Number 9

 

BYU has had 79 players drafted in NFL draft during the last 31 years.  Of those 31, 8 have been first round picks. Previously, the Cougar drafted highest has been Jim McMahon at number 5 (though it could be argued that Steve Young would have been a number one pick had he not opted for the USFL)

Tonight, Ziggy Ansah has the opportunity to become the highest Cougar draft choice ever.    So where will Ziggy go and how will he transition to the NFL???  These will be some of the most prominent questions of the 2013 NFL Draft

At the Beginning of last season, Ziggy was fighting for playing time at linebacker and hoping to make an impact during his Senior season.  No one really expected that and NFL career was even in the cards, and if so, only as a free-agent gamble on a talented athlete.    But then, starting Defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna went down to injury in the Boise State game.  Ziggy was about to get his chance to shine.

From a Defensive line position, Ziggy provided strength and speed that BYU has never, and may never see again.  He provided a strong pass rush from  3-4 defense, and when double teamed, allowed Kyle Van Noy to dominate on the outside. Watching Ziggy play has been one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed as a Cougar fan.  His athleticism and drive allowed him to run plays down from behind, and take players down like a lion after a gazelle. 

Draft “Experts” have Ziggy going anywhere from the 2nd pick to the 19th.  Most figure he will be a sure top 10 selection.  But either way, Ezekiel Ansah will be the ninth first round draft pick wearing Cougar blue.

 

 

 

BYU Football Schedule 2013

See the 2012 Schedule and Score Results

See the 2011 Schedule and Score Results

See the 2010 Schedule and Score Results

See the 2009 Schedule and Score Results

Cougars Pummel Georgia Tech

On Saturday the Cougars went to Atlanta to play a road game against an ACC team with an offense that is almost singular in today’s game, and on a two game losing streak.  If there was ever a time for the Cougars to go down early, pack in their tents, and come home with a crushing loss, this would have been it. 

So, what happened?  It was the Yellow Jackets who got down early, faxed in the entire fourth quarter, and left Bobby Dodd Stadium with a crushing loss, and the Cougars who celebrated what could be reasonably argued as a season-saving victory. 

 We know that, numerically, there isn’t much of a difference in the Cougars finishing 8-4 or 7-5, especially with a guaranteed berth in the Poinsettia Bowl this year.  To the discerning fan, though, the difference is huge.  We know that Georgia Tech hasn’t done all that well this year, falling to 3-5 with the loss to the Cougars, but they are still a team from a major conference, with major conference talent, with an offense that fools a lot of teams.

This win was about respect; more accurately, it was about less disrespect.  Whenever the BYU Cougars are brought up in conversation, the first question is “who have they beaten this year?”  Sadly, WSU, Weber State, Hawaii, and USU don’t add up to much of a resume.  While Georgia Tech isn’t a great team, they are an ACC team that is at least flirting with a .500 record, and the game wasn’t as close on the field as it was on the scoreboard. 

The Cougars also kept their record of being undefeated at halftime intact, leading 24-14.  Their record is now 6-0-3 at the half and 5-4 in the standings.  The great development in this game, though, was that the Cougars won the second half, on the road, 17-3. 

Ultimately, a team that trains “at altitude,” or LaVell Edwards Stadium’s 4630 feet above sea level, is supposed to be the team that wins the second half while the lowlanders struggle for air, at any altitude.  Thankfully, this is exactly what happened against Georgia Tech.

So, why did the Cougars suddenly play like we thought they could play all year, this late in the season?  We are going to give the bulk of the credit to the offensive line here.  When Terence Brown and Matt Reynolds graduated, it looked like the Cougars had the horses to simply reload, and at least be able to protect senior QB Riley Nelson, while relying on Nelson to carry the team to a great season in his senior year. 

Sadly, it didn’t work out that way.  Walter Kahaiali’I, Houston Reynolds, Famika Anae, and Braden Hansen have all been injured, with Anae dropping out of football entirely due to his injuries.  There has been so much turnover and position change on the line that it has been difficult for it to have any continuity. 

The Cougars are still extremely thin on the OL, with some starters listed as backups at other positions, but they finally put together a great game on Saturday and dominated Georgia Tech.  At this point, the starters are senior Braden Brown, sophomore Solomone Kafu, junior Manaaki Vaitai, sophomore Blair Tushaus, and redshirt freshman Ryker Mathews. 

For opening holes that helped Jamaal Williams to 107 yards and 4 touchdowns on 28 carries, and kept Riley Nelson protected for most of the day, limiting the Yellow Jackets to one sack, we will give the entire offensive line the first star for this game. 

The second star is going to Daniel Sorenson, who played another fine game with 7 total tackles, one forced fumble, and a crucial interception and return to the two yard line toward the end of the third quarter that would subsequently turn a 24-17 game into a 31-17 game and squash any Georgia Tech hopes of a comeback. 

In a game like this, there aren’t enough stars to go around, so we will let Nelson, Williams, Cody Hoffman, and JD Falslev share the third star.  Hoffman caught 7 passes for 69 yards.  Falslev had 3 rushes for 32 yards, 3 receptions for 12 yards, 3 kickoff returns for 129 yards, and 3 punt returns for 9 yards, for a total of 182 yards.  Nelson was efficient again, going 19-28 for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while running 7 times for 25 yards.

All in all, it was a great game for the Cougars, and one they really, really needed going into the bye week.  With three tomato cans next on the schedule, the Cougars can fine tune, heal from injuries, and get ready for whoever their bowl opponent will be. 

We aren’t trying to be dismissive of Idaho, San Jose State, or New Mexico State, but they are all the kind of teams that schools like BYU usually play during the first three weeks of the season, to get ready for tougher games later.  For the Cougars, though, the schedule is so front-loaded that the requisite tomato cans are more of a reward for making it this far than the warm-up they would normally be for most teams.

So, what can the Cougars accomplish this year?  While someone more cynical would suggest that they get younger players ready for next year, which includes early games against Texas and Boise State, we think the Cougars need to do whatever it takes to send the seniors out on a positive note. 

Besides, Taysom Hill won’t be available for the rest of the year, and he is probably the player who would need to be developed the most.  There really isn’t any way to prepare the OL for next year, because the depth is so non-existent this year.

On November 10, 22 seniors will walk into LaVell Edwards Stadium for their last home game.  We are hoping for a great crowd to show up and send them off with the appreciation they deserve for being part of the Cougars for four or five years, and finishing what they started. 

It hasn’t worked out as planned for many, but anyone who makes it through four or five years of major college football, even those who never play a down in a regular season game, are more than worthy of our appreciation.  Thank you, seniors.

Cougars Fall to Notre Dame, but Still Undefeated at Halftime

In a game that was closer on the scoreboard than most of the country expected it to be, the Cougars lost to Notre Dame in South Bend, 17-14.  However, the Cougars got worn down by an elite team in the second half once again. 

The Good:

Riley Nelson was 23-36 for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Jamaal Williams continued to indicate that the future at RB is good for the Cougars, with 68 yards in 14 carries on the ground and 7 receptions for 42 yards.  Cody Hoffman continues to have a year that should get serious NFL consideration with 8 catches for 86 yards.  The defense held a top ten team to 17 points. 

The Bad:

Nelson had 2 interceptions, and really couldn’t get the job done in crunch time.  The leading tackler was safety Daniel Sorenson with 10 total and 4 solo.  This means that ND made it into the secondary too many times.

The Ugly:

Theo Riddick’s 55-yard run during the drive that resulted in an ND field goal.  He should have been down at the line, but nobody got there to make sure his knee touched the ground.  Really, any time Riddick ran the ball, it was ugly for the Cougars.  He gained 149 yards on 15 carries for an average of 9.5 yards per carry. 

The Cougars were outgained by ND on the ground, 270-66.  That disparity is what ultimately cost the Cougars a chance at a season-saving upset on national TV.  The Cougars were pretty much manhandled on both lines: offense and defense.   The O-line seemed to struggle a bit when Brown went down, and Defensive Line  wore down and had a hard time tackling, especially when Riddick had the ball. 

Some Numbers:

We are concerned at the Cougars’ inability to close out games in the second half, and created this handy little chart for you. 

Linescore BYU WSU	1st 7 0	2nd 17 6	3rd 6 0	4th 0 0	Final 30 6
Linescore BYU Weber State	1st 7 0	2nd 14 0	3rd 10 6	4th 14 7	Final 45 13
Linescore    BYU   Utah	1st 0 7	2nd 7 0	3rd 0 17	4th 14 0	Final 21 24
Linescore BYU Boise State	1st 0 0	2nd 0 0	3rd 0 7	4th 6 0	Final 6 7
Linescore BYU Hawaii	1st 7 0	2nd 13 0	3rd 20 0	4th 7 0	Final 47 0
Linescore BYU Utah State	1st 0 3	2nd 6 0	3rd 0 0	4th 0 0	Final 6 3
Linescore BYU Oregon State	1st 7 14	2nd 7 0	3rd 7 7	4th 3 21	Final 24 42
Linescore BYU Notre Dame	1st 0 7	2nd 14 0	3rd 0 3	4th 0 7	Final 14 17
Cumulative BYU Opp	1st 28 31	2nd 72 6	3rd 43 40	4th 44 35	Final 187 112
Wins BYU Opp	1st 21 3	2nd 44 6	3rd 36 6	4th 21 7	Final 122 22
Losses BYU Opp	1st 7 26	2nd 28 0	3rd 7 34	4th 23 28	Final 65 90

 

Some Conclusions:

First of all, the obvious: the Cougars are not holding their own in the second half against top-25 level teams.  In their four wins, they outscored opponents 57-13 in the second half, even with reserves in for much of the fourth quarter in three of those games.  In their four losses, though, they have been outscored 62-30 in the second half, and 34-7 in the third quarter. 

The disparity in the third quarter is forcing the Cougars to play from behind in the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, the Cougars don’t have the capability to do that at this point in time.  Consequently, they are losing.  

So, why can’t the Cougars get the job done in the second half?  We aren’t coaches, but we can see a lot of what is happening out on the field.  The first thing we see is that the Cougars are being physically worn down.  This could be for one of two reasons.  Either the talent level  and lack of Depth is such that the Cougars are leaving it all on the field in the first half just to stay even, and the inevitable happens in the second half, or the Cougars aren’t in good enough shape. 

Another possibility is that opposing staffs are making better halftime adjustments than the Cougars’ staff is.  Both staffs always make halftime adjustments, and the one that makes the best ones usually dominates the third quarter.  That is what may to be happening with the Cougars, especially in big games.

Either way, this is fixable.  Recruiting is always a challenge.  Because of the high academic and moral standards, the Cougars are never going to play on a level field when it comes to recruiting.  While some schools  have parties and teams of “hostesses” to make recruits feel welcome on visits, BYU tells them they must remain sober and celibate, living according to the school Honor Code. 

However, If the Cougars can increase their success in the LDS segment of the recruiting pool.  Imagine the result of this game if LDS member Manti Te’o had decided to come to Provo instead of going to South Bend.  The Cougars are going to have to “put a wall around the LDS Church,” much like Miami has traditionally done with the best programs in Dade County. 

As for coaching and conditioning, it’s going to be up to the staff.  We won’t pretend to be qualified to tell them how to do their jobs, but they are going to have to take a long, hard look at what has happened this season.  This season had the potential for a BCS bowl berth, but has now turned into one that could end up as a 5 or 6-loss season. 

The next game is on the road against Georgia Tech.  Tech is struggling this year at 3-4, but they still have major college athletes, and a tricky triple-option offense.  Few teams use the triple-option anymore; consequently, it is almost impossible for the scout team to fully prepare the starters in practice.  It is in the Cougars’ favor that Tech’s wins have been over struggling teams, and that Tech has lost to anyone with even mediocre talent.  The loss to Middle Tennessee State is especially encouraging.

At this point, though, there is nothing left to play for but pride.  The bowl berth is etched in stone, thanks to the ESPN contract and the three tomato cans on the schedule after Ga Tech.  It would be nice, though, if the Cougars could beat at least one team that is considered to be relatively good. 

We think the Cougars will come through this time, but barely.

BYU vs USU Highlights

BYU vs USU from James B Ellison on Vimeo.

Cougars Give Broncos Early Christmas: Even Santa is Impressed

Imagine that it’s only September 20, but it feels like your year is dangerously close to being over, almost before it started. Inexplicably, when you wake up and go into your living room, there’s a Christmas tree with a pile of gifts under it.  Somehow, instinctively, you know that these aren’t gifts you have to wait until Christmas to open, but gifts that can be opened right now. 

You walk across your blue carpet to the tree, and notice that the labels all say, “To:  BSU Broncos.  From: BYU Cougars.  You begin to unwrap the first gift.  Your curiosity turns to boyish delight when you open the box and it has two gifts, one inside another.  The first is wrapped in black and white stripes, and it says “Illegal block: 15 yards.”  You unwrap the inside gift and it says, “Interception, courtesy of Riley Nelson.”  

You are excited now, because you know that one gift like this from the Cougars usually means more are coming in short order.  Sure enough, the next gift says, “Fumble, courtesy of Riley Nelson.”  Then, the next present says, “Interception, from your old pal Riley Nelson.”  Just as you are about to get bored, or wonder why Riley Nelson is being so nice and everybody else on the Cougars isn’t quite in the spirit, you open another gift: “Fumble, from your new friend, Michael Alisa.”  Then, you see another gift: “Hi, it’s me again, Riley Nelson.  Please accept this interception as a token of my friendship.”

You are starting to feel like something isn’t quite right, like maybe these gifts aren’t really as valuable as you think they are.  Then, you see the most valuable gift of all, hidden directly behind the tree.  It’s in a small jewelry case, as if it contained a fine diamond.  You open the case, and it says, “From one Bronco to another, please accept this failed two-point conversion attempt.”

Your face is now the picture of every child’s dream Christmas.  The new bike, the red wagon: all pale in comparison to the plethora of valuable gifts you received on this, your finest Christmas ever.  Tired from your unexpected glee, you start to doze off.  Your last thought before you go to sleep is, “How did Santa Claus and those nice people from BYU know we needed these gifts so badly?”

That, in a nutshell, is what happened on Thursday night.  The only silver lining here was the defense, which did a great job of holding Boise State to seven points.  Riley Stephenson was also great, punting the ball six times for 282 yards, an average of 47 yards per kick, and a net of 46.3 yards per kick. 

Consequently, we are going to give only two stars for the game.  The first goes to the defense, and the second goes to Stephenson. 

So, what is going on with the Cougars?  Why is an offense with a lot of returning starters coming up so flat in important games?  Coach Mendenhall and OC Brandon Doman certainly have to shoulder some of the blame here.  The last two games, it looked like opponents knew what the Cougars were running before they ran it on far too many occasions. 

Too many times, it has looked like the other team knew exactly where the ball was going and when it was going there.   The Cougars can get away with this against teams with lesser talent, but it simply doesn’t work against teams with equal or better talent, or even against teams at a slight disadvantage. 

Pure and simple, the Cougars have been out-coached the last two games.  Coach Mendenhall said all the right things after the game, and congratulated BSU for playing hard and doing things right, but he has to know that he has just let another great opportunity slip through his fingers.  The Cougars had the personnel and the schedule to make it to a BCS bowl this year.  Now, they have to run the table to have a prayer at it.  That won’t be easy, either, with games against USU, Oregon State, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech coming up in October.

Notre Dame looked like they would continue to be Team Turmoil before the season started, but have pulled it together nicely, and look like a bona fide top ten team after their performances the last two weeks.  A victory over ND as an exclamation point to a 10-2 season might be enough, but there is no way the Cougars can play like this and beat Notre Dame. 

Oregon State also looks better than they were projected to be this year.  Georgia Tech is always tough, and their triple option offense is extremely difficult to defend when they get it going.

The Cougars are contracted to play in the Poinsettia Bowl against a team from the Mountain West Conference if they don’t make it to a BCS bowl.  The only way this season could possibly end well is if the Cougars either run the table or beat the Broncos, who are in their last season in the MWC, in a rematch at the Poinsettia Bowl. 

Either way, there is a lot of work to do.  Our suggestion is that the coaching staff meets with Riley Nelson and asks him to tell them what he thinks could be done to improve this year’s model of the offense.  Nelson is the guy taking the pounding out there, and he is the guy who is apparently throwing the ball into spaces that should have open receivers, only to find opposing DB’s there instead.

Nelson will never be mistaken for having a rifle arm, but his commitment, savvy, and toughness are self-evident, and he would be a great resource for the coaching staff to pump for information.  If it takes Mendenhall, Doman, and Nelson going over tape of every offensive play over and over, until they find something, than they need to get it done.

If things continue as they are going, the Cougars may have to win their bowl game to finish over .500 for the season.  This is OK for many programs, but would be a huge disappointment considering how many players the Cougars returned this year. 

This year can still turn out to be a very good year for the Cougars, but it won’t happen if the only place the offense appears is on the side of a milk carton.

No Time to Mourn Loss to Utes

Sometimes, the other guys win.  That’s what happened in Salt Lake City.  First of all, congratulations to the Utes’ coaches and players on a hard-fought game.  For the most part, the Utes who were actually involved in the game showed the class that was lacking last year.  Unfortunately, their fans and timekeeper have become even worse.

The timekeeper cheated not once, but twice.  With eight seconds remaining and the clock stopped, he illegally started the clock to give his team an advantage on the field.  Coach Mendenhall got a referee’s attention and got the time put back on the clock.  Then, at the end of the play, the timekeeper cheated again when he let the clock run out instead of stopping it when the play ended. 

Then, the Utes’ fans ran out onto the field as though their team had just won the BCS Championship.  And in a way, I guess they had a right to feel that way.  When it comes down to brass tacks, the BYU game IS the Utes’ “BCS Championship Game.”  But I digress. 

So, to summarize, the timekeeper cheated, made it look like the game was over, causing the Utes fans to run out onto the field.  When the time was put back on the clock, and the people didn’t want to move, it should have been a 15-yard penalty.  Inexplicably, the refs didn’t call a penalty, and the Cougars had to try and kick a field goal from 51 yards. 

The field goal was blocked, and fans ran out onto the field before the game was over yet a second time.  This time, the refs got it right, calling a penalty and moving the ball closer for another try.  Riley Stephenson then missed by the smallest of margins, hitting the goalpost.  Then, of course, a Utes fan who was at least fifty years old, which is supposedly old enough to know better, started taunting Coach Mendenhall as he was being led off of the field. 

So, what can we take from this game?  First of all, the Utes players and coaches conducted themselves in a sportsmanlike manner for most of the game.  There were occasional personal fouls on both sides, but this was really a classic, hard-fought rivalry game in which both defenses made the opposing offenses sputter for large amounts of the game. 

Most of all, though, the Utes fans charged the field three times for a non-conference win over the 25^th ranked Cougars.  Sorry, Utes, but one of the best ways to show people that you are good is to act like it isn’t the first time you ever won a game after games like this one. 

Their timekeeper cheated twice: pure and simple.  Is there anyone who thinks for a second that a timekeeper for a school with an honor code, such as BYU or one of the service academies, would allow a timekeeper who cheated even once to keep his job? 

As for the game, the Cougars defeated themselves with too many false starts and personal fouls.  The offense never got going until the last few minutes of the game.  The bright side is that the Cougars were really, really good for those last few minutes.  They just weren’t quite good enough.

For the three stars, the first star goes to Kyle Van Noy.  There are a lot of people who share the blame in last Saturday’s loss, but Van Noy certainly isn’t one of them.  He had 8 total tackles, 5 solo tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup.  For his efforts, Van Noy was named College Football Performance Awards National Linebacker of the Week.

The second star goes to Cody Hoffman, with 8 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown.  Brandon Ogletree gets the third star with 12 total tackles, and 7 solo tackles.  While we were impressed with Riley Nelson’s comeback attempt, he needed to close this game out and didn’t.

The most important thing now for the Cougars is, as coaches and announcers are fond of saying this year, to not let the Utes “beat them twice.”  This game is over, and a lot of energy was expended, but Boise State is a formidable opponent, and is waiting for the Cougars on Thursday night. 

The Cougars have the daunting task of playing two rivalry games on the road in successive weeks, five days apart.  While the Cougars were playing against players, coaches, timekeepers, and fans on Saturday, the Broncos were at home playing Miami of Ohio.  They won, 39-12. 

So, the 2-1 Cougars are playing the 1-1 Boise State Broncos.  On paper, Boise State looks to be every bit as beatable this year as predicted in the opponent previews.  They lost 17 starters from last year, including all-everything QB Kellen Moore.  Nine of those losses were from the defense. 

We came across a great stat: 21 BSU players got their first ever live college game experience in the first two games, including the 5 true freshmen who were pushed into early service.  BSU is young and inexperienced at almost every position. 

BSU stayed in the game against 7^th ranked Michigan State, but MSU proved that they were probably over-ranked with a terrible loss to Notre Dame, that was a lot worse than the scoreboard showed at the end of the game.  BSU would lose 17-13, which appeared to be a moral victory until last week’s MSU/ND game exposed MSU as extremely beatable.  BSU beat Miami of Ohio, but Miami of Ohio really isn’t much of a yardstick. 

So, in BYU’s favor: they are probably a better team, and are probably extremely angry about last week’s loss, and can once again play the “no respect” card as they have fallen from the rankings.  In BSU’s favor, they are extremely tough to beat on their blue turf, and are ranked 24^th in the AP poll, and would be ranked 27^th in the coaches’ poll if it went past 25 teams. 

The bottom line, though, is that we don’t really know enough about either team to say for certain who will win.  This one is a toss-up, but we think the older, more-experienced Cougars will find a way to close this game out in the fourth quarter.

As Expected, Cougars Tame Wildcats. Bring it on, Utes

Weber State wasn’t expected to be much more than a quaint collection of used blocking sleds and tackling dummies.  They didn’t exceed anyone’s expectations on Saturday.  Riley Nelson needed all of one half to pass for 244 yards and one TD, and the Cougars won, 45-13. 

Weber State may be an instate team, but they really aren’t an instate rival.  Consequently, the Cougars were sure to say all of the right things after the game, complementing Weber State for playing so hard.  Honestly, though, this game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might indicate.  Even the fact that the Cougars were looking ahead to bitter rival Utah couldn’t stop this game from being a blowout.    

The numbers pretty much say it all.  The Cougars outgained the Wildcats in total yardage, 532-254.  The Cougars passed for 307, while the Wildcats passed for 139.  The Cougars gained 225 on the ground, while the Wildcats gained 115.  The Cougars turned the ball over twice, while the Wildcats turned it over three times.  Weber State couldn’t even beat the Cougars in punting with a 50.7 average, because Riley Stephenson punted five times for a 53.2 yard average. 

The first star of the game for the Cougars was Riley Nelson for putting the game away by halftime and not having to risk injury playing through back spasms in the second half.  The second star is Riley Stephenson, who added 6 PAT’s and a field goal to his five punts.  The third star goes to LB Spencer Hadley, with two sacks.  After all, we can’t name Kyle Van Noy the defensive star every week. 

Probably the biggest story of the weekend is that James Lark got semi-meaningful playing time and looked like a competent QB, completing 7 of 10 for 45 yards and 1 TD.  Taysom Hill was 1-3 in limited action, but did run for two touchdowns. 

 Just the fact that we have had to type “Riley Nelson” and “back spasms” in the same sentence is enough cause for concern at QB.  Thankfully, Lark has proven that the Cougars won’t be totally lost if Nelson is hurt for any period of time.  If it did happen, we may end up seeing both QB’s playing a lot.  Hopefully, though, Riley Nelson is allowed to have an uninterrupted senior year.

We apologize if the Weber State post is a bit dismissive or offhand this week, but we are thinking about the exact same thing that every Cougar fan is thinking about: the crass, vile, and overrated Utah Utes.   

We haven’t forgotten how the Utes ran up the score after the game was out of hand, and we haven’t forgotten how much the Utes and their fans celebrated at the Cougars’ expense last year.  It’s said that a little class goes a long way, but the Utes couldn’t even display that much.

You can bet that the Cougars, from coaches to players to maintenance employees, haven’t forgotten it either.  Utes call it “The Beatdown.”  We call it “The Nightmare.”   We remember 7 turnovers, 11 net yards rushing, and numerous uncalled late hits and excessive celebration by the Utes.  We remember the incessant trash-talking.  Oh, and we still remember Derrick Shelby trying to plant the Utes flag in the “Y” of “BYU.”  Funny how players who don’t have to come back the next year do and say some of the stupidest things to rivals after a victory. 

There’s a way to win with class.  You play hard, but in an atmosphere of mutual respect for your opponent, no matter how bitter a rival.  Then, there is what Utah did last year.  Did the Utes play a great game last year?  Yes.  But did they show even a thimbleful of class to go with their ocean of celebration?  Absolutely not.

Fast forward to 2012: the Cougars are 2-0, with a victory over a Pac-12 team that might yet do some damage this year, and a blowout of hopelessly overmatched Weber State.  Meanwhile, the Utes have a blowout over hopelessly overmatched Northern Colorado, and in inexplicable loss to Utah State. 

The Utes had a great time at the Cougars’ expense last year, and went 4-0 in their conference games.  After the BYU game, the Utes were 2-1 with a fairly close loss to USC, and probably thought that they were as good as the media have been telling them they were for years.  The Utes, though, proved that they just aren’t that great of a football team week in and week out, and finished with a 4-5 record in the Pac 12. 

The bottom line is that the Utes are not nearly as great as they and their fans think they are.  They don’t have the front line talent or the depth to compete with elite Pac 12 teams.  They are still a decent team, but their first year in the Pac 12 has to have burst the bubble of all but the most delusional Utes fans. 

And now, to make it worse, starting QB Jordan Wynn was injured last week, and has decided to retire from playing football.  Senior backup Jon Hays went 12-26 for 154 yards against USU after Wynn was hurt.  At this point, it’s a battle between Hays and freshman Travis Wilson to see who gets the nod.  Kyle Willingham probably won’t announce it until game time.  

Either way, it doesn’t look good for the Utes.  They will be playing a supremely motivated BYU team starting a senior QB, while the Utes will be struggling to find an identity, no matter who gets the nod at QB. 

We don’t expect a blowout, but we do expect the Cougars to play harder than even they think it is possible to play.  This game should be a grind, and we expect the Cougars to win by somewhere between 10 and 14 points. 

Most of all, when the Cougars win, there won’t be any trash-talking, excessive celebration, or attempts to vandalize the home field of the Utes.

It’s called “class.”

Cougars Make “The Pirate” Walk the Plank: Cougars Feast on WSU 30-6

All day, the media talked about the return of “The Pirate,” Mike Leach, to Provo as if it were the only relevant fact of the entire game.  Even though he never did anything with the football program except watch the games, and hasn’t really ever said much about his time in Provo, the story was treated as though it was a triumphant homecoming.  ESPN, who televise BYU games and are being sued by Leach, were the worst offenders. 

We know that everyone in the BYU locker room has too much class to say anything about it, but it had to irritate the Cougars that they were an afterthought.  As often happens, the “afterthought” found a way to spoil the party, and they made Leach look quite ineffective while doing it. 

The numbers from this “Cougars vs Cougars” game are brutal.  Leach’s offense only managed to get past the 50-yard line six times, and got past the 20 once.  For only the third time in ten years, a Mike Leach team failed to score a touchdown.  WSU gained a total of 224 yards for the whole game, which was 202 less than BYU. 

WSU was 30-45 passing, for 2 interceptions and 229 yards.  If that seems like it’s more than their total offense, it’s because it is more than their total offense.  BYU held WSU to a minus 5 yards in 16 rushes.  But that’s enough about WSU’s version of the Cougars. 

BYU had 426 yards of total offense: 41 rushes for 123 yards and an average of 3 YPC, and went 26 of 37 passing for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Individually, Riley Nelson was 25 of 36 for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while Taysom Hill, who appears to have the inside track on “quarterback of the future” for the Cougars, threw for an 18-yard touchdown on his first and only pass.  

Kaneakua Friel caught 6 passes for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, bringing welcome production at tight end.  Cody Hoffman was off to a good start with 3 catches for 46 yards, but left in the first quarter with a quad contusion.  Skyler Ridley helped pick up the slack with 6 receptions for 54 yards and 1 touchdown.  Michael Alisa led the rushing attack with 13 carries for 54 yards, while seven players got carries, including both quarterbacks. 

On defense, Sophomore CB Jordan Johnson returned an interception 64 yards in his first start.  Less flashy but more important, though, was an interception by Uona Kaveniga to spoil WSU’s first drive.  After that, WSU never got into the red zone again. 

Kyle Van Noy picked up where he left off from last year.  He “only” had four total tackles, but he had two tackles for loss (TFL) for a total of 13 yards, and was his usual disruptive presence.  Brandon Ogletree had 8 total tackles, 4 solo and 1 TFL for 1 yard.  Kaveinga had 5 total tackles with 3 solos, and Spencer Hadley, Jordan Johnson, and Joe Sampson all had 4 tackles. 

Some of the play was sloppy, but the officiating was far worse.  If it wasn’t for penalties at crucial times, this game could have been over after the first half.  WSU’s first field goal happened because of two consecutive personal foul penalties, one on Jordan Johnson and one on Joe Sampson, put WSU in field goal position.  As often happens, the penalties seemed to even themselves out after BYU got far enough ahead that it was obvious WSU wasn’t going to make a comeback, but BYU still had 10 penalties for 112 yards, while WSU had 8 for 73 yards. 

All in all, though, it was a great evening in Provo.  This year, instead of giving out mythical game balls, we are going to take a page from hockey’s book and name three stars for the game.  The only difference is that we are only going to focus on one team, BYU.

The first star is Riley Nelson.  The quarterback who “doesn’t have a strong arm” managed to go 25-36, and showed the usual great leadership skills that everyone in Provo has come to expect.  His skill set probably doesn’t translate to the NFL, but it’s safe to say that Riley Nelson is going to be a leader, wherever he goes after his playing days are over.

The second star goes to Kaneakua Friel.  Friel, pretty much overlooked in the “race” for playing time at TE, became the TE the Cougars have been looking for.  We hope he can do it every week now, but this week was a great way for him to announce his presence to the world.

The third star goes to the entire defense.  We were tempted to give it to Kyle Van Noy, but this was a great and balanced performance by a bunch of guys who didn’t seem to ever lose contain on anyone the entire night, and basically made life miserable for the vaunted Mike Leach offense. 

In our preview, we predicted that this team would be one that showed maturity, balance, and discipline.  We said that there weren’t going to be a lot of flashy players, but that this year’s model could be a very, very good Cougar team.  That is exactly what we got last Thursday. 

This team looks like it could be one of “those” Cougar teams that we talk about for a long time.  We expected this team to have a lot more trouble with Pac 12 athletes than they did.  The fact that the Cougars physically dominated a Pac 12 team, even one that is probably a bit challenged, is very encouraging. 

Weber State is up next, and should be a great chance to get ready for Utah.  Bronco Mendenhall won’t let the Cougars look ahead, but the reality is that the Cougars are probably hoping to put this one away early and keep everyone healthy for the two games after Weber State. 

That would be fine with us. 

 

Football is Almost Here

Finally, after an off-season that was marred by scandals or impending scandals at four major programs, it’s time for the games to be played on the field, where they belong. 

Lately, it’s difficult to tell who’s on probation without a scorecard, so here’s the short version.  Ohio State, North Carolina, and Penn State are not eligible to go to a bowl  this season.  USC is now eligible again after serving two years of probation.  Miami is still waiting for the NCAA hammer to come down, and Oregon is under the microscope.  2011 foe UCF is also ineligible for a bowl, but that’s something like telling a 5-11 point guard that he is “ineligible” to play center in the NBA.

This weekend, the Cougars will have the 8:15 Thursday (10:15 in the east, where most of the major media outlets are headquartered) time slot all to themselves, and will share the spotlight with only three or four really competitive or important games this weekend.  Michigan vs Alabama will be the showcase game this weekend, followed by Michigan State vs Boise State, and SEC contender South Carolina vs Vanderbilt.  Notre Dame vs Navy will be grossly over-hyped, because it is Notre Dame, and they are in Ireland, but it won’t be much of a game.

Luckily, due to the drama around Washington State coach Mike Leach, the Cougars vs Cougars game will get the publicity it deserves, instead of being relegated to second-tier status.  It will be a great chance for the BYU Cougars to spoil the Mike Leach Comeback Party, and show what should be a decent national audience just what they are capable of doing.  We wish Leach well the other eleven games, but would like to see him start out with a resounding “thud” on Thursday. 

The big news of the week is the release of the depth chart for the WSU game.  Though it’s short on surprises, the dearth of information coming out of Fort Mendenhall has made it an object of great anticipation.  There are plenty of experienced, familiar faces at most positions, and there really don’t appear to be many holes in this team.

On offense, senior Riley Nelson gets the nod at QB, as if there was any doubt.  He will be backed up by senior James Lark.  Junior Michael Alisa will start at RB, with senior David Foote and sophomore Iona Pritchard backing him up.  The depth chart didn’t include FB, but it’s probably safe to pencil senior Zed Mendenhall in, with Pritchard backing him up.

The passing game will go on as expected, with junior JD Falslev in the slot, backed up by Foote, with junior Cody Hoffman and sophomore Ross Apo at the WR positions, with juniors Skyler Ridley and Dallin Cutler at backup.  There is a mild surprise at TE, with junior Kaneakua Friel starting and junior Austin Holt backing up.

On the interior line, we have freshman Ryker Mathews at LT, backed up by sophomore Michael Yeck.  Junior Houston Reynolds will start at LG or C; with sophomore Famika Anae at LG or sophomore Blair Tushaus at C, depending on where Reynolds is playing.   On the right side of the line, it’s more traditional, with senior Braden Hansen at RG, backed up by sophomore Brock Stringham, and senior Braden Brown at RT, backed up by junior Manaaki Vaitai. 

On defense, it starts with the DL, and this year’s model looks good.  Senior Romney Fuga starts at NT, backed up by senior Simote Vea.  At RDE, senior Russell Tialavea starts, backed up by Ezekiel Ansah, while senior Eathyn Manumaleuna starts at LDE, with junior Mike Muehlmann at backup.

It’s no secret that the Cougars are extremely strong at LB this year.  At Strongside Linebacker (SLB), junior Spencer Hadley starts, backed up by sophomore Alani Fua.  Senior Uona Kaveinga gets the nod at “Mike” Linebacker (MLB), backed up by sophomore Zac Stout.  At Buck Linebacker (BLB), senior Brandon Ogletree starts, with freshman Manoa Pikula at backup.  All-everything junior Kyle Van Noy returns at Weakside Linebacker (WLB), backed up by freshman Jherremya Leuta-Douyere. 

If there’s any area for concern, it’s the secondary, but they could surprise a lot of people this year.  Sophomore Jordan Johnson beat out senior Robbie Buckner and freshman Micah Hannemann at field corner (FC).  Senior Preston Hadley gets the nod at boundary corner (BC), backed up by junior Kkye Po Vey.  Junior Daniel Sorenson starts at KAT safety, while sophomore Craig Bills backs him up.  At free safety (FS), senior Joe Sampson gets the nod, with senior Mike Hague backing him up.

On special teams, Hoffman and Falslev will return kicks, while Falslev will return punts.  Junior Justin Sorenson returns as kicker, and senior Riley Stephenson returns as the punter.  Senior Reed Hourning will be the long snapper, and Falslev is the holder on kicks.

So, what does it mean to us as Cougar fans?  We see a mature team that will represent the church, school, and program well.  There aren’t a lot of flashy individual players on this team, and Kyle Van Noy is probably going to be the only Cougar who gets a lot of publicity this year, but this is a very solid team, filled with experienced players. 

A great example of this is the DL, which has five seniors and one junior in six depth chart spots.  A total of seven seniors start on defense, with two (and a half) on offense.   This year, the onus will be on the defense to provide most of the senior leadership for the team. 

That’s fine with us.  The Cougars are going to be a team nobody wants to play this year.  They are chronically underrated, which gives them a great “intangible” advantage against most teams.  They aren’t flashy, but are solid.  They won’t do anything spectacular, but they will make opposing offenses look bad.  Riley Nelson might not be a prototypical QB, but he is one of the best leaders the Cougars have ever had.

A lot of teams that lose to the Cougars this year will blame themselves for “self-destructing on offense,” or “giving the game away on defense,” but we will know what really happened.  If the Cougars can keep Riley Nelson healthy, they can win ten or more games this year.  After that, it’s up to bowl politics. 

We like this team a lot, and we like the Cougars’ chances of being THE surprise team in college football this year.  Check back next week to see if we still feel this way.

Last updated by Jim at August 30, 2012.

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