BYU Football - Utah St - Final BYU 35 CSU 17

I didn't get a chance to post my prediction about last night's game against Utah State, because I've been out of town.  On the way to the game, I told my wife that I thought BYU would win the football game by three scores.  However, I didn't expect it to play out the way it did.  I actually expected BYU's score to be in the 50's.


The game started off as what looked like was going to be a shoot out.  Utah State got on the score board first by capitalizing on a BYU turnover with a touchdown.  BYU answered with a 6 yard TD catch by Dennis Pitta.  The second quarter was owned by BYU.  It wasn't the shootout that the game appeared it was going to be after the first quarter.  BYU scored twice, including a touchdown in the final seconds of the second quarter on a turnover from Utah State.  The third quarter may have been the most boring quarter of football I have ever watched.  BYU didn't score and Utah State added only a field goal.  The fourth quarter was better as BYU added two more scores and Utah State added one in the final seconds of the game.

BYU won the game soundly.  After the second quarter, it didn't appear that Utah State had much of a chance. 

McKay Jacobson didn't play in the game, which meant that Spence Hafoka and Luke Ashworth would take on more responsibility.  Ashworth answered the call.  He had 5 catches for 91 yards and one touchdown.  I was impressed with his play. 

BYU 2009 Official Schedule

BYU recently announced their complete schedule for the 2009 football season. It includes some exciting match ups including, Oklahoma, Florida St, Utah, and TCU for homecoming. Below is the complete schedule.

Sept 5 - Oklahoma (Dallas, TX)
Sept 12 - Tulane
Sept 19 - Florida State
Sept 26 - Colorado State
Oct 2 - Utah State
Oct 10 - UNLV
Oct 17 - San Diego St.
Oct 24 - TCU (Homecoming)
Nov 7 - Wyoming
Nov 14 - New Mexico
Nov 21 - Air Force
Nov 28 - Utah

Home games listed in bold.

BYU 2009 Schedule

BYU has finalized their non-conference schedule for 2009. There are some revisions to the original opponents, but if you're a BYU fan, you can't complain about who the cougars will play. 2009 already looks to be a good year posting the best home schedule BYU has played in years. Home opponents will include, Florida State, Utah State, Air Force, Colorado State, TCU, and Utah.

In addition to an excellent home schedule, BYU will also face Oklahoma in what proves to be a quality season opening game. The game will be played on September 5, 2009 at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas. The BYU-Oklahoma match-up will be the first game played in the new stadium which will be the new home of the Cotton Bowl. The Labor Day weekend contest will kick off in primetime and be televised on ABC or ESPN as part of the second annual ESPN Kickoff Week presented by Gillette.

For complete details, click here.

The rest of the non-conference schedule is as follows.

September 5 - Oklahoma - Arlington, TX
September 12 - Tulane - New Orleans, LA
September 19 - Florida State - Provo, UT
October 2 - Utah State - Provo, UT

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.

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.