Transcript
John: Hello and welcome to The Daily Utah Chronicle podcast “The Home Stretch: Sports Edition.” My name is John Leone, sports editor of The Daily Utah Chronicle. I’m here with my assistant editor, Collyn Cowles, and we’re going to be previewing the Utah-Texas Tech matchup. This is probably the biggest home game, if not game in general, Utah’s had in 2+ seasons, and we’re excited to cover it. Collyn, what are your thoughts?
Collyn: Yeah, so Texas Tech is coming to town. They’re ranked 17th in the nation, and Utah is currently ranked 16th in the nation. We got the the honor of getting Big Noon Kickoff. So we’ll get the likes of Urban Meyer and Dave Portnoy and all those other guys being being on campus tomorrow. It’ll be big for the school. The last event that happened like that was College Game Day a few years ago. It should be just the fact this is there for their first conference game of the season. For both teams, it just should just kind of set the standpoint of what either of these two teams are going to do for the rest of the year. If you don’t know anything about those odds, that just pretty much tells you these two teams are the Big 12 powerhouses. Like last season, we didn’t see Arizona State get into that powerhouse spot until like the last few weeks of the season. So the fact that we have the top two teams facing off against each other in week four. It’s pretty cool — on a side note, what’s your approach to this game? It’s like you said, it’s one of the biggest games that the U has had in a few seasons. So what’s your approach on it?
John: This has potential to be the Big 12 Game of the Year, and it’s fortunate that we’re getting it this early, because it comes at a time where there aren’t a ton of marquee games going on this week. I mean, there’s Florida-Miami, which is a good one. There’s Illinois-Indiana, another good one. But none are quite getting the attention of this Utah-Texas Tech game. And I think one reason for that is obviously both teams are 3-0, Utah’s ranked 16th, Texas Tech 17th, and we don’t entirely know how good these teams are. They then went on to play Kent State and beat them 62-14 in a game which they were ahead 48-0 at halftime. And then last week, they played Oregon State in another home game and beat them 45-14 and they were up 28-0 at halftime. So in first times alone, Texas Tech is outscoring their opponents 123-0 in three games, which seems rather unbelievable. And while you consider the strength of schedule and see okay, well, they’ve played Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State … it’s still impressive what they’ve been doing offensively. Pine Bluff and Kent State are 1-2 each, Oregon State’s 0-3. And so this will be the first time we really get to see Texas Tech’s offense operate against some sort of a defense with a pulse, if you will.
Collyn: Yeah, 100% and I think this game is going to test both quarterbacks. All the quarterbacks and seeing who can do more. Obviously, on paper, Texas Tech is known for their defensive line. They have the No. 3 D-line in the country. And for Utah, on paper, our best asset is our O-line. So we, we have the No. 2 best O-line in the country. So this for being week three, and getting the top O-line and the top D-line in the country, being able to go off and showcase affect, like, the college game itself? Like, yes, our fans are going to show up. We are going to be rowdy. We have Sorority Row right outside the stadium. It’s going to be packed. But if this was a 5:00 game instead of a noon game, I think it would be totally different. What do you think on that?
John: Absolutely, I think, I mean, like you said, Utah’s fans will always show up. They have always shown up. And I think there’s something about playing that early in the morning, your fans are never going to be quite as rowdy, quite as loud at 10 a.m. as they would be, say, at 8 p.m., or maybe not even 8 p.m. — 6 p.m. But I still think it’ll be a tough road environment for Tech. Behren Morton obviously struggles on the road. If you take a look at his splits, he does not perform under pressure. I guess his home passing grade is an 80.4, which is great. They’ve played all three games at home this year, and clearly he’s lived up to that with those stats that you mentioned. But his away passing grade takes a huge dip, drops from 80.4 down to 59.0. In an interview with NaQuari Rogers, he was asked kind of about the playbooks, and if they’ve really shown much of what they have buried deep in the books for when they need it most. And obviously he’s on the offensive side of the ball, so he probably can’t speak for the defense as much as the offense, but he said they’ve shown pretty much nothing. So they’ve been saving up all these plays and they’re going to pull out all the stops they can to beat Texas Tech.
Collyn: Yeah, 100% and what I’ve what I’ve been noticing this last week with all of these sports shows that have come out and been talking about this game, that’s all I’ve been seeing. Good college football, game day, Big Noon Kickoff, all the Barstool guys. Everyone is talking about this game. And my concern is, yes, you look on paper and it’s O-line versus D-line. But I don’t like how the media is dissing our defense. I don’t like how the media is dissing our defense. We have a guy, one of our cornerbacks, who’s [got] two interceptions, one of them being a pick six, almost having three interceptions. We have another one of our D-line. John Daly has five sacks on the year for 13 solo sacks. So yes, it’s O-line versus D-line, but I think Morton is going to get pressured a lot, because of just who they’ve played and the amount of physicality we’re going to show him right off this start. It’s not like it’s we’re just going to rely on our old line to get to lead us through, or we’re going to rely on Devon [Dampier]. I think our defense is going to come up huge in this game.
John: Yeah, I totally agree. I think when you take a look at quarterbacks, opposing quarterbacks who make their first start at Rice-Eccles Stadium — not that this is Morton’s first start, but it’ll be his first game playing at Rice-Eccles — when you take a look at those stats, you’ve got guys like Jayden Daniels and Jared Goff and some serious NFL quarterbacks that are making their name in the NFL, who came to Rice-Eccles Stadium as college quarterbacks and totally got rocked. I remember Jared Goff threw five interceptions. Jayden Daniels had … it was below 20 yards of total offensive production, passing and rushing when he played here [for] Arizona State. And Morgan Scalley knows how to dial it up against quarterbacks and make them feel uneasy. To your point, the defense have looked great so far, but it’s kind of the same deal with Texas Tech. We can’t really tell how good Utah is until they play this game. Obviously they had that road win at UCLA which looked amazing at the time, but you’ve seen how UCLA has [taken a] nosedive … they fired their coach, and they’re just spiraling. And then [the Utes] won against Cal Poly — who, FCS opponent, hard to say. And then that Wyoming game, which we’ll get into a little bit, but [there were] some highs and some lows from that game. Wyoming’s no slouch. They’re a solid team, and I think they’re going to do some good things this year, but same deal as Texas Tech: Utah has more road experience, but that’s irrelevant in this game as Texas Tech will be coming to Utah. But the defense has been great. Utah opponents are averaging just over eight points per game, keeping them in the single digits. Like you mentioned, John Henry Daley: five sacks, 13 solo tackles. He’s just wreaking havoc back there. I think Logan Fano is going to be back on his other side at the end, which will be a big addition to this defense … he was out against Cal Poly, and then played limited against Wyoming, but he should be back in full force. I think the main question for Utah is the secondary. You mentioned Jackson Bennee, he’s been great. Couple interceptions. I think the corners on the outside have struggled the most of any unit on defense thus far. Elijah Davis has primarily played as the corner one, and he hasn’t exactly shown a lot to give us confidence ahead of this air raid — not “air raid,” but pass heavy-style offense from Texas Tech.
Collyn: Yeah. They’re 100% going to be throwing the ball to Coy Eakin as much as they can. This kid’s got 11 receptions for 230 yards. So yeah, they’re going to be throwing it to him a lot. What I do like is the way our offense has been running this year, with a lot of RPO, run-heavy. In Wyoming, we saw a lot of pressure on Devon — and that would be my biggest takeaway from this, is just kind of protecting that pocket, protecting him, making sure he’s got enough time. With New Mexico, his O-line was atrocious and he’d only been sacked a handful of times. So I think he’s in good hands in this game, I think the fans are going to back this team and we’re going to come out hot. The only takeaway I saw from Wyoming was the amount of pressure on him. But Wyoming has really good defense. They’re very defensive-heavy, there’s only been one year that people remember them having a good offense, we all know that year … That’d be my biggest thing, just protecting him and making sure he’s got that pocket presence. Because if he’s getting pressured a lot and he has to scramble and he has to dish it out to Wayshawn [Parker], then we can’t afford to lose those 4 or 5 yards every time he gets pressured.
John: Yeah, I agree. I think, like you mentioned, his O-line at New Mexico was abysmal. They had a bottom five pass blocking grade as a unit, and Dampier somehow managed to only get sacked four times on the season, which, in 13 games is insane. He’s been sacked twice this year, which it doesn’t feel like he has at all. I think one of those sacks against Wyoming was … it wasn’t really a sack, it was more just Dampier running around and ended up getting tackled just behind the line of scrimmage. But Dampier is as good as anyone in the country at improvising. And his pocket presence is truly one of a kind. I think Texas Tech is coming into this game thinking “Oh yeah, we’ll be able to get to him, bring him down …” Getting to Dampier is one thing; bringing him down is another. And that dude is shifty. He’s been compared to Kyler Murray and some of those other guys that have really high end, short, short field quickness, where they can just make cuts and adjustments on the fly. Look for that. Dampier is … like you mentioned, his passing game has taken a big step forward. And we’ll keep harping on it: no competition — not no competition, but sparse competition thus far. His 73% completion percentage, seven touchdowns, zero picks, is already such an improvement. Last year at New Mexico, he was barely above 50% completion percentage, and he threw 12 picks and 12 interceptions. So that ratio wasn’t good … I mean, Morton already has 11 touchdowns in one pick, in three games. Dampier had 12 and 12 all last year. But this year, he’s got seven and zero. So you can see that he’s made it a priority to take care of the ball. And one guy that’s helped him with this is Ryan Davis, his former teammate. Davis is a receiver, obviously transferred in with [offensive coordinator Jason] Beck and Dampier from New Mexico. He had 10 receptions versus Wyoming last week, and really has kind of solidified himself as the go-to guy for Dampier in the past game. Jason Beck has spread the wealth across the offense very heavily throughout the first three games. I mean, he’s throwing tight ends out there at Wildcat. Former quarterbacks at Wildcat … you know, you got Nate Johnson, Hunter Andrews, NaQuari Rogers, Wayshawn Parker, all these guys catching snaps, and that doesn’t even include the main guy, Dampier. So, I mean, Jason Beck is getting creative at OC.
Collyn: Yeah. This game is — it’s, to your comment earlier, we’re going to pull all the tricks out of the book this week. Those three games, I’d say you saw a lot of our offense against UCLA, a lot of big plays. But, the Cal Poly, Wyoming games, those were more focusing on getting first downs and getting to our designated spots, kind of perfecting those 5-10 yard plays. But if you look at Texas Tech’s side, I would recommend you take our first three games and their first three games. I mean, we have UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming … and compared to Pine Bluff, Oregon State and Kent — I mean, they shouldn’t even have gotten scored on in any three of those games.
John: And they haven’t even played on the road yet.
Collyn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re almost a month into the season. In 10 days, it’ll be their month mark. So yeah, this is going to be a tough matchup for them. I wanted to bring up the amount of money that Texas Tech has spent. They have spent over $25 million on this roster. And a culprit to that was giving a lot of their money to their star transfer from USC, Quinten Joyner, and before the season even started, he had jacked up his knee and he’s out for the year. So, what’s your take on the college football aspect and being able to see a team like Texas Tech spend the most amount of money this year on their roster, but not even be able to get their full resource out of that, with Quinten Joyner being out all year?
John: Yeah. I mean, obviously never, never want to wish an injury on anyone, that sucks for Joyner. He came in, obviously out of USC, [and] was a terrific running back. People were surprised he went to Tech, but, you know, he undoubtedly got a bag to do it. So yeah, he’s out for the year, but another place that Texas Tech spent a ton of their money on is their defensive line, and it looks like that’s paying off for them so far. But to your question about the contracts and teams being able to spend: I’ve seen numbers in the [NIL] ballpark of $25 million to even $55 million, which is just a crazy number to be thrown out there for college football. But you know, Texas Tech’s taking advantage of it, and credit to them for going after it. I know they have a former player … I don’t know his name off the top of my head, but he’s sold two oil companies, and his main goal is to make Texas Tech good again. So obviously, with the new rules into place, they won’t be able to spend this much in the future. But for now, it’s entertaining. We can say that.
Collyn: Yeah, the gentleman you’re talking of is Cody Campbell, yes. So yeah, he’s like some oil guru, and he donated over $55 million to Texas Tech’s NIL fund [sic — see editor’s note] So, yeah, and that’s not just to football. I think fans see that and they think, “Oh, that’s just for football.” No, that’s for the entirety of their athletics program. That’s scholarships across all sports: women’s, soccer, volleyball, hockey, whatever it may be, basketball. And then, you know, majority of it goes to football, majority of it goes to those training facilities and and travel expenses and all the fun stuff that fans really don’t see, right? But I mean, even to Utah’s side, we’ve spent roughly around $15 million, if anyone were wondering. And I don’t know, I like the way our team is looking, without having that headline of where we have a guy giving us $50 million … you know? I would rather the grit, instead of having money talk.
John: Totally. Built, not bought, as they like to say. Yeah, big game here. Collyn, what’s your prediction?
Collyn: Um, honestly, I think we’ll know the way this game is going to go by halftime. I don’t think I’ve seen a lot of pundits talk about this game going to the wire, this game going to the last few seconds. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think it’s going to be an easy win for Utah. Few touchdowns. It’s going to be a little low-scoring. I have them winning 24-10. I think we’re gonna hold Texas Tech, force the run, show up on the D-line, protect Devon, and we have to convert on field goals. We did not talk about that today, but we have to convert our field goals. If we get an attempt from 30 yards out, we have to convert on these. Every point counts, and I think we’ll know who’s going to win by halftime.
John: I like that. I more or less agree. I think Utah has historically been a second half team. But the way I see it, there are three keys to victory for Utah. I think number one is, believe it or not, establishing a run game. This Texas Tech defensive line has been stout against the run so far, and I think Utah is averaging over 200 rushing yards per game. It’s something crazy. I have the number here: they are averaging 260 rush yards per game, which is crazy, more than Texas Tech, and I’m sure it’s up there in the country, in terms of the highest. Establish the run game; that’ll help you be able to control key number two, which is managing the clock. I think Utah loves to go on those long, extended drives, give their defense a break. They’ve had two drives of 20 plays and 19 plays, just in three games alone. So if they can get some drives like that, go in and just kind of demoralize Texas Tech’s defense, I think that’ll be huge. And manage the clock, keep their offense off the field. And then key number three I had was defense. Defend the pass with pressure and coverage. You’re going to have to have an element of both of those in this game. I think pressure is something that, like I said, Scalley is going to be dialing up, and he’s going to do everything in his power to make Morton uncomfortable. And with Morton kind of putting the ball up for grabs more or less when he’s under pressure, if Utah can come down with a couple interceptions or force a fumble, that’ll be huge, because I think the offenses will look good in this game, if I had to guess. Overall, I think Utah’s able to do these things. It may not look pretty at times, but my prediction is Utah-35, Texas Tech-20. As always, go Utes, and it’s gonna be a fun one. So get there early, get loud. It’s gonna be intense.
Collyn: Yeah, 100%. And to close out this episode, we’ll just kind of give a basic rundown for fans of what to expect for this week, for events happening on campus that students can attend. So obviously, the conversation today was Texas Tech vs Utah. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. on Saturday, tomorrow. Fans can show up for the Big Noon Kickoff at 4 a.m., so the students can start showing up to the public queue area at 4 a.m., fans can enter the set area at 5:30 a.m. There’s going to be food, music prizes and all kinds of different contests that fans can enter themselves into, which also starts at 5:30 a.m. The Barstool show starts at 7 a.m. The annual Ute walk is 7:45 a.m. and then the Big Noon Kickoff show starts at 8 a.m. So if you’re looking to show up, it is recommended to be there early. They’re giving out — first 500 people to get there get shirts, free food, gift cards … all kinds of different stuff they’re giving out to fans. So show up to that early. Be there. Be loud. On another note, for athletics this week, women’s soccer will be traveling down to Texas to face TCU, Texas Christian University, tonight at 6 p.m. TCU is ranked 14th in the nation with a 6-1-0 record. They look very hot. They are very strong. And I think this game is going to determine our women’s soccer program and just kind of put our season in line. It’s the first Big 12 game for the season for the ladies, and the team is led by Kelly Bullock. She has three goals on the year, and she’s just been lights out. So show up! Watch your Utes. Let’s go to these games. The ladies will be back home for the second game of the Big 12 conference against Cincinnati on Sept. 24. And then another sport in fall athletics is women’s volleyball. This week, we are in California and San Luis Obispo. We have a set against Cal Poly today and then one against Vincent St. Mary’s tomorrow. So for athletics this week, just make sure we’re staying aware of our fellow students and showing up for our athletes, and 100% be there for Texas Tech. Show up. Show why the MUSS is the MUSS, and go Utes!
John: Yes, sir, go Utes. This has been our second episode of The Home Stretch this year. Collyn, thank you for coming on. We’re excited to bring you guys more previews, more recaps of football, soccer, volleyball, whatever sports are going on. So, again this is The Home Stretch, presented by The Daily Utah Chronicle. I’m John Leone with my assistant sports editor Collyn Cowles, and we’ll see you next time.
Editor’s note: Cody Campbell was incorrectly stated to have donated $55 million to the Texas Tech NIL fund. Rather, $55 million is the estimated amount of NIL funds to be paid to Texas Tech athletes. Campbell donated $25 million in 2021 for Texas Tech’s new football facilities. Campbell is also one of the founders of the Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL booster formed in 2022.
Tiff • Sep 28, 2025 at 8:04 pm
Terrific podcast!!