1. A nonBCS 16 team playoff. As you described, bowl games are money losers. However, a playoff, even a nonBCS playoff, would be a financial winner because the home games would bring in the dough while keeping expenses low. The success of a nonBCS playoff would weaken the bowl system and force a 16-team ncaa playoff.

2. Action by state legislatures to pressure the presidents. We need to introduce bills that take half the payout from the BCS or BCS conferences and give it to pay for teachers, thus getting the political might of the teachers union on our side, as well as the PR high ground. The laws would automatically be rescinded when an acceptable 16-team or more playoff is instituted.

NOTE: It is important to note that the bowls and big conferences are working to make the top level more exclusive – cutting out the Big East, ACC #2, and the Pac 10 #2, as these teams do not draw as well as the SEC, Big 10, ND (if ranked) and Big 12. Current nonAQ teams are even further down the list. The move to a plus-one is to make space for a third SEC/Big 10 team, and remove the BCS from anti-trust liability.

http://www.realfansstand.com/forums/topic.html?id=1111&p=2#p16432

First of all, I think it’s pretty definitive now that Jake Heaps can only perform with Green Jersey on. He has been the clear best performer during Fall Camp and during practice – even during practice last week. But he CANNOT currently translate that into success on gameday. We have all discussed extensively on Heaps not being able to take a hit. We’ve also discussed his lack of leadership and his teammates’ lack of respect for him.

ArmyUte shared a story from one of his friends here about his encounter with Jordan Pendleton’s mother: http://bit.ly/oVRKse
Since the game on saturday, I’ve heard of similar incidents. One person I follow on twitter said he actually talked with one of the players after the game that confirmed that many of the players have bad feelings towards Heaps.

Last season during the QB battle, we talked about the rumors of there being a locker room incident involving Heaps where some players and maybe Heaps himself marked off one of the better lockers for Heaps. I remember there being talk that Heaps was not actually involved. But it does lend credence to many of the teammates still believing Heaps feels he deserves to be QB instead of earning it with good performance in games.

It became very evident during the USU game that the team wasn’t rallying behind Heaps. There was a lack of effort. There was no drive, no fire. It was merely a scrimmage where everyone was performing their duty, but not really caring all that much about it. Or at least it seemed that way. We saw this during the Holy War as well. We saw Jake Heaps standing on the sideline after yet another turnover. Was he talking with other teammates? Was he in a huddle trying to spark belief into his offense? The camera sure didn’t make it appear to be such. Heaps seemed very reserved and keeping to himself. His teammates needed him to take the reigns and give them some sort of hope. They also needed him to take the blame for his mistakes, his turnovers, his bad passes. I’m not saying Heaps never did, but it sure looked like he didn’t.

Some have pointed out that Heaps has a sense of entitlement. I haven’t met him personally, nor talked to his teammates, but I’m inclined to believe the stories that are have gone and continue to go around. That Heaps feels he is “all that” and hence should be revered as a great QB and his play should never be questioned. And it’s understandable how this type of complex most likely came about if in face Heaps does have this complex. He grew up with his parents entering him into QB camp after QB camp. Paying pleny of their own $ to get him into the best ones. Most likely, while growing up, he heard from his parents that he was going to be a great QB. He was probably told at some point to not worry about what other people think. Isn’t that what most parents tell their kids? But that can grow into becoming too individualistic. To shutting out everyone else. Which might cause someone like Heaps to not be able to develop true leadership skills.

So, when Heaps failed to perform against USU and Riley Nelson was put in, it began to make more sense. Receivers that had lackluster effort suddently began to lay all out to catch balls from Nelson. Even on bad passes that receivers had normally been letting sail past them when thrown by Heaps – now they were making the extra effort to grab those balls. Example: The long lob from Nelson to Jacobson. That was just a prayer that Nelson put up – hoping Jacobson could get underneath it. It was not a well executed, precision pass. If you see the replay, McKay was running as fast as I’ve seen him run to get underneath that ball. He had to come all the way across the field. There were similar occurrences with Hoffman. Catches were caught when thrown behind. And it’s not just the receiving that was much better. The O-line made better blocks. There were a couple of designed runs by Nelson up the middle. We didn’t have success like that with RBs going up the middle. Sure we have an extra blocker, but really? Just one extra blocker? I think the O-line intensified their game as well.

Now here’s the kicker. Riley Nelson is NOT the future of BYU. I am very glad for him stepping in the game and getting the job done. He deserves all the praise he is getting from that game. But he is not the QB for BYU in my opinion. We saw the reasons why last season. And I can’t believe that we might be regressing back to the same situation we were in last year. Yes, Nelson looked great against USU. But is it not possible that he was so successful against USU because the QB changeup caught them completely offguard? They hadn’t prepared for a mobile QB. They had prepared to defend Heaps. And we can all agree that Heaps and Nelson are as different as night and day. This is why an offense couldn’t be designed for both of them last year. And if you noticed, USU began to adjust to defending Nelson once they saw he would be staying in the game. They were able to stuff a few of his runs. Do we remember the AFA game from 2010. They completely shut down Riley Nelson’s game. If Nelson were to become the starting QB, I wouldn’t doubt that teams would be able to do the same this year.

This offense has been designed around a pocket passer. It’s what Doman wanted to go with. It’s what he wants for the future of BYU. Switching completely over to an offense revolving around Nelson may not work. O-linemen have learned the blocking schemes to protect Heaps. They can’t just do a core dump of what they have prepared themselves to do all season, begin fresh with new blocking schemes, and be expected to have a great outcome. That being said, Jake Heaps may not necessrily be the right QB either. Why was James Lark never given a shot? Why hasn’t he had a shot at all this season? We heard how Lark was outpacing Nelson during Fall Camp. Nelson won the backup position mainly because of “leadership” and “maturity” and other buzzwords like that. But we saw concrete numbers from Lark. Why not give him a shot. Not necessarily as a starter, but let Heaps or Nelson start and bring in Lark if things aren’t going well. Lark deserves a shot right? He could easily be a starting QB on other Div I teams. Lark is supposed to be a pocket passer. So there would be no need to redesign the offense. Personally, that’s what I’d like to see. To have Lark have at least one series of downs. Maybe even an entire drive if it’s 3rd qtr and nothing else has been working.

Now back to Nelson and Heaps. If Heaps indeed is leaps and bounds better than Lark and Munns, then BYU needs to keep developing him for 2012 and 2013. Nelson is NOT going to be around after this year, so it does no good having him play the entire game. Maybe benching Heaps finally knocked some sense into him. Maybe he finally sees that BYU can do just fine without him and that he’ll have to put actions to words to be able to get what he wants. Heaps has now seen how Riley was able to be the leader and pull everyone together to come back and win in a game that arguably BYU should have lost. Heaps never had a John Beck or a Doman or a Max Hall to watch as a freshman. He was thrown into the mix of things. All he had to look at was Riley Nelson who had only ever been a backup at BYU. Sure, he had Doman as a QB coach, but we know Doman has been distracted from his duties by being OC. And we all know it helps to be coached along by someone on the actual team who plays the position you do. I remember it being that way in High School. A starting left guard would run a play. Then the coaches would say, “you’re turn Burt – do what he just did”.

So maybe it’s a good idea to start Nelson. Heaps can continue to observe how Nelson leads the team. Injured players often say how much they learn by watching on the sideline. Even Deron Williams was pulled out in games when things weren’t going right for the Jazz. But somehow, we need to develop a QB for the next few seasons. Whether that be Heaps, Lark, or Munns, that’s for the coaches to decide. It’s not an easy decision. I don’t envy the coaches at all. They will have upset fans either way. But for this reason, I’m telling BYU fans that we should not crucify Heaps yet. Yes he has shown little or no improvement from 2010. It could be argued that he has in fact regressed from last year. But he is still just a kid. He still has a lot of maturing to do. And maybe he finally matures. He still has 2 years of elligibility left. So maybe he’s not the BYU legend we were hoping for. We can still potentially get 2 good years out of him. We often talk about a “sophmore slump” when referring to players that don’t reach their potential their 2nd year. Harvey Unga may have been one of those. I don’t think John Beck was amazing until his junior year. Is it possible that this could be the cliche’ “sophmore slump” year for Heaps? We won’t know unless we give him the opportunity to show he can change.

So make Nelson the starter, but don’t have him play the entire game. Maybe when we have a decent lead, let Heaps take a drive. By no means am I saying we rotate QBs. We all know that spells disaster. But if you really want a pro-style offense for the future, then you have to give Heaps a chance to show he can learn and that he can rise to the occasion. If we don’t start Heaps or at least give him a few series, how will we ever really know if the benching worked. How will we ever know if he can bounce back? If we don’t give Heaps a shot during the SJSU game and keep him benched the entire game, we he ever get another shot to step up and play like so many people claim he can? Would he never get another shot so potentially show he’s capable of learning from his mistakes? Then again, will sitting Heaps for one game completely kill Heaps? Maybe benching him for an entire game would let the lessons being learned sink in all the more deeply. Personally, I would like to see Heaps be given at least one shot during the SJSU game if he isn’t started. Just my opinion and it’s not necessarily the correct answer.

On a side note, I applaud Riley Nelson for not throwing Heaps to the wolves after the game on Friday. He had the opportunity to burry Heaps, to completely discredit and betray him. But he didn’t. He stood up for Heaps when the press was proding him with questions. That is ultra classy!!! I may not like Nelson as QB for BYU but you have to respect that. And I do think Nelson has earned a shot at starting. Again, just don’t put Heaps on the shelf, not unless you’re willing to let him leave for another team as Ben Olson did when he went to UNLV. Granted that we found out Olson was not all he was cracked up to be. But that was arguably just luck on BYU’s part. Heaps may actually pan out in the end.

Some argue that Heaps should be given one final shot at starting for the SJSU game. Give him another change. Maybe this one-time benching hit the right button and knocked some sense into him. Maybe Nelson could be brought into games as a game changer in the 3rd qtr when things aren’t going right. Texas had success against BYU using this method. They took out Gilbert and broght in David Ash – a dual thread QB. And BYU wasn’t able to adjust. Let’s see if Heaps struggles first. Or shoot even bring in Lark when Heaps doesn’t produce. But then you might say, “why give Heaps yet another ‘last chance’”? Why not give Nelson his first chance this season? Why not give Lark his first chance?

Whatever the coaches decide to do, I agree with many others that it would be mart for BYU to not announce who starter is until gametime. Make Heaps fight for it. Also, this keeps the maniacal fans out of the loop. They can’t complain all week long about your decision if they don’t know about your decision. We’ve learned from BYU’s recent silence in the conference realignment saga how valuable silence can be. Also, it may confuse opponents. Shoot maybe let them think Heaps is starting, but start Nelson. Could produce results similar to the 4th quarter we say Friday.

So, in summary, I agree completely that Heaps has utterly failed. But I still don’t think we should completely give up on him. BYU needs to look to the future. Nelson can be our guy temporarily, but in the end Nelson does not fit the BYU philosophy. We have come to a crossroads this BYU season. The season could be resurrected or it could continue into a disaster worse than 2011. It will be interesting to see which way the team heads.

BYU was blown out in almost every stat except turnovers and score. Just sayin.

Nice game though, and you guys are welcome for the win.