Transcript
Travis White: Hey everybody, welcome back to the PAC South podcast. We are here in the year of 2026-27, our new season of the show.
Travis White: Is this officially season three now? Season four? Season three. and The beginnings were rough times, but now we have...
Pat Q: It was a bit of a whirlwind. yeah
Travis White: We have a actually hit our stride now a bit. So when we understand we actually have the show name now we've been going for the season. So, okay, here we are in what we're calling season three.
Travis White: um pat i'm super excited for this year at last year of the conference the first time doing that i think that was so much fun and we're going into that even more this year a few more teams uh we only had one team leave in florida state uh one of our temporary teams uh didn't win any of the conferences or conference sports uh so they left however everyone else that was temporary
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: did come back for one reason or another, and we do have some new teams in there as well, some teams that we'll be seeing in person this year, some fun stories.
Travis White: So we'll hop right into those. So the team we're seeing in person, Pat, you and I, we're going over to Missoula, Montana this fall. We get to watch the Grizzly on their senior day take on Idaho State. I think that will be a lot of fun. ah Hoping for a snow game.
Travis White: have you Have you had a snow game experience yet?
Pat Q: Yeah. I have, not for college football, but for the NFL.
Travis White: Okay.
Pat Q: um
Travis White: Okay.
Pat Q: So I was at a Patriots-Dolphins game right before New Year's um when I was in high school, and it snowed heavy the night before and then started snowing in the second half.
Travis White: Yeah, that's pretty sweet.
Pat Q: Yeah. Yeah.
Travis White: That's pretty sweet. So, yeah, I haven't experienced that. Watched a lot of South Carolina football games, believe it or not. There's not a lot of snow in South Carolina. um I just remember growing up and watching the college football and like probably a lot of the Montana games because of how good they were, were during the playoffs. So they got the snow playoff games. But I just always remember seeing that and we're finally pulling the trigger on that this year.
Travis White: um another northern team new to the uh pac south conference and new to uh the fbs division that is the north dakota state bison uh we will be following them in the pac south this year as well it should be very interesting only moving up this year uh to the mountain west conference in football only they will remain at their blanking on the name of the conference right now but their old fcs conference uh for all other sports this year it's not it's not ohio valley i'm b blanking on what it is
Pat Q: They weren't Horizon, were they? now
Travis White: or is big sky really big sky no not big sky they wouldn't be big sky there is ohio valley
Pat Q: and
Travis White: A conference that plays football and many other sports, the North Dakota State Bison will remain over there outside of football. um We then move over. We have Boston College joining for reasons that we'll get into in just a few moments. We're very excited to have them. a little Northeast representation along with Providence College. So got a little bit of back and forth there now in that region.
Travis White: um But then obviously we have our temporary schools of Duke, Charlotte, Washington, Iowa State, and Florida all returning again. And then not to mention our permanent teams.
Travis White: um pat we have some new sports as well and i'm kind of interested to see where you feel is going to be like our interesting points of the sports calendar because obviously in the past we so we stuck with our main big four sports um now we're going to have a lot of overlap in this um so we're adding men's and women's soccer we're adding men's hockey
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: And we're adding softball. So obviously you get softball, another spring sport, hockey right in there with men's women's basketball. And then the men's and women's soccer kind of encompassing the entire calendar.
Travis White: um We're going to have like, i feel like some good like sport equinoxes in a way.
Pat Q: yeah
Travis White: What, ah what time of year and now are you most looking forward to?
Pat Q: I feel like, I don't know, at least at least for like us content wise in terms of like having stuff to talk about, being able to like dive into it. I think like late fall-ish, like, you know, like mid to late October is going to be perfect because basketball season is about to start.
Travis White: Yeah. Yeah.
Pat Q: So there's going to be some storylines there. You probably can see like better than right now, you know, like, what these teams are looking like coming out of their unofficial scrimmages and things like that.
Pat Q: We've got the end of the soccer season. So that's always a really fun tournament to watch. um For us, at least, we will have some teams that probably have a decent shot at making the NCAAs this year.
Pat Q: Providence College is usually like a fairly competitive soccer program. Duke is pretty consistent. um
Travis White: And we do have the defending national champions ah in the conference for the men's side.
Pat Q: And said, we do. Yeah.
Travis White: So it should be interesting to see if they can repeat. i know they had a lot of roster changeover, though. So more to discuss there, but should at least be in the tournament.
Pat Q: yeah
Pat Q: For sure. And then of course, you know, like we've got our big ticket item of conference play during the football season. Um, so I think that late October, mid October time period is going to be so, so good. Um, in terms of like us having stuff to talk about us having stuff to, you know, like throw on the social media pages. Um, and obviously just as fans watch, um, because at the end of the day, like that's what it's about is enjoying, um,
Pat Q: you know, the wonders that college athletics bring us.
Travis White: Right. For sure, for sure. and We started getting into it a little bit last year too. Now this year, it being an official sport, having the Final Four and the Frozen Four going on with all eyes and ears tuned into both tournaments.
Travis White: um Well, all three tournaments really.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: it'll be i think a lot of fun and it's just going to be non-stop madness from thursday to sunday every single week so that'll be a lot of fun i think that winter time when they're going into spring uh now adding the softball we'll have a few good softball programs in our conference as well this year to keep an eye on uh baseball will be in full swing and then obviously with march madness between both hockey and men's and women's basketball i think that could
Pat Q: Definitely.
Travis White: almost rival that like college football fall time as just all sports are being involved there.
Pat Q: definitely
Travis White: um With our new teams, well, i didn't even say to it, but obviously Boston College in to have another hockey team. I alluded to it, had to come back around full circle. There you have it. But with our new teams here, maybe let's focus on Boston College, North Dakota State and Montana for now.
Travis White: Which of those three teams as conference newcomers do you expect to have, a not just in a single sport, but just across the board, at the biggest impact?
Pat Q: That's tough. Because, you know, like you want to immediately say, um a program like north dakota state because you know they had all that success at the fcs level we don't really know what to expect out of the mountain west this year um so that's like for me a really interesting um program that's coming to us but i'm also really intrigued by boston college i don't think they're going to be great football wise like i think that's pretty easy to assume um but they've got a really solid hockey program.
Travis White: Mm-hmm.
Travis White: Thank you.
Pat Q: They've got a good baseball program. Um, men's basketball obviously is looking for a change. They've got a first year head coach. Would it be interesting to see what they can do. Um, so I don't know. I feel like the easy answer is North Dakota state because I expect them to have some level of success, um, in their FBS transition, probably a decently high level of it. Um, and then of course they've been a pretty decent team.
Pat Q: in conference for basketball for the past four or five years now.
Travis White: Yeah. Indeed. Yeah.
Pat Q: Um, what scares me about Montana is their kind of lack of consistency outside of football when it comes to sports. Um, so that, that's why I'm a little on the fence with them.
Pat Q: I'll lean North Dakota state just cause I feel like that's the safe answer. Um, but what are you thinking too, Jack?
Travis White: I think that it's going to be a tale of two halves kind of between really North Dakota state and Boston college, um, Montana, I think obviously with football, really good team.
Pat Q: Yeah. Yeah.
Travis White: The issue that they're going to have when it comes to our conference, you know, ranking wise is because it's on the point scale, almost all their games are going to be FCS games. So they're not going to be worth this much. So maybe in the case of,
Travis White: you know, Charlotte last year having one FCS win. Montana is probably going to have more than one FCS win. ah So they may actually beat Charlotte based on last year's standards, but I don't really think that they would be competing with many other teams.
Pat Q: Hmm.
Travis White: Then you look, obviously, with basketball and other sports, and like you say, they're a bit inconsistent. North Dakota State and Boston College, on the other hand, Boston College, obviously a larger D1 school with a lot of money and a lot more capability playing in the ACC.
Travis White: North Dakota State, just perennial powerhouse of like the northern Midwest ah football team is always very good. You and I have actually seen their basketball team in person in the tournament almost a decade ago now.
Pat Q: We have.
Travis White: So, you know, they do have some history.
Pat Q: Yeah. Yeah.
Travis White: Yeah. If they can make some noise in this ah in conference play this year, that would help them out. I think North Dakota State, the first half of the twenty six twenty seven season for us, I think that they're going to be pretty good.
Travis White: I think Boston College, though, coming in backdoor, maybe a nice little ah finish in women's basketball higher than they're expected.
Pat Q: room True.
Travis White: Baseball, softball, hockey. You know, I think that Boston College's conference money winning sports for us is going to come in later in the year.
Travis White: Don't really expect them to be up there with North Dakota State, you know, come December time.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Pat Q: Yeah. No, I agree with that. don't know. I think it should be interesting where, you know, we see that shift out of maybe like basketball and into like fully our spring sports of baseball and softball, like where these teams shake out.
Travis White: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Pat Q: Cause like you mentioned, a team like Boston college can make up a ton of ground in that time period where i don't know. I hope that we can be able to go to a Charlotte football game again this year. I know we were able to to do that last year. Maybe go to a Charlotte basketball game. Cause it is fairly close for one of us. And she,
Pat Q: Uh, feel like they're kind of like, this might be your next question, but they they're like our hanger on that's in the most danger of potentially dropping off or coming in last.
Travis White: Indeed, indeed, it does help the locality of Charlotte to, you know, have some stuff to talk about, kind of have like, you know, you don't really want to load the conference with just a bunch of top teams.
Travis White: You don't really want to load it with a bunch of bottom teams either.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: But it does add... some wholeness to it as well.
Pat Q: and
Travis White: And I mean, the 49ers are a very fun team to follow for fun.
Pat Q: For sure.
Travis White: um So it's nice to have them along, but yeah, they are a little bit on in the danger zone.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: ah We'll the transition on back to the top of the conference now. um you know Obviously, we had Duke, who just was incredible.
Travis White: Football was a bit of a shock last year. Obviously, we had some incredible tiebreaker situations to help the Blue Devils win our conference as well because of the ACC conference.
Pat Q: Yeah. All right.
Travis White: um So do we fully expect between men's basketball for Duke probably being right there at the top again? i mean, we do have a few teams that can make runs against them. We have Florida. We have Iowa State. But Duke will more than likely come in as our top contender.
Travis White: Women's basketball, very good. Duke baseball, decently solid. They did fall apart midseason. Didn't expect that. ah But usually typically good team. Is it safe to assume...
Travis White: Duke is going to be right there at the top again, and with the inclusion of these new sports as well.
Pat Q: I'm going to say yes. um I think that people are kind of sleeping on Duke football a little bit. I don't think they're going to be conference champions, though. We didn't really think that going into last season either.
Travis White: Right.
Pat Q: um But I do think that they're going to have a better season than expected. Obviously losing Darian Mensah hurt, obviously losing Cooper Barkate hurt.
Pat Q: But this is a team that hit the portal really, really hard defensively. And that was their main area of struggle last year. So as long as the offense is like decently consistent, I feel like they can still win eight games and kind of, you know, keep themselves in our conversation points wise. I think this is a team that kind of sneakily overachieves when it comes to women's basketball as well. Because, you know, like when you think of Duke basketball, typically most people think of the men's team and not the success that the women have had of late. um So I think Duke is definitely a top contender or a front runner in our conference for this year.
Travis White: Okay. And I'll say this with my analysis and basically then pose the question after I make the argument. Is it safe to assume that Washington should be almost more than a dark horse for the top this year? I mean,
Travis White: You have a Darian Mensah S sa saga with Daman Williams. He does come back though.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: Decent team. mean They finished with nine wins in football last year. So they played pretty well in conference for us.
Pat Q: Mm-hmm.
Travis White: Men's basketball, pretty good. Women's basketball, pretty good. Baseball toward the end of the year started to get it going. And obviously, as we mentioned before, now with the addition of soccer, they are the defending national champions.
Pat Q: Got.
Travis White: So on paper, they should be the best men's soccer team ah in our conference.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: All those things adding up, it seems like Washington should be a top team in that conference, but also it doesn't feel like it. What's what's your kind of take on that?
Pat Q: Yeah, I agree with you that, you know, like by all metrics, they should be one of the top competitors, if not like right there, I feel like with Duke. um I don't know. I feel like the thing that hurts Washington is.
Pat Q: In a way, both of their basketball programs, um because, you know, like they. have been prone to winning the games that they should against like decent opponents, but then never really being able to kind of get over that hump against top teams. And like for us accumulating points in that fashion, like that is kind of a necessary is to have those ranked wins. So I feel like particularly the men's team leave some points on the table when it comes to that. I feel like that's kind of like the one
Pat Q: shortcoming they've got obviously baseball we this is way too early to predict how good their baseball team is going to be um you know like we haven't even seen like fall camp or anything like that yet um and i feel like baseball is such a variable sport especially in the nil era like we have these projections for teams like lsu was supposed to be fantastic last year and just totally fell on their face so um i don't know like
Travis White: fair Never showed up. Yeah.
Pat Q: I'd be more concerned about them picking up consistent points with basketball than baseball. Cause obviously with baseball, even if you're not playing great ball, if you're still winning series, you're picking up points along the way there.
Travis White: Yeah, and especially as you get into conference play, I mean, Oregon State was the biggest victim of that. Had they been in a conference last year, they still may have won, even with their disappointing postseason showing.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: So. Interesting enough there. And we'll have a few more questions here for you. And these are more just on the opinion base.
Pat Q: Okay.
Travis White: ah I have to say this, and we're probably going to talk about one of these teams in a moment, but since I am wearing the UCF hat, I have to then bring up to you and basing it off of where another team finished similarly.
Travis White: UCF, New Mexico, which program finishes better?
Pat Q: Ooh. Now that's a really interesting question.
Travis White: I mean, New Mexico, I feel like in most sports has a lot of momentum. UCF, obviously, the Big 12 transition has not been what they've really expected.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: Men's basketball under Coach Dawkins has made some progress.
Pat Q: Especially football.
Travis White: They just made a new change in the women's basketball ah head coach position. And then baseball also bit of a disappointing end to their season. So there's pieces. You can see it. Year two under Scott Frost and his second tenure.
Travis White: They're there, but it's just not there.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Pat Q: I think he hit the nail on the head with bringing up Scott Frost last. I think that's totally going to be the determining factor here is how these two teams play in football.
Pat Q: Because, you know, New Mexico is one of the best teams in the Mountain West for basketball. And especially with no Utah state and no San Diego state. Now they are kind of the front runner for the Mountain West alongside, I'd probably say like Grand Canyons right there with them as well.
Travis White: Yeah. Indeed, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Pat Q: Um, Like that they are in the driver's seat where UCF obviously is in much deeper basketball conference coming off a tournament appearance. Like we can probably expect a pretty consistent season there, but I feel like UCF football is such a question mark for me right now. um Like, I feel like this is one of those rosters where, like you said, like there's pieces that,
Pat Q: but you don't fully know what those pieces will give you on a consistent basis. And like, this is a team that I could see winning in eight games, or this is a team that I can see winning like four games. um
Travis White: Yeah.
Pat Q: I feel like it's just in that weird point where like, obviously we know kind of the identity that Scott Frost is going to try and build for this team and for this program. But does he have,
Pat Q: the pieces, particularly at the quarterback position, right. To like give him that style of offense and style of play that he loves to play. And that he's kind of known for.
Pat Q: So I think football will really determine that where like right now, I'd probably say I have more confidence in New Mexico football winning more games than UCF.
Travis White: Okay. All right. So maybe slight edge to the Lobos.
Pat Q: Yeah. Slight edge Lobos. I'll say.
Travis White: Okay. And then one final question for you slash both of us. Who are you most excited to follow as a program this year?
Pat Q: Ooh, that's tough. um
Pat Q: Is this sort of sport specific or just like across all of the sports that we're looking at?
Travis White: across all sports, all sports.
Pat Q: Okay.
Travis White: So I mean, this is really just diving into how deep and how fun you think an entire school's program is right now.
Pat Q: um
Pat Q: I'm going to go with one that probably does not make a lot of sense off the top, but I'm going to go with Iowa state actually.
Travis White: Okay.
Pat Q: Um, mainly because i have no clue, like literally no clue what to expect from their football team this year. Um,
Travis White: Yeah.
Pat Q: Because, I mean, like, we all know what happened when matt Matt Campbell left for Penn State, lost a lot of scholarship players, had a huge void to fill there, right?
Travis White: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Pat Q: And obviously, anytime you've got a new head coach coming in, it's kind of exciting to see, like, what that first year is going to be like. um So I feel like that, coupled with their consistent success on the men's basketball side, their consistent success over the past, I'd say like 10 years on the women's basketball side, um, makes them a really, really interesting program for me.
Pat Q: Obviously they don't have hockey. Um, but i don't know that kind of like catches my eye and draws me in, um, for those sports.
Travis White: Yeah, it is. Yeah, that that is a very fair pick because, yeah, I mean, everything you just listed, they have been good for a while now in every single sport, but, like, there are actually a lot of question marks in every single one.
Pat Q: Hmm.
Travis White: um Football, I would be worried about had Matt Campbell left, like, let's say, even four years ago. And sure, like, some of his best years already had happened by that point.
Pat Q: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Travis White: But Iowa State was not established because before Matt Campbell, they didn't really have a lot.
Pat Q: no
Travis White: Matt Campbell came in, I mean, he did an amazing job building that program. And I think really him leaving when he did, there was at least some stability there.
Travis White: So it will be very interesting to see. This is a huge year one for Iowa State football, losing probably one of the best coaches in your school's history and seeing what did preti er the the next guy can do
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: um I'll say for my answer, I i thought I was going to make a second pick because it was just going to be so much on last year. i thought I was really just going to say New Mexico again.
Travis White: But then I really started thinking about it more and more.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: It is a bummer that there is no football team here, but I'm going to say St. Louis.
Pat Q: Ooh, okay.
Travis White: um St. Louis, historically incredible men's soccer program.
Pat Q: That's fine.
Travis White: um The men's basketball team has had some great seasons. They are a very good team in the Atlantic 10, which is a very good basketball conference. Women's team, can they make the step up toward the top of the A-10 to really just so make or solidify their winter sports? i think that would be a big step. And
Pat Q: I like that.
Travis White: their baseball team. i watched some of their games last year, and yes, they did not have a very good year, but there are pieces there. And I think that if they can really finish the nine innings, they might be able to make some noise in their conference play, which, as we said before, is where you make our money in our ranking system.
Travis White: So I think the Billikens could be a very fun team to watch. Again, it's unfortunate they don't have football, but for men's soccer especially, could really be a dark horse against teams like Washington and Duke.
Travis White: And if they meet on the pitch, it's not a guarantee, I think, one way or another.
Pat Q: Yeah.
Travis White: I think those would be very good matches, though. I like the Billiken. So we're both going Midwest, actually not very far apart from each other, um which those programs do not meet very often in any sport.
Pat Q: I know. No.
Pat Q: no
Travis White: So it should be very interesting to see where our two, you know, fun follows finish up in conference play for the Pac-South. So,
Travis White: There you have it. That is our kind of season premiere. We will come back next week with our summer football as we are now about a month away from the start of the college football season.
Travis White: um Yeah, we will dive into it then. Give all our analysis on the new teams, what to expect and who we think will win. So until next week, for Pat, I'm TJ.
Travis White: Welcome back to the Pac-South Conference.
