Brandon Marcello | NCAAF Reporter, 247 Sports

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Call 562-314-4603 for details. We are pleased to welcome Brandon Marcello from New Orleans covering the Sugar Bowl. Brandon, what makes Michael Penick so good? Because he's like that every single day. I was talking to Kalen Devore just a few minutes ago. He's still in the stadium and we were discussing that and I said this is dialed in as he's been and he goes, no, he's like that every single day in practice. He says, I do think it helped that we were playing indoors today because that's where we practice indoors at Washington, but he said this is nothing new.

He's the best quarterback in the country for a reason. What did you see from Texas in those final few seconds? Maybe the final couple minutes as Quinn Ewers maybe finds a little bit of a rhythm and they're able to put pressure on that Washington defense, but the play calling under fire.

So what stands out to you? Well, to me it was Washington's defense. I mean, listen, Texas had eight plays inside the 15 yard line in the final 90 seconds of the game and got three points out of it. And Washington's defense has something to do with that. They just step up in the big moments. They've been doing that all season.

Nine of their 11 starters or juniors or seniors, they're upperclassmen and you know, they just stepped up once again. I know we can discuss the play calling or whatever, but I'll say this, Washington was able to make Quinn Ewers hesitate a little bit and it worked out in the end for the Huskies. Speaking of play calling, as much as Sarc is answering those questions, there's a lot of uproar on social media and a reaction when Washington did not take a knee or try to run maximum time off the clock, the possession before. What did Coach DeBoer have to say about that? Well, I talked to Ryan Grubb, the offensive coordinator after the game, and he was saying, hey, we're just going to play our ball. He was actually talking to me a little bit about how there needs to be a rule put in place that if you're an offensive team trying to run out the clock and you have a player go down injured, they should still run a little bit of time off the clock.

I mean, that's his take on it, but the fact of the matter is you're exactly right. They should have been trying to kneel the ball. I don't know why we're getting into this era here of college football coaches, Mario Crystal Ball at Miami, just not wanting and refusing to just kneel on the ball.

But hey, at least we got a heck of a finish out of it. Dylan Johnson did end up getting hurt. What do we know about his status? Yeah, apparently he went in for an x-ray after the game.

Not exactly clear exactly what it's going to be. Kaitlyn DeBoer says it was a reaggravation of his right ankle injury. And then I saw him about 30 minutes ago walking to the team bus with a boot on his right leg.

That might actually be good news because at the end of the game, he was on crutches and at least he had the boot on and was actually putting pressure on that right ankle. So maybe some good news for the Huskies going into that national championship game. Brandon Marcello is with us in the wake of the Sugar Bowl, which Washington prevails over Texas. And he's in New Orleans.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Texas has been around the mountain a few times in these last 7, 8, 9 years. What tells you that Steve Sarkeesian and this particular leadership for the Longhorns football team is the one that can take them back to the promised land? Or at least back to relevancy?

Well, I will say this. I mean, obviously they got there this year. They didn't get the end goal they wanted. But, you know, they got a lot of pieces that are actually coming back next season when you still have to make a decision.

But it certainly looks like he's probably going to come back and talk to people around him. And then also it's just the recruiting. I know everybody, the joke has been Texas recruiting are always number 5 in the top 5.

They never show it on the field. But the recruiting is a little bit different than Sarkeesian. And you saw it tonight in the trenches and at the receiver positions.

But especially in the trenches. Washington, the Joe Moore award winning offensive line had trouble blocking the middle of the field there and trying to get Dylan Johnson some yardage. And that actually hurt Washington a little bit and gave Texas that opportunity in that window to come back in this game. So Texas, the recruiting along the offensive and defensive lines, that's what's really made them turn the corner under Steve Sarkeesian. And they continue to do that here in the latest recruiting classes as well. When Washington makes the jump to the Big 10, and not the only Pac-12 team, a handful of them, but when Washington makes that move, just as a side note, can you imagine if they were the national champions and then they bowl to the Big 10?

That's just weird. But what changes for the Huskies when they make that move? Well, they're going to have to change things a little bit, probably up front for themselves. But it's interesting, a week from now we get a Big 10 season opener in a lot of ways. Coaches were kind of joking about that a little bit.

Then there will be a rematch in Seattle in October. So it's weird how college football works out in this realignment era. But the Huskies are going to continue to recruit the West Coast against Oregon. That's going to be their primary battle out there, really. But we'll see how they adjust. The coaches talked a little bit about that this week. But they didn't sound all that much like they're going to change their recruiting approach. And for that matter, really how they approach the transfer portal. Which is, they're kind of pick and choose guys.

They've brought in only 10 or less players from the transfer portal each of these last two years. Brandon, there's a lot of different opinions about the Pac-12 and what happens next. We know for now, anyway, they do plan on remaining a conference in 24. What's your opinion about the best path forward? Well, maybe they can keep the branding name with Washington State and Oregon State and end up merging with the Mountain West.

That certainly seems like what's going to end up happening within the next year or two. You know, I talked to Pac-12 Commissioner George Kalevkov after the game on the field. And he told me, it's surreal to see this. And then he kind of took a shot at the school leaving the Pac-12 saying, if they were just patient and waited, they would have seen that we were building something special. I guess it's easy to say that in hindsight, but the fact of the matter is the Pac-12 is dissolving and George Kalevkov is about to be out of a job.

Brandon Marcello is with us from New Orleans here on CBS Sports Radio. I'll ask you the same question about Texas. What changes for the Longhorns when they move to the SEC? Well, I'll say this, unlike Washington and Oregon and USC and UCLA, they've had a little bit of a jumpstart to prepare for it because their announcement happened two years ago. And they've been preparing in the recruiting battles to go about changing their rosters and prepare for the SEC. And in particular, it goes back to what I said earlier about Texas in the trenches.

They've been bulking up there. And the trenches is where you win championships in the SEC. Look at Bama. Look at Georgia, obviously. And Texas has been able to do that. I remember seeing Texas in person two years ago when they played Arkansas, a kind of a little bit of above average Arkansas team, and they were absolutely dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

And I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That team does not exist anymore. Texas has built things up the right way in the trenches. And I think they're very well prepared and well built to contend in the SEC starting next year. It's going to be really strange. The landscape will look so different. Do you think we ultimately move to a power four type of a brain trust that's making decisions?

Oh, yeah, definitely removing that direction. I wonder, though, who will be the loudest voices in that room? Certainly, it would probably be the big two in my eyes, the big 10 and the SEC.

And, you know, I've been talking to people this week, I think people tend to forget this. But remember when this was all being talked about with Texas and OU joining the SEC, that there was some discussions about the SEC maybe doing their own playoff, their own postseason type of format? I mean, it's obvious that the SEC is thinking about what the future of college football is going to look like and how they want to be the top dog and want to be well ahead of the curve there. Listen, there's going to be a lot of things that obviously I'm not saying the playoff is going to change here the next five years or anything like that. But it's very clear that the SEC and the big 10 are trying to make moves to be the two biggest voices in that room, whatever it looks like when it comes to the power four. This year, I guess 2022 season, I'm sorry, 23 season, but 24 playoff. Would you have been on board with the 12 in the playoff or do you like what we saw? Yeah, I would like to see the 12.

I've always been a proponent for it. But I will say this, the format that's been presented, we would have seen Liberty in the playoff over Oklahoma because of them being that highest ranked group of five team. Boy, we saw what happened Liberty Day against Oregon. They would have faced. Who would Liberty have faced today? They would have faced Florida State in Tallahassee.

That would have been interesting. But yeah, been great to see a 12 team playoff this year, especially with just so many great teams out there. And again, look at the national championship game. It's the two undefeated teams.

And yes, Florida State going to get that opportunity before I let you go, Brandon, about 45 seconds. What's your initial thought about Michigan versus Washington? Well, again, to me, it's going to be who can make those big plays down the field. Washington is much more explosive. JJ McCarthy's a little bit of an efficient quarterback. They've got Blake Corum. The thing for me, though, to watch is Dylan Johnson healthy. He's the X factor for Washington. He takes a lot of pressure off of them.

And if he's not healthy, that could change the complexion of this. I can see why Michigan is favored in this one, but don't count out Washington. I know that sounds silly to say everybody's saying that, but goodness gracious, they have won 10 straight games by 10 points or less, including eight straight games by one possession. Eight straight. That is unheard of in college football. That's not luck.

That's not getting by your teeth. That's just senior leadership, a lot of upperclassmen, and amazing coaching. Kalen DeBoer has won more than 90 percent of his games as a head coach on all levels, all the way back to his NAIA days in Sioux Falls.

Well, and certainly it prepares you for this stage when you're used to playing in a pressure cooker, which we've seen from Kalen DeBoer's team. All right, you can find Brandon Marcello on Twitter at B Marcello, M-A-R-C-E-L-L-O, national college football reporter and insider for 24-7 sports from New Orleans after the Sugar Bowl. Great to connect with you, Brandon. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes. All right. Thank you.

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Yep, Graybar does that. The Hyundai comes with America's best warranty and three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance. Hey, did you know the Statue of Liberty is the largest holiday gift ever given? Hey, did you know when the year ends, so do the deals? December 30th is National Bacon Day, you know.

It's your journey. Own every mile at the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Sign and drive a 2024 Hyundai Palisade with zero down, zero first month's payment, and zero security deposit. And now, during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Offer ends January 2nd. Call 562-314-4603 for details.

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