Season Changing Game for Texas and BYU

Who knew so much could ride on week 2 of a young college football season. Yet here we are, Texas visiting Provo, UT with both programs having very different starts to the 2013 campaign.

Its hard to imagine BYU laying another egg like they did last weekend in Charlottesville. Then again, it was hard to imagine the Cougars laying that first one against an ACC bottom dweller.

Can Taysom Hill be much worse than 13-40 passing? Doubt it. Will BYU be held to only 16 points after running a whopping 93 plays? Doubtful. Does BYU have what it takes to mount a season changing upset tomorrow in Provo? Yes, they do. Here's why tomorrow is such a huge game, for both programs.

Stakes for Texas:

Texas has hopes of being in the national title conversation this year. Being in the epicenter of Longhorn nation, its front and center every day in San Antonio. Fans truly believe they are back after being "down" the last couple of years, by UT standards anyways. Their quarterback situation still continues to be a little on the fence, but David Ash seems to have taken the role for good. Rumors have started about Mack Browns future in the burnt orange. In order for those rumors to settle the longhorns need a special season. This game, against an above average defenser on the road, will really show what Texas is made of this year. A win instill confidence and demeanor of a championship caliber team. A loss puts the staff back to the drawing board and a national skeptical cloud over south Texas. Trust me, when it rains down here, it pours.

Stakes for BYU:

In short, their season. I know its only the second game of a young season, but the season didn't exactly get off to the start they had hoped. A win against a ranked opponent for your first home game would be a huge spring board and confidence booster. A loss, and you have doubts about the new regime in Provo. A loss would also cause the fan base to almost certainly all but call for Taysom Hill's head on a silver platter. Don't joke yourself Cougar fans, its true. We put our quarterbacks under more scrutiny than CNN does a republican presidential candidate. This game cannot be overstated as to its importance on where BYU goes the rest of the 2013 season. An identity has to be realized at some point this year, why not start on September 7 while you still have time.

Prediction:

This game has had me on edge ever since last Saturday. I've had days where i thought BYU didn't stand a chance. I've had days where I couldn't see any way Texas walked away victorious. Today, I just have to pick the winner.

BYU has too much to lose in this game, and so does Texas. Due to the magnitude for a program trying to rebuild, I have to give the cougars hunger an advantage. Hill cannot, and will not, be as bad with his arm tomorrow. Williams will continue to be a weapon. If Hoffman suits up, his presence alone give the team in blue at least 10 more points whether its him in the end-zone or the decoy presence creating another score.

While the Longhorns have the talent, the coach and the money, I don't think they have as much hunger as a team starring down the barrel of a lost season.

BYU: 24     Texas: 20

This Guy Senses an Upset

Call me naive. Call me crazy. But also call me loyal, strong, and true. This blogger is picking BYU to pull off the upset against #15 Texas Saturday night in Provo. (Don't worry, I don't have any money on it.)

My prediction: BYU 33, Texas 17.

Make no mistake, last week's ugly loss to UVA was difficult to get over. I am still having nightmares about the head-scratching 3rd down play call that turned into a game-changing interception. Cougar fans have become far too used to close games going the other way, and in Charlottesville BYU managed once again to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

But I refuse to let hope die. I refuse to relegate myself to pessimism and hyper-criticism. To be sure, there are many areas upon which this team needs to improve, but this is a talented football team that just might have some lightning in a bottle stored up somewhere under the bleachers in Lavell Edwards Stadium. Here's why I think the stars will align for a huge win for the Cougs:

1.   Go Fast vs. Go Hard. Texas, like the Cougars, has adopted an up-tempo scheme, and that should play to BYU's advantage. The Cougars' defense has been stellar for the past few years, and they have been practicing against an up tempo offense all off-season. I suspect that BYU's defense will be much better prepared for the fast pace, both in strategy and conditioning. Let's also not forget about the altitude and how that will affect a visiting team's ability to run a lot of plays.

2.   Weather the Storm. As luck would have it, the weather report indicates that there may be thunderstorms starting a few hours before the game and going until 7:00. (In fact, the 30% chance of precipitation matches last week's report that almost made my wife and I leave our umbrella in the car when we parked at the stadium in Charlottesville last week). While BYU certainly did not shine in the rain last week, a downpour would be to the Cougars' advantage since they have already experienced playing in those conditions.

3.  Hoffman to the Rescue. The impact of WR Cody Hoffman's absence last week cannot be understated. As I observed after last week's loss, QB Taysom Hill did not connect with any receiver more than 3 times against Virginia as the passing game was never able to get in a rhythm. All that will change this week as Hill will have BYU's best offensive threat in the past few years back to tear up the Longhorn defense. I predict that Hoffman catches at least 8 passes for over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Hoffman there to keep the defense honest, Sophomore sensation RB Jamaal Williams should be able to run for over 100 yards with half the carries he had last week.

So, there you have it Cougar fans. I'm in full-on Kool-Aid mode, and I'm loving every second of it.

What are your predictions?

Lessons from the Rain

Perhaps the flooding of the visitor's tunnel in
Charlottesville on Saturday was an omen.

It's hard to glean lessons from a game like the one BYU played today against the Virginia Cavaliers. All season openers have kinks to work out, but by all measurements, this game was destined to be ugly. The Cougar offense was behind the eightball to start, with record-setting receiver Cody Hoffman out due to a hamstring injury. When the game started it was a choking 90 degrees, but it felt like 115 due to the humidity. And, of course, there was the thunderstorm that delayed the game, evacuated the entire stadium, and drenched the field.

It's easy to dismiss a close road loss like this one to the freak conditions that dominated the game, but there are a three observations I made from stands at the game today that I think are worth noting. (In the interest of full disclosure, my family and I left after the rain delay and watched the second half from home.). Here they are:

1.  Go Fast Go Hard Backfires. The much-anticipated fast-paced offense had it's moments--particularly in the fourth quarter drive that ended in Taysom Hill running it in for a touchdown--but the offensive line was clearly not up to the task. UVa's front seven dominated the line of scrimmage and gave the Cougars' passing and running game fits. The O-line looked tired and weak for most of the second half, and I suspect it was because they were exhausted.

2.  Passing Woes. The O-line was not the only unit to blame for poor execution in the new offense. Taysom Hill looked a lot like his predecessor Riley Nelson, chucking the ball under, over, and around his receivers, even when he had a reasonable amount of time to set his feet and find an open receiver. Hill clearly felt Hoffman's absence and had a hard time finding a consistent replacement target; no single receiver had more than three catches and Ross Apo lead the team with 59 yards through the air only because he caught Hill's Hail Mary to end the game. The passing game is expected to suffer in such wet conditions, but Hill was inaccurate even before the rain came and had his best passing series well into the downpour. (Side note: I was shocked that Anae went away from the swing pass to the running backs that was very effective in the first quarter. Other side note: Rolling Hill out had advantages like Hill occasionally picking up yards with his legs and taking pressure of the O-line, but from the bleachers I could see that when rolling out, Hill overlooked many wide open receivers due to his limited vision as he runs to the sideline.).

3.  Mitch Matthews Underutilized. While the 6'6" wide receiver had no receptions, Matthews caught three balls out of bounds, two of which were highly contested and poorly thrown. And he made the catches look easy. It is surprising and disappointing that Hill was unable to connect with Matthews for at least one completion.

These are a few observations that I feel warrant attention, but I should stress that I don't think it's time to panic. I suspect that many BYU fans will spend this week demanding that backup quarterback Ammon Olsen be given a chance to start, given Olsen's reportedly great performance in fall camp and Hill's subpar opener. But this game really was a freakish set of circumstances, so I hope and expect that Mendenhall and company will stay the course.

2013 Is Finally Here

This Saturday cannot come fast enough. I know that is what you are all thinking.

You've been thinking it since Kyle Van Noy last pranced into the end zone on that fateful December evening to clinch BYU's bowl victory. We've been itching for it ever since Ziggy Ansah was selected 5th overall to the Detroit Lions, only to see his first professional series end in a pick-6 f
or the Ghanaian native.

Oh.... My....Gosh.... BYU Football starts this weekend! I love college football season. This year promises to be a fun and exciting year for cougar faithful.

Big Bro will be attending opening day for the Cougars of BYU. He'll be bringing his 3 little ones to their first ever BYU football game experience. Its too bad its not at LES, but hey he's still getting going while their young.

Here's to an amazing year for BYU, and all of football across this great country of ours.

Predictions and analysis of this weeks game will be posted throughout the week, so stay tuned.


GO COUGARS!!!

Stubborn Mistakes by Rose Cost Cougars Big

Let me preface this posting with this. I love Dave Rose as the basketball coach at BYU. He has done so much for this program and will continue to do so. However, he has some major flaws that some people just aren't willing to say.

Against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, superior teams I might add, BYU has gotten out coached. Plain and simple.

While I believe and honestly know that Dave Rose is an excellent coach, he has made some enormous blunders as the leader of this team. Those mistakes cost BYU their shot at key victories this season.

BYU all season long is known for not committing to one particular form of defense. They rotate between manning up, a match up zone, 2-3 zone even a 1-3-1 zone. This is usually done by teams that can't "hang their hate on one particular thing," as one ESPN announcer mentioned during a recent broadcast. However, BYU is in zone a majority of their games. This is the biggest downfall of this team

Gonzaga time and time again found Kelly Olynyk in the soft spot of the zone and he made them pay. Gonzaga's big man lit the Cougars up, and not just in his scoring. Olynyk made quick decision at the free throw line, the soft spot of all zone defenses. His passing was crisp and quick. His shots were on the money, and his drives were strong and with a purpose.

Despite this showcase of shredding a zone, Dave Rose continued to go with it down the stretch, even when BYU made their final move with about 10 minutes left in the game. This was a fatal coaching decision. BYU had not stopped the 7 footer from beating them all game, yet they invited him to camp in the same spot over and over again, and he made them pay over and over again.

I am not sure why BYU thought that zone would work? It hadn't before against weaker competition, what did you expect from a legitimate top 5 team? Gonzaga is extremely well coached and disciplined, something BYU has to work on.

Secondly, Tyler Haws has had difficulty getting open, especially against the better teams on the cougars schedule. Which leads to my next problem with coach Roses offensive approach. Haws inability to get open.

While some may place this blame on Haws, I see it as Roses mistake. The same play is run at least 15 times to get Haws open, each time it being in vain. Gonzaga had that play scouted and were ready for it. Yet Rose did not make the adjustment to get Haws open in other ways. The nations 7th leading scorer had an awful game, where when he actually was able to catch the ball he forced up bad shots.

Against Saint Mary's, BYU showed their biggest weakness. Rebounding. This team is just not a good rebounding team. To compound that problem, zone defenses are extremely hard to get rebounds off of, considering the lack of player-for-player accountability. Yet, Rose stuck with the defense. Against the Geals I will admit it was an improved zone, but they still couldn't crash the glass.

All in all, I am not calling for Dave Roses head. Not by a long shot. He is an excellent coach. I just noticed these flaws in the last few games and they were driving me nuts. Anyone who has played basketball knows you can get open with the right play calls. Rose has had trouble finding those schematics.

Podcast - Robert Anae and KVN back?! What does it all mean?

With special guest Papa Bro, the Sports Bros talk about Anae's rehire, KVN coming back, and the possibilities for next year's football team.

The Failure of One

Yesterday's loss for the BYU Cougar football team showed evidence of one thing. Brandon Doman has utterly failed as the offensive coordinator at his Alma Mater.

Brandon Doman should be
on the hot seat after 2012 season

During the Cougars 20-14 defeat at the hands of WAC opponent San Jose State, BYU constantly failed to convert on 3rd downs and could not establish a running game. Ironically, the cougars first score came on a run by freshman Jamaal Williams. However after that 16 yard TD scamper by the freshman phenom, he only managed 46 yards the rest of the game.

Doman came into the position last season with lots of hype and promise. He has not panned out and he has not produced. Not even close.

Doman has created a lack of imagination in his play calling, not to mention a lack of ability. Ross Apo is only used in two situations throughout the season. The main one being a screen pass that never gets more than 7 yards, and failed deep balls that Riley Nelson cannot deliver on. Yet he continues to call these plays, and getting the same results. Nothing.

Yesterday BYU tried to run up the middle (which hadn't worked all game) on a third and short and on an attempted 4th down conversion. Both times Williams was stuffed for no gain or a short loss. Where is the imagination? Where is the sweep to utilize Williams' speed? The cougars had not proven the ability to run up the middle all game. Why does he think it would work then?

Another area Doman's lack of creativity and ability as a play caller has shown is in formations. If BYU is lined up in the I-formation the call is one of two things. A play action pass or a run. If an observer like myself can figure that out by game 2 of this lost season, what makes him think opposing defensive coordinators won't pick up on it? There is no creativity or imagination in this "great offensive" coordinator at BYU. He has lost something he never had in the first place. Ability as an offensive coordinator.

The play action for BYU has been abysmal this year primarily because of the lack of blocking and lack of talent at the quarterback position. Riley Nelson does not have the ability to make down the field throws, especially with the defense closing in on him.

Last of all, only being able to score 14 points against San Jose State is just not acceptable for a BYU offense. No disrespect to San Jose State, who lit BYU up in the first half, but the cougars should not have even let San Jose State stand a chance.

Riley Nelson continues to turn the ball over in the red zone (blue zone to you Cougar fans) and lose opportunities for points. the red zone play calling from Brandon Doman is the last area of ineptitude of the cougar play caller. He has failed to prove anything to anyone that he deserves to keep his job after the final horn sounds in San Diego later next month.

If I were a BYU fan, I would hope to look forward to seeing Brandon Doman off the sideline next season. There is too much talent on this BYU offense to be so awful.

Dont even get me started on the offensive line.