everybody on Friday and Bill Snyder family stadium. And after the game, whether you're melting down or saying that this is the best K state team in a decade, go to K state online, add on three, start posting about it, say some of the most outlandish things just within reason. Don't get yourself blocked immediately. I know DY doesn't like having to deal with that. And then also go to the KSO YouTube for all the post game reaction and press conferences and anything else you can think of regarding K state, you'll have it over at KSO. It's really a one stop shop for K state content outside of Bosco's boys. So when you say, okay, you know, I've had the old bull. Now I want, you know, the young calf, you come on over to KSO and go from there. We've got a brand new NFL season to enjoy. And that means all new episodes of the Nakum Show where I'm joined by some of the very best NFL broadcasters in the business. Even when the roster is not stacked, he can still pull those wins out. This dude accelerates through it. And I was like, did he really get through the hole that fast? We get you up to speed on everything you need to know about America's game. The major news is big game previews, reaction to all the action and plenty more besides. Soak, join us for the ride. Just search the Nakum Show on your podcast platform of choice. [Music] All right. Now it is time for our Arizona primer. Thank you to Mason, both of K state online for getting us set on the K state side of things. Now we have a first time guest on Bosco's boys. He is one of the main men over at Wildcat Country, a great Arizona podcast. I was just kind of cruising along and I'm like, all right, I know I'm gonna have to download an episode later this week to hear unfethered opinions. So we got Shane here, Shane, welcome, welcome to the show. How are you doing? And are you ready for your first unofficial big 12 game on Friday? Yeah, yeah, it's kind of weird. It's our first big 12 game, but it's not. And the next week we play or two weeks we play Utah, which is our first big 12 game, even though it was a pack 12 game. So yeah, it's a lot of fun. By the way, I'm glad yours podcast is not called Wellcat Country because I could have confused a lot of people. But you know, Kansas State's motto, Every Man of Wildcat is definitely going to be applicable on Friday night. Yes, yes, I can't remember who I saw, but someone, someone tweeted who covers Arizona and said, Hey, I got big money on the Wildcats. And it got some bait from some folks. Like, you know, I think there are some Arizona fans who are like, Oh, really? Like, whoa, and trying to be funny that I think there are some K-State fans are like, Oh, come on, they didn't, they didn't catch the joke. So it is weird how the schedule makers did that with you guys. It's like, Oh, hey, first true conference game that counts for the standings. Oh, here's a team you've been playing for, you know, what, how long is Utah? 10 years you guys been the same conference? 28 11, I think was the first year. So it's 13 years. So it's like, welcome to the new conference. Familiar face. It was the old conference. Yeah. So I lied to you. I sent you an outline. I am thrown a second question that wasn't in there. What was your original thoughts when the pack 12 kind of destruction looked like it was imminent? And what were your immediate thoughts? And it looked like, okay, we're going to be a big 12 school. Well, when it was official that Arizona was joining the big 12, I think the first thing that I felt and I think a lot of Arizona fans felt was relief. Just okay, we're not going to be left out in the cold, like Washington State and Oregon State have to this point. With that said, I think it was difficult to watch the conferences demise, especially because of course the football was actually great in the pack 12 last year. One of the best conferences in the country, which it hadn't been for a lot of years. And it's really unfortunate. We don't have a major conference out west. And hopefully that will be rectified again at some point. Maybe if we keep consolidating, then we have divisions and we end up with a Pacific division. I could see us going that way. But the big 12, I think it's a great, it's a great fit. I think in terms of football, I think it's as good as Arizona was last year. It's really tough to compete with teams like Oregon and USC and Washington on a regular basis. So I think you have more parity now, especially with Texas to know you leaving. And then on men's basketball, I'm really excited. My co-host isn't, he's not because he's like, oh, I want to throw up just thinking about that basketball season, man. Well, yeah, well, but it's, I love it because the big 12 now is what the pack 12 or pack 10 used to be when Arizona won the national championship in 1997 and they beat the Kentucky Wildcats, by the way. So that was fun too. They finished tied for fourth in the pack 10 that year. And they were still a four seed and one and went on and beat three one seeds, still the only team to do that and win the national championship. That's what the pack 10 pack 12 was falling a long way, Eric fell a long way since then and meant basketball. And that's what the big 12 is now. And I think that playing tough competition weekend week out is only going to prepare Arizona and other teams in the big 12 for the, for the NCAA tournament even more, which is, you know, a lot of fans, casual fans might not know Arizona as big a basketball names at this hasn't been in the final four since 2001. And I think one of a lot of luck involved in the NCAA tournament certainly, but I think one of the main reasons for that is because in recent years, especially Arizona doesn't play a lot of tough competition the second half of the season and then they go in and play as a six seed like Clemson and lose to them. Well, that was the best team they probably played in like two months and went now and when they're in the big 12, that won't be the case. So excited for that set still kind of morning, the pack 12's demise, but happy to to not be out in the cold like some couple teams in the in the Pacific Northwest are. All right. And the next one before I get into the outline, what are your thoughts on being the inaugural game? It'll be a trivia question of Fox College football Friday nights. Are you a fan of Friday night college football fan of Hey, it's going to be a big stage regardless. What are your stance on that? I think it's great as long as both teams are kind of on equal footing and both teams played on Saturday. So I mean, Arizona played a little later, but so what. But I think it's great for the big, I know it's technically not a big 12 game, but you know, it's a great spotlight for the big 12 to ranked teams. And then on top of that, Arizona goes in with the nation's longest winning streak now that Michigan lost to Texas. So you know, it's crazy as that sounds Arizona, which lost 20 games in a row just a few years ago now has nine wins in a row. And of course, they're a big underdog at K state, which I think is completely justified and I know we'll get into that. But not I'm excited for it. It's a great spotlight for Arizona. Great spotlight for Kansas state and a great spotlight for the big 12. We'll get into it through two games. What are your expectations for the season moving forward? I think maybe they should be revised down a bit after what we saw the first two weeks defense struggle in week one, the offense struggle in week two, and both games were definitely against in free or competition. I think that's primarily a product of a new coaching staff combining with holdovers from the previous coaching staff and still that feeling out period in a real game situation. I just think that takes a while. You know, I didn't, I didn't pick Arizona to win the big 12, but I thought maybe they'd be in the mix. At this point, I think seven, six or seven wins seems more realistic than nine or 10. I think Brendan, I love the higher we've had, we've talked to him a couple times on our show. I think he's going to do very well at Arizona long term. He's kind of reminds me a lot of Dick Tommy, who's the all time winning his coach at Arizona. He coached under Dick Tommy briefly, knows him well, knew him well, Dick told me past a few years ago. But I think this season is going to have some bumps in the road for no, if for nothing else, because navigating change is difficult, and we're still early in that process. So when you look back at these last two games, and specifically the, the NAU game, I know I watched a little bit of it. I tweeted from my account, because K state fans were a little spazzy after the two lane game and say, Hey, look, no winning football is hard. Just look at the halftime score. I was listening on the varsity app as I fell asleep. You came away with the win. What, what happened in that game, you know, big difference, especially on offense from week one, week two. So what's your, you know, 15,000 foot view of that game? Yeah. Well, first of all, I, we have a big upset special pick we make on our show every week, and we get one point for if the underdog covers the spread in two points of the win. Mine last week, no disrespect intended, but it was two lane minus 10 against, or plus 10 against Kansas state, mainly not so necessarily reflection on K state, but because I thought that was way too much to give for two lanes, which has been a very good team the last couple of years. And I was feeling really good about the two points until toward the end, and then they would end up, I watched the end of the game when it was a great game, but I'm sure you guys were a little more stressed than I was watching it. We saved the stress for the NAU game, unfortunately, but yeah, I think the offensive struggles are the big takeaway from the NAU game, you know, going 0 and 0 for 10 on the third down, not converting in the red zone, and doing that against not just an FCS team, but a pretty mediocre FCS team is a concern. Arizona did have some key players sit out that game, including a pair of offensive linemen, which has become a bigger concern for Arizona than expect than it was going to a training camp. I think the big question is, did their offensive coordinator, do you know, Bavers, did he purposely limit the playbook in preparation for tough for opponents, starting with Friday's game? Or is there just a disconnect between him and Noah Fita and the offensive combination thereof? We're going to begin to see that answer to that question on Friday. The defense looked better than it did week one, but again, you have to consider the competition, got more pressure on the quarterback did well against the running game, but I still think the defensive line is the biggest concern overall on this team, maybe the biggest concern going forward. And again, we just don't know how things are going to shake out until they play a top opponent like Kansas State in the Utah in two weeks from now. You mentioned some linemen were out. What is the current status of the injury report for just continuity purposes? We are recording this Monday evening. So obviously, some things could change by the folks by the time folks are hearing it, but to the best of your knowledge, what was the injury report looking like for Arizona right now? It's hard to say because you just you don't know where these like for precautionary things because they were playing Northern Arizona, but they're missing their left tackle and then their center Josh Baker was a big loss. And I think we saw that against Northern Arizona. Interesting scenario with one of their star running back said to Corey Kroski Merritt, he was kept out for possible eligibility concerns, still not completely clear on that situation and whether he'll play Friday. I'm sure the NCA is working on it swiftly, they move it at a real quick pace and I'll get that sorted out quick, but I'm for those not watching a video on being very, very sarcastic right now. But if he's out, that's going to be a big loss for the running game. Quality Connolly is capable running back. He's had two great games to start the season, but losing Kroski Merritt to compliment Connolly could be a big deal. So that's worth keeping an eye on. And then on defense, I know I believe Gunnar Maldonado sat out the Northern Arizona game. He was one of Arizona's best players in the secondary, the second half of last season. You might remember if you watched the Alamo Bowl, he had that big return for a touchdown in that game. If he's out, the secondary for Arizona is definitely a strength, but if he's out, that's going to be a big hole for Arizona. All right, so you can go obvious or off the beaten path for this one, if you want. But who are some guys on both sides of the ball, the K-State fan should definitely be aware of come Friday night. As of tonight, as folks are listening, which is, yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, well, on offense, I mean, it's a low-hanging fruit, but I don't need to tell you how good Tederwald McMillen is. And he did disappear most of Saturday's game, which is a concern, but he's still their best player. Future first round draft pick can make ridiculous catches. And he's got some speed. We saw in the 300-yard game against New Mexico, he's got some speed as well. So he's a guy to watch. If you haven't known, if you don't know him already, if Arizona is going to have a chance, if Arizona ends up winning the game, I'll put it this way, you're going to know who T-Mac is if you don't already. We'll see what happens. But on defense, I think Arizona's defensive front, especially the newcomers like Trace Smith, who came over with Brent Brennan from San Jose State against K-State's rushing attack is going to be a big matchup to watch. Arizona held Northern Arizona to fewer than three yards per carry, but K-State has several guys who run the ball well. You don't need me to tell your listeners that. And then linebacker Jacob Bono, can he get any pressure on a mobile quarterback like Avery Johnson? Arizona had a very tough time containing New Mexico's dual-threat quarterback in week one. So that is a big matchup to keep an eye on. Alright, so if Arizona is going to win the inaugural Fox Friday night football, whatever they're calling it, they have some snappy name. I can't, I can't remember it. But what are going to going to be two of the biggest keys for Arizona to come away victorious? I think converting in the red zone is a big, big deal. Arizona struggled with that a lot in 2021 and 22. They were much better last year, but they had a very tough time converting in goal-to-go situations against NAU, not just the red zone, but goal-to-go. I know K-State had a big defensive stand in the red zone to hold off to lane last Saturday. So finishing drives, finishing drives, what I did last weekend is going to be very important. And that's definitely a concern. And then I think limiting penalties. Arizona's given up the seventh most penalties in all of FBS through the first two games of the season. And that includes some dumb post whistle penalties that extended some drives, especially in the New Mexico game. Arizona got away with it in weeks one and two, but they're not going to be able to get away without a team like Kansas State on the road and expect to win. So red zone penalties doing better in both those categories is going to be huge for Arizona. On the flip side of things, what are some things you worry about when you're looking at this matchup that, you know, if K-State really converts on that, you think, okay, it might be a rough night. Yeah, the quarterback run, I think, you know, Devin Dampier again at New Mexico, he rushed for over 100 yards against Arizona. I think K-State looked to do the same. I think having a quarterback who can run is going to be could be a big problem for the defensive front. And then making, then making no for free to beat them with someone other than Teteroah McMillan. You know, Arizona still doesn't have a clear number two option at receiver behind T-Mac. There's a lot of candidates it looks like for that, but you know, they don't have a Jacob Cowling on this team like they did last year. And until that changes, I think Kansas State and everyone else that comes after him is going to use that strategy. NAU did it and they held Arizona to 20 offensive points. Arizona scored 22. Two came on a safety. They scored 20 offensive points against the FCSTM. They did it by making other people beat them and it worked pretty well for them. So I think doing, you know, making anyone else try to beat them in the passing game and then running running the ball, you know, with the quarterback option and with their two running backs that average over seven yards of carry, I think those are, those are the obvious. I mean, you're not telling, not telling anything you don't know, but those seem like to me like the obvious keys for success for case today. Before we get to the big money question, I'm putting this at this part of the show in case any Arizona listeners are migrating over here. We're sponsored by Charlie Hustle. And the reason why I want to do this while I'm talking to you, because not only do they have some of the best officially licensed K-State gear in the game and Kansas City stuff, as I'm right here in Shawnee, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, but they have Arizona gear. And my friend, I promise you, check them out and you're going to come away wanting to buy at least a handful of t-shirts from Charlie Hustle, some of the best vintage inspired gear. And guess what? Charlie Hustle is all about the big 12. So they have big 12 gear as well. And all you Arizona fans coming out for the big 12 tournament in Kansas City come March. They have the Charlie Hustle experience. So again, I'm putting the sponsor in here in hopes that some Arizona fans check out Charlie Hustle vintage made fresh. And of course, get excited when you guys come up for the big 12 tournament because the Charlie Hustle experience last year was second to non Charlie Hustle vintage made fresh. All right, let's get a score prediction. I almost feel like you're sandbagging me here a little bit, talking up all this, you know, K-State stuff. But where is your hard ad again? You know, we're recording this Monday evening. You have full rights to change your prediction later on if you want to. But as we're sitting here now, what is your prediction for Friday for tonight as folks are listening? Right. Well, I do pride myself on being an anti-homier. So, you know, I tell people if you want, if you want someone who's going to blow a bunch of smoke up your end, you got other options. That's just not me. And it's not my coast either. Now, I admittedly, I'm not as high on Kansas State. At least I wasn't as a lot of people were going into the season, but they are a very well-rounded team with a very good quarterback, some excellent rushers. I still think most games, you know, football is still a simple game. Their most games are one that the line of scrimmage or lost at the line of scrimmage in Kansas State likely has an advantage on both sides of the ball there. Plus, they're going to be at home. I'm sure the coaches will let them know that Arizona comes in with a nation's longest winning streak at nine games, which is something I never thought I'd see as an Arizona fan and alum. I mean, I'm savoring these next few days. It looked like we might not get to nine at half the time of Saturday's game. I just, I can't pick Arizona to win after what I saw the first two weeks and two songs, you know, until proven otherwise. I've seen Stranger Things, but I don't think it's a blowout necessarily, but I do think Kansas State ends up winning barely comfortably. They cover the, I think the spread is seven and a half. I think they went by a couple touchdowns. I'll say 34 to 20 Kansas State. And the other thing, again, if crosskey merit is out, that that's definitely going to limit Arizona's rushing attack and overall offense. That's a big thing to watch. Definitely something to keep an eye out on during warm-ups to see if he's out there getting ready. All right. So I want you to plug everything you're involved in the show, anything on your socials, you know, if you have a side business, whatever you want to tell the boneheads, which is what we call our fans, anything, the floor drawers. Well, this is my side business, but I appreciate the opportunity. Now you can, if you want to follow along, follow the other Wildcats in your conference, you can follow us @catcountryaz. Follow me at Shane Dale AZ. Again, you're not going to see a lot of homework stuff from me. I'm a very bitter, not just Arizona sportsmen, but Arizona pro sports as well. So if you consider sons, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, you kind of know we're in coyotes too. They're gone. So that kind of tells you where my where my where my thinking is. So forgive me for in advance for being so bitter, but but you can follow us there. And then real quick, I'll just mention ice shakers. I think I don't know. There's a Kansas State ice shaker, but maybe that they're definitely should be, but ice shakers. One of our sponsors who was founded by Chris Gronkowski, who played at Arizona alongside his brother, Rob, who you might have heard of, who's also their youngest brother, played at K State. That's right. I forgot about that. You know that you know the Bronx well. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They're all on shark tank pitching to ice shaker and it's doing really well, so they're one of our sponsors. And then here if you come down to Tucson for the game next year, stop by Harris auction casino between Tucson and Phoenix. It's our other sponsor and they're fantastic. It's a great resort. So quick plugs there. I know I don't want to go to the sponsors too much on your show, but appreciate the opportunity. Appreciate the chance to talk wildcat football in every sense of the word. And I hope it's a, I hope it's a fantastic game. And I hope that my Wildcats give your Wildcats at least a tough time on Friday. Definitely. Well, Shane, thank you for helping us out. Get ready for the game with the Arizona perspective. If everything goes as planned, folks will be hearing the big 12 game of the week primer, which let's be real. It's wild cats first wild cats, but I'm hoping we get a little bit of UCF and TCU talk following this. So if all things go to plan, that's what you guys will be hearing next. Shane, thanks again for coming on. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. All right. Hello friends of the Bosco's boys podcast. My name is Adam Eaton. I am part of the Sons of UCF. I'm here with one of my compatriots, Mr. Trace Chilco Trace. How are you? Doing well, doing well, Adam. Hello, Bosco's boys audience. And we are here because what I understand to trace, there's a big old American football game here this Saturday where our UCF Knights are traveling to Fort Worth to take on TCU. It's the opener for UCF. It's a first road game for UCF this year. And this is going to be a tough contest. UCF's had a couple of really, I'll call them cupcakes, but there've been a couple of easier games on the schedule with New Hampshire and Sam Houston. Really, no challenges winning those football games, but Trace, we've heard all week from Gus Melzon. We've heard from players. Season starts Saturday. Season starts with this game at TCU. This is really going to put a marker stamp on what it is the program wants to wants to be in 2024. And we've heard a lot about getting that taste out of their mouth. Last year was not a good year for UCF. I think everyone knows that six and seven not great in the big 12 trace. How important is it for you as you think about this game? And what does UCF have to do to get off to a good start here in the big 12 schedule? Yeah, it's a tough one for UCF going on the road where UCF struggled a season ago. I asked head coach Gus Melzon during his media availability about a season ago when he talked about games would come down in the big 12 late in the fourth quarter, maybe one possession games, last possession games. UCF struggled in those ended up on the losing end of a lot of them. So how do they perform on the road this year? They have run the ball very well against a new Hampshire team and Sam Houston, a step up certainly an opponent in TCU. So do they continue to run the ball as well as they have through the first two games? And when will they need Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson to perform and be on the spot? That's going to be something to look for. Also changes in the UCF defense. They gave up a ton of running yards last year. They have kept both New Hampshire and Sam Houston and Jack. But again, this is a quality TCU team. And this is a road game TCU, interestingly, with the schedule opening at Stanford and getting the win before hosting their own lesser opponent. So a change approach for TCU and the way they went about their schedule this year should be a good one in Fort Worth. But for UCF, if you want to have the kind of season that you're hoping for, nine wins or more, maybe a contender in the big 12, you got to get off to the right start winning at TCU on Saturday. One of the major talking points raised so far two weeks in has been the play of KJ Jefferson, right? The Arkansas transfer comes over. I think a lot of people thought you put that person that player that body style in Gus Malzahn's offense. That's going to be a match made in heaven. Week one was a little bit of a struggle. Again, it was against a lesser opponent in New Hampshire. Week two, he played a lot better. What have you seen so far of KJ Jefferson? What do you make of his fit for UCF on this team right now? I feel it's too soon to say I wasn't one of those people, you know, bringing my hands after week one when he was seven to 14, the interception, the terrible interception and a struggle against New Hampshire. Again, that ran the ball. Well, game never in doubt, a 57-3 win for UCF. He performed better as the game went along and then performed better against Sam Houston. A step up an opponent from New Hampshire, but this is a different animal on the road at TCU. So I think it's still too soon to say Gus has said that he's got a lot of football under his belt and he does. He was in Arkansas. He has had big wins in that uniform and now UCF brings them in through the transfer portal and they're looking to him to get big wins for the Knights this season. Let's talk about some of the players on the field trades. I'll let you take offense. I'll take defense. Who are some players on the offensive side of the ball that fans of this show who people are listening to this are going to hear about on Saturday night when UCF plays TCU. Who are some offensive names they're going to hear about? You're going to get a steady diet of running back RJ Harvey amongst the best in the nation. Four rushing touchdowns against Sam Houston. The running game is a whole, you know, best in the country really and Miles Montgomery, the Cincinnati transfer. He's in the mix there as well. We talked about KJ Jefferson. Who does he connect with? Kobe Hudson is the early standout, the returning wide receiver. So it would be interesting to see who beyond him. He has found an early connection with tight end Randy Pittman Jr. And then really along the offensive line. How do they perform? Do they continue to open up holes for that running game? It is a potent UCF offense. And I think you're going to hear those names throughout the day on Saturday. On the defensive side, I think the most important name you may hear Trace is Ted roof who's taken over the defense coordinator duties at UCF. Obviously, he's had a bunch of stops throughout a bunch of different places. He's coming this year and he's wants to bring an attacking and aggressive style defense through the first two games. UCF has done a much better job, particularly getting turnovers and scoring off those turnovers. So Ted roof, maybe the most important name you're on defense, but a couple other names to keep in mind to Sean Pace, transfer linebacker from Cincinnati. He's just been a guy who was all over the field. He's fast. He's versatile. He's not the biggest most imposing player you're going to see Trace, but he always seems to be around the football. Whenever there's a tackle to be made, the pile is going to get up and you see number three from UCF standing over that. That's the Sean Pace. He's definitely had a good impact on this UCF team. On that front line, watch out for number two, Lee Hunter. And by the way, you can't miss him because he's a large human being. He's on, I think six or seven watch lists this year, Trace, for all various awards. If UCF is going to stop the run, they're going to need to run stuff for like Lee Hunter. He's in a nice job so far, but they're going to need him to clog the middle of that lineup to be able to force guys to the outside where guys like the Sean Pace can make tackles. And two names in the secondary trace, two transfers in that I don't think we were talking a lot about. Mac McWilliams, a cornerback, Sheldon Arnold, the second at safety. These are both two guys who've come in from UAV and ETSU respectively played a lot of football trace. They both have interceptions through their first two games. They both been really consistent players as well. So a lot of new faces on this night's defense. If you watched UCF at all last year, some of the names in offense are going to be familiar. You're going to need to get out your playbook to figure out who's on the defensive side trace because they made a lot of wholesale changes. But does the game come down to special teams? UCF one at Boise State on a big field goal by Colton Boomer. He with a 50 yard field goal against Sam Houston and a name I didn't mention on offense. He's the first little wide receiver who returns puns and kickoff Xavier Townsend. Does he do something in the return game? So close game on the road, maybe comes down to special teams. Yeah, we'll see what happens trace. I mean, my gut tells me it's going to be a close game. Obviously TCU has had some some tougher opponents in Stanford than UCF has had. So we'll see which team is is battle tested. You and I were talking earlier, TCU. This game is sold out. They're reporting. They're doing a blackout. So I assume the Knights can expect a bit of a raucous crowd there in Fort Worth. So we'll be plugged in. We'll tune in. If you want to get caught up on all things UCF, you can always turn to the Suns UCF. We have you covered. So we have podcasts. We have live shows. We have other scripted shows. You can find all that stuff on our YouTube channel at Suns UCF. You can also go to our website at Suns of UCF.com, unique articles and things of that nature. Anywhere you do downloadable content, search Suns UCF, you'll find a bunch of stuff as well. And then trace if they want to follow you along, you'll be at the game. So you'll be tweeting live, giving perspective from from the stadium, working working folks find you. If you want some live perspective on the field. Yeah, at sign PES SEIN PEZ, I will have reaction during the game and as well post game. All right, that's it for the Suns UCF. Thanks for your time, Bosco's. Everybody have a fantastic weekend. Let's go Knights. Charge on. And thank you so much to everyone who participated in the whip around coverage this week. All right, before we get out of here, we'll talk a little case state soccer, a little case state volleyball as well. Weirdly enough, I kind of took a couple shots at case state soccer. The last time I did this myself last week, we had the great Jasmine Halliburton doing this. But after I took my shots, they beat Green Bay six one. They beat South Dakota three nothing. And then they got a tie with Arkansas state zero zero on the road. Now they went out to Memphis. Memphis is ranked number seven in the nation. And they lost to nothing, but it was nil, nil, pretty deep into that game. And they put up a good fight. Again, as we set the top of the show, this is all getting put together before any of the games get played. As of putting this together on Thursday evening, they're taking on number 19 Colorado at home at seven p.m. Hopefully they got a result. Look, that's going to be a tough one, but it is at home. Can you get a nil, nil, draw? Can you, you know, get a goal or two? Could you put on a show? Folks, if they got a result, if they got a tie or a win, that would be absolutely massive. I'm not going to hold my breath, but I'm hoping, you know, kind of nagging them leads them on to figure it out next week. They are traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia. They're playing the Mountaineers at what time six p.m. on Thursday. And then they have a Sunday game at noon with Cincinnati as well. So getting the Rust Belt swing next week. Look, if they can, if they can keep getting results in, look, this is not a team that's going to be competing for the NCAA tournament any, anytime soon. But I am, look, I'm a dreamer. What can I say? If they can find a way to get into the big 12 tournament, I think that would be absolutely massive for them. Now a team that I had much higher expectations and I'm, I'm quite disappointed in the start of the season is the K state volleyball team. Now the again, we're putting this together before they're playing Lipscomb at home, 630 p.m. first game in the morgue this season. Hopefully it's rock. I know it's going to be rocky, but hopefully they're able to get a win. And then they have North Carolina on Sunday at 1230. So again, in between any sort of NFL watching on ESPN plus they are playing the tar heels. Then next week still in the Morgan family, volleyball arena, they got UC Santa Barbara and Oklahoma before they start big 12 play at Houston on September 25th. Now we talked with Brian Smaller at the beginning of the season during Blitz month and I talked last time with you guys. I was saying, Hey, look, you want to try to grab one or two from the three ranked teams that you're playing. And sadly, they were not able to do it. They dropped the very first or no, the second match of the season to UC Davis and five. That one absolutely killed me that we had no business losing to UC Davis. And they were able again, they were competitive with Purdue. They were competitive with USC, taking a set from both those teams and honestly looking really good even in defeat. But they did not have the juice first crate. And now I feel like they have their backs up against the wall a little bit. Now, Oklahoma, I mean, they might improve from where they were last year. Truthfully, I don't know anything about North Carolina. I'm not going to sit here and say I do. And by the way, that Oklahoma game on Sunday, September 22nd here in a couple weeks, that's going to be on ESPN use. So you really want to win that one on national television. But you got to start streaming together some wins because you were not able to get that marquee non conference victory. Now, you played three really good teams. You're playing some okay teams as well at home. That's going to help your RPI. It's going to help your strength of schedule. And it is going to allow you to you know, be an NCAA tournament team as long as you take care of business and get your fair share of victories in the big 12. But when we were talking with Brian Smaller about, you know, maybe having dreams of competing for the big 12 or being a top three team in the big 12 or maybe even hosting the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, my confidence in that is a little low, seeing that you weren't able to even take it to five with any of those ranked teams let alone, you weren't able to get any wins. So I'm probably tempering my expectations a little bit here, but it will be a good one to follow on Thursday. Hopefully that was a win. And hopefully on Sunday, we're able to take care of the Tar Heels. So again, if you're in Manhattan, get out to Morgan family arena to see K State versus the Tar Heels at 1230, hopefully we can get two wins here. Hopefully you can grab two wins the following weekend before things really get rolling in big 12 play here in a couple weeks. All right, that's all we have. Shout out to our friends all across the spectrum helping us out. Of course, as always, shout out to our guy Mason Mason doing great stuff at the K on at K soundline and on the YouTube page over there. Shout out to our guy Shane Dale from the Wildcat Country podcast. Shout out of course to our friends, sons of UCF in the 1012 network, shout out to the 1012 network as well sponsors Manhattan Brewing Company and Charlie Hustle vintage made fresh. That's all we have. It is game day folks get excited seven o'clock cannot get here quick enough for all of our friends who helped us with our primers and getting ready via this whip around for Chauncey Bosco the best dog in the world. My name is Scott McFarland. I am pumped for tonight. We love you guys and go cats. Wildcat in fight. Hail Alma Mater from sea to sea. Onward forever. Hail victory. Fight. You can stay wildcats for all the modern fights. Glory in the combat for the purple and the white faithful to our colors. We will ever be a fighting, ever fighting for a wildcat. Victory. Fight, fight, fight, fight. You can stay wildcats for Alma Mater. Fight, fight, fight, fight. Glory in the combat for the purple and the white faithful to our colors. We will ever be a fighting, ever fighting for a wildcat. Victory. Go state. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. [BLANK_AUDIO]