HB Arnett’s
801
372 - 0819
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 34,
Issue 6 – September 9, 2013
Click
Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions
40-21 Win
History and Hammering Horns
Here’s a little history on something I read and wrote August 12 in Vol. 34, Issue 2 of Cougar Sportsline.
“Now it’s another fall
camp 12 years later and "It's déjà vu all over again".
I am again encouraging BYU fans to
get down to fall camp and see an unstoppable offense. But don’t take that
invitation literally because they won’t let you in to a BYU football
practice these days.
But if they did, and you knew only
just a little about offensive football, you would immediately get an
appointment with your doctor and have your blood pressure and pace maker
checked to make sure you will be able to survive the offensive excitement that
will be generated by the Cougars this season.”
Here’s some more recent reading from last week in Vol. 34, Issue 5 in Cougar Sportsline.
“Texas has athletes and they
will move the ball, they just won’t put up the points like they did last
week.
This game will rest on a
must-be-improved BYU offense. The Cougars have to be more productive than they
were last week…. Again, with two strikes left in the early season at bat
for BYU, my Ponzi-Pollyanna pick for Saturday is BYU 24
I hate it when people bring up the 2 times out of 100 that they were right. Don’t you? Two rights in predictions still can’t make up for the wrong of Virginia and the Cougars’ opening performance in the season debut for BYU, but it sure makes it feel better for me and the rest of BYU football fans.
If you want a good comparison of what go fast, go hard looked like between the season opener and last Saturday night, here a couple of video vignettes to illustrate the point.
This is what go fast, go hard
looked like against Virginia
This is what go fast, go hard
looked like against Texas…watch to the 1:20 mark
And the best video yet
that demonstrates the total BYU 40-21 domination over
Still not convinced that what you saw is real? Try this empirical data:
BYU rushed the ball for 550 yards against the Longhorns. That was the most
rushing yardage given up by
Ask Manny Diaz, the former UT defensive coordinator, if it was real. He
lost his job the next day and was demoted to some other post in the Horns’
athletic department. Throw in the 129 yards BYU mustered through the air, and
BYU tattered the
Nobody Perfect
But nobody is perfect…right?
Forget the 259 yards rushing and three touchdowns turned in by Taysom
Hill. He completed just 9 of 27 throws and had one interception. Using the
I prefer to use the Cindy Crawford model. You might remember Crawford from a few years back. She was the super model that looked the part. For most connoisseurs of Crawford’s beauty, she had it all. For others, her beauty sometimes took a beating because she had a mole on her upper lip.
Read my lips. Taysom Hill’s erratic passing is his mole. Some BYU
fans can wish that he had the mole removed by benching him for a better thrower
in Ammon Olsen, the current BYU backup. Personally, I will take the entire beauty
of Hill’s game as it is. I’m sure there are BYU fans longing for
the glory days of a BYU passing attack that would like to see the mole removed.
I guarantee that the
It ain’t happening folks, nor should it. I like my Cougars winning, any way they can, and I like my Crawford’s and Hill’s as a mole models just the way they are.
Push my Luck and Locker
Okay, I am going to push my luck on prognostication. Despite touting my prediction horn from the last few issues, I don’t think I will be going out on a limb by saying that I think Taysom Hill will dramatically improve in his passing skills. And it will show sooner than later in this season.
I’m not saying that he will ever be a Ty type thrower (Detmer), but he will eventually be at least a consistent 50 percent passer. Yes, I acknowledge all the letters and emails I get weekly pointing out Hill’s inaccuracy, poor footwork etc., but that’s my prediction and I’m sticking to it.
While Hill will never be a Ty Detmer, he is already very close to being a Jake Locker. You might remember Locker, the three-year starter for the Washington Huskies and the current starter for the Tennessee Titans. Just like Hill, Locker was ordinary as a passer in the season opener for the Titans. He completed just 11-20 passes for a pedestrian 117 yards, but like Hill and his paltry passing performance, both BYU and the Titans turned in wins.
As Al Davis of Oakland Raider lore, legends and no longer living said, “Just Win Baby”.
I have no lore, am not a legend and still living, but here is what I
say: “Just give the ball to Jamaal Williams.” After two games,
Williams is currently the No. 2 rusher in the nation. Against
Mole Hill to Mountain
In keeping with the Cindy Crawford mole motif, BYU offensive coaches,
made a mountain out of a mole hill last Saturday night in
I’m talking about the offensive line play for the Cougars. The
BYU offensive line progressed from the mediocrity of a mole hill against
The improvement in play between the two games was hard to imagine, but very easy and enjoyable to watch. Give the credit to Garett Tujague, the Cougar offensive line coach, and Robert Anae, the BYU offensive coordinator. They saw the problem and fixed it.
What they accomplished in a week was commendable. While the coaching of
the offensive line was commendable,
Next up for BYU is a week off before facing
Defense Deserves its Due
Thank goodness Bronco backed down.
That’s a reference to his ill advised decision to remove the names of players from their jerseys. Of course a compromise was reached and Mendenhall should be given credit for reversing his stance.
That’s not good enough. He should have not only restored the names to the uniforms, but on defense, he should have made those names much bigger and bolder so all BYU fans can see just who and how many play makers Mendenhall has on that side of the ball.
They are numerous and all showed up against
You may remember that Mendenhall wanted to replace the player’s names with Tradition, Spirit and Honor.
On the defensive side of the ball he should have opted for Stingy, Nasty and Not in my House.
BYU playing great defense is now beyond a one-season fluke. It is now a
fate that all opposing offenses will have to face. Who ever thought that
defense in
Most of the marquee defensive players for the Cougars are in the front seven. They key guy is still Kyle Van Noy. He continues to be the real deal. He now has a sidekick on the outside in Alani Fua. On the defensive line, you would be hard pressed to find players like Bronson Kaufusi and Eathyn Manumaleuna.
Uani Unga and Spencer Hadley are also playmakers at their respective linebacker spots. Throw in Daniel Sorensen and Craig Bills at safeties and this forms the nucleus of another very good and productive unit.
Of course, as
For BYU football aficionados, we should enjoy the names of the defensive players on their backs and how they play. They don’t get the credit they deserve and have earned.
BYU’s Top Ten Toughest Teams to
Beat this Season
1.
2.
3.
4. Notre
Dame…The Irish are now 1-1 after losing 41-30 to
5.
6. Georgia
Tech…Home sweet home. BYU will be hard to beat in
7. Middle
8.
9.
10.
Others Receiving Votes… BYU was responsible for
exposing
Fluff and Stuff
This past weekend was a big one for Dave Rose and his basketball
program. He hosted several 2014 prospects on their official campus visits. In
addition to the local recruits like T.J. Haws, Dalton Nixon and Ryan Andrus,
Payton Dastrup, the 6-10 post player from
Television Timetable
BYU vs.
Saturday, Sept 21 at
Kickoff: TBA
TV: TBA
BYU vs.
Middle
Friday, Sept 27 at
Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Friday, Oct 4 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: CBS Sports Network
BYU vs.
Georgia Tech
Saturday, Oct 12 at
Kickoff: TBA
BYU vs.
Saturday, Oct 19 at
Kickoff: TBA
TV: TBA