HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
801
372 0819
hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission.com
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 30,
Issue 12 – October 26, 2009
Click
Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions
BYU LOSES GAME, BUT MAKES MONEY
When a team like TCU dominates BYU like it did in the 38-7
shellacking of the Cougars last Saturday night in
Here are the best two we could find…Money and Harvey Unga.
Going into the Mountain West Conference showdown between the
Horned Frogs and the Cougars, BYU had no chance of making a BCS bowl
appearance.
TCU did.
The win over BYU makes it even more possible as TCU leapfrogged
That doesn't make BYU football players, coaches or fans feel
much better, but it will make the BYU athletic balance sheet look better.
Last year BYU received around $600,000 dollars for its part of
the BCS payout generated by
With it looking likely that TCU is BCS bound, the Cougars can
expect another good payday to accompany the painful pounding of the loss.
$1 Million
In 2004 when
The difference in payout for conference schools has to do with
the new BCS payout for non-BCS teams. Now, not just teams from a conference who
has a school playing in a BCS bowl get a payout.
Money is also divided among schools of all other non-BCS
schools.
There. If you divide $600,000 by the 65,000 fans who sat through
the thrashing delivered by TCU, it should make each person in attendance feel
$9.23 better.
We will have to check to see if you can write it off as a
charitable donation.
Except for Harvey Unga and his 122 yards rushing on 21 carries
and BYU's only touchdown, what you can't write off is BYU's pathetic
performance.
Like a loss in the stock market, this one may be carried over
for a few years.
Statement Game
There are statement games. Usually they involve winning. TCU and
BYU both made statements Saturday.
The Frogs said they are the cream of the conference. BYU said
they still have defensive problems that haven't been solved and offensive
difficulties against good defenses.
A good barometer of the beating delivered by TCU is how many BYU
players could be starting for the Frogs?
We didn't see any Cougar defensive player that could make the
two-deep for TCU.
Offensively, the TCU system would be a tough fit for Harvey Unga
and Dennis Pitta, but TCU coaches are good enough to find a way to make it work.
Max Hall wouldn't fit the TCU system and it is debatable if Andy
Dalton, the TCU quarterback, would be a good fit in the BYU offensive system.
We don't think he is too unhappy about that.
Hall completed 18-28 passes for 161 yards and had the one touchdown
pass to Unga. He also had one interception.
How Bad Was It?
How bad was the loss?
It gave us a third highlight.
It was bad enough to finally make the much-maligned new turf at
LaVell Edwards Stadium look good.
The field held up better than BYU.
The Cougars will get a week off before facing
They need to lick a few wounds and get ready to play some more
real football.
With
TCU POUNDING PUTS PERSPECTIVE INTO
PICTURE
When it all comes crashing down like it did last Saturday night
against TCU and earlier in September against
You know the routine. There are lots of early and consistent
returns on investor's money until everybody is fully invested before it always
and eventually comes crashing back to earth.
In the last few years, there have been plenty of early returns
with payouts against teams like
There have been just enough wins over BCS teams to keep the
investment fever going. Throw in a fantastic, but fluke win over a team like
The euphoria always ends and rationality and reality return.
The perceived collapses of Cougar football the last two seasons
should have BYU football fans back to reality and the real world of college
football.
Frenzy
It was the unrealistic hopes of Cougar fans that set off the
frenzy. They all wanted to be fully invested into a program that doesn't, and
likely never will for many more years, have the funding, recruiting foundation
or coaching to make the consistent big payouts that are expected at the upper
levels of the college football totem pole.
We currently have a coach that is correct in espousing
excellence and a quest for perfection, but it has led to unrealistic investment
and return expectations.
Excellence and the pursuit of perfection are some of the tenets
of the football team's sponsoring institution. It gets fans excited about the
prospect for greatness at BYU when it comes to football.
While excellence, execution and a quest for perfection are good,
here's another tenet of the sponsoring institution that never gets mentioned
when it comes to BYU football and expectations.
Live within your means.
The means of BYU football are good enough to provide some very
good seasons and plenty of entertainment with nice double-digit winning
seasons, but they are currently not good enough to make an entrance into the
elite strata of college football.
Players and Coaches
Money is an important part of the equation, but players and
coaches are still the biggest factors.
BYU's recruiting base is still the
We have made a living the last 30 years feeding the fervor of
recruiting. Hope always springs eternal that the next recruiting class will be
the one that solves all problems.
To date, it hasn't made BYU an elite program, but we all hang on
to the hype and hope. Could this be the recruiting class we have all been
waiting for?
Maybe. While there are more LDS athletes from which to
recruit that will make BYU a good team and good program. There still aren't
enough quality athletes from that pool, however, to take them to the next
level. That is our opinion. We hope to be wrong someday when it comes to
recruiting. The sooner, the better.
When it comes to coaching, it is still a matter of supply and
demand.
The supply of football coaches that can qualify ecclesiastically
to be hired at BYU is extremely limited. The supply of qualified coaches who
actually are good enough to be in demand by other programs is even smaller.
Out-Coached
We hear all the time that BYU coaches are out-coached, out-
schemed, out-prepared etc. Until the LDS coaching pool gets bigger and the pay
window opened wider, those assertions and assumptions and at times, realities,
will still exist.
If we are going to say that there currently aren't enough good
LDS football players to take BYU to the next level, we have no problem also
saying that there aren't enough LDS coaches good enough to do the same.
As disappointing as the loss to TCU was last week, in political
parlance, BYU football is still better off now than it was four years ago.
Will it be even better in another four years?
We don't know. We hope so, but it will depend on coaches and
players.
They only thing we can actually control is our expectations.
They keep preaching from the pulpit that living within our means
will make us happier and more content.
As expectations for BYU football come closer to its actual
means, when BYU does beat TCU again, it will make it that much exciting and
entertaining.
AFTER A TOUGH LOSS WHAT WE NEED IS
SOME HOPE
The beauty of recruiting is that there is always hope that the
latest recruits will make it better.
After a tough loss to TCU, it is time for some much needed hope
and hype.
There are plenty of BYU followers that say this newest class of
recruits that will sign next February will be the best ever.
This seems like a good week for a booster shot of hope.
Current Cougar Commits
Ross Apo...WR, 6-4, 195, The
Jordan Black, OL 6-7, 235, Alta HS, UT
Algernon Brown, RB, 6-1, 205, Skyline HS, UT
Tayo Fabuluje, OT, 6-5, 255, The
Alani Fua, LB 6-5, 210, Oaks Christian HS, CA
Kori Gaines, DB, 5-9, 170, Grayson HS, GA
Jake Heaps...QB, 6-2, 195, Skyline HS, WA
Hauoli Jamora, DL, 6-2, 230, Kahuku HS, UT
Jordan Johnson, DB, 5-10, 175,
Tuni Kanuch...DL, 6-1, 285, Bingham HS, UT
Bronson Kaufusi, DL, 6-6, 225, Timpview HS, UT
Teu Kautai, LB, 6-1, 200, The
Collin Keoshian, LB, 6-2, 225, Santa
A.J. Moore...RB, 5-10, 190,
Manu Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 305, Granger HS, UT
Joey Owens, LB, 6-2, 215, Pleasant Grove HS, UT
Drew Phillips, RB, 6-0, 185, Boaz HS, AL
Graham Rowley, OL, 6-4, 270, Waialua HS, HI
Bryan Sampson, TE, 6-4, 210, Pleasant Grove HS, UT
Kona Schwenke, DL, 6-5, 210, Kahuku HS, HI
Zac Stout...LB, 6-2, 220, Oaks Christian HS, CA
Sae Tautu, LB, 6-3, 215, Lone Peak HS, UT
Travis Tuiloma, DL, 6-3, 290, Washburn Rural HS, KS
Blair Tushaus, OL, 6-2, 270, Notre Dame Prep, AZ
QUARTERBACK QUEUE
Max Hall...The 161
yards passing against TCU were the lowest of Hall's three-year career as a
Cougar.
Riley Nelson...With
the game out of reach, Nelson got in the fourth quarter for some action. He
completed 2-of-5 passes for 26 yards. He also rushed the ball 4 times for 19
yards.
James Lark and Jason Munns...Both
are still serving missions. Lark is due back in January and Munns will return
in May.
Jake Heaps...He
threw three touchdown passes in Skyline's 42-7 win over
Tanner Mangum…When
it comes to high school football, the Declaration of Independence does not
apply. All teams are not created equally when it comes to surrounding players
and coaches. Mangum, the sophomore qb, is better than his record and stats
show. He is a definite D-1 prospect that BYU is watching and will recruit. That
said, it was another loss for Timberline HS and Mangum last week, a 47-17
defeat by
Alex Kuresa...The
junior threw for 279 yards, completing 15-of-28 with four touchdowns and two interceptions
in a 38-17 win over Skyview.
TELEVISION TIMETABLE
BYE...Saturday,
October 31
BYU vs.
Saturday, Nov 7 at
Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
Saturday, Nov 14 at
Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs. Air Force
Saturday, Nov 21 at
Kickoff: 1:30 pm Mountain Time
TV: CBS C
BYU vs.
Saturday, Nov 28 at
Kickoff: 3:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn and CBS C