The BYU Men’s Hoop team improved to 8-0 tonight taking down a solid Utah State squad on a neutral floor (the ES Arena in SLC) by the score of 68-63. Since there are so many games in the basketball season I figured this discussion thread could be the place to talk about the team and the various games until I feel like posting again.

Here is my take on the hoops team this year: (more…)

Ok, game’s over and BYU got crushed. Here’s my conclusion: Live by the Max, Die by the Max. BYU had six turnovers and Max Hall was credited for all of them. That isn’t a good way to win a big game.

Congrats to the Utes (and to the MWC) for another pending BCS game invite.

And congrats to the Cougs for a third straight 10-win regular season.

And best wishes to Mike Reed who looked like he was seriously injured at the end of the game.

BYU football took care of the Air Force Falcons in impressive fashion today out in Colorado Springs. The final score was 38-24. With a solid win like this the Cougars appear ready to give Utah all they can handle next week in Salt Lake City. Plus, the BCS ranking for the Cougs ought to jump nicely this week with a win against an 8-2 team. BYU needs a win next week and a Boise State loss to have a legitimate chance at a BCS bowl — not out of the question but not likely either.

In other BYU sports news, the Men’s Basketball team beat Long Beach State last night in the season opener. Most of the team played poorly but senior star Lee Cummard put the team on his back and carried it to victory. BYU is hoping this will be the year they finally win a game in the NCAA tournament again.

BYU dispatched the woeful SDSU Aztecs in Provo today by a score of 41-12. Going 9-1 ain’t bad. But this is the last easy game of the year for the Cougs with next week’s game at league title contending Air Force and the final game after that at undefeated Utah.

I thought the Cougs looked pretty good overall today. Outside linebacker David Nixon had a stellar game and the defense held its own nicely against a team that scored a bunch of points against CSU. I am suspicious of the stubbornness of offensive coordinator Robert Anae. He seemed determined to run and run and run even though it was clear that the Aztecs were determined to stop the run at all costs. The pass plays were open all day so I don’t understand why BYU didn’t just take what SDSU was giving more consistently. The BYU run game has been unimpressive all year to begin with. While Fui Vakapuna is looking better this year Harvey Unga has looked a step slower than last season. It seems to me that Anae ought to just admit that we are better off going pass first and run second with this team. Collie and Pitta are among the best receivers BYU has ever had so why not just use them first and then use the run to keep defenses honest?

But this is mostly nitpicking. BYU is 9-1 fer cryin’ out loud.

Now as to the rest of the season. If BYU wins out there is still a chance at an invite to a BCS game. It would probably require a loss by Boise State but with the Broncos still needing to defeat Nevada in Reno and Fresno State at home that is not out of the question. I am not sure I would like to see BYU go up against a top SEC or Big 12 team or USC for that matter but I think we could do just fine against the top teams in the ACC, Big East, and even Big 10.

But winning out is no cake walk — indeed it doesn’t really even seem likely considering the weaknesses this BYU team has shown this season — but that is what I’m pulling for at this point. Chime in ye Coug fans.

Another week, another win. BYU 45, CSU 42. And yet more reason to be skeptical of this BYU team. The defense still looks snail-slow; the offense put up lots of points but turned the ball over enough to keep Rams in the game throughout; and the special teams weren’t all that special with a fumble and several penalties.

What did you think?

BYY pulled off the victory today against the UNLV Rebels but it was a close call. The final score was 42-35. I suppose we shouldn’t complain about 42 points scored bust I thought the offense looked just slightly above average. The defense is looking painfully slow these days. It appears that BYU has traded the “bend don’t break” defense for a “bend and break” defense. Not a good sign. In the past two years BYU has gotten better and better throughout the season. This team doesn’t appear to be getting better from game to game. If the Cougs want a chance at winning the MWC they had better fix that problem pronto.

Feel free to discuss the game in progress.

[Update] Well it is over. BYU got their butts handed to them in Fort Worth by the TCU Horned Frogs. The final score was TCU 32 BYU 7. TCU was simply better tonight in all facets of the game. This game is the culmination of the disconcerting trend for the Cougs that started with Utah State and continued with New Mexico. BYU didn’t look nearly as strong as their ranking would have indicated in those games and they showed that tonight.

At least BYU will not have as much pressure on them going forward. It will be interesting to see how the team responds over the next several weeks.

Discuss.

Yeah sure, BYU did beat the Utah State Aggies 34-14. Sure, it wasn’t ever really close. Still, based on expectations it seemed like a moral victory for the Ags rather than another blowout for the Cougs.

Reminds me of last night’s VP debate. Sure, Biden won handily but Palin stayed scrappy and got a moral victory of sorts out of it.

It is probably a very good thing for BYU. It will humble them. The BYU offense was fairly weak (by BYU standards). The kicking game was weak (two missed field goals??). And the defense gave up two late touchdowns. BYU needs work still. But getting humbled in a win is always better than being humbled by a loss so the Cougs roll on. I expect a better game next week.

Thoughts on the game?

The game today was sort of a letdown after BYU annihilated UCLA 59-0.

BYU only beat Wyoming 44-0.

Ok, kidding aside — BYU is going to be in the top ten this time tomorrow and with good reason. To me the most memorable image in the game was Max Hall throwing yet another touchdown pass to Austin Collie and simply turning to walk toward the sideline with an almost “ho-hum” demeanor about him. Seriously, it is getting that way. Throwing touchdown passes is just what Max Hall does. And he seemingly does it at will.

Now having said that, the offense was a bit off kilter this game. In the first quarter Max was not very accurate but he and his team mates really got things rolling in the second quarter. The third quarter started off great but then the offense was forced to punt twice. I’m sure Max and his pals would have liked to get back on track but Coach Mendenhall pretty much had to yank them with route being on and all.

The defense gave up plenty of yards but they seem to have the “bend but don’t break” thing really working for them. Every time the Cowboys got close to scoring the Cougs forced a turnover. In fact the defense scored two touchdowns of their own this week. As a result the first team defense (and the backups starting in the third quarter) notched their second shutout in a row. That is impressive. The combined score of the last two games is BYU 103, opposition 0.

It’s a good time to be a BYU football fan.

… and 59-0 as a final.

BYU steamrolled UCLA today. It was total domination in nearly every aspect of the game. I’d say all the annoying carping about the way the last game ended ought to fade away after today.

It wasn’t a perfect game but it was nearly perfect. It’s a fun time to be a Cougar fan.

Phew! A non-conference road win… It’s about time.

BYU pulled out a win today over the Washington Huskies by blocking an extra point attempt that would have tied the game as time wound down. Good times, good times…

Just as I was about to kick a hole in my TV in frustration over the atrociously biased Pac 10 refs (who had just swallowed their whistles on a blatant hold — a hold that likely prevented a drive-ending sack no less), just at that moment the refs blew the whistle on UW quarterback Jake Locker when he hurled the ball into the air after scoring a last second touchdown. The penalty meant that with the score at 27-28 the Huskies had to kick the extra point from an extra 15 yards out. In shades of the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl the Cougs promptly blocked the kick and won the game. Good times.

Here are a few things I learned from watching this game: (more…)

When Nevada backed out of their scheduled season opening game with BYU several months ago BYU was left in a bad spot. They needed to schedule a home game for August 30 with a good opponent. The problem is that most schools are not super anxious to come to Provo to face the Cougs — largely because most schools realize it is hard to beat BYU in Provo these days. So BYU reportedly took the best game it could get. That meant that Division 1AA (FCS) powerhouse Northern Iowa.

In the end BYU took care of the NIU Panthers 41-17. But the game was no thing of beauty for the Cougs on Saturday. BYU actually did have an excellent first half. It was the dominating performance one would expect from a top 20 division 1A (FBS) school over a good school from a lower division with the Cougs leading 27-3 going into the break. But the third quarter was a disaster for BYU. After losing 4 fumbles the Cougars gave up 14 points and scored none in the 3rd and the score heading in to the 4th quarter was 27-17. BYU righted the ship quickly enough and got those 14 points back but the game did show that BYU is has a way to go in its “Quest For Perfection” (the team motto in 2008).

Here are some random thoughts and observations about the game:

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Football season is upon us.

Woohoo!

As I have in years past I will be posting on the BYU football team this season and recapping the games. But before I kick off my own posts on the Cougs I figured I would give you some links to the best day to day BYU football resources I have found: (more…)

I haven’t posted on the BYU men’s basketball team this season. I have to admit that I have been afraid to get my hopes up. But at 25-6 and ranked in the top 25 in the country I guess it is safe to say that BYU is pretty good this year. The team started off hot, beating then #6 Louisville in an early season game and giving #1 North Carolina a real scare the next night. The Cougs found themselves in the top 20 and a loss to #10 Michigan State didn’t worry too many people. But then things started getting a little ugly. First there was the loss at unremarkable Boise State, then the big loss at having-a-down-year Wake Forest, and then there was a blow out loss at UNLV by something like 40 points. It wasn’t looking pretty. But somewhere along the line BYU found a team leader in rail-thin junior swing-man Lee Cummard. Cummard decided to step up and be The Man on this team his ascendancy catapulted the flagging team on to a major winning streak. Cummard finished the regular season as the co player of the year in the Mountain West Conference (along with JR Giddens from New Mexico) and the Cougs won their second straight outright MWC conference title.

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Jay Posner over at the San Diego Union Tribune broke the news today:

The network devoted to the Mountain West Conference has not been available on any satellite service since its inception in September 2006. But Jeff Schemmel, San Diego State director of athletics, said today DirecTV will offer The Mtn. beginning Aug. 1.

Rock. On. (more…)

Did you see the Las Vegas Bowl tonight? Holy Smokes! We were done. You could have put a fork in the Cougs with 3 seconds left and an easy field goal lined up for the UCLA win. We were as done as we were against Utah I think. But like the Utah game an absolutely astonishing turn of events led to another BYU win. (A blocked kick this time around.) Congratulations Cougs! You overcame getting manhandled by the UCLA defensive front and a bad coaching decision at the end of the first half to get an improbable win.

So with basically the whole offense coming back next year do you think the Cougs will be in the top 20 in the preseason polls next year? A BCS bowl game run will definitely be in the air next season…

Apparently there are a lot of Utah Ute fans who are having a cow over a post-game comment by BYU receiver Austin Collie. Collie is the receiver who caught the long pass from Max Hall on 4th and 18 in the waning moments of the game on Saturday. That unlikely play eventually led to the Cougar victory. As far as I can tell here is what Collie said to a radio journalist in the euphoria after the game:

“I wouldn’t say it was lucky. We executed the play well. We should have had another one (TD). Obviously, if you do what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it. Magic happens.”

The sports message boards and Utah radio airwaves have been abuzz with debate over this comment. Journalist Mike Sorenson said: “That implies a higher power favors one team over another and that his team is favored for being more righteous.” Is it just sour grapes or is there something wrong with what Collie said?

(I lean toward the former…)

As if the big BYU-Utah football game were not enough, the still-undefeated men’s hoops team knocked off #6 Louisville last night in Las Vegas and will play #1 North Carolina tonight in the finals of the Las Vegas Invitational. Days like today are a BYU sports fan’s dream come true. The only question this morning is whether it will be a good dream or not by the end of the day…
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BYU has taken care of business the last three weeks, but I am not yet convinced this team is going to prove to be top 25 material this year.

Three weeks ago the Cougs made it out of Albuquerque with a win. It was not pretty — the Cougs gave up a couple of late touchdowns on turnovers — but a W if is a W. Here are some highlights those of you not living in Utah (essentially the only place one can see the games again this season):

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BYU football righted the ship this afternoon, manhandling the Air Force Falcons 31-6.

It was by no means a perfect game for BYU — the Cougs still turned the ball over twice and had too many penalties — but it was more than enough to get the job done. The defense decided to show up today and did their best to convince BYU fans that the Tulsa debacle was an anomaly. Max Hall and the offense continued to impress and tight end Dennis Pitta, freshman running back Harvey Unga, and juniors Manase Tonga and Michael Reed all had big games. (If I were an opposing MWC defensive coordinator I would not be looking forward to trying to stop BYU for the next few years with that kind of young talent on offense.)

This was a good win for BYU. It puts the Cougs atop the conference standings and knocks out a 3-0 team. With the other top MWC contenders (TCU and Utah) coming to Provo this year the Cougs seem to have the inside track at winning the conference at this point. If BYU can continue to dominate at home all they need to do is avoid an upset in places like Albuquerque next week. Now that BYU has proven they remember how to win we’ll see if this team knows how to win away from home next Saturday.

BTW — Anybody actually see the game? I listened online to the KSL radio broadcast. The fine folks at Comcast and The Mtn. decided to not even sell an internet streaming video of this game… lovely.

Anyway, sound off on the game or team Coug fans.

I didn’t see the game this week. I don’t get CSTV on my cable provider. Sounds like turnovers and penalties killed us again.

Sound off or vent here if you want Coug fans.

So it’s over. UCLA beat BYU today 27-17. The loss can be pinned on turnovers and penalties but the officiating seemed to play into both of those things as well.

BYU’s first turnover was the least controversial of the three. Max Hall tried to force a pass to Austin Collie and got picked off. The UCLA corner returned the interception for a touchdown. Ouch. The second turnover, a fumble, was highly questionable because it looked clear to me that the BYU tight end had a knee on the ground well before the ball came loose. In fact it looked to me like it was his knee hitting the ground that jarred the ball loose. The third turnover was equally suspicious with Max Hall losing the ball as he was being sacked. His arm was cocked back and moving forward just as the defender grabbed at the ball from behind him. The ball flew 5+ yards forward but the officials ruled it a fumble. Of course in both cases the reviews came down in favor of the Pac 10 team. (The Pac 10 is becoming well known for shoddy officiating (home cookin’?) and I can see why.)
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So far so good with my pre-season predictions for BYU football. I predicted a BYU victory and that part was right. I predicted a final score of 16-9 so a 20-7 actual score wasn’t too far off. What I didn’t predict was that this was never a close game at all. BYU totally dominated Arizona on Saturday in ways the final score just doesn’t reveal. Here is what I saw on Saturday:

Defense

It was a dominating performance by the defense. The seven points given up came in the waning seconds of the game. The Cougs were just that close to pitching a shutout. The defense is living up to the hype so far. That is good news to Cougar fans and bad news to opposing teams.
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Ok, I can tell that fans are itching to make their predictions about the upcoming season — they started putting them up prematurely in the 2007 Season Preview thread. So here is the place to make your predictions for the upcoming football season. Here are mine:

Sat, Sep 1 Arizona ……………………W — 16-9
Sat, Sep 8 at UCLA …………………..L — 17-24
Sat, Sep 15 at Tulsa …………………W — 31-10
Sat, Sep 22 Air Force ……………….W — 35-17
Sat, Sep 29 at New Mexico ……….W — 24-14
Sat, Oct 13 at UNLV …………………..W — 45-13
Sat, Oct 20 Eastern Washington W — 52-10
Sat, Oct 27 at San Diego State…. W — 38-17
Sat, Nov 3 Colorado State …………W — 27-24
Thu, Nov 8 TCU ……………………………L — 35-31
Sat, Nov 17 at Wyoming …………… W — 34-21
Sat, Nov 24 Utah………………………. W — 35-28

So there you have it. I’m going with 10-2 in the regular season. I figure 10-2 will likely at least tie BYU for 1st the conference and send them to another bowl game which I predict they will win to go 11-2 overall on the year just like last year. I optimistically predicted a 9-3 regular season in 2006 and the Cougs outdid me. I hope they do it again this year.

What are your predictions?

In 2005 and 2006 I covered BYU football over at Bloggernacle Times. But since that blog is now defunct, the Thang is launching a new sports category so I can keep my sports blogging hobby going.

2006 Season Recap

BYU started the 2006 season with high hopes but lost two of their first three games in heartbreaking fashion. (They lost at Arizona on a last second field goal and a Boston College in double overtime.) The Cougs then went on to rattle off 10 straight wins including beating top 20 TCU in Texas and crushing the Oregon Ducks in the Las Vegas Bowl. This Spring graduated senior quarterback John Beck was taken early in the second round of the NFL draft by the Dolphins and looks to be the QB of the future in Miami. Several other graduated Cougs are vying for permanent spots on other NFL teams now too.

2007 Outlook (more…)