FiredUp Network
Monday, September 16:The Sports Wrap
welcome into sports wrap here on the fired up network went ahead and we are joined by the rude dog Rudy Reyes and Alex Campbell from timeout in college gridiron. I wanted to get a couple of guys on because I think this is a pivotal week in both college football week three in college football week two in the NFL. You've kind of had time to shake off the rust of not playing in this shortened preseason and now it's go time and trend should start developing and guys the thing that jumped out at me was the just unevenness of the play. I wanted to start with college football because there was a couple of crazy scores if you try to predict from week to week. The Saturday night primetime game on ESPN Georgia against Kentucky a Kentucky team that just got just pounded the week before I believe Vandergriff a former Georgia quarterback only completed three passes in the second half of the game. They gave Georgia everything they wanted and actually got a hit on Carson Beck which doesn't happen often where he came up hobbling and holding his arm. Georgia escapes with a one point win and earlier in the day a Notre Dame team that inexplicably lost to the NIU Huskies the week before they curb stopped the Purdue Boilermaker 66 to 7. Rudy what kind of wild swing from week to week. You know you can talk that up to scheduling right. We didn't think Georgia would be in a fight for their life against Kentucky this early in the season. You would think that battle may have occurred later on down the road maybe sometime in November had they played them but scheduling didn't favor them at least now. Are they ranked number one? Well not anymore. We see that they're scared by Kentucky who certainly just put the bejesus all over Georgia got to Carson Beck as you mentioned early and well often they had a lot of great looks defensively they got into the backfield more often than I think the offensive line would have liked. That was not a routing game but when you look at Texas versus UTSA that was a pure route but that but again that's schedule. It's all about the big schools beaten up on the little schools it's like that like that playground bully. The one I always picks on the smaller kids but never picks on one their own size. Not just UTSA it's funny looking Texas and the 56 of 7 trouncing certainly so this is my sand law. I own the sand and you're going to get out of it and you mentioned and I you beat it up on Notre Dame. I mean that was completely unexpected. Pull up as we've seen from Notre Dame last year right. We've seen them go on almost a title run if you will to get to the nanny. That was curved stopped by a lot of other teams who had better records who had better levels of competition. Now that we're in a 12 team playoff system in the NCAA football landscape now it looks a little bit more competitive when you look at the totality of all of these teams that are currently a part of it. Had that a week too not really surprising Utah would face Utah State and have a very and I would say a relatively closer game than the trouncing we've seen between Texas and UTSA but when you look at Ole Miss wake Forest 40 this next week any me and then just put the stomping all over uh Kent State it wasn't even close. They didn't even get on the board the whole time. It would kind of remind me that the Steelers Broncos gained earlier this afternoon when the Steelers were up and well the Broncos had nothing on the board. So I think that there's more of a of an equal playing field and more parity allowed in the NCAA scheduling this season than any other years past and to give this context there are still some great games to be had. USC will take on Michigan. You see Georgia Tech against Louisville that can be an upset in the making based on what we've seen from Georgia Tech in their opener and that was a shell shocker as well. Then you see Marshall taking on Ohio State. Those teams are closer than what it looks like on paper. So I mean there's so much to like about this NCAA season. I'm probably more excited about it than I have in years past. Why? Because there are because of the parity, because of the scheduling, because of the players, because of you know would be Heisman Trophy candidates that's going to start raising their level of game. I think Gabriel out of Oregon State certainly can make an argument in regards to that. His hopeful high race from Oregon. Excuse me. So because they actually trounced Oregon State yesterday, which was kind of amazing or I mean Saturday. Excuse me. So I mean there's a I lost my day because I worked nights. I heard radio. So I find myself thinking what day is it again? But I mean you see Oregon at UCLA former Pac-12 foes, right? And we also seen the a Sheikah speaking of Pac-12. They're revitalizing the Pac-12. They've given it a booster shot to now include a myriad of teams that you wouldn't think could actually be in there. But these are like the the independents. I'm not going political here, but I mean they're not independents. They're dragging there. But they did as they rated the like they rated the Mountain West. They rated the junior conference to their region is what happened with a quarter billion dollars in their in their pocket largely from the teams bail in to go to the Big Ten. So yeah, they're going to go ahead. It looks like and do that reverse merger they had talked about with the Mountain West because the Pac-2 still holds something that's really valuable. If they can slap together a conference of eight, they have a guaranteed berth in the playoff for their champions. And I think the team that I got to go see the UNLV running Rebels who had a big upset win on the road. I got the picture up behind me the temporary home for the KUJ Hawks as they go to their new stadium. They're playing at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting Kansas City Stadium, UNLV in a game that was just horrendously quarterback. A game that set offense back a decade probably. They get the win 23 to 20. They took out the J Hawks and UNLV I'd imagine is going to be stepping up to that new Pac-12. But Alex just to let you weigh in. I mean it was a very unusual very unpredictable week. I guarantee you a lot of people on whatever your favorite sports book app is DraftKings, MGM. That yes we end dropped a lot of money on Georgia expecting them to just destroy Kentucky. And it wasn't there. It shows that there's going to be some unpredictability as we go into these conference seasons. And that's why the house always wins right. I mean because you have games like this that's because it is so unpredictable. And that's exactly what it's set up for. I think in a way like this whole Georgia thing is being overblown. Like I was it was an unexpectedly close game. Kentucky was in the backfield too much. However, I still really like Georgia because most most dominant teams go through a game like this. We put it in these contexts. It's a little different. It's a conference game on the road at night. I mean you insert any two teams and how many times have you heard that historically in in college football. You know whether it be Iowa upsetting Michigan who's ranked in the top five at Kinnick Stadium or you know Ohio State losing in West Lafayette. You know things like that just just happened especially in that environment on the road at night. And Kentucky was playing inspired football after being spanked by by South Carolina who I continue to be impressed by even though they lost to LSU. That was a great game. A great game they played against LSU really came down just a few plays at the end. But I think you know all sides point up there at South Carolina. But yeah I mean Georgia I think you know acquitted themselves you know poorly in the first half but kind of got their sea legs together especially with ETN second half. And you know like I said they were just kind of mystified. What's classic game where you get punched in the mouth kind of get bewildered and it took a little while for them to kind of regain their footing. You know another team that didn't talk about much Miami was just completely dominant against Ball State 62 to nothing just a shelling of Ball State. Missouri I felt played better than the 27-21 score over Boston College wouldn't indicate Boston College is a very good team. And then Ryan's the head coach there now you know former NFL head coach former Alabama coordinator. Yeah yeah and the head coach of the guys good coach. The other thing to highlight I guess would be the bottom falling out in Florida. I mean Florida State and Florida are just in an absolute you know whirlwind right now. And who knows how far this will fall. I can't imagine Napier and Norval are around at the end of the season. But then you know the familiar drumbeat begins of all the coaching search mantra and who's available. And here's the thing I think if you're looking at your crystal ball of college football with all this commercialism and college football and all this money when will we see the coach salaries tick up significantly and maybe even get too close to and surpass NFL coaching salaries. Because I think it's a harder job that requires more even more hours and more dedication than NFL coaching job does. And I think if you look at the attrition rate it is far greater than what the NFL is. But the attrition rate of great coaches from college football over the last three, four, five years is just insane. So I think that they want to put a stop loss to that and I would imagine you know that's the thing to look for in the offseason is kind of like a crazy bidding war in the coach care itself. Sure no I'm actually right and I want to touch a little too. Right exactly but but here's what what could be even more interesting coaches could end up being a part of the NIL contract negotiation component right. We don't think of coaches being in that capacity it's possible whether or not it happens it's another story but it's certainly possible. Here I see I've seen the athletic commercials haven't you. Yeah I mean I mean coaches already are in the NIL think about it even more so every head coach's contract for decades they get their portion from the state and if it's a public school that's released and they're usually one of the highest paid employees in the state and then they get the rider for hosting their coaches shows and doing the camps. Now does anybody really believe hosting a half hour coaches show is worth seven million dollars a year. Absolutely well true but what that does so they already are right right well what that does is that sets a perfect segue of saying well I want to see what coach Bill self says or I want to see what former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holt has to talk about and what Notre Dame did to what the bet in their latest conference. Yeah so there's a lot of hidden nuggets within those conversations so to contextualize that it could be worth it but not seven million dollars worth right. No it's just a way to hide the money. You can actually put some of that this direction if you want to there's certainly no issue with that here my big account's open I'll give you my cash app but I'm just saying that you look you've you mentioned Miami a Florida it's the only Florida team that sees me doing anything whatsoever and they're in position for reason right you won't see Florida Florida State any type of anti-conversation that went out the window the minute they lost their first game and or their second game maybe a one and done maybe but now a two and oh and now a three and oh oh and three no absolutely not there's no way you're going to find them in the conversation in regards to who's going to get to the national championship game teams like Ole Miss right historically have been okay at best but would you disallow a team for putting points on the board that certainly says a lot about you and your program and what you bring there so those nuggets for those coaches and those types of conversations are easier to have than the one that maybe Devil Sweeney had to deal with right or maybe teams that were so close to actually losing like we were just mentioning earlier look the bottom line is this is that the landscape of college football has changed with NIL it's obvious it's obligatory I've interviewed quite a few former quarterbacks and current quarterbacks one who plays for UCLA is a big big proponent of NIL money but what to do with that is another story and I've always kind of discussed to the point of and I'll just kind of leave it here and now let you guys kind of dissect that and that give them so much money but then take a portion of that and make that applicable to their their loan to offset or to give them some type of tuition payments in an incremental you know way in order for them to continue doing what they're doing yeah no the whole system's out of control and what you're seeing is the teams that have made the right decision and got that transfer quarterback to come in that free agent quarterback there's the ones who are in pretty good shape as you know Miami of Florida they got Kim Ward and they got it going Florida they got Graham Mertz from Wisconsin and they're not doing much about anything and Florida State they got DJ look look at Miami's schedule they're three and oh they've scored over a hundred and forty points in three games and here's their schedule moving forward they got south Florida next week Virginia Tech Cal in a classic ACC game right the California Golden Bears Louisville really their next hard game and you're all the way into mid-October for that they get a Florida state team that at that point is going to be done Duke Georgia Tech Wake Forest and Syracuse I mean you could easily see just looking at how they've played looking at that schedule that transfer or Cam Ward that may well get Miami of Florida a undefeated regular season in an ACC championship and then it's worth every dollar they gave them I agree I think and getting back to the football of it I think they're gonna win the ACC at this point I had them as a maybe as a potential favorite now I think they are the favorite after seeing everybody play Miami is just so good I think they have the most underrated offensive line in the country and Chris of all knows exactly you know what to do there they have a bevy of running backs CJ2K Jr is phenomenal and he barely even touches the ball Danny and Martinez is like your bell count there and it's like Restrepo and all the athletes they have on offense you know what I mean like Miami is just loaded I really like Miami to be in the conversation in the you know in the title hunt you know here in the playoffs well they they could very well because Cameron Ward comes off of a five touchdown 346 yard 19 for 28 type of game if he can have those games and do it consistently with guys like AJ Allen to Colby George who had one touchdown each one of those guys had a touchdown these guys are on fire it would not surprise me whatsoever to have them in the conversation at least maybe towards the midway point depending on what their record is at that juncture they could ultimately go undefeated with the aforementioned teams if there is if there is a potential toast over there I think it might be Georgia Tech that game like is a is a to be decided game it's in Atlanta I just a moment ago mentioned night games on the road that could easily be flexed to a night game especially if Georgia Tech is let's say you know playing 750 baller better at that point sure you know what I mean so I think that could be a tricky one Syracuse at Syracuse to end the year and that stupid dome on on that turf you know what I mean that that that's a weird place where strange things happen so I don't I mean like I'm hopeful from Miami I think I think they could go undefeated and it's if they do and they win the ACC I think they're they're one of the favorites to win it all yeah no doubt don't you feel mixed take yeah and take a look at the SEC as we'll second to the NFL here Georgia number one well number two now Texas moves up to number one yeah Ohio State comes in three then you have Alabama at four Ole Miss at five Missouri at six and Tennessee at seven that is going to be an absolutely loaded up conference and that's a conference is going to be really thankful that this is the year you have the 12 teams so a loss or two doesn't kill you because I think if anything that Georgia Kentucky game showed that this is going to be the conference that's the closest to the NFL we're on any given Sunday any given Saturday in this case anybody can lose no you're absolutely right I mean we look at Tennessee and how they've been playing in the ways that they've been playing the ways that they've been winning having to get everybody involved in that in those processes Oklahoma Alabama I didn't expect Alabama to win but they did I mean even without Nick Saban right you you see the floor who just you know continually does divorce excuse me you just great things wherever he goes it's really making a case they're in Alabama right uh Vanderbilt they're looking okay they're two and one but uh as far as the class of FBS this the SEC is certainly a part of that conversation and if not they should be yeah I mean they have to be because on it like I said I got to look first hand at a KU team that was being talked about it's being the class of the big 12 and if there's a class of the big 12 the big 12 has some major problems Kansas State Kansas State beat Arizona in a battle of top 25 big 12 teams 31 7 but K State just barely beat two lane the week before so very very uneven and we'll hear a little bit from Lance Leipold a little bit a little bit lighter but I do want to get to the NFL eventful day in the NFL he had a super close game here in Kansas City and just to give you a look at it because of course it was decided in part on that pass interference call in the Harrison butker drives in the game winning field though here's Joe Burrough's reaction to that game and how it turned out we didn't do enough for the game today so you know we got a lot of six and that right there is the look of losing because his whole press conference was like that one half sentence three or four word answers and just give me out of here just thinking just about everything they could do they got three turnovers they knocked as a if a check-o out of the game and still wasn't enough the Chiefs pull away with the win and there's all sorts of controversy online on acts on Instagram saying oh the Chiefs had an extra player the referee gave them that it was a blatant pass interference at the end and the fact that the Chiefs had the play the play before with the long pass to Kelsey they got taken back for a you know hand to the face it promptly could have been let's slide so the Chiefs figure out a way to win again they go to 2-0 in a hard fought game against the Bengals yeah I mean that's that's what great teams do like I you know when I was watching that game I I don't think I don't think I was alone I kept thinking like how are the Chiefs going to win and they did you know what I mean I that was the general I think sentiment down the stretch even though at times you know when the Bengals had had the lead in the fourth quarter I still just thought like how are they going to win and they did because they're the better team and the Bengals are all sanitorious for slow starts that look that Joe Brown had is familiar these first couple weeks of the NFL season so I'm not what I'm shocked by is how how well the Bengals played I mean I know they're disappointed but that's what I'm truly shocked by coming off of last week against the Patriots you know what I mean that that's what I'm really surprised by is how well they actually played a lot better yeah it was so much better especially on defense they I felt like they wrapped up and tackled better to the Patriots they were given up you know tons of yards after contact and that's you know in a lot of ways how they lost that game so you know great performance by the Bengals here I you know I think you got you know nothing really to you know hang your head about you got 17 games on the schedule on this 0-2 start is not unfamiliar what what was great is that you got your mojo back yeah I I think there was a there's a lot to be said for how they played and the way that they played and the the tackles for loss you know slowing up the middle of the field disallowing big huge chunks on a per snap right we we've seen a lot better quarterback play than I anticipated considering Joe Burrow was pressured and and and sacked in that New England Patriots game there there's a lot to like watching the Bengals play especially today against a formidable you know content current Super Bowl champion can city chief team who continually and I thought to be honest with you petrol home looked a little flat in their game opener at home uh you certainly uh quieted some of those people making smarter throws doing a lot more with a lot less you do have the weaponry offensively uh defensively Chris Jones you know questionable again quarter if you have a you have great offensive line play your quarterbacks job is that much easier he can make decisions not much more faster more accurately and more timely done especially trying to get the ball down a field or maybe to a slant ride receiver on the left of the right hand side to get the first needed you know chunk yardage play to move the chains and I think the Bengals did a much better job this time around than they did against New England um what doesn't really say a whole lot on paper uh is that going to another AFC North team and the Steelers who find a way to have slow starts we've seen a non touchdown giving game against Atlanta in week one but we see them finally get some mojo going on with with Justin Fields under center I don't foresee at least and not not in my humble opinion to see Russell Wilson under center anytime soon only because of field play because of his ability to get the ball down the field I watch that game from from end to end uh they they let up a little bit more in the second half as far as defensively they weren't in the right set they weren't in the right coverage package which allowed Denver to go in and march down to kind of make people say okay no good they're out of time but Steelers haven't had this kind of start since 2000 to have a 2-0 so that actually says a lot about it then Cleveland won today uh that was a win yeah yeah they actually did get a win and wasn't uh despite Deshawn Watson it was because of Deshawn Watson it was because of the defense that seemed to play a little bit better than they did in week one so um in the Ravens shocker against the Las Vegas Raiders that right there was an absolute mind-blower why because we thought the Ravens would come out firing on our mid-show yeah man the mid-show causing the issue you know against Baltimore and uh Raiders didn't look absolutely as bad as people thought they would look at least in game two but they are also another slow team in AFC that seems to pick up steam as a year goes on whereas now the Ravens are 0 and 2 their schedule is not easy moving forward they still face the Browns the Bengals or the Steelers and of course you can't always you can never discount DJ1 the defense um so that's going to be an uphill battle for Lamar Jackson but um I mean but there's one game I want to talk about that's not in the AFC and this NFC debacle at home with uh the Cowboys yeah basically spitting up without a bib all over themselves wondering how do we get to this point that Prescott had two interceptions he only had one touchdown his QBR was I guess 78 that's especially at home at 78% whereas Derek Carr who at times did not and we're talking about the Las Vegas Raiders didn't look very good in at times didn't look very good last year but a new offensive play caller new offensive scheme new players and a lot of old players mixed in with that Derek Carr's QBR was 125 that is polar opposite no interceptions excuse me one interception two touchdowns but his completion precision was almost 70% um the Cowboys lost their touch the defense wasn't there they weren't able to stop the run they got gouts by Latimore they got gouts by Camara they just looked very mediocre and Jerry Jones was on the record standing you know what this is disappointing at home and for fans and his fans obviously are the first you know people they look at saying we're sorry or bad we choked it up yeah how you know two weeks after a 60 million dollar a year contract extension to Dak and Dak wasn't the guy who gave up 190 yards rushing on five yards a pop that makes everything look good and Alex said that you know it was Kubiak the youngest youngest of the Kubiak's the new offense coordinator for the Saints he was Mike Zimmer's offense coordinator when the Cowboys de-coordinator was the Vikings had coach the the pupil outwork the master today yeah and what he did in this game I mean if you really like peel back the the numbers a little bit here Derek Carr threw the ball 16 times I mean there are quarterbacks today that threw it nearly 50 times 16 times that is a very Jim Harbaugh Michigan style offense right there 16 times Camara gets 20 carries three touchdowns for Camara the most underrated running back in the league that just keeps producing year after year after year every time he's healthy he just you know runs his tail off and they find a way to win I mean 44 to 19 I mean just an absolute shell lacking and here's the here's the issue and Gerald we talked about it weeks ago right before the season started I told you they don't have nearly enough depth at the running back position they don't have a starter they don't really have a quality backup and it showed up here and when they're running game struggles so does Dak historically throughout his career this has been the case and especially now in his latter years that he's less mobile they put up what under 70 yards rushing today I think a 68 or something like that yeah yeah not enough not at home no you you when you're asking Dak to save the day when he has to throw 50 times and Derek Carr goes five of eight on third down and throws it all 16 you're in trouble they ran for nearly 200 yards on the Cowboys at Jerry's World that's unacceptable well here yeah yeah at 2.7 yards per carry this year that's not going to make it work no it's not going to make it easier no not at all but you know what you know who they're really missing when it's all said and done that's a Washington commander's former defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys in Dan Quinn they're missing Dan Quinn Dan Quinn is what made that defense work because he's a players coach Mike Zimmer doesn't have that personality his personality is just do it my way or hit the highway that's really not going to get it done Mike Zimmer was a was a decent head coach not the greatest but he was a decent head coach not that great of a defensive coordinator despite his demeanor and a lot of things that I have heard at least to the grapevine and listening to a lot of NFL commentary in that Mike Zimmer is one of those guys that is never going to be a players coach and guys really would rather not play for him but clearly it's not their decision whether they play for him or not because they're playing on a Dallas Cowboys team led by who Mike Zimmer and so you have to be concerned if you're the defense for the Dallas Cowboys moving forward Mike Parsons was basically out numbered and can't be everywhere on the field last year sideline to sideline guy the year before that sideline to sideline guy not so much this year because of the amount of speed and youth that the Dallas Cowboys decided to acquire in the last NFL draft so a lot to be concerned with if you're the Cowboys not an overreaction just the truth and they need to get somebody in there who's more of a player coach than a dictator in Mike Zimmer well they get to try against the Ravens next week so really you're getting to a pretty important time for the Ravens to get a win you don't want to go 0 and 3 even in longer season couple other teams that I wanted to hit before we run out of clock here Tampa Bay Buccaneers they get a big win on the road at Ford Field 20 to 16 take out the Lions Lions go to one and one a couple interceptions by Jared Goff he had over 300 yards passing but a couple of turnovers and turnovers really hurt usually if you lose the turnover just lose the game the Chiefs were the exception to the world today any teams that jumped out at you guys as being surprises well the bucks for sure off to such a hot start Baker Mayfield again this is another situation where he threw the ball 19 times go through it 55 times the Lions struggled to establish a run game at times it was more fits and starts than it was a constant you know ability to run the ball you know I felt like golf was just asked to do too much uh any close your eyes golf through 55 times yeah they lost you know what I mean like that's that's how that feels so yeah and that makes sense and they scored 16 points it's you can't you can't you know go for over 300 yards no touchdowns two picks and score 16 points in the game that's a that what that is is a great bend don't break defense by Tampa Bay that is allowing you to get yards on yards on yards but you're struggling in the red zone speaking of struggling in the red zone the Washington commanders seven field goals Austin cybert oh my god seven field goals I don't think I remember a game where I've seen seven field goals by the same guy that is uh that's sensational and they win the game on those seven field goals that's amazing you know the the game has stood out to me is how horrible the Carolina Panthers continue to be these guys are not who they were designed to be this is not the guys that have money thrown at them to see if they stick to the team on the 53 man roster for that matter they're absolutely atrocious to see the very least and the fact alone that you have Jim Harbaugh now the the head coach coming into a second win over a team that was I think everybody predicted this was going to happen I know I did I think the Chargers are too good and they showed why are they any type of contender in the AFC West yeah absolutely will he be there at the very end well we don't know Dan Faust isn't quarterbacking this team Justin Herbert is so like a lot of questions for the Chargers Jim Harbaugh moving forward but this was a much needed win uh and I think it was a staple for Jim Harbaugh not only to win but to win on the road and to win in the fashion for which they did and I think if you want to tip your cap it's to the Chargers but their schedule does not get any easier because they're traveling to Pittsburgh for Steelers home opener at Heinz formerly known as Heinz Field now sure so this is going to be a real test of the medal for the LA Chargers and I don't think they're going to come out with a win on this one it's going to be close uh but the bigger question is is it's still a quarterback carousel in Pittsburgh whether Justin Field scores many touchdowns or not why because well Russell Wilson is still in the house so we'll see what that looks like moving forward um the only other surprising game that I fought and I uh spoken with this with a gentleman on a different show and that other Patriots were going to give the CLC ox more than they can handle and they did they did very handily despite Seattle being depleted in a wide receiver role as well as some defensive players uh New England gave them their absolute best but too much Seattle probably needed some coffee to go with that bagel and maybe uh maybe slept with a fish because that's exactly what happened to New England as CLC beat them down 23 to 20 in a game deciding you know win so good for them. Well and Alex and showing the season at this point not everything is one and the same the Carolina Panthers are joined at 0 and 2 by the Jacksonville Jaguars the Baltimore Ravens the LA Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals and they at least a couple of those teams are going to pull it together and they'll make the playoffs the New York J ETS jets jets jets they did get on the winning side Aaron Rodgers has not completed two full games as the Jets quarterback the Giants though they kept losing and it's going to be a race I think to see which quarterback gets benched first as a Bryce Young or as a Daniel Jones. Yeah I know that the Jets won today but man the Titans are not a good team and they run by one score and Rodgers to me is game two I'll give him a little leeway still doesn't look much better than that last year in Green Bay you know through for what 60% today that's not that's not quality you know Aaron Rodgers football there so I think it remains to be seen with the J ETS jets jets jets jets but I'm happy for them that they get on the win call. Well I will see her cousin in Lincoln's day tomorrow. You're wrestling right now. Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans how horrible are they and they have no offensive line play. Will Levis doesn't know who to throw the ball to. He's supposed to throw it to guys where the team uniform is you maybe that's just me which is not really surprising and unfortunately for the Tennessee Titans this year and how they're fairing and then you mention the commanders and the commanders they have their guy and Jane Daniels they have their guy and moving forward from a from a franchise standpoint he's going to be there for the foreseeable future because he makes the right decisions when they need to be done no it wasn't a high scoring game from a quarterback to wide receiver tight end maybe some RPL things that nature standpoint but with seven field goals I guess you can't go wrong unless you well miss a couple and then that would have put the game in jeopardy but with that being said the biggest disappointing team I think this in this early going are the Rams. Now yes they're battling injuries and they have offensive line by committee and who's going to come in and who's available who was an ankle sore wrist sore groin you know they have a laundry list of issues so can they fix this can they write the ship I don't know the jury's still out but I'll tell you who is not out and who's in bounds and that's Marvin Harrison Jr. who just put them on notice and I think color Murray noticed he was wearing the same uniform this time around and then found him for a couple touchdowns so a lot to be said for how Arizona and I mean handle the LA Rams in such a way that they would probably they probably need to go online or maybe you look at the look at the wire and see offensive line guys available because there are a lot of them in LA yeah that game was like what Cliff Kingsbury dreamed of one day seeing in Arizona that that's that's what that was with Marvin Harrison 33 yards a catch two touchdowns they were playing a video game out there it was it was stupid and that's that's the potential of Kyler Murray and and why you kind of just scratch your head sometimes like man like man is he gifted or what like Kyler Murray is sensational and it just seems like it's it's it's usually one one step short of complete you know what I mean on the season for him but he's just that kind of guy he he has that he has that personality he's not matured yet and and that's like they're part of the problem why he scrubbed the Cardinals off his social media because of the immaturity yeah but yeah had a great time on like talent like talent relations today yeah very much so it was rolling to Kyler for finally getting it done hey out as we wrap it up I wanted to get back to something that's kind of gone on to me as the talking point that's it's really wearing me out where the coaches are taking blame for the loss and saying yeah that's on me and then followed up shortly by I'm not going to make excuses this was Lance Leipold after the game KU favored one of the favorites to win the big 12 they've now lost a game to a middling a line 19 and a good UNLV team but a mountain west team if you're going to be a champion in the big 12 you got to beat the mountain west team here's what Lance Leipold said to me after the game Lance I wanted to ask about just the the difficult situation because Jaylin's only played a few games now in two years it is really challenging to step into this level of competition I mean you know these a quality football team and does at least getting these two games in give them a better like up as you had into the big 12 well we're three games in now so I can't I'm like I'm not gonna sit up here making excuses that's not that's not right that's not whatever it starts you know we have to only that we don't play well enough to win um could we say yeah that he hadn't played a game since what I don't know would it be like you or whatever somewhere in there last year yeah you know quarterbacks aren't going to be live and fall camp so you know is there something that I don't know I don't ask him because I'm not gonna like I don't think that's a fair question really because what we the degree that stimulus and practice is is difficult so but I I think you know there's there's times that you see him making throws other than every bit as good as not better than he's ever made before and then there's times where it's not but um it's just everybody can do better everybody and like I said it starts with the head coach and I I need to do better our staff needs to be better um and we will find a find a way I mean there's a lot of football to play yet with this group and and um we haven't played a conference game yet so if you want to try to you know do something but it's not going to get any easier and I know there's going to be more people doubting and and and the the best thing and I've tried to tell our guys for a long time the most important thing are the guys in the room in our team media room every day because they're the ones that know I'm ready that's worth getting going on and everyone else will unfortunately you know will will as I'm watching unfortunately everyone has is entitled to an opinion and uh but if we let opinions from the outside affect the locker room then it's going to be a long ball sure well and you know to be fair he didn't really make an excuse but he rattled through multiple reasons for why a team that was favored to win a conference is losing a game to a a team that to be fair at the time they scheduled UNLV they were terrible very owed them the former Missouri head coach has got there done a great job they're definitely a contender they'll probably win the Mountain West again and they'll be in that new pack 12 I'm sure but yeah it's an interesting look at what I think a lot of coaches are saying because there's a lot of coaches that are probably a little bit surprised at this point kind of got caught flat-footed with the way the season's gone and it's a pretty miserable place to be because yeah hey you coach that they thought man we got the wind at our back we got our Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback back here and uh the other Jalen Daniels and uh man he doesn't look good but he hasn't played in almost two years because of a back injury and that's really hard to come back from yeah it's hard to come back from I can't imagine exactly what's going through his head at this moment thinking man you know what had an opportunity to come back this is warm out and this is the level of play that I'm at maybe my best bet is to sit back let somebody else take the wheel and wield some wins out of this team because as I see it they're not going to win much of anything unless they make a decision in regards to whether or not he is ready and I mean I don't mean ready from the outside we're talking football wide we're talking IQ wise we're we're we're talking about win ability the winning edge the mentality the attitude is that all there and the question of that answer is kind of error on the side of no why because he hasn't played in that length of time because his lack of familiarity he's been out of touch yes does he did he deserve a right to come into play yeah maybe a series to see what that looks like clearly not enough to warn him keeping him inside of the game for that length of a time uh so as a head coach did everybody make mistakes sure they did but it's not about the mistakes it's about how you correct him and I think they can correct that mistake by getting the quarterback in there that has familiarity that has the understanding that has the IQ that has fluency within that offense uh and has a stake within that locker room to help get these guys motivated to continue winning instead of losing do you want to hear what Jalen Daniels said that they need to do to get ready for the big 12 bring it on why not here he is for all you guys going into the big 12 season now so really kind of get a reset what's the key to this week to going out there and playing the j-hoc football you're looking to play got a reset all over again I mean you know uh at the end of the day we still have the standard that we go by every single day and we believe that um you know by the minute I standard you know day in day out no matter you know no matter what happens is you know it will allow us to be able to get to the outcome that we want you know we're always going to be focused on um you know the route which is the the process of everything rather than the fruit which is the outcome so um you know no matter what happened negatively and positively we're going to keep on going about everything that we do on a day-to-day basis and from the defensive side also the same thing we're going to watch the film do better you should every week have something to go over this in the past it's the SLOs and get better does that inspire you nothing about that inspires me no sorry I am I am so uninspired I wish I could unsee that but it went like that it went like that for about 15 minutes what are your thoughts about that what did you gather from this conversation all over the country from that conversation I'm gathering maybe I didn't want to be in that room answering those questions I that's what I'm gathering but that but that's understandable I wouldn't want to be there either and I think that's it's tough it's tough for him I think you're right that you know he deserved a chance to come back but maybe at this point it deserves another look because it's just not working and you know it's just so tough you know imagining myself as a Kansas football fan and feeling so so close last year at the end of last year to like oh my gosh you know Texas and Oklahoma are gone and we're riding high off this great season expecting this sky's the limit next year we get Daniels back oh you know like it's just so man and then you look you look you look across the way to Manhattan and in case states just roll in Arizona and it's just like yeah here we go again you know it's it's it's kind of like that and boy did case state look good especially on defense that Arizona team was supposed to be able to throw all over that secondary you know it's hammer the over yeah I don't think so they they shut they shut them down man um great performance by Casey yeah they looked good hey let's wrap it up here got the wrestling spotlight championship belt we'll go ahead and do the champion of the week brought to you by the wrestling times the charm I guess if there was anyone you had to get the make on yeah I really had to get a feel for that especially the hair you know once they're once gone you know you can tell by looking at me I don't have that problem but you know hair day gone tomorrow but you know if there's a if there's a champion if there's somebody that I could probably call the champion for today it would have to be Justin Fields why because he went in did a little bit more but did what was asked of him Coach Tomlin asked a lot of his players and one of those things he focuses on is outside of Tomlin ism is to be able to get splash plays from guys he he's splash plays from and he connected with George Pickens on quite a few plays connected with a variety of receivers not just George Pickens so he was able to spread the ball around be effective no turnovers and even if there was the defense was there to stop but no turnovers committed by Justin Fields so kudos to Justin Fields I want to see what game three looks like against the LA Chargers I think it's going to be more the same when Arthur Smith ran offensive system and I think that there's going to be some surprises in store for the Chargers but yeah I my champion the day is Justin Fields because nobody thought he'd get back to this point and to be that guy and sure enough he's QB1 for now great Alex yeah my champion of the day is Austin cyber with this with this seven field goal so that is just sensational so and it was seven for seven by the way it wasn't seven for nine it wasn't seven for eight oh it was seven for seven so so hats off to Austin cyber he probably won't have a day like that again but that's why he used the champion of the day I'm going to go with Texas back up quarterback arch manning yeah he came in put five touchdowns up on the board and showed that mobility and quarterbacking must skip a generation because he looked a whole lot more like his grandfather than Eli or Peyton looked like Archie Manning out there ripped off a 56 yard run we're going to be seeing Manning's at quarterback probably for a long time moving forward he looked pretty good he lived up to the hype against a not great team but a pretty good university of Texas San Antonio Roadrunner team good call look at Archie Manning he gets the he gets the W that'll wrap it up for this week of sports rep obviously there's a lot of football coming we'll talk about it on college gridiron and on time out coming up here on the fired up network and then Rudy working people here for me you well you guys can hear from me on all social media platforms Rudy Ores on Instagram you could throw me a follow out Rudy dog Reyes on X and you'll be able to see some news reporting action going on at the end of this month on Fox 26 here in Fresno California awesome in the hometown that'll be great and now Alex working people catch up with you to get some football takes and yeah I'm pretty much fired up Alex everywhere I'm fired up Alex on insta fired up Alex on X fired up Alex on on Facebook so fired up Alex even on YouTube you can find me fired up Alex so yeah so anyways that's that's pretty much what it is fired up Alex really easy to remember and then of course you can watch the fired up network in its totality just download that true TV plus app you can get it anywhere you get apps and then that way you can see it on all of your smart devices and on your TVs as well totally free a hundred percent lot of great content on there for Rudy Reyes for Alex Campbell and Gerald Bentley thanks for joining us here on Sports Wrap and we'll be back with more sports and entertainment right here on the fired up network have a good night