BYU Football - Florida St - Pre-Game

This Saturday BYU will defend it's 18 game winning streak at Lavell Edwards Stadium.  The BYU football team has not lost a game at home in three seasons.  The journey to make it a fourth season will begin this Saturday at 5pm MT.

This weekend's match-up was one that I became very excited about before the season began.  However, I have since lost some of the enthusiasiam due to the recent performance of Florida State.  Against Miami, they played an okay game.  I told myself that it was just a rivalry game and they are probably better than they looked.  Then last week against Jacksonville State, I realized they may not be as good as originally thought.  Their passing game seems solid, but that is about the only thing they have.  Their run defense on the year has been loose and their pass defense has been worse.

The BYU football team has made leaps and bounds since last year.  One area that didn't a lot of help, but has improved, is the pass game.  Max Hall is more poised and has the potential to tear apart the Florida State defense.  The variety of receivers that Hall can throw to this year has increased due to the loss of Austin Collie.  This year 12 players have already caught at least one pass.

What has impressed me more than anything this year has been BYU's defense.  I have enjoyed watching the defense mix things up.  I was happy to see them confuse the Oklahoma offense.  The BYU front defensive line many times didn't set up until seconds before the ball was snapped.  It was an interesting tactic that wouldn't allow the Oklahoma offense to not get a read on the defense or who was blitzing.

One final note about the overal attitude of the BYU football team this year.  The last few years, it has almost seemed that the attitude of BYU football is that it is wrong to get too excited.  This year has been different.  I have seen the players get excited about playing football and get excited about their wins.  Way to go, Bronco!

Prediction
After two road games, BYU will be excited to finally play at home.  The passing game will immediately be effective against the mediocre Florida State defense.  When they try to adjust, BYU will open up the run game and the dominance will be shown.  The saturday BYU football will win this one fairly easily by 24 points.

BYU 41, Florida State 17

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

Analysts put BYU in the BCS

Last week, ESPN analyst, Mark Schlabach, predicted that BYU would face up against Georgia in this years Allstate Sugar Bowl. This week, his co-worker, Joe Fieldman, has joined in with similar feelings. Joe put BYU in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against the the Sooners of Oklahoma. Complete bowl predictions can be found here.

With the way BYU is playing, its hard to not see national attention. In the past two games the extremely efficient BYU offense has scored a combined 103 points and the defense has allowed 0 points. That's right two shutouts in a row, and with Utah State on the way there is a good chance it could end up being three shutouts in a row.

If the two shutouts don't grab your attention, check out the season stats for the defense. In four games the BYU defense has caused 8 fumbles and intercepted 4 passes. The defense has scored twice (fumble recovery ran in for touchdown, interception ran back for touchdown). But overall, how's this stat for you. The defense only gives up an average 11 points per game. Its counterpart offense scores an average of 43 points per game. This combination makes BYU nearly a tough opponent on either side of the ball.

Thank you national media for finally giving BYU the recognition it deserves.

BYU-Wyoming, Pre-game thoughts

Its hard to give your true pre-game thought to this game without being disrespectful to Wyoming. However, I will try.

Wyoming is 2-1 (0-1 MWC). Their two wins came over Ohio and North Dakota State. Both wins were close games that the cowboys easily could have let slip away from them. Their only loss is to Air Force, who came to Wyoming and walked all over the cowboys, handing them a 23-3 loss.

BYU owns the nation's longest winning streak at 13 consecutive wins. They look to lengthen that to 14 this saturday at home where they have not lost to the cowboys since 1987. BYU's high powered passing attack averages 387 yards per game, which is the fifth highest in the country. And BYU doesn't do it with one reciever alone. They keep you guessing while throwing to at least 5 recievers on a constant basis. (That number will shrink just a little with Michael Reed being out for 2-4 week on a knee injury.) The good news for Wyoming is that their defense has held its opponents to under 300 total yards in all three of its games. The bad news is they haven't played anyone with nearly as explosive an offense as BYU and we haven't even talked about BYU's running game yet.

Wyoming's running game, however, is the silver lining in their offense. The combination of Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon has given people trouble this season. Combined they average 158 yards per game. This could be their only hope against BYU, especially since their quarterback Dax Crum is not known for passing. He only has 273 yards this season and 3 interceptions.

Even with Wyoming's solid running game, its hard to imagine that they have much hope against BYU's defense that such out a decent UCLA team last week 59-0. The defense caused 4 fumbles and 1 interception against the team the beat previously ranked Tennessee. On top of that, BYU capitalized by scoring points on every single one of those turnovers. Wyoming is going to have to come up with an attack to combat a BYU defense that Bronco Mendenhall said of the UCLA game that he was impressed with the physical level of play with which his defense played. He said it was probably the most complete game his defense has played since being named the head coach at BYU.

Predicted outcome - BYU 42, Wyoming 3

BYU Hands UCLA a Humiliating Loss, 59-0

I always try to use pictures of BYU players on the blog, but this picture seemed so fitting of UCLA's performance today. BYU handed them their worst loss since being shutout 76-0 by USC in 1929.

In the first quarter of today's game, many believed it would be a close game. At the end of the first 15 minutes of the game, the score had BYU ahead 7-0. Both defenses looked pretty solid. UCLA allowed BYU to score once, but stopped them on their other drive.

In the second quarter BYU let loose, scoring 35 points. Most of those points came off turnovers. BYU's defense caused three fumbles and blocked one field goal. All of which, BYU's offense was able to capitalize on.

The blocked field goal also gave BYU a little more crediblity that they can block field goals, and not just when the officials move the ball back. "We certainly have proven that we are a team with the propensity to block field goals," Coach Bronco Mendenhall commented in a post game interview.

Closing the third quarter, BYU capitalized on an interception. Wayne Latu scored from 13 yards bringing the score to its final resting point at 59-0.

Player of the Game
This award can't be given to one person. Today the game ball goes the the BYU defense. Being short at the linebacker position, the defense was forced to play in an unfamiliar 3-3-5. Coach Bronco Mendenhall has used the 3-3-5 in the past, but since coming to BYU is hasn't seen much action. By the end of the game, BYU had 2nd and 3rd string player going up against the UCLA starting offense, and they still managed to keep the goose egg on the score board.

UCLA at BYU, Pre-game thoughts

After a close call at Washington, BYU is back at home this week hosting the UCLA Bruins. This is the third time BYU and UCLA have clashed since last September. UCLA beat BYU 27-17 in Pasadena in their first meeting. Then BYU beat UCLA 17-16 in an unforgettable Las Vegas Bowl in their second match-up. With the record being 1-1, there is a lot at stake this Saturday. However, for both teams there is a lot more at stake than owning a three game series.

For UCLA, this is a chance for them to show the nation that they are real. Over the past few years, UCLA has been a up and down team. Some weeks showing that they can play with anyone and other weeks losing game that should have been no brainers. Their win against Tennessee was impressive, but will mean nothing if they play as they have over the past years losing to mediocre teams in the Pac-10.

For BYU, a win against UCLA would not only mean continued hopes of a BCS bust. It would also give them a chance to prove to the nation that they do deserve the ranking they have been given. There are many doubters in the nation that think BYU doesn't deserve to be ranked as high as they are. The fact that BYU allowed a bad Northern Iowa to score 17 points and only beat a mediocre Washington by 1 point gives some validity to their argument. If BYU can beat up the Bruins, the arguments about whether or not the Cougars deserve their ranking will be lessened.

This Saturday's game will probably be a close one. I don't think anyone believed this game would be as tough as its going to be until we saw UCLA beat a very good Tennessee ranked number 18. Quarterback Kevin Craft, had a good second half for the Bruins. In the first half he just didn't seem to have it together. He himself said, "It was just a matter of settling down. I wasn't nervous at all. I just wasn't in a good rhythm. In the second half, I found it." And find it he did. In the second half he picked apart Tennessee, going 18-23 and 193 yards and a touchdown. He performed much better than any 3rd string quarterback is supposed to.

On saturday, UCLA's hopes will depend on his performance. Will he play like the star quarterback he was in the second half or will he throw interceptions and fumble like he did in the first half.

On the other hand, BYU's offense continues to be powerful. The Hall-Pitta combination remains the strongest passing attack in the country. Dennis Pitta is the number one tight end and reciever in the nation and Max Hall ranks number two in passing in the nation. Their combination still has yet to be well defended by any team. And let us not forget Austin Collie. With all of the attention on Pitta, Collie is able to hide out in the wings and average a measly 130 yards per game.

As I see it, UCLA's defense was what allowed them to stay in the game against Tennessee. Without it Craft's incredible performance in the second half would not have produced enough points to beat the Vols. That being said BYU will have to continue to run their high powered offense and wear down the Bruin defense.

Keys to the Game
Harvey Unga
Unga needs to have a good game. Everyone knows BYU can pass. Unga adds another dimension to BYU's offense. If the Bruins have to defend the run, it will open up more passing opportunities from Hall to Pitta and Collie.

Defense, defense, defense
BYU's "young" defense needs to grow up this game. The last two games it has been okay for BYU to allow some points, because the teams were mediocre. However, UCLA is a big dog. The defense needs to tighten up. Without a strong defensive front, Craft could have the ability to pick us apart when he wants to.