CS Lite, Vol. 38, Issue 14 - October 29. 2018

HB Arnett’s “Lite” <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 801 372 0819 Vol. 38, Issue 14, - October 29, 2018 Perspective, Pageantry and Prognosis Perspective There are 130 FBS (formerly known as Division I) schools currently competing in football. Of those 130 schools, 112 played a game last week. Of the 56 games contested there were 56 winners and 56 losers. See, BYU had plenty of company in the losing category last week. In the category of Pac 12 envy, BYU did what USC, UCLA, Washington, Stanford, Oregon and Colorado did. They also lost. Call it positive perspective. Of the 112 teams that saw action last week, UTEP was the only school that was shutout. They were beaten 19-0 by UAB in El Paso in a Conference USA matchup. It was the Miners’ second scoreless game of the year. They are currently 0-8. Runner up last week in scoring futility was BYU. The Cougars managed just 6 points and were pushing UTEP for the bottom spot of scoring futility. Third place in that category of the 112 schools playing last week was Northern Illinois. Their low water mark of 7 points of production was the third lowest of the week. In case you are a little unsure on the math, 7 is greater than 6, consequently NIU won and BYU lost. That’s called negative perspective. In the panorama of points perspective from last week, Utah State put up 61 on New Mexico, Utah put up 41 on UCLA, Arizona put up 44 vs 15 for Oregon. That itself is probably worth a dissertation. How did UofA improve and BYU deteriorate? Here are the offensive productions from last week for the 4 remaining opponents on BYU’s season schedule. Boise State scored 48 against clock chewing Air Force. New Mexico State scored 20 against Texas State in a losing effort and UMass beat UConn 22-17. And of course, Utah hammered UCLA 41-10. Definition I looked up the definition of futility and this came up: 1 : the quality or state of being futile : uselessness. I looked up football offense and it said this: 1 : in American football, the offense is the side in which the players have possession of the ball. It is their job to advance the ball towards the opponent's end zone to score points. Put those two definitions together and you get offensive futility. They first synonym listed is BYU. Of the 112 Division I teams playing last week, 56 had to lose. That is some semi-positive perspective for BYU. UTEP and BYU used in the same offensive futility sentence is also perspective and not in a good way. Of the 130 teams playing FBS football, BYU is currently ranked 122 in total offense. Last year they finished ranked 107th in total offense. Based on those numbers, last year’s offensive staff and personnel weren’t very good. This year they are worse. Jeff Grimes said last week that the staff spent time self-scouting themselves to find out what other teams see when they put the BYU film on the screen. I could have saved them the time. Here is what I see: No running backs who only need a seam and with their shake and speed can get through that seam. No playmaking receivers that opposing defenses have to respect deep. And until just recently, no quarterback. I hate to keep harping on it, but talented players are worth much more than talented coaches. We have now seen two entirely different offensive staffs and nothing has changed except Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams. Good News The good news is it appears we now have a playmaking and game changing quarterback in Zack Wilson. Even better news, we have Jaren Hall, the redshirt freshman, who has all the same skills Wilson has. For the next four years, we are good to go at quarterback even if there is an injury issue. Since the probability of getting a quality running back and a game changing receiver are slim to none, it might be time to get the quarterback in shotgun formation and let him air it out and when that doesn’t happen, make a play with his legs. Here’s a little more perspective to put in your pipe and smoke but don’t inhale it. Mike Leach isn’t coming to Provo. BYU won’t spend the money or short circuit the active LDS criterion. So if not Leach, are there any Leach disciples out there? The former BYU rugby player who never played football himself has an interesting coaching tree that BYU might be wise to start tapping or at least following. Here are two names and schools you should google. Neal Brown – Troy and Seth Littrell – North Texas State. Here also is an interesting Leach coaching tree article from a few years ago. Click here to read. <https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2017/10/6/16431828/the-mike-leach-coachin g-tree-washington-state> Pageantry… You may not remember Chris Schenkel, who was ABC’s voice for college football for years before Keith Jackson took over the duties. But I do. One of Schenkel’s favorite and famous phrases that he used was “Ah, the pomp and pageantry of college football.” Just my opinion, but BYU football still does have a little pomp and pageantry to it, even in these days of television and mundane football. It’s not Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas or Penn State pageantry, but pageantry none the less. Yes, there is still pageantry at BYU football, just not as many people watching it because while the pageantry is still decent, the actual football isn’t. If we can agree that there is still a semblance of pageantry with BYU football, then the following should at least set off some ding, ding, dings, in your Cougar football head. If I was giving odds on The Hill Cumorah Pageant vs. BYU football pageantry, I would make the HCP a 3-touchdown favorite over Cougar football. Click here <https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900039117/mormon-church-statement-says- changes-coming-for-local-celebrations-including-pageants.html> for the latest point spreads on pageants. I don’t speak for the Church but the closing paragraph in this article, in my opinion, puts BYU football in the cross hairs of future change and adaptation. In case you missed it, here is what it says: "As this occurs, local church leaders and members are encouraged to focus on gospel learning in their homes and to participate in sabbath worship and the church’s supporting programs for children, youth, individuals and families." I re-read it and didn’t see where it said the Church would be supporting football. I’m sure that football won’t be played in the millennium, so a jump start on that personal prediction, wouldn’t be that big of a deal to me. Which brings me to the third P. Prognosis So, what if The Church dropped football? Where would you put your college football fanhood? That’s a question you will have to answer for yourself. As for me, I can think of several options. First, because of streaming and internet availability, you can basically watch any and all football games for the entire spectrum of the 130 FBS teams. You no longer have to be loyal because of location. So, let me get this out of the way. I will never be a fan of any sport connected with the University of Utah. I haven’t ruled out Utah State in football or even Southern Utah, however. I won’t be a fan of any team that knowingly cheats or buys their players. That eliminates any SEC team (my opinion only) and most of the Big Ten and Big 12. I hate the Pac 12 because it is those darn Californians that are leaving and are driving up real estate prices in Boise and Tucson, the two places where I see myself finally retiring and living. One other possibility. New Mexico State. I love Las Cruces. Hadn’t been there in years, but it is not what I remembered. I could live there. Of course, the NMSU Aggies stink at football. The good news is that I’m becoming accustomed to stinky football right here and right now while living in Provo. Make your own choice. We may be forced to do it before we die. Back to Zack I mentioned above that BYU’s only true offensive weapon is Zack Wilson. Now all they need to do is manufacture an offense tailored to his talents. Below are the passing stats of BYU, including Wilson’s, after just two full games. Here are the national passing stats of the top 20 QB’s They key to this top twenty list is that at least half of these quarterbacks can also use their feet to move the football and keep defenses honest. The other key is the yards per attempt numbers. Wilson’s two-game stats would make him fit in this list of top twenty passers. Now all he needs is more games and an offense to fit his skills. Again, just my opinion. It Was a Triple Crown Weekend for BYU As I have stated many times in this letter, I love horse racing. Cougar fans should also have loved BYU’s Triple Crown weekend. It was a scepter Saturday for BYU as the Cougars captured championships and crowns in Men and Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Soccer. Here are three short videos depicting the three championships. Click to watch. Soccer <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilg_5gyVr5s> Men <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBHiOC7Xyhc> ’s X Country Women <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwwXVYQmRZc> ’s X Country Fluff and Stuff For the majority of the years that I have published this letter, I focused on football recruiting. It was a big selling point for subscribers and I was the only one providing info on that facet of BYU football. Times have changed. You can now get recruiting information and videos for BYU football recruiting with the click of your mouse. One thing that hasn’t changed is the hype and hope of recruiting. None of that matters and never did. It’s all about production at the next level and how soon you can produce. How many of BYU’s hype and hope recruits from the last two classes are actually producing on the field for the Cougars now? They may be playing but at 4-4 and soon to be 4-5 this Saturday at Boise State, playing and producing are two different things. Boise opened as a 14 ½ point favorite in Las Vegas. How many of Northern Illinois no-name recruits produced against BYU last Saturday? I won’t bother to look at their roster, but I did look at the line of scrimmage and the Huskies absolutely dominated both sides of the ball. In the name of nostalgia, I will list the current BYU football commits. Jacob Conover, QB, Chandler (AZ) HS Chuck Alatini. DL, Timpview (UT) HS Tausili Fiatoa, LB, Kahuku (HI) HS Chase Roberts, WR, American Fork (UT) HS Elijah Unutoa, OL, Kapaa (HI) HS Michael Daley, LB, Lone Peak (UT) HS Brock Gunderson, OL, Cy Woods (TX) HS Blake Freeland, OL, Herriman (UT) HS Brooks Maile, DL, Pine View (UT) HS Ethan Erickson, TE, Kahuku (HI) HS Carter Wheat, TE/OL, Red Mountain (AZ) HS Bruce Mitchell, OL, South Summit (UT) UT Keanu Hill, WR, Trinity (TX) Television Timetable BYU vs. Boise State (Football) Saturday, November 3 at Boise Kickoff: 8:15 pm MDT TV: ESPN2 BYU vs. Westminster (M Basketball) Thursday, November 1 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm MDT TV: BYUTV BYU vs. San Diego (W Volleyball) Friday, November 2 at Provo Start Time: 7:00 pm MDT TV: BYUTV