BYU gets second straight shutout with 44-0 win over Wyoming

For the second straight week, BYU walked all over their opponent. However, today's offense wasn't quite as impressive this week because the defense did a lot of the work. In both the first and third quarters, the defense turned turnovers into points on the board without the help of the offense.

On the first drive of the game, Wyoming seemed to be making a quick strike. They threw a lateral on the BYU 36 yard line. The pass was incomplete, but Scott Johnson was smart enough to recognize that the incomplete pass was actually a fumbled ball. Johnson scooped up the ball and ran it 64 yards for the score.

That was BYU's only score in the first quarter. The second quarter was when the offense started to get together. BYU scored three times. One on a one yard run from Harvey Unga. The other two came on Austin Collie receptions, including a 62 yard pass from Max Hall.

Collie was Hall's favorite reciever today. He had 8 receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Hall also connected with Harvey Unga in the third quarter for Hall's third touchdown pass.

It was in the third quarter that the defense put their second set of points on the board. Wyoming's quarterback Karston Sween attempted a pass. It was tipped and David Nixon came down with the ball and ran it 17 yards for the score. With the exception of a 31 yard field goal, by Justin Sorensen, that ended BYU's scoring for the day.

BYU pull all of its starters by the mid third quarter. Obviously this was to done in part to preserve the health of the starters and give other's some experience. Some criticize Bronco Mendenhall for not trying to boost the teams stats and look better for the nation critics. Bronco's response was simple. "If that's at the expense of polls, rankings or points, then it's at that expense," Mendenhall said. "I have been around selfish teams that do that. That's not who we will be."

Although BYU's stats only looked "average" in todays win, the nation will have no way on not acknowledging two straight shutout wins by the Cougars.

Player of the Game
This week's player of the game goes to Austin Collie. Collie had 8 receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. His long today was 62 yards for a touchdown. Collie has proved to be consistently Max Hall's primary target. During the first two games, many believed that Dennis Pitta was emerging as the Hall's primary reciever. However, in 4 games Collie is averaging 7.5 catches and 96.5 yards per game.

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.

Pitta and Hall National Leaders

Today marks the end of week 1 of college football 2008. BYU tight end, Dennis Pitta, came in first among receivers nationwide for number of yards receiving. He had 213 yards on 11 catches in BYU's win over Northern Iowa on Saturday. His counterpart quarterback, Max Hall, also ranked nationally. He was among the top ten quarterbacks in the country with a passer rating of 198.60.

BYU defeats Northern Iowa 41-17

This afternoon BYU won its second straight season opener extending the nation's longest winning streak to 11. The win, however, wasn't as simple as many expected it to be. The Northern Iowa Panthers put up a good fight against the nationally ranked Cougars.

“I give Northern Iowa credit,” said Mendenhall. “I think they are a very good team and coach [Mark] Farley does a great job with them. They are physical and their quarterback had an outstanding game in terms of heart.”

In the first half, BYU fans felt it was all their game. After the first two periods, BYU led the contest 27-3. All BYU right? Not quite. In the third quarter, UNI showed they came to play. A crazy reverse/wide reciever pass put UNI on the board in the third quarter. But that wasn't the worst part of BYU's third quarter. The Cougars were plauged with mistakes during the quarter, including 4 fumbles (3 recovered by UNI). One of those fumbles occured when Max Hall was hit in the back in his own end zone. UNI fell on the ball and 6 points went on the board. In the fourth, BYU started to put it back together. Two late scores put BYU well in front and ended the game 41-17.

Key Players
Max Hall and Dennis Pitta were the duo of the day. They connected 11 times for 213 yards, with an average of almost 20 yards per pass. Bronco even noted in the post game show that they planned their offense so that a defense could not cover all of the key positions. UNI chose to play the run and the wide outs. Therefore, they wouldn't be able to cover the tight end, which is exactly what happened.

Areas of Improvement
Ball Security. The first game jitters showed in the third quarter. Vetrans and rookies alike had problems holding on to the ball. “Ball security was one of the things we can improve on, and with that being different, most likely the game would have been much more convincing,” commented Mendenhall. “We saw enough mistakes and things that we can certainly improve on over the next week.”

Next Week
A test. BYU faces Washington on the road. The past two years, BYU has not won a single non-conference road game. This well be the real test of what BYU is made of.