HB Arnett's "Lite" <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 801 372 0819 Vol. 38, Issue 16, - November 12, 2018 A CINEMATIC COUGAR FOOTBALL SEASON Arizona was Field Marshall Erwin Romrell and BYU was General Bernard Montgomery in this football re-enactment of the great victory in the desert. BYU stirred up a lot of dust, hype and hope in this desert battle in Tucson. BYU beat the Wildcats 28-23 BYU went from a surprising win against the "Bear Down" Wildcats to a bare bones loss to the Bears of California in BYU's home opener. Bare bones means meager offense for the Cougars in their 2018 season opener. This game, a 24-21 upset win of then ranked No. 6 Wisconsin was a red herring special. It was euphoria in Provo and dismay in Madison, but when the leaves started to fall in the Midwest, it was apparent that the Badgers weren't as good as they were portrayed in preseason polls and BYU wasn't nearly as good as this supposed upset proved to be. This was a guaranteed win for BYU against an FCS McNeese State. Don't know how much Tom Holmoe paid, probably in the $600,000 range to get the Cowboys from Louisiana to Provo, but BYU's 30-3 win over the Louisiana team worked out to be a $20,000 per point payout for BYU. It may be proven to be a cost-effective expenditure because the win counts towards bowl eligibility. BYU was still holding on to the Wisconsin game fantasy world only to have a dose of sleep walking in Seattle as the Huskies dismantled the Cougars on both sides of the ball. The final was 35-7 UW. In reality, the final was determined in the first quarter when it was obvious that BYU was overmatched. The Aggie farm hands from Logan came to Provo and proved emphatically who were the mice and who were the men. The 45-20 shellacking was brutal, but could have much worse if the Aggies wanted it to be. Without a doubt, this was the best offense BYU saw and will see this season. Won't be surprised if this USU season costs them a head coach after their bowl game. These kind of offenses don't grow on trees or in the ground of Cache Valley. BYU's 49-23 win certainly left some Blue Hawaii fans in the Cougars' win in Provo. The win also was the starting debut of BYU's next rock star, Zach Wilson. He showed he was an athlete and playmaker. Meanwhile Hawaii showed they were just another pretender despite some early season scoring spectaculars. If we are looking for rock stars, it would be a smash hit if Hawaii big-time receiver John Ursua could somehow end up at BYU as a graduate transfer. Don't know his academic situation and graduate status, but the former LDS missionary proved he is a big time receiver. Wishful thinking never hurt. Another Husky, another loss to the dogs. This time it was Northern Illinois by the score of 7-6. In dog sled racing, you hear the term "Mush". In this game Mush referred to BYU's anemic and non productive offense. This one was a hard one to take and postponed BYU's offensive flashes against Hawaii until further notice. NIU had the nickname, but BYU held the definition of dog in this unsightly upset. BYU has had 7 consecutive deaths by potato losing experiences in Boise since signing a long term home and home with the Broncos. We've seen death by fried potato, humiliation by baked potato, sliced potato with a missed field goal and now a potato au gratin and ever so grating defeat this season with the Cougars on the two yeard line but with not enough toughness to put the tuber and touchdown in the endzone. The final. Another fried french fry for BYU by the score of 21-16. Insert Massachusetts for Mayor and you get what BYU faced last week in Foxborough when they beat back the Minutemen 35-16. Just like the elections in Utah County last week, BYU had the same problem as the election system did. It was a long wait to vote (3-4 hours) and even longer to tally the votes. BYU took their time registering their first score, but once they got on the board, they also got on a roll. BYU played well and UMass didn't. It takes a good batter to make a good cupcake and BYU battered and beat this team to a pulp. Cupcake skirmish would be a more appropriate title for this movie and mismatch set for this Saturday. New Mexico State is giving up 42 points per game. This should be BYU's best chance to give their offensive impersonation of Utah State putting the hammer down on the Aggies. A win also cements a bowl game invite for the Cougars. This movie title re-run pretty well sums up what to expect in two weeks when BYU travels to Utah to face the Utes in Rice Eccles Stadium. Reality and more reality. Expect BYU to play hard, but Utah will win their 8th straight game against the Cougars. Their defense is just to talented and too tough for BYU to handle. This game usually is close and will likely be again this season, but defense wins championships and defeats BYU. Just ask Washington, Northern Illinois and Kyle Whittingham. As expected, there will be a lot of somber and morose BYU fans after the upcoming Utah game. Instead of critizing Kalani Sitake, here is a film that is very good and is uplifting enough to distract your disgust for BYU's eighth straight loss to Utah. Depending on the scoring differential between the Utes and Cougars, this happy-ending movie may not be upbeat and golly-gee-good enough to pick you up. Relax. There is always Mary Poppins. If BYU beats Utah, I will have supercalifragilisticexpialidocious tattoed on both armpits. If BYU upsets the Utes, every time I put on deodorant, I will smell the sweet fragrance of my forecast. If Utah wins, my other option is to never put on deordorant again and remind all of just what real B.O (bad opinion and body odor) smells like. Logistically and on paper, The Frisco Bowl, held in Frisco, Texas on December 19, in my opinion, looks like the only viable spot for BYU to land in a bowl game. It features a match up of an AAC school versus an at large team. All other minor bowl games feature conference matchups. There is always a chance that a league can't fulfill its allotment of six win teams, and if that happens then here are some possible bowl games where ESPN could place BYU: Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa; New Orleans Bowl; Cure Bowl, Orlando; Boca Raton Bowl. As of today there are only 64 Division I football teams with six wins, the necessary victories needed to qualify for a bowl spot. There are 39 bowl games which means 78 teams will be needed to fill those bowl spots. Don't worry about where Frisco is and if there is anything to do there. It is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area (30 miles north of Dallas) and was selected by Money magazine as the best place to live in the US. There are plenty of BYU fans in Dallas and plenty of flights from all over the country. Now if only New Mexico State will cooperate with the Cougars and supply them with a win. BYU opened ast a 23 point favorite. Basketball in Context In case you missed it BYU basketball was slapped across the wrist, hand and face with NCAA sanctions resulting from Nick Emery's issues after a messy divorce. Here is a summation of the charges against Emery in particular and BYU in general for lack of institutional control: The NCAA report also found that most of the impermissible benefits were given by one booster and included approximately $10,000 worth of all-expenses-paid trips, the use of a car and car insurance. Two other boosters treated Emery to free golf outings and meals at a country club where they were members. One of those boosters also provided or left $200 cash in the locker room for Emery during practice. The fourth booster arranged a free weekend stay at a resort.
From the NCAA perspective, the hammer was dropped on BYU basketball and fully merited. From a particular church's (mine) new emphasis on ministering to those in need of uplifting and strengthening in a time of trials, this is right up ministering's main street. I guess we can't have it both ways.
But can they Shoot the Three? These two movies tell the story of BYU basketball this season. BYU has never been an athletic team, but they have a history of being able to shoot the ball well beyond the arc. That history took a hiatus the last two seasons while BYU struggled to put the ball in the hoop from distance. This is an easy season to project. If BYU can have a successful renaissance of rainbows from beyong the thee-point line, this team has a chance. That was fully demonstrated last week in BYU's 75-65 home win over UVA. This game was close and contested until TJ Haws started shooting from distance and delivered. Game over. Season over, if BYU can't keep up the successful shooting from outside. Next up for BYU this coming week are games Tuesday against Northwestern State (Louisiana) Tuesday night November 13, Oral Roberts, Thursday, November 15 and Alabama A&M Saturday afternoon. Hard Times Ahead in 2019? Television Timetable BYU vs. Northwestern State ( M Basketball) Tuesday, November 13 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs.Oral Roberts (M Basketball) Thursday, November 15 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Saint Mary's (W Volleyball) Thursday, November 15 at Moraga First Serve: 8:00 pm MST TV: TheW.tv BYU vs. Pacific (W Volleyball) Saturday, November 17 at Stockton First Serve: 1:00 pm MST TV: TheW.tv BYU vs. Alabama A&M (M Basketball) Saturday, November 17 at Provo Tipoff: 4:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. New Mexico State (Football) Saturday, November 17 at Provo Kickoff: 8:15 pm MST TV: ESPN2
