Vegas Sports Talk Uncensored Podcasts
9/16 Cofield & Co. with ESPN's Paul Carcaterra
back here on this Monday is we're live at Ellis Island watching Monday night football and let's check in on recap of the U.N.O.V. victory in Kansas Paul dark terror was trolling the sidelines what's going on Paul. Good you want to do it's carketerra. What did I say Calc. I think you say critterra. I don't know I think you cut out. All right. Let me do it again. Okay, coming down to three two and one Paul carketerra is here with us as we recap the U.N.O.V. victory at Kansas Paul let's start out with some of the moments at the end of the game. I don't know what your angles were I was trying to sit there on the goal line and figure out of U.N.O.V. it actually scored a touchdown there were some really close fourth quarter calls I don't know Kansas came out of the game kind of bitter about the officiating. Yeah, you know for a team in U.N.O.V. who likes to play really fast that drive is around nine minutes long. And it felt like an eternity once they got into the red zone because of the penalties and getting pushed back and then getting first downs and then being pushed back again and then ultimately. When the ball crossed the goal line, I was interested to see the clock situation too because you know it was a big enough type of drama to see if the ball actually crossed but also took nine seconds to go one yard too which I thought was pretty long too. So that last touchdown had so many little pieces to it that you could go back and watch but I think it was the drive as a whole that was the most profound for me because of the fact that we know U.N.O.V. and in the way that they play offense you know how fast they snapped the ball you think of short drives but they just absolutely blow towards that clock in the fourth quarter when they had to. So for you what was the biggest narrative that came out of the game? You know I think it was buckling down on defense for U.N.O.V. In the first half specifically the first quarter I thought Kansas came out pretty strong with their run game and Devin Neal and I didn't think it was going to be a situation where U.N.O.V. was going to be able to hold up and withstand that power run game. Devin Neal is one of the best backs that Kansas has ever had I mean he's a record breaking back he's a four year player for them and he's had an unbelievable career. I mean you see him getting going early and just the leverage that was you know being won by the offensive line of Kansas against the defensive line of U.N.O.V. I just thought they were in for a long physical day but they really adjusted. And then when they stopped the run in pieces in the second half I thought they did a good job pressuring you know Jalen Daniels the Kansas quarterback who threw three picks. So I think when they were able to establish an identity in stopping the run it allowed them to be a little bit more complex with their coverages and show some different things to rattle Daniels in the past game. Yeah I was at the bowl game last year and we'll talk talking to Paul Karketera who was working the U.N.O.V. Kansas game in Kansas City at the bowl game Justin Bean was outstanding. So he was a backup last year then Daniels goes down Bean was unreal he threw for 449 and 6 touchdowns and I don't know Daniels there's some question marks here and question marks here now because you've had back to back games where he's making mistakes. Judgment calls I wonder what they do a quarterback I can tell you this I was the crowd that was around me and of course all crowds are impatient they started chanting the backup's name which I was kind of surprised by. Yeah you know and Daniels is a guy who had a really strong 2022 to the extent that he was the preseason big 12 offensive player of the year a year ago. And that was a conference in the big 12 that had Texas Oklahoma and all those other teams in it too so he obviously has a really really high ceiling but he was injured last year. And didn't have the you know the full spring and was nicked up and I think that didn't allow him to get into a groove in this early stage of the season he's thrown six picks in two games. In the previous 12 games prior to that he had five total interceptions so we're seeing totally different type of play out of a quarterback that you thought going into the season would be, you know, a strength for the team. So we talked about the defense kind of nutting up and some scheme changes for you know the other side the story was Matt sluka who I don't think a lot of people know unless they watched FCS football and Holy Cross but what a show he put on and man he was clutch escaping so many times of those legs. You know he was amazing with his legs. And he thought watching him. He stood out in terms of a blend of physicality. You know with his with his his brute force because he's not a small guy but he is agile and he's really good on his feet he's light on his feet he made a couple spectacular runs. That that changed the game. I mean that that one third down that he had in the fourth quarter he was dead to rights. He runs for you know over 10 yards, where it looked like there was three or four Kansas guys that absolutely had him in their grasp and I think sluka is able to improvise too that's what you get with a player like that you know he was the Patriot League player of the year a season ago playing for Holy Cross they had a historic year where you know their coach ends up going to JMU as a result of the success and there's a bunch of guys in the portal. And I think sluka would have been really sought after if he didn't graduate from Holy Cross because when he decided to go in the portal, a lot of the big dogs were knocking down to see if they could get him to play quarterback for them but it was very important to him about it for him to stay Holy Cross in the spring and get his degree thought it was a 40 year decision. By doing that he he kind of pushed aside a bunch of schools that wanted him because those schools wanted him in the spring for spring ball. And you know he stayed in Holy Cross he worked out with a lot of his teammates who were also going in the portal and UNLV was willing to wait. And that's stressful too because when you have a quarterback who's verbally committed to you in the portal like things can change like yeah you have your word and you know you're in a position where you think that he's saying he's coming so he's coming in the spring and maybe they say well we're going to take sluka now regardless even if he didn't miss spring ball so I credit Barry Odom and the staff for taking sluka by his word I credit sluka for having a plan to graduate and make that 40 year decision but I just think he's a dynamic tough athlete. There was a couple balls he threw in the in the first half. There was that one bomb he threw to Deje Sus that I thought he should have caught too. It's not that this guy's just a runner like he has the arm and the ability to throw deep. He's got some touch to it. The final seconds which could have been a disaster in the second quarter. I mean the clock management by Barry Odom and the staff there was a little questionable. Barry Odom's a fantastic coach. I loved my time with him last week. I'm a huge fan. The last seconds of that second quarter were questionable and they got bailed out by sluka who made a beautiful pass to the corner of the end zone too. So we talk about his legs and his toughness making plays on the ground but he showed some spots where he can throw the ball. You mentioned how much you like Barry Odom why? You know I think he's relatable. I think he has a plan. He obviously is a defensive mastermind. He really knows how to coach. I thought he got a raw deal at Missouri and then he spends a couple years at Arkansas as the D.C. and did a great job there. I think he's a great coach which helps to the former walk on at Arkansas. Now it's a tackling machine for UNLV and speaking to what are just the way that he broke down his relationship with Odom and what Odom stands for. You could tell he's all about the right things. I think UNLV is a fantastic coach too. And being relatable is so important this day and age. You want a tough minded old school football coach that is all about technique and fundamentals but you have to be able to relate to the new generation and I think he's a nice combination of both. Yeah there's three things. He's embraced the transfer portal and he told us locally that he hated it when it first started and his wife actually told him like you got to embrace it so you're going to drive yourself crazy. The other thing is that defensive line against the offensive line. I've never seen someone rotate defensive line and especially group of five. He played nine different guys. Eight plus plays and he's a guy who I think learned from his last trip as a coach is like from what I'd heard he really didn't embrace the media and that he embraces us all the time which you don't have to do but it's only going to help you. You don't want to have a thorn on your side with the media. So I think he's one of those guys second time around who's learned a lot of lessons and he's applying it to this group of five program. No I think that's a great point too it's like life's all about lessons and how you learn you know he's definitely a little bit more open minded you know with the media and just the way things have changed me college football has changed more and four years and it had in a prior hundred right just it's just absolutely insane so it takes a nimble coach that that understands that to make the adjustments but you know I also think if you look at the rest of his staff. It's it's interesting to because he has like an old school mentality defensively but when you look at that offense. I mean that offense is drastically different than the way they play where they play defense I mean Brendan Marion is a very intriguing offensive coordinator I say this too because when we when we sat down with him last week. Just his his journey, you know, playing for Gus Malzand in college and in the different stops that he had along the way as a college assistant coach, but also one that really stood out to me he told me that he coached one of the worst teams in California he was a high school coach in California, where there was 18 players playing against some of the best teams in California that a ton of college commits and he had to be creative offensively. And he relates his offense to like street basketball, where there's a lot of improv and it's not scripted. And when you have a street hoops mentality, you're not going to be pigeonholed into one spot and you're going to force your, your team and your, your players to think right like it's not so scripted it's not like we're going to do this route and it's going to be like this every he mentioned how he wants his wide receivers to react, and based off the way that the defense is playing in the opposition what they give them there's me options on all these plays too so I think, I think he's, he's a coach barrier to him that understands you can play defense one way, but you have to be creative offensively and you have to differentiate yourself too because if you're UNLV and you're bringing in these players and you know you got some talent. But if you're going to beat, you know, two power four teams already this season you got to do it with some scheme to and you got to be different you can't do what everyone else is doing and I think this team doesn't. Paul Karketeras with us recapping UNLV and Kansas here in Cofield and company on a Monday. You played lacrosse you were really good lacrosse player at Syracuse let's puff out the chest here about lacrosse with Sluka because that's one of the things Sluka points to and actually Marion pointed to it as well that a lot of Sluka's movement and you know kind of shaking on the ground for us. He credits the playing lacrosse over the years. Yeah I mean Sluka was a phenomenal high school midfielder from Long Island, you know which is in New York and it's a hotbed for lacrosse so like the best high school players in the country. Many of them are coming from from Long Island I mean you look at, you know you look at the past you know great players in the sport to work on winners national champion so many of them are rooted in their success comes from where they started playing and it's on Long Island and you know Sluka played in a tough division in high school where you're playing against teams like Chaminade and St. Anthony's which are top five top ten teams nationally every single year but he also played in the summer in the club circuit with the best players on Long Island he was a phenomenal high school midfielder after talking to some people and I was in touch with Pat Kavanagh who's a two time national champ at Notre Dame who graduated last year he played summer ball with Sluka and you know Liam Enteman national champ from from Long Island at Notre Dame and you know first round draft pick and the pro league played with Sluka. Sluka played with the best of the best and Kavanagh was telling me that like his athleticism and his middle of the field presence he was an absolute beast. How does that translate the football it's pretty simple if you're watching a midfielder in lacrosse you're watching a midfielder in soccer when you're light on your feet and you have the ability to do those quick little jabs and plant foot type of moves where you change direction and then obviously the stamina to run the field you see that in him as a quarterback too. He told me he thought about lacrosse but there was that urge to be different and want to play football ultimately one out but if he decided to play lacrosse he would have played at the highest level and you know he would have been a phenomenal college midfielder you see that size and power and speed that combination would have been a but been an outlier on the field. Let's spend the last couple minutes here with Paul Karketera talking about what's ahead first for Kansas do you think they make a switch and quarterback is Kansas season in the tank I really, I was just looking this morning getting ready for the show today at list of you know most disappointing starts and I always feel like college football is such a marathon that I wouldn't give up on anyone I still think Kansas can have a very good season. I do too I mean Kansas is is one of the most veteran teams in the country too that's the hard thing like Lance Leipold has his most veteran team he's had and you know they won nine games last year. They didn't play the conference game yet so like to think that their seasons of the tank would be totally premature I think they could certainly turn it around. You look at Leipold over the years though they were trending in a direction to maybe even be a 10 win season I don't think that's possible right now Leipold got there they were two and 10 second year six and seven last year, nine and four now they're two. But like I said they haven't played a conference conference game and no I do not see them making a change at quarterback I think Jaylyn Daniels has too much too much experience too much credibility in that locker room to bail on him this early I think he's got to have a couple more disaster games to pull the plug they have a backup that they like and cold ballad you know from from from Indianapolis dads actually the GM of the of the Indianapolis Colts so you know he's he's a he's a quarterback of the future I just don't think they make that that switch right now. Look if you're Kansas there's there were so much momentum coming into the season you know you win the nine games maybe you're going to get maybe you're going to get to 10 wins I mean Lance Leipold has the gateway district project is $300 million towards their new stadium that's opening next year so they're gonna have one of the best facilities in terms of game day experience back to back bowl wins only a second time in school history so like there's a lot of momentum there but it has been a very disappointing start to the season because but like you said they were they were a team that had high expectations and I think you know people were were thinking at this point the season if you look on paper they had back three and oh was was what I think a lot of fans thought was going to happen not one and two closing on UNLV I think they can have a big season man their schedule is really tough and that that includes actually after a bi week Fresno at home and then your orange actually very unique spot that an ACC team is going to come out to play UNLV at a league and stadium. Look I think that was a game that you know before the season started to be like oh Syracuse against UNLV. Look that that's going to be a great game now Syracuse is going to get tested this week with Stanford Stanford's a team in the you know in the ACC now as crazy as that sounds right they're going on road to play conference foe literally across the entire country from California to New York. So I think we're going to learn a little bit more about Syracuse then because you know Stanford has a has a ton of players returning from last year I think Iowa states the only team that has more returning production back this season ahead of Stanford you know I think 85% of their productions back for Stanford Iowa state had 86 so like they're bringing back so much of their team. But I think Syracuse is an interesting team too because you have Kyle McCord who's got eight touchdown passes in two games use Ohio state starting quarterback a year ago. And I think he's brought in a ton of juice to that to that Syracuse program and Fran Browns one of those first year coaches I think the fan base is kind of rallying behind. I look at that game it's going to be an awesome game. Paul we appreciate all the time thank you so much. Yeah anytime be well thank you. All right thank you Paul sorry about the tardiness. No no no worries be well man have a good one. I'll talk to you soon have a good season bye bye.