Pre-Game Thoughts - Colorado State

Other than a home match up against San Diego St. in a couple of weeks, BYU's final stretch doesn't look too easy. Colorado St. has definitely benefited from new head coach Steve Fairchild. A program that won only two games last year is now flirting with bowl eligibility sitting at 4-4. With Wyoming, on their schedule they really only have to worry about winning one other game. But it won't be easy as they still have to play BYU, Air Force, and New Mexico. All three teams are leaders in the MWC this year.

Knowing they don't have an easy road to bowl eligiblity, Colorado St. will be well prepared for BYU this saturday. The might also be very angry after coming off a close win that should have been a blow out against San Diego St. In a game where Colorado St. racked up 507 total yards compared the SDSU's 392, you would have thought the game would have been decided by a lot more than 4 points.

BYU should be finding some anger as well after narrowly winning a shootout with UNLV last saturday. Many of the national media felt the win should have been much more lop sided, and therefore BYU stayed static is the polls while multiple other teams leapfrogged the cougars. However, the fact of the matter is UNLV is playing much better than their record shows. Their team is taking every game down to the wire and simply not finding a way to close the deal. How easily critics forget that this is the same UNLV team that beat a 13th ranked Arizona St team and a very good Iowa St team. They are a very good football team.

This week BYU will look to quiet the national media (or get them saying the right things, which ever you prefer) by beating a much improved Colorado St team. However, they are going to have to do it soundly to get any national attention. This week all eyes are on Utah and TCU as they prepare for a thursday night showdown next week in Salt Lake City.

This game, just like last week, has the potential to be a shoot out. Colorado St has the ability to put points on the board. They will score and the cougars need to be ready to also put points on the board. Although the potential is there, I don't believe this game will be as close as last week's. BYU has a defensive front that matches up well with the running game of Colorado St.

Predicted Score
BYU 42, Colorado St. 20

Pre-Game Thoughts - UNLV

As a BYU fan, you typically wouldn't think of a UNLV team as a challenge. However, this weeks match up brings with it the same set of challenges as the last two games. UNLV delivers a powerful run game, with the back pocket option to pass.

As the year has progressed, UNLV has seen its good games and bad games. While their record doesn't show a lot of consistency, there is no mistaking that Omar Clayton is getting better with each game he plays. Last week against New Mexico, he completed 19 of 30 passes for 251 yards, averages for a BYU quarterback, but pretty good numbers for the rest of the conference. His offensive counterpart big Frank Summers is a monster in and of himself. Clayton is really just a back up if Summers can't get the job done. Averaging almost 5 yards per carry, Summers is a force to be reckoned with.

The rebels are coming off a tough one point loss to Air Force. They are greedy for revenge. And with BYU losing last week they will be looking for blood this saturday.

The cougars haven't lost back to back conference games since 2005, but be careful because in 2005 the first of those two losses was to TCU.

Last week's defeat was difficult for BYU. Although they played tough, mistakes seemed to plague both the offense and defense. Multiple turnovers and missed opportunities kept the cougars to only 7 points on the board, while those same turnovers turned into points for TCU. I have no doubt that this weeks practice regime was not easy for the cougars. Bronco has said that the team simply wasn't prepared for TCU. I'm sure that won't be the case this week.

Keys to the Game
Run Defense
I keep saying this, but it keeps killing us. BYU has got to stop the run. Allowing teams like TCU and New Mexico to run, opened up pass opportunities that shouldn't have been available to them.

Get back to BYU
BYU has traditionally been a passing team. Harvey Unga has added a ground element to their attack this year. BYU can't leave it all on the shoulders of Harvey. He really is a secondary weapon to the BYU passing attack. BYU needs to come out and play like the BYU that clobbered UCLA.

MWC Mix Up

I have been avoiding my blog for the past week, but realize now that I have to start writing again. After BYU deflating loss to TCU last week, I think everybody is Provo is down.

Although, getting BYU to a BCS bowl would take a small miracle, the MWC champion is still far from decided. Still in the running are Utah, TCU, Air Force, and BYU. Unfortunately for Air Force and BYU, they aren't completely in charge of their own destiny. Even if either BYU or Air Force win the remainder of its games, they could still end up in second place. BYU needs to beat Utah and have TCU lose. Air Force needs to beat TCU and have Utah lose. So you can see there is still quite a bit of football left to play that will decide the MWC champion.

So, here the question that everyone wants answered. Could BYU still go to a BCS bowl? The answer is yes. The odds are that they won't, but here's how things would have to work out for them to go. BYU first and foremost has to win the MWC. If they don't, there's no chance. If they win the MWC, that would mean they would have beat Utah in the last regular season game, which would put them ahead of Utah in the polls. If the win the MWC, that would mean that TCU lost and would also be behind BYU in the polls. Essentially, BYU should be the top MWC team in the polls. The only other non-BCS team would be Boise St. If Boise St. goes undefeated, they will probably end up higher in the polls than a one-loss MWC team, but with how weak the WAC is this year, people have said they could fall below a one-loss MWC team. If BYU could somehow leap frog Boise St. there is hope. The next question becomes, how high would BYU have to be ranked? This year is looking good for that question. Normally a non-BCS conference champ would have to be ranked 12 or above to earn the automatic berth. However, if they are ranked 16 or above and ranked higher than a champion of a BCS conference they get an automatic berth. This year the ACC and the Big East are struggling. It could easily end up that the champion of either of those conferences ends up below 16 in the final BCS standings.

That was a mouthful, but that's what would have to happen for BYU to get to a BCS bowl this year. I know it sounds impossible, but we can dream.

ESPN Showcasing BYU

Checkout the front page of ESPN.com. The lead article showcase's BYU as the top non-BCS school in the country and one of ESPN's top picks for the 2008 season.

This picture was actually from earlier today. The picture has moved to the bottom of the page, but it can still be seen along with other pictures of Max Hall. Apparently BYU's match-up tonight against TCU is one deserving of national attention. Obviously it is, this game and the November 22 clash against Utah will decide the fate of BYU in the BCS. It's nice to see BYU getting some of the attention it deserves.

Below are the links to ESPN's current articles about BYU.
Hall poised to become one of BYU's best QBs
Breaking the huddle at the season's halfway point

BYU at TCU, Pregame Thoughts

Thursday's match-up between BYU and TCU will is shaping up to be the most important game BYU will play until November 22, when the Cougars face their in-state rival the Utes. TCU has once again proved it deserves national recognition by jumping back into the Coaches poll. They currently sit at number 24, which makes this game that much better for BYU's BCS hopes.

Last week, the Cougars faced a powerful rushing offense in the New Mexico Lobos. It gave the BYU defense some difficulties, but their "bend, but don't break" philosophy seemed to work well for them. Although they gave up 285 total yards, they only gave up 3 points on the score board.

TCU has a similar run game, but struggled against a rebuilding Colorado St. team last week. Their high powered run offense was limited to only 13 points on two scores, all of which came in the first half.

This game will be BYU's first real test against a team that deserves all the hype they are given before the game. UCLA was supposed to be a tough team that would give the Cougars trouble. 59-0 made UCLA look like a Jr. College team. Since then the Bruins haven't done much and will be lucky to end the season as a mediocre Pac-10 team. TCU is different. They have already proved that they deserve the attention they are getting. Their only lose was to then no. 1 Oklahoma, who very much deserved to be no. 1 at the time. (The evidence is that they only dropped a few spots after their loss to Texas.)

Even though there are those out there that favor TCU, I believe BYU can and will pull it off on Thursday.

Keys to the Game (Similar to New Mexico)
Run Defense
TCU is good on the ground, maybe better than New Mexico. The "bend, but don't break" philosophy won't work against TCU. If BYU allows TCU to have ground yardage, they will score. If they can't run, TCU has a hard time passing.

Quick Start
We saw how BYU struggled agains't New Mexico, when they didn't score first. It is imperative they score first. I would say, if BYU wins the coin toss they should want to recieve.

Two-dimensional Offense
BYU needs to establish a run game and a pass game. TCU's defense is too good. If they stop one of BYU's offensive attacks, BYU won't stand a chance with the other. They have to keep the defense honest.

Predicted Score
BYU 31, TCU 27

Pre-Game Thoughts - New Mexico

BYU comes into Saturday's game still holding on to the nation's longest win streak (15). The Cougars will square up with the Lobos in a game that many believe will keep BYU's win streak alive. Although New Mexico may be BYU toughest test yet, most analysts pick BYU by 23 points.

BYU is coming off a poor 4th quarter against a Utah State team that really didn't play as well as the score made it look. During that 4th quarter the Cougars gave up two touchdowns, while almost giving up a third. During the quarter BYU didn't score and Max Hall was called for a personal foul that he seemed to commit out of frustration.

New Mexico prides itself on its running game. They average over 200 yards per game, which a split between their two stars, Rodney Ferguson and Paul Baker. New Mexico has struggled to win this year, but thier signature win over Arizona leaves every opponent wondering if that New Mexico team will come to play.

Overall, I have to agree with the the analysts. Even though New Mexico has that potential, BYU is playing at home and should win by at least 3 touchdowns.

Keys to the Game
Run Defense
This season BYU defense has shown that its only weakness is run defense. BYU has played two games that they have not completely dominated, Washington and Utah State. The reason they struggled was because of the run. Both teams were allowed to run when they wanted to. New Mexico has the potential to do the same.

Keep Poised
BYU fell apart in the fourth quarter against Utah State. They were flagged for multiple penalties in the quarter. Not to mention they had 12 total penalties for 123 yards.

Predicted Score
BYU 41, New Mexico 17

BYU continues winning streak against Utah St, 34-14

In a game that was never a question for BYU fans, Utah State made the score look like it was a lot closer than it really was. The BYU defense shut out the Aggies for the first three quarters, but allowed two scores in the fourth quarter after defensive capitain David Nixon left the game with an injury.

BYU started this game quickly scoring 24 points in the first quarter. The defense forced USU to punt on their first posession. After that it only took three plays for Max Hall to find Austin Collie. Collie hauled in the pass and turned the corner on two USU defenders to go 76 yards for the touchdown.

That was just the beginning of the first quarter scoring frenzy for BYU. On the next USU posession, quarterback Diondre Borel fumbled the football. BYU defensive back, Brandon Bradley, scooped up the ball and ran it 35 yards for the touchdown. On the next USU posession, the BYU defense caused another fumble, and the offense capitalized with a 44 yard field goal by Mitch Payne. USU's next posession was ended on the first play when David Nixon intercepted a pass. The offense took one play to score. Harvey Unga ran it in from 11 yards out to make the score 24-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was really rather boring, with no points being scored by either team. The third quarter picked up with BYU scoring 10 more points, putting them ahead 34-0 and continuing an 11 quarter shutout. It ended, however, in the fourth quarter, when the BYU defense looked like it was playing its first game of the season. They allowed two scores, and almost three. USU put one in the end zone with only a few seconds on the clock, but it was called back by a penalty. BYU ended the last play of the game by sacking QB Diondre Borel.

This game reminded me of Nick Saban's comments on his Alabama team's big win over Georgia a week ago. He said that the game was a coaches dream because they won the game, but his team played so poorly in the second half that he still had so much to work on in practice. I imagine Bronco Mendenhall has similar feelings. I'm sure he was happy to win the game, but probably walked out of the stadium with a list of things to work on before they take on New Mexico next week.

Player of the Game
Austin Collie
Collie hauled in 8 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. His long of 76 was a signature play that will show up on Collie's highlight reel for years. Although Pitta appeared to be Hall's favorite target as the season opened, Collie has now emerged as the top BYU reciever.

Pre-Game Thoughts - Utah State

This Friday the Cougars travel to Logan, where they hope to put up another dominating win on their journey to the BCS. The eighth ranked Cougars have pitched two straight shutouts in their last two outings and it's not unlikely to think that they could put up a third one this weekend.

Utah State finally got its first win last week against Idaho. Surprising to most people, USU actually looked pretty good in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. They scored three times making the score against Idaho, look pretty lopsided. USU racked up 580 total yards in the game, which is a season best for the USU offense.

USU's second half against Idaho, is probably the only thing that makes USU even look like they have a chance at beating BYU. Although I don't think USU has much of a chance against Max Hall and his arsenal of offensive weapons, after last week, we have learned that every team has to be prepared for every opponent. This doesn't exclude BYU from preparing for the Aggies.

Keys to the Game
Shut down the run. USU has made most of their yards they year on the ground. While BYU's defense has been tough on opponents, the run is the one weakness that could be expoloited by the right team.

Get Started Early. USU has shown that they can get at a team in the fourth quarter. BYU needs to jump out early and create a lead that can't be broken down in the fourth quarter.

Predicted Score
BYU 42, USU 0