HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
801
372 0819
hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission.com
Vol. 29,
Issue 8 - September 22, 2008
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BYU GETS
A
BYU has a big trip
before them on their journey to a potential BCS bid.
Most of that trip
will take the Cougars through the Mountain West Conference with some tough pit
stops at TCU and
Before any trip,
it is always good to top off the gas tank and check the oil and air pressure of
the tires.
It doesn't hurt to
buy a few snacks for munching along the way and then get a quick wash and wax.
What BYU found was
that they still have plenty of high-octane fuel in their tank for the upcoming
trip.
They also found
that the left front tire was a little low on air pressure. That may have accounted
for the Cougar's slow start offensively in the first quarter against the
Cowboys.
Once that minor
correction was made, the only thing left was a nice
Except for a few
minor water spots, BYU came out of this game looking pretty and poised for the
long trip ahead.
A Little
Air
Until BYU added a
little air to the offensive tires in the opening quarter, it was the BYU
defense that was providing the munch and crunch for the upcoming trip.
Scott Johnson, the
BYU defensive back, put BYU on the board with its only score of the first
quarter with a 64-yard score off a recovered
David Nixon hands
weren't clean either. He left his mark on the game with a third quarter
interception that he returned 19 yards for a score.
Max Hall and
company finally got untracked in the second quarter when the Cougars scored
three touchdowns and put the game away.
It started with a
methodical 14-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a Harvey Unga 1-yard scoring
plunge.
That was followed
by a 2-play scoring blitz culminating in a 62-yard scoring strike from Max Hall
to Austin Collie.
BYU finished its
work in the first half with another 8-play, 59-yard drive. That ended with
Hall's second and final TD toss of the game, a 7-yard scoring strike to Collie.
Early
Exit
Hall, who once
again made an early exit from the game in the third quarter, finished with 189
yards passing and two touchdowns. He was 16-27 on the day with no
interceptions.
Austin Collie
accounted for most of Hall's passing yardage and completions.
The junior
receiver had 8 catches for 122 yards and two scores. He has put together two
consecutive games that are as good as a BYU receiver has had in some time. Last
week, you may remember, he hauled in 10 passes against UCLA for 110 yards and
two touchdowns
Harvey Unga
continued his steady work on the ground. He had 95 yards on 19 carries. Unga
also had 3 receptions from Hall for 37 yards.
BYE BYE FOR BYU
Officially, on the
schedule, this coming week for BYU is listed as a bye.
Unofficially, with
Utah State next up on the docket for a game set for Friday, October 3 in Logan,
it looks like the Cougars will have a two-week bye.
That is good news
for Michael Reed.
The steady senior
receiver, did not play against
He will likely be
back in time for the
The one-week
layoff will also benefit other Cougars who have been nursing some bumps and
bruises incurred in the first four games of the year.
BYU will practice
four days this coming week, but all will be scaled back in intensity and
physical play. Bronco Mendenhall will give his players the weekend off and then
have them return for a regular week of practice the following Monday.
The Aggies are
currently 1-3 on the year after notching their first win of the season over
The losses for USU
were to UNLV, 27-17, in Las Vegas, Oregon, 66-24 in
Television
coverage of the game has been altered. According to BYUTV, their web site shows
the game being televised live on that station.
Both the BYU and
Earlier, the game
was being advertised as being shown on KJZZ, a local channel in the
The only thing
firm is the start time. It is 6 pm Mountain Time.
For those with
Dish Network, BYUTV is on channel 9403. It is channel 374 on Direct TV.
MADDEN,
MENDENHALL AND JAMES
It sounds like a
formidable law firm, but all three football coaches, John Madden, Bronco
Mendenhall and Don James, have their own ideas for what makes successful teams.
The venerable NFL
color commentator and former coach of the Oakland Raiders, Madden made an
interesting point Sunday night and it implicated BYU.
In the pre game
chit chat between Madden and Al Michaels about the match up between the Dallas
Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, Michaels asked Madden what made the Cowboys such
a potent offensive machine?
Madden replied
that the Cowboys had all the ingredients necessary to be a great offense.
They had a big and
tough offensive line.
They had a
bruising and tough running back in Marion Barber III.
They had a
playmaker outside in wide receiver Terrell Owens.
They had a big
physical tight end who could catch in Jason Witten.
And then he
concluded by saying the Cowboys also had a quarterback in Tony Romo who could
deliver the ball to those playmakers.
Where
Are We Going?
Can you see where
we are going with this?
Just as soon as
Madden made his remarks, we immediately thought that his description of
If we need to make
a case for BYU as a great offensive team, you haven't been watching much
college football this season.
The Madden model
for a great offensive team, certainly describes BYU this season.
The Cougars have a
big, physical and tough offensive line. They have the big bruising back in
Harvey Unga. They have the outside playmaker in Austin Collie. They have a big
tight end who can catch in Dennis Pitta and in Max Hall, they have a
quarterback who makes sure they get the ball delivered to them in the right
spots to make plays.
The day before
Madden made his comments, Bronco Mendenhall made some of his own concerning the
state of BYU's football program.
He said BYU was
now in the "flywheel" mode and had enough inertia and momentum going
to sustain a successful program for some time to come.
We buy all of that
and all that Mendenhall has established in returning BYU back to the national
stage in football.
Don
James
As much as we like
Mendenhall's model, we still like Don James' mantra more.
James, you may
remember, was the longtime successful coach of the Washington Huskies when they
were playing in Rose Bowls and competing for national championships.
He used to say
that you could tell how good a team was by how many NFL prospects they had on
the roster.
James used to say
that you needed at least 7-8 NFL caliber players a year to be good.
You can pick and
choose which model you want to use. Take Madden, Mendenhall or James. They all
point out the same thing. BYU is a very good offensive football team.
We prefer to use
the Don James model.
If a team needs at
lest eight NFL prospects on the roster to be good, BYU has at least that many
on offense alone.
Remember, James
didn't say you needed eight first round picks, he simply said you needed eight
or more NFL caliber players.
On BYU's offense,
of the five current offensive line starters, at least 4, and maybe 5, will
either be drafted or sign as free agents in the NFL. We mentioned last week
that we think Matt Reynolds could be the next John Tait for BYU.
Fit
Mold?
Max Hall doesn't
fit the prototypical NFL quarterback mold of a 6-5, rocket-armed qb, but he
will play in the league or at least hold a clipboard and cash checks from the
NFL.
Harvey Unga is a
big back that the NFL wants. His bonus is that he is big and can catch the ball
out of the backfield. If you don't think he can play in the NFL, you haven't
been watching much professional football.
Fui Vakapuna, at
first glance, doesn't seem like an NFL running back. We agree. What he can do
is be a blocking fullback. Fahu Tahi has been cashing checks in that role for
Austin Collie will
likely never be a big-time pro receiver, but he certainly has enough talent to
make an NFL roster.
Dennis Pitta is a
pass-catching phenom in college. If he can bulk up and block, he has a shot at
the NFL.
First and
foremost, the pros want a tight end that can block. That is why Dan Coats stuck
in the NFL and Jonny Harline didn't.
We like Madden and
Mendenhall's theories, but we like Don James perspective more.
The more NFL
prospects you have, the better you will be. BYU has plenty on offense and that
explains simply and succiinctly why they are so good this year.
ENJOY IT
WHILE IT LASTS
For the first time
in MWC history, three teams from that conference are all listed in the AP and
Coaches top twenty five rankings.
BYU is ranked No.
11 in both polls.
Enjoy it while you
can because TCU is likely to slip out of the polls next week. The Horned Frogs
will travel to
The fact that
there are three MWC teams ranked would seem to indicate that the league has
made some serious strides in garnering national respect and recognition.
What is
interesting is that this early in the season, six non BCS schools are currently
ranked. In addition to the three from the MWC,
The MWC, with its
three ranked teams, has more schools in the polls than leagues like the Big
East (1, South Florida), ACC (2,
The SEC leads all
conferences with 6 ranked teams, four of which are in the top ten. The Big 12
has 5 ranked teams and the Big Ten has 4 teams ranked.
FLUFF
AND STUFF
Chris Washington,
the defensive back from Northridge HS in
According to
BYU still has at
least three other scholarship offers on the table for
Latu Heimuli, DL, 6-4,
305,
Ric
Xavier Su'a Filo, OL,
6-5, 265, Timpview HS
Of the three,
Heimuli will be
tripping to
Su'a Filo seems
set on going to a BCS school and is a long shot to sign with the Cougars.
TELEVISION
TIMETABLE
BYU vs.
Friday, Oct 3 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: KJZZ (tentative) and
BYUTV
BYU vs.
Saturday, Oct 11 at
Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain
Time
TV: Mtn
BYU vs.
TCU
Thursday, Oct 16 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: Versus