Quest for Perfection

At the beginning of the season, I had several discussions with friends who thought the cougars could run the table, but that they probably wouldn’t. Most of them, feared either Washington at Home (bolstered by PAC-10 officiating) or UCLA as the teams that posed the biggest challenge. Now that those hurdles are overcome, I have to ask, do they have a good shot at going undefeated?

Eight Games to Go

With eight games left in the season, what are their chances? Let’s take a look:

USU

If they don’t win this one in similar fashion to the last two, they may not deserve BCS

New Mexico

New Mexico has typically had a solid defense, and a steady offense. The Loss of Poterie may not help them much, but may not hurt them as much as expected. (They seemed to be just as effective after he went down as they had been.) However, I doubt they can keep pace with our offense this year and we are playing them in LES. Expect something like 35-14

TCU

TCU looks to pose a threat to the cougars undefeated season. We will know more after this week, after they play OU. TCU has a great defense and a solid running game. Their passing game is a bit suspect though. The game is in Texas, though they don’t seem to have the same home field advantage that the cougars possess and TCU has not looked good on Thursday nights. I look for them to challenge, but expect a cougar victory. 35-24

CSU & SDSU

I don’t look for either to pose much of a threat. (see USU)

Air Force

The Air Force wishbone is always tough, and has big play capabilities. However, BYU has as strong of a track record against the Falcons as anyone. The game is in Colorado, but their passing game is also not there yet, so unless they find that between now and then, they can’t stop the cougs.

42-24

Utah

This may be the Cougar’s toughest match of the year. I would love to see an undefeated Utah versus an undefeated BYU, with national focus on the game, BCS bowl bid in the balance, and then have the cougars drop the hammer on them. Again, solid running game, but Johnson has not been great under pressure. Running QB’s have been a weakness of the cougar Defense, (see Jake Locker) and the game is in RES. If Utah happens to drop a game or two along the way (which they have been prone to do) then it is their chance to be a spoiler. However, against Air Force, Utah looked very beatable. I predict a victory for the Y in a close one, say 35-28

The Crystal Ball

I know my crystal ball may be fogged, or broken altogether. But from where I sit, I predict a 12-0 season and a BCS bowl bid.

Sep 23rd by Jim