{"id":431,"date":"2007-09-02T20:12:50","date_gmt":"2007-09-03T03:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2007\/09\/one-pac-10-team-down-one-to-go\/431\/"},"modified":"2020-01-09T05:54:15","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T12:54:15","slug":"one-pac-10-team-down-one-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2007\/09\/one-pac-10-team-down-one-to-go\/431\/","title":{"rendered":"One Pac-10 team down, one to go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"So far so good with my pre-season predictions for BYU football<\/a>. 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<\/a> Arizona on Saturday in ways the final score just doesn’t reveal. Here is what I saw on Saturday:<\/p>\n

Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

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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\nSpecial Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yikes. I suspected this aspect of the team might lead to a loss or two this year and based on Saturday that looks even more likely. Punting was erratic to put it kindly. Place kicker Mitch Payne missed a mid range field goal and the team botched an extra point later. Let’s hope the Cougs can address this problem quickly.<\/p>\n

Offense<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was full speed ahead on offense. Max Hall was solid and certainly better than Arizona expected. The O-Line was excellent in pass defense and in opening holes for runners. The running backs — particularly freshman Harvey Unga — killed the Wildcats both running and catching passes. The tight ends lived up to the praise they have been getting in practice and the receivers didn’t drop any passes. No one in their right mind expected the BYU offense to already be as good as it was 2nd half of last season but I’d say they were better the first game of 2007 than they were in the first game of 2006. That is a good sign.<\/p>\n

Coaches<\/strong><\/p>\n

The team was well prepared. Coach Anae had the offensive play calling dialed in nicely. The team’s biggest weaknesses (read: kicking game) were minimized as much as could be hoped for. Nice work all around by the BYU coaching staff.
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\nNext up: UCLA<\/strong><\/p>\n

I predicted BYU would lose this game and I still think that is a safest bet. But after the performance on Saturday I now think the chances of the Cougs winning this game are much higher than I initially anticipated. In fact I would pick BYU to win if the game were to be played in Provo. But since the game in is Pasadena I think the Bruins have a 60-65% chance of taking this game. I won’t be surprised if BYU wins, but I still don’t think it is more likely than not. <\/p>\n

If BYU does win the game the Cougs could have an undefeated season and a BCS bowl in the cards so the team will be plenty motivated. Should be a good one on Saturday. Go Cougs!