Collie, once again, comes to the rescue as BYU downs New Mexico 21-3.
Now I know what you are saying,”whyare you writing your blog on sunday, as opposed to yesterday after the game.” Well I tell you why. Yesterday I was sicker then a dog, and it took all my energy to be able to listen to the game. From this I came to a realization, the commentator are good at talking but not at announcing the game. I good with Blain Fowler and all that he say but he’s a color commentator and that’s what he is supposed to do. Now the Play by Play man, whose name escapes me, would be better at color commentating. It was in the middle of the game and this guy was talking about Rocky Long in the middle of the play so you really couldn’t tell what was happening. Now that’s off my chest let’s get to the game.
The Cougars unfortunately did what I was hoping they wouldn’t, they overlooked New Mexico to TCU. Fortunately Austin Colle saved us with his great performance of 9 catches for 162 yards and 1 TD. Was it just me or did it take BYU offensive coordinator, Robert Anae a few series to realize that they need to be running it more. Once they realized this it allowed Couger RB Harvey Unga to have another solid game. Also it opened up the field for their passing attack. Every good game BYU has played has been when they ran the ball on a consistent. Every offensive coordinator knows that when you run the ball well then the defense will pack it in, thus opening up the passes. But I will not question Robert Anae anymore because he has been a brilliant coordinator.
It also seems like BYU’s defense went back to the bend but don’t break mentality. Although it worked against the Lobo’s it will not work against the elite teams in the MWC. But the defense did step up, only allowing 3 point is cool in my book, but for as many times as they were able to get pass the 50 yard line just doesn’t sit well with me. Also I would like to give a heads up to defensive player Coleby Clawson who had two sacks in a row, awesome.
Also I would like to say welcome back to TE Andrew George who had 2 TD catches. Once again Max Hall had a solid game with 265 yards passing and 3 TD’s. He would of had more if BYU WR would of caught more but I also have to admit that the DB’s for New Mexico played very well. Well that’s it for me, I would make this longer but I am still trying to recover from being sick yesterday. Oh ya…..Go Cougars.
Cup half full or half empty?
As I start to contain my frustration of BYU’s 2nd half performance I decided to take a different approach on how I should of viewed the Utah State game. I guess you could say that instead of looking at the cup half empty I will try to look at it half full, having a need to get something positve out of the last game has drove me to this view.
As I went around the different blogs, and web sites I found many Cougar fans approaching it the same way. Numerous bloggers have come to the realization that maybe BYU needed a game that showed them that they can’t look past their current opponent. Call me crazy but I thought the Washington game did that for them but I guess having two straight shutouts can cause your head to grow beyond what your body can support.
Now the reason I am bringing this up is because of BYU’s next game, New Mexico. Everyone can see where I am going with this, the Cougars next game after that is TCU. Now some would say that BYU is not foolish enough to look past New Mexico to the TCU game, and I would have to agree. But I hate to think what the Cougars mindset would of been if they had another blowout shutout against Utah State. That’s when you start to feel invincible, and let us remember that the most powerful super hero has it’s weaknesses.
So be happy with last weeks game because I truly feel that it was a solid learning tool for our talented Cougars, as does Coach Mendenhall. Also, take time and take the approach of the glass being half full in how you view your everyday life. The world is a whole lot different, plus you don’t have to drink so much pepto bismol after BYU games, I have a running tab at my local drug store. One last thing……………………Go Cougars.
Could of been better.
I am going to keep this short because I don’t write very well when I am in a bad mood after a BYU game. I know some of you might be questioning why I am upset over the Cougars beating Utah State 34-14, but as I stated in my title this win could of been better. One thing that BYU did that is my main pet peeve is how it just seemed that midway through the 2nd quarter BYU lost interest in the game, like a 24-0 lead justifies a total shutdown of their offense.
The way they played tonight will not get them into a BCS game. In this year of politicking the Cougars have to do a little themselves. As much as I feel that the play on the field and the end result of a game should be the determining factor it comes down to how you beat them. Unlike the NFL you can not have a bad game and still be at the top of the polls. BYU, you need to have that killer instinct that you had against Wyoming and UCLA, but you need to have it all the time. You can not expect to always win a game by just showing up and expecting the over team to roll over because your superior, Michigan showed us that last season against Appalachian State. The famous saying says,”those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat it.” The reason I bring this up is that I don’t want BYU to repeat what happened in 2001 when the went undefeated all the way up to the Hawaii game and then they were blown out because they assumed they were going to win. Heck if nobody had beaten them up to that point then why should Hawaii. To that I would like to use an old saying because I am refraining from cursing, and that saying is Boulder Dash. Now I don’t totally know what that means but it seems like snobs say that when they think a statement is ridiculous.
Now I would like to get off my rant and give some recognition to BYU, they did win the game at least. Max Hall once again had a strong game by going 23 of 37 for 303 yards, 2 TD’s, and unfortunately 2 interceptions. I will overlook that because hey, we are 5 games into the season and he has 17 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions, and any coach on this planet would take that ratio. Also I would like to give my biggest shout out to Austin Collie, because if it was not for him and his game changing 76 yard TD reception then I believe we would be looking at a different game. He ended the night with 8 reception for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Also I would like to give positive mentions of following Cougars that had good games. First Dennis Pitta had another solid game, and he makes my case stronger as touting him as the top tight end in the nation. The BYU O-Line also did a fine job only giving up 1 sack today, and that is a grand total of just 1 for the season.
The last thing I would like to mention is something that my dad mention after the game. He said,”boy I would hate to be in BYU’s practice come Monday.” I would have to agree with him, especially if I was the defense, because they broke down in the second half. It’s all about consistency and the D just didn’t have it.
I would like to end my entry by saying that it is a whole lot better to be criticising BYU on a win rather then a loss, oh how the times have changed since the short lived Crowton era. Go Cougars
BYU has their sights set on the Aggies.
I decided to try something new this morning as I sat down to type my latest entry. I am trying, today, to use more stats to make my article more “official”. Already my brain is hurting from the numbers that I’ve read for the upcoming Utah State game. The Aggies are pretty bad. Yes, they won one game but that was against Idaho, and if someone could be positively worse then Utah State, then it would be Idaho. (The biggest news coming from the University of Idaho was about their scantily clad cheer leaders and how the fans were complaining. That alone should tell you something about their program–when cheerleading news takes presedence over your football program then you should maybe take up another sport like, oh I don’t know, Skeet shooting….sorry, when I envision Idaho I just imagine hunters, guns, and shooting.)
To get back to what I was talking about, which is Utah State, I am going to try my hardest to not be outright mean to our brothers to the north. I mean, heck, my oldest brother, Rusty, graduated from USU and I know it’s a great University. It’s not his fault he chose the wrong shade of blue. Now I am not saying this because he also likes shooting guns (his wife is from Idaho, go figure), but I have a lot of respect for him and the institution which is his alma mater. I’m just glad he didn’t choose the University of Utah because then we would have just had to disown him. (Wow, that gives me shivers just think about it.) Thank goodness for alternative Universities in Utah.
Now as much as I would like to see the Aggies do well in all their games besides BYU, I just don’t see it in their stats. They run somewhat of a two-quarterback offense with Borel and Setzer. Those two have less yards passing for the season then Max Hall has by himself. One thing that concerns me a little is that Borel seems to be versatile, or so his stats say. He has over 200 yards with a 4.4 average per run, and because of this he is their leading rusher. That tells me that they really don’t have a solid running game to lean on. But the idea of the Cougars defense going against a scrambler gives me a little anxiety. We all know what happened against Northern Iowa, and as much as I hate to bring it up, yes, Washington. But with the Cougars last two shutouts in their hip pockets, my faith in their defense is growing each game. Now Utah State’s leading wide receiver, Nelson, doesn’t have spectacular numbers either. Over the first four games he has compiled 142 yards on 13 catches, which averages out to a little over 10 yards per catch. That would be good for one game, maybe even two, but for the season that just doesn’t cut it.
With these rough stats that I’ve given, I have come to a few conclusions: either the line cannot block so the quarterback doesn’t have enough time to get the ball to his WR’s, or the wide recievers are not catching the balls thrown to them, or maybe the quarterback is inaccurate. Maybe it’s all three, or it could be that Borel is a sophomore starting at quarterback for the first time in his college career… inexperience is a great equalizer for opponents. Plus it doesn’t help that the Aggies have been outscored 168 points to 93 points. One way to make sure you win a game is to out score your opponents, which USU has done only once this year, hence the 1 win 3 loss record.
This brings me to my next thought–that the Aggies aren’t good against a credible offense, which BYU is, but I am not sure USU has faced one yet. There are very few offenses that can match the ability of BYU. The Cougars average 43 points a game, and wouldn’t you know the Aggies allow 42 points a game, gosh I don’t know how BYU will get that extra point. Furthermore the Cougars average 482 yards of offense per game. If Max Hall isn’t hitting his plethora of recievers in Collie and Pitta, just to name a few, then Unga is running over the opposing teams defenders. He may also run over a few of his team mates once in a while, but what do you expect when you have a bulldozer for a running back. The only players that can stop BYU’s offense are themselves as we witnessed in a few of their games this year
One thing BYU needs to avoid is giving the Aggies hope, because by all means this is Utah State’s bowl game. I assume that they will leave nothing on the field. BYU needs to continue to have the killer instinct that they’ve shown over the past few weeks…they can’t give Utah State a chance. With this idea, I believe the Cougars will come out of this with a win, and probably a big one at that. But I don’t predict games by giving a final score because that’s just ridiculous. Hey BYU, a lot of upsets happened last weekend, please don’t get passive and add to that trend. Don’t worry, I’m not losing faith, but as you all know, I am a worry wart. Oh yeah, one last thing…………..Go Cougar!
Whoa Now!
As I try to pass the time, trying to endure the Cougar’s bye week, I’ve come across some interesting articles via the Internet. One article that struck my interest was a piece by Dennis Dodd from sportsline.com (http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10993501). His article was mainly about BYU sneaking in the back door of the National Championship, and their opponent being USC. He referred to the 1984 BYU National Championship team, and how they, in a round about way, snuck in to play Michigan in the Holiday Bowl.
This first issue I would like to address about his article is how different times are today. Media is more biased and push more for the bigger conferences. Plus money is more in the equation now-a-days. A great deal of the media try to bring up the issue of how there might be a lack of Cougar fans traveling if they do get into a major BCS bowl game. You know as I do BYU fans travel very well. Just ask Washington this year, and UCLA fans last year. The Rose Bowl sounded more like LaVell Edwards Stadium when we visited them. Need I say anything about LaVell Edwards Stadium South in Las Vegas? So that argument is dead to me.
The next issue is SOS (strength of schedule) and if the Cougars are playing tough enough teams to warrant the type of coverage they are getting. The last time I looked, the Cougars had a SOS in the high teens. Also, I think we’ve covered how good the Mountain West Conference is by the play of our teams the last two weeks. So by all means, question it. That just shows me the media and BCS foes alike are getting antsy about a non-BCS team ruining their party.
Now we get to the meat of Mr. Dodd’s article, that being the chances of BYU playing in the National Championship. Do I think BYU could make it? Yes! All the cards would have to fall into place, but I wouldn’t be a true BYU fan if I didn’t have faith in them. I believe, as QB Max Hall does, that the Cougars are good enough to play with anyone in the country. On any given Saturday anything can happen in regards to college football. So please, don’t question me on my loyalty.
What makes me uneasy about this whole subject is how early we are talking about it, I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. BYU has only played 4 games this season–three of them at home. For the most part they have been pretty impressive. I mean, come on, two shutouts in a row, that hasn’t been done for ten years in college football. But look who we have played. No disrespect to BYU’s opponents, but only one of them has played at the top of their division, and that is Northern Iowa–and let me remind that they are in the championship subdivision, formally division 2 college football. The rest of the teams have been either in the middle of their conference or cellar dwellers of their conference.
I just want everybody to take a deep breath and wait for when the most important games are played, like Air Force, TCU, and Utah. Then we can start to hype up our Cougars. Now by no means am I saying to not cheer for BYU and to defend them when needed. All I am saying is to do it responsibly and respectfully. Root for the Y – in the end all games are important because to get to the Promised Land we have to overcome all obstacles in the road whether they are big or small.
One last thing……….Go Cougars!
With it’s second straight shutout, BYU rolls pass Wyoming 44-0.
As I begin to write this article I get the feeling of deja vu. Even though the games were different, in the end the result was the same with BYU shutting out it’s second straight opponent, Wyoming, by a score of 44-0. If your keeping track BYU has won 15 straight at home, and is leading the nation with 14 straight games won in a row. Now most people would be impressed with the offense and the numbers they put up once again. You could make that assumption if you didn’t watch the game, and only checked out the box score at the end of the game, but I was mostly impressed with the defense.
Last week against UCLA it was more of UCLA imploding then it was BYU stopping them. Now don’t get me wrong, BYU did an amazing job last week against the Bruins. I would be kidding myself to say otherwise with a score of 59-0, but the Cougars defense stepped it up a notch against the Cowboys of Wyoming. When the BYU offense seemed sluggish in the 1st quarter, it was the defense that pick it up by recovering a backwards laterall and returning it for a 62 yard touchdown. With the offense not scoring until the midway point in the second quarter, the defense held it’s own by keeping the Wyoming out of the end zone.
I am also glad to say that it is possible for Y’s back 8 (linebackers, defensive back, and safties) to make interceptions. The defense was able to get 3 vital interceptions, out of 6 total Wyoming turnovers, to keep the shut out in tact. I was also impressed once again by BYU aggressiveness, it’s nice to see that BYU’s defense realized that they are allowed to hit. But the most impressive stat to me was that the Cougars only gave up 273 yards to Wyoming. Why is that impressive you ask? Well it debunks the theory that BYU is a bend but don’t break defense. The offense can move the ball as we all know. Averaging 43 points a game will support that, but the defense has kept opposing offenses to an average of 11 points a game. Now I don’t know about you, but the last time I checked, that is not an average that a bend but don’t break defense would have.
Now I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to talk about the offense, who would of thought that the defense would of taken up the first three paragraphs of my entry. The BYU offense, after a sluggish 1st quarter start, was very solid. Is it wrong for me to request that we start the game in the second quarter. The reason I ask this is the last to weeks the Cougars have scored 35, and 20 points respectively in the second quarter. It seems when the 2nd quarter comes around that the Cougars offense has a switch that goes off and they go crazy racking up points.
This weeks numbers weren’t as big as last week, but they were still impressive. Max Hall once again put up a great effort by passing for 190 yards on 16/26 for 3 touchdowns. Not to over look the bowling ball, Harvey Unga, he rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries, and 1 touchdown. Austin Collie probably had the most impressive offensive out put by catching 8 balls for 123 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Now I am not going to forget the Hogs up front that protect Max Hall. Now in the NFL the quarterback will usually buy the O-line dinner, but knowing the little money that college players have, the least hall could do is buy them a Snickers. Also, I would be an idiot to forget about Unga’s own personal blocker, Fui Vakapuna. Fui took on two blockers at once during the game. Are you kidding me? If Unga is the bowling ball, then Fui is the device that clears the pins at the bowling alley.
With this win also comes another reward which is a bye week. This couldn’t come at a better time, with a few injuries that BYU is working on, this will allow them to focus on recovering. Next up is the annual Friday game against Utah State, before our LDS conference. Don’t think this will be easy Cougars, anytime a rivalry game is being played it gives the lesser of the two teams (Utah State) a little extra incentive. Keep focused, and don’t forge………Go Cougars.
Just One Weekend.
I am one of the first to admit the change of coverage in the media from last week to this week, is night and day. I love the positive coverage the Mountain West Conference is getting– especially BYU. But some reporters, fellow bloggers, and fans are jumping the gun with what they are writing. Sure, it was great to see MWC go 4-0 against the Pac-10, but these comparisons of which conference is better are ridiculous. You don’t judge a movie on the first 15 minutes of it, you don’t judge a restaurant on their appetizers alone, you don’t judge a person by the sound of their voice. What I am getting at here, people, is we are just 3 games into the season. While it has been the most exciting 3 game start that BYU has had in a long time, they still have 9 games remaining and a bowl game, if the Cougars play their cards right (sorry, I’m a Vegas boy, so I once in a while put gambling references into my entries).
Now, I am not trying to be a scrooge, or rain on your parade–you pick whatever saying you’d like to use. I am just saying we need to be cautious. I like a quote I read from RB Frank Summers, who plays for UNLV (and by the way, kudos to the Rebels for stunning 15th ranked Arizona State last weekend)….we’re all MWC brethren this week. He said he stopped celebrating Monday night and looked to the next game. Now I know I don’t need to question the BYU team on whether or not they have gotten it out of their system. I’ve read various articles and blogs on BYU’s practices this week, and they are practicing with the great intensity and professionalism expected from a Coach Mendenhall squad.
The people I worry about are us fans. The one thing I believe separates us from other teams’ fans is our courtesy. Sure we have our share of idiotic BYU fans, but we make up for it in how we are as a fan base. From what I’ve read on the Internet, we are doing our share of trash talking. Now trash talking can be great fun, but you can cross the line. Remember the higher you get, the harder you fall. Nothing pleases the college football world more then when a BYU team falls. So stay friendly, have fun, just don’t give ammunition to fellow college football fans by getting in nasty arguments over who’s better. In the end, both parties look pathetic.
Also I just want to give a shout-out to the BYU offensive line. They have not allowed a sack on QB Max Hall all year. They are probably the most under-appreciated players. If we didn’t have them then we would have nothing. Now the next game is against Wyoming. What I found out this past week is that Wyoming fans consider this a big rivalry game, while we consider it another conference game. How sad for them. That’s beside the fact, still I hope BYU plays every game with their best efforts. Here’s to hoping BYU puts another one in the win column. Go Cougars!
Just what the doctor ordered.
Can you believe it?! BYU absolutely blasts UCLA 59-0. Go ahead, rub your eyes, this is not an error. BYU really did win the game by a score of 59 – zip. This is just what the doctor ordered! The Cougars needed to squash all that negative talk from the media (mainly ESPN) about the Washington game, and they did. I was wanting them to beat the Bruins by a good margin, but this was ridiculous. This is exactly the killer instinct that the big programs around the nation have. I was hoping BYU would adopt this instinct since we’re in the age of BCS rankings and margin can matter .
I think it can now be made official: quarterback Max Hall is now a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He has passed for 1000+ yards in his first 3 games, but let’s stick with today’s game because this made it official. His stats today, besides being outstanding, is what you want to see from a quarterback who is the leader of your team. He passed for 272 yards on 27 for 35 with 7 passing touchdown, 6 of those were in the first half. For those fans who haven’t been won over by Hall, and this game still doesn’t do it for you, then something is seriously wrong with you.
One of the things I was most happy about was the play of Austin Collie. He had 10 receptions for 110 yards with 2 touchdowns–and this was just in the first half also. It just seemed like BYU was trying to get Collie back to his old self after the numerous dropped balls he had last week. One of the plays that I thought put a dagger into the heart of UCLA was the 37 yard touchdown pass from Hall to Collie right after the Bruins had just turned it over on their own 37 yard line.
Now you didn’t think that I was going to not mention tight-end Dennis Pitta? Although his stats were not as stellar this game, he still had some great catches, while making 2 touchdown receptions. I was also pleased with BYU’s ability to rest their starters and allow the reserves to get some playing time in the 3rd quarter. As I hoped, BYU’s backup, Brandon Gaskins, played a good game. Also putting in a decent effort was running backs Latu, and DiLuigi.
And yes, the defense finally did what I hoped for…..they stopped someone! Now it did help that UCLA receivers had one of the worse case’s of butterfingers I have ever seen, but we have to give credit were credit is due. You don’t get a shutout against an offense that just had a come-from-behind-victory 2 weeks ago, against a ranked SEC program in Tennessee. Like the rest of the team was doing, the defense played with a chip on their shoulder. They played physical, fast, and everyone was flying to the ball. It was just an all around great game and I applaud the Cougars and their great coaching staff for not letting this past week affect them. That says so much about Coach Mendehall, and the way he prepares his teams each week. Let’s just keep it going BYU.
Home sweet home.
Today I’ve decided to keep my entry short for two reasons. The first reason is that I was asked to give a talk in church Sunday and my mind is in anxiety mode over that (I am not the greatest speaker, but you do have to learn from experience). The second reason is that I am tired of the coverage of BYU’s last game and the negativity–as if BYU didn’t deserve to win due to the late call in the game. As other BYU bloggers have written, there were many calls that should have gone BYU’s way but didn’t…numerous missed holding calls, along with a clip that led to a Washington touchdown. But I am not going to dwell on that because I will get in another bad mood, and I believe BYU should and will look to the next game against UCLA.
I have concerns more so than I did at the beginning of the season about the Bruins. One concern is the defense that UCLA has. Athletically they pose a greater threat than any other team BYU has faced or will face this year. Also I have fear of the unknown. Let me explain: For the first half of UCLA’s game against Tennessee, I was pretty excited. With our inexperienced defense we will have to face an equally inexperienced (if not more) UCLA quarterback in Craft. Then the second half rolled along and it was as if a different QB was playing for the Bruins. He did what all quarterbacks should do when they have experienced a horrific first half as he did–he forgot about it and acted like he was in a new game. With that, they beat Tennessee, an SEC ranked team, in overtime. So that’s where the unknown factor comes in. Will we get first half QB Craft or second half Craft?
Need not be afraid, with this tuff game comes the friendly confines of LaVell Edwards Stadium, and the crazy Cougars fans, or as you know them: Bishop, Stake President, Boy Scout Leader, Young Womens President, and so on. If BYU had to play a game like this, I am glad that they have to do it at home. With BYU riding 13 straight home wins, LaVell Edwards hasn’t looked better with UCLA next on the slate. Also BYU will also try to continue the nation’s longest winning streak by winning their 13th game overall.
With the concerns also come the comforts I have. BYU has shown brilliance on the field with their offense. Max Hall, who has passed over 800 yards (2nd in the nation) in the first two games, to Dennis Pitta who leads the nation in receiving with an average of 180 yards per game. You also have Harvey Unga who rushed for 100+ yards last game, and showed his durability in the game as the fourth quarter came along– he became stronger while the Washington defense became weaker. Then we can go to BYU’s deep recieving core led by Austin Collie who makes the tough plays when needed. I believe that the Cougars Offense needs to be running on all cylinders to be able to beat the Bruins. With BYU’s defense not allowing us to trust them to stop an offense, BYU will have to minimize their mistakes if they want a win.
Now for the defense I have 2 words, Stop Someone. I know it’s not as easy as that, but my goodness, at this point a great high school team might have some success over BYU’s defense. With UCLA QB Craft comes versatility; when needed he can scramble. Now he is not as good a scrambler as Washington’s Jake Locker, but few Cougar opponents will be until Utah comes-a-knockin’. I could go on for hours about BYU’s defense, I simply don’t have the time. I will tackle that elephant in the room after the UCLA game.
So as I wait for this game to be played, I hope for 3 things: One, that this is a good game with both sides of the ball playing good. Two, BYU’s defense can step up and prove themselves against a legit opponent. Three, BYU comes out of this game with a win. Nothing can erase this past negative week better than a win against a solid team. Funny how a win can feel so negative due to the media, but once again I’ll tackle that issue some other time. So as Coach Mendenhall prepares his team for battle, I have no doubt that he will have them ready to play hard, and in the end, WIN.
BYU escapes Seattle with a 28-27 win.
Well, what can you say? Once again BYU had their chances to blow the game wide open but, due to the lack of good consistency, Washington kept the game close…really close. I mean, block an extra point in the last seconds close. Max Hall showed what an amazing quarterback he is by going 30/41 for 338 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes, and 1 interception. He displayed great maturity in the pocket while not panicking with the heavy rush defense that the Huskies supplied. Also, Austin Collie, once again, had a solid game catching 5 passes for 74 yards and 1 touchdown.
Now, when I try to come up with who the player of the game was, I am caught between two amazing performances. On one hand you had Harvey Unga who rushed for 136 yards on 23 carries, but he did have a critical (but not fatal) fumble on the goal line, which is the only blemish on his stats for the day. Then there is Dennis Pitta, he had 10 catches for 148 yards, and 1 touchdown. If you count last week, he has 361 yards recieving in just two games–that’s unheard of for a tight-end, let alone a wide receiver. I think we are witnessing a player who could end up being the greatest tight-end to play at BYU, and that’s saying a lot. I’ll just have to leave it up to the readers on who they believe had the best performance between the two Cougars.
OK, I’ve delayed this long enough, but now I have to address the Cougars’ defense. It might be that we were just spoiled the last two seasons with amazing defenses, but this year’s defense isn’t cutting it for me. I cringe for the day that BYU faces an accurate QB that can hit opposing wide receivers that are wide open over the top, because it would have been a different story if Washington’s QB, Jake Locker, would have been more accurate today. The Cougars’ defense is just simply getting out-played. I can say with the utmost confidence that if it wasn’t for BYU’s amazing offense, we would be looking at an 0-2 record for our beloved Cougars.
Now I know what you are saying, “Why aren’t you addressing the elephant in the room?”…that elephant being the unsportsmanlike penalty called against Jake Locker? Well here I go: I think players should be allowed to celebrate. The NCAA just doesn’t realize the adrenaline that is running through the players when they make a big play or score. But as it stands, what Jake Locker did was against the rules as stated by the game’s referee, Larry Farina. He stated, “after scoring the touchdown, the player threw the ball into the air and we are required, by rule, to assess a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.” Farina went on to say,”It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgement call.”
After hearing that, I tend to agree with the statement–if it’s a rule, then it can’t be ignored, and if coaches and players don’t like it, then they need to bring it up with the NCAA. It’s not like Washington didn’t get a chance to tie it up. All they had to do was kick the point after from 35 yards out, and they didn’t take advantage of the situation. I am glad to say that BYU did, thanks to Jan Jorgensen and his big hand, blocked the extra point attempt.
Now BYU has to look to next week’s game, because BYU cannot play and have the same mistakes like they have had the last two games. UCLA is a much better team then N. Iowa, and Washington combined. I am just glad it’s at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Gooooooo Cougars!