HB Arnett’s
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West 800 South –
Vol. 33,
Issue 7 – September 17, 2012
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No Kicking Curtain
Call
Cougars Lose Three-Act Comedy of
Errors
The plot of this comedy of errors included BYU and
There were plenty of twists and turns leading to the climax and
conclusion to this game, but the bottom line was that
Game over.
The Mormon Church is renowned for many things such as their welfare
program, their humanitarian aid programs, the missionary effort and rapid world
wide growth.
What Mormons are not known for is producing kickers.
The only LDS kicker I know of that got a cup of Postum in the NFL was
Owen Pochman. He was on the BYU roster from 1997-2000. He kicked two years for
the New York Giants and one season for
There have been a few punters, (Lee Johnson) and a few deep snappers,
but kickers good enough to make it to the NFL or even make a few clutch Cougar
field goals, don’t seem to be part of the LDS DNA.
What I haven’t missed is the number of times that BYU kickers
fail at game winning or clutch field goals. Maybe it’ a perception
problem on my part, but more often than not it is a wide right, wide left or
blocked problem.
Winning Field Goals?
There have surely been a few game winning field goal blocks by BYU in
the history of Cougar football, but the last game winning field goal I can
recall was made by Ethan Pochman (Owen’s older brother) at the 1996 WAC
Championship game in
Before that it was Jason Chaffetz hitting the game winner in 1988 in
the Freedom Bowl for a 20-17 win over
BYU blocked a field goal against UCLA a few years ago in the Las Vegas
bowl, but kicking game winning field goals for the Cougars have been few and
very far between.
BYU isn’t the only team with kicking problems this year.
And BYU isn’t the only team to go on the road and lose last week.
The Cougars won the statistical battle against the Utes. BYU had 25
first downs to just 14 for
BYU did lose the turnover battle. The Cougars had two, both of which
led to eventual
Nelson threw an interception in the third quarter which led to
Bye Bye BCS
BYU, with the loss, is now officially out of any BCS possibilities.
They are also 2-1 on the year and likely to be 2-2 on the season unless they
play much better at
The Broncos replaced the Cougars in the latest AP rankings and are
listed in the No. 24 spot.
The game is slated for ESPN and will kick off at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.
If this game comes down to a field goal for either team for a win, it
might be best to turn your head and not watch. At least that has been the
kicking history for both squads recently.
This game will likely be decided by which team runs the ball
successfully. Neither
Objective observers would have to say that Nelson’s passing
proficiency has been less than stellar so far this year.
Look for
The TCU loss was especially heartbreaking because BSU’s Dan
Goodale missed a 39-yard field goal for the win as time expired.
BYU Will Have to Win in the Air
TCU got the unusual win at
For BYU to replicate that win, the Cougars would also have to throw for
400 yards or better. We just don’t see it and call it Boise State 27 BYU
24.
Perception is
Reality
Three Failed Field Goals Away from
Owning
When you look at the big picture of BYU football since Bronco
Mendenhall arrived on campus a decade ago, the portrait looks positive.
That’s a very good thing
When you focus on Mendenhall and games against
In the eight years that Bronco Mendenhall has been the head coach at
BYU, he has hung his hat on consistency. He is always telling fans and the
public that his program is one of high performance and consistency.
He has the record and overall performance to back up those claims.
Beginning in 2005, when he took over a program that was in shambles, he turned
in an inaugural season of 6-6 and earned a bowl bid. He subsequently produced
an 11-2 record in 2006, went 11-2 in 2007, and followed that up with a 10-3
mark in 2008. 2009 was great at 11-2. There was a 7-6 hiccup in 2010, and a
nice 10-3 rebound last year in 2011.
We wouldn’t bet against him going 10-3 again this season.
Sensational
That is a pretty sensational sombrero that he has hung on the BYU
football coaching hat rack in the last eight years. It is good enough that
there is now a new book out detailing how Mendenhall has arrived at this point
in his career. The book is called “Running
into the Wind. 5 Strategies for Building a Successful Team”.
Now comes the perception problem; at least my personal perception
problem. I haven’t yet read the book, but based on my personal perception
problem with Mendenhall when facing
If there was a chapter devoted to the eight years of games against
Now Tom Holmoe has the same problem when it comes to the perception of
Bronco Mendenhall against
Bragging about Mendenhall’s consistency as a successful football
coach overall is warranted. So is his perception problem of being a poor coach
in rivalry games against
Poor Perception
He is perceived as a coach who can’t prepare, motivate, adjust or
inspire his team to beat the Utes. At least that appears to be the public
perception as I see it.
In my opinion, the public perception of Mendenhall seems to be that he
is claiming that his overall consistency and record trumps the disappointments
and defeats against
But…the reality of Mendenhall’s perceived performance
against his biggest rival would all be dramatically different if not for four
failed field goals.
BYU lost to
Make two out of the three field goals attempted by BYU last Saturday,
in SLC and BYU wins and Mendenhall would be 5-3 against
There are always plenty of excuses for the losses. This year it was
Cooper and Buck Stopping
Ask John Cooper about rival buck stopping versus a glossy overall
resume.
Cooper, you may remember, was at one time the head coach at
In the big picture, Cooper would have coached another decade with the
overall success he had at
Mendenhall is safe from the same fate, but his future would be cemented
in security if he could find a kicking game for the
It would be one thing if
Big Picture
In the big picture, patience and consistency are virtues to be admired.
When it comes to playing
So is the public perception of Mendenhall’s mantra of preparing
for and playing against
Until the kick game woes of BYU are solved, it is my
opinion and perception that Mendenhall will be perceived as a guy who is constantly
outcoached by Kyle Whittingham.
To reiterate Rondo, “perception is
reality”. Ain’t that a kick in the pants?
Names and Games
Identity Crisis?...Is
BYU having an offensive identity crisis? Is Brandon Doman, the Cougar offensive
coordinator, over his head? Who knows? What we do know and is documented is
that under Doman in his first 1 1/3 seasons as the head BYU offensive guy, BYU
appears to be floundering and flip flopping in what they want to do
offensively.
Doman started with a drop back passing attack. When he discovered he didn’t
have a drop back passer, he switched mid season to a more mobile qb. Now that
defenses are taking away and scheming for BYU’s mobile quarterback, they
are daring BYU to throw the ball down field.
Ideally, a BYU quarterback would be a proficient passer and mobile. Riley
Nelson is one or the other, but he is not both. The hope for the future is that
freshman Taysom Hill can fit the bill and be a good dual threat as a proficient
downfield thrower and a mobile threat with his feet.
Hopefully Doman is the guy that can make this all happen. Hopefully
Hill is the guy that can give Doman the best of a passing game and mobile
quarterback that will make defenses pay for what they are trying to take away
from BYU.
Meanwhile, history tells us that when BYU is very good offensively,
they are good with the drop back passing game. Hill was a quarterback BYU did
not expect to be in the program until he unexpectedly showed up as a transfer
from Stanford. He is BYU’s future when it comes to offense.
That said, the Cougars are still recruiting and stock piling drop back
passers that are better throwers than runners.
Ammon Olsen, the current scout team quarterback, Tanner Magnum,
currently gray-shirting and then headed on an LDS mission and Billy Green, the
most recent QB commit who is not LDS, are primarily drop back throwers. That
would seem to indicate that before Doman is done, BYU will be back to a drop
back passing offense.
Only time will tell.
What I do know is that BYU’s offense and the perception of
BYU’s offense is only as good as the latest scoreboard. If BYU whips
Bielema, Leach, Kush and Counting…At
last count, the BYU offensive line
had 7 illegal procedure calls flagged against them against
That will be addressed this week before embarking to
Bret Bielema, the
Mike Leach, the head coach at
Years ago, Frank Kush, the old
It will be interesting to see how the BYU staff addresses the offensive
line play this week and if it makes a difference in
Last Week’s review and results…Here
is a look at a review and results from BYU’s football opponents and some
results from some of BYU’s current crop of football commits.
Fluff and Stuff…Dave
Rose, the BYU basketball coach, and his staff made an official in-home recruiting
visit in
Personally, in my opinion, the less
noise BYU makes nationally in their pursuit of Parker, the better their
chances. There is a totally different dynamic taking place between BYU, Parker
and his family than the normal recruiting hoopla that most major prospects
generate. We still like BYU’s chances in this fight.
Speaking of noise, it is the BYU
women who are currently cacophonous on the national scene in volleyball and
soccer.
The BYU women are currently
undefeated and ranked No. 15 in volleyball. They swept three matches last week
while participating in the George Washington Invitation last week in the
nation’s capitol.
The Lady Cougars took care of
BYU is now 12-0 on the year and will
begin WCC league action this Thursday and Saturday in
Pepperdine is currently ranked No.
18 in the country and is coming off capturing the Flo Hyman Championship
Tournament last week in
In women’s soccer, the Lady
Cougars continue their hot streak with two more wins last week in
The Cougars are currently 8-1 on the
year and ranked No. 17/8 depending on the poll. They are scoring at an
incredible clip with 16 goals in the last 4 games.
Next up for the Cougars will be two
road games at
Television Timetable
BYU vs.
Thursday, Sep 20 at
Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Friday, Sep 28 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Friday, Oct 5 at
Kickoff: 8:15 pm Mountain Time
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Saturday, Oct 13 at
Kickoff: TBA
TV: TBA