HB Arnett’s
801
372 - 0819
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 35,
Issue 7 –September 8, 2014
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Stupid Good
Better Late Than Never
Timing and Taysom is everything.
Last season, after the conclusion of fall camp, I wrote that the 2013 offense would be Stupid Good! The only thing stupid was my assessment of what turned out to be an 8-5 season.
One year later, time and Taysom have healed all stupid predictions.
Stupid good was meant as a complimentary description of what I assumed would be a highly productive offense.
No declarations of Stupid Good this year. We are way beyond Stupid Good now.
When it comes to the BYU offense this season, I’m going with Dullardly Dangerous or Imbecilicly Impressive.
My IQ is just barely bigger than my belt size, but I know good to great when I see it. And now, so does the rest of the college football nation.
BYU has a very good and productive offense. A 41-7 drubbing of
Hyberbole Cutback
I’m cutting back on my praise of Taysom Hill this week. At the rate he is going and producing I will suffer hyperbole hyperventilation. He can’t get better than this. Can he? Don’t answer that.
Hill’s numbers; 134 yards rushing (minus 35 yards in sacks), 181
yards passing and 3 (should have been 4, if not for an ill timed holding call)
touchdowns, was just pedestrian production for the kid from
Forget Hill and scary good for now. Let’s talk nasty good.
Nasty is what BYU line coach Garett Tujague had hoped the Cougar offensive line would become this season. After just two games, we don’t know if that is mission accomplished, but it certainly is mission in progress and head and shoulders better than it was last season.
With three freshmen, Tejan Koroma, Tuni Kanuch and Ului Lapuaho all seeing serious time in the trenches, scary good may be an appropriate use for describing the future of this Cougar offensive line.
Alisa the next Ziggy?
It took an injury two seasons ago to force Bronco Mendenhall into playing Ziggy Ansah full time. That led to a full time gig in the NFL.
Bronson Kaufusi saw limited time against
There have been a few requests to include the box score and stats in the letter. You can click here for that information.
BYU vs.
Will This Be a Re-Run or a Rout?
If you like your college football with big numbers, you likely
thoroughly enjoyed last year’s matchup between BYU and Houston in
There were 93 points scored between the two teams and 780 of passing in that game.
The two guys mostly responsible for those numbers are back for an
encore. Taysom Hill threw for 417 yards for BYU last year against
It’s obvious that Taysom Hill is a better passer now than he was last season. O’Korn should also be a better thrower as a sophomore with a year of playing time under his belt.
This game is set up for aerial fireworks, but don’t be surprised
if it turns out to be a battle of ground games.
Any way you cut it for the Cougars, Taysom Hill is the guy that will be
doing the deed against
BYU opened as a 16 ½ point favorite and quickly moved to an 18 ½ point favorite.
With a short week to get ready for the Thursday night kickoff, there may not be enough time for BYU to get back and get ready the three players who came up lame against the Longhorns.
That would be Bronson Kaufusi, De’ondre Wesley and Algernon Brown.
This should be a game full of big plays from both sidelines. That means plenty of excitement despite what should be fairly easy contest for the Cougars. I call it BYU 45 Houston 21.
Bronco Talks “Not Good
Enough” Last Week
In the lead up to the
Bronco basically replied that BYU’s play and success on the field will be what changes that perception. He then added this: While playing BYU won’t count as strength of schedule opponents, that hasn’t kept teams from the ACC and SEC from scheduling the Cougars.
Bronco said that in the coming seasons BYU has 15 games set against teams from those two leagues.
You can listen to the salient segment of Bronco’s message by
clicking here. Bronco
interview. It gets interesting at the 1:45 mark and he talks about the
future 15 games at the 2: 50 mark. Actually the whole segment is worth
listening to, especially in light of BYU’s trouncing of
Are
If the comparison is in the number of alums both academic institutions have on NFL rosters as interior linemen, then yes, currently they are equal.
BYU has Ziggy Ansah, Dallas Reynolds and Brett Keisel as interior
linemen currently on active rosters. Hebron Fangupo is a BYU line product, but
he currently is on the practice squad at
The name that most won’t recognize is Jordan Devey, originally out of American Fork HS, just a few miles from the BYU campus. His story is definitely unique for an NFL player drawing a paycheck.
Here is his bio from the New England Patriots:
Devey’s
path to a successful college career was not exactly a cookie-cutter one. Devey
did not play football in high school after suffering from Osgood-Schlatters
while playing football in junior high. Instead, he played the tuba as a 6-5,
270 pound member of the
Dewey
started all 12 games in his first year at
Other BYU
players currently on NFL Rosters as of this week include Kyle Van Noy, on the
Detroit Lions roster, but on the Injured Reserve list. Daniel Sorensen made the
SOS Strengthens Slightly This Week
Here’s a recap of last weeks Strength of Schedule for BYU:
UConn beat Stony Brook 19-16 at home…Now 1-1, Next,
Central Florida had a bye…still 0-1, Next,
Middle
UNLV beat Northern Colorado 13-12 in Vegas…Now 1-1, Next,
Rankings and Ratings
BYU cracked the AP top 25 this week, coming in at No. 25. They are ranked No. 27 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
In Sagarin’s rankings, Click Here, BYU is
rated the 16th best team in the country this week. Here are
Sagarin’s current rankings of the schools on BYU schedule, plus
Central Florida 22, Texas 44, Boise State 49, Utah 52, Cal 56, Utah State 76, Virginia 85, Houston 92, Nevada 103, UNLV 110, Middle Tennessee 111, UConn 127, Savannah State 247
Next season’s SOS will be dramatically improved, especially in
the early part of the schedule. BYU opens with
What BYU fans have to hope for is that Taysom Hill remains in
The Previous (Play) Prediction
is Under Further Review
Two weeks ago I wrote the following:
Best: Defensive backs this season are the best that BYU has ever had. They are just good, however, when compared to the db’s from the upper echelon of college football teams. BYU is better in the depth department with good cornerbacks in Jordan Johnson, Trent Trammell and Robertson Daniel. The safeties are the kind Bronco Mendenhall loves. They are assignment sound, don’t make many mistakes and are decent, but not great athletes. Daniel Sorensen will be sorely missed this coming season. Again, no NFL paychecks for this group anytime soon. NFL paychecks are not the ultimate barometer for having a good college football team, but it is a good barometer for elite athletes. BYU doesn’t have any in their defensive backfield.
Now after two games, as they say on the field, “the previous prediction is under further review.”
Bronco Mendenhall has frequently said during fall camp that Robertson
Daniel is his best cornerback. He has decent speed and good size for a corner.
He has playe
The guy that will be drafted, barring injury, is Michael Davis, the sophomore corner who converted from wide receiver. He also has great size and the great speed to go along with that size. That is what NFL scouts are looking for.
Davis is still raw at playing the corner, but based on the massive progressions he has made since making the switch late last season, he has better than a puncher’s chance at being the Cougars’ first NFL drafted corner since Rodney Thomas and Rodney Rice were both drafted in the late ‘80s.
Kurtz on the Clock
It was one month (4weeks) ago that Nick Kurtz, the ultra talente
As good as BYU is now offensively, it should be interesting to see how they play with the best receiver on the roster back in business.
BYU hasn’t said anything about the status of Kurtz’s
recovery, but if the original timetable holds, look for him maybe to be back
for sure for the
TV Timetable
BYU vs.
Thursday, September 11 at
Kickoff: 7:00 pm MDT
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Saturday, September 20 at
Kickoff: TBD
TV: TBD
BYE
Saturday, September 27
BYU vs.
Friday, October 3 at
Kickoff: 8:15 pm MDT
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Thursday, October 9 at
Kickoff: 5:30 pm MDT
TV: ESPN