HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
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hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission.com
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 30,
Issue 8 – September 28, 2009
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BYU 42 CSU 23
WINNING
IS STILL THE ULTIMATE COUGAR COSMETIC
There were a few
blemishes last Saturday in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
BYU's defense
looked a little splotchy and spotty and Max Hall continued to break out with a
few unwanted pimples and picks on offense, but winning is still the perfect
Cougar cosmetic.
Thanks to 42
points of BYU blush on offense and defensive lipstick that limited
As the CSU Rams
showed, BYU's complexion in conference play won't be smooth and silky.
The Cougars will
have some bags under the eyes and baggage on both sides of the ball that will
require some cosmetic and coaching adjustments if BYU hopes to coverup and
capture its third conference championship under Bronco Mendenhall.
Speaking of
makeup, CSU couldn't make up for the three first quarter touchdowns they gift
wrapped and gave the Cougars.
BYU got out of the
gate early thanks to two Ram tipped passes that resulted in interceptions deep
in CSU's own territory.
Cougars
Capitalize
The Cougars
capitalized on both for two touchdowns and added a third when Matt Marshall
blocked a Ram punt in the same quarter. BYU converted that turnover into 7
points and at the end of the first quarter it was BYU 21 and CSU looking for a
total makeover or at least a do-over after 15 minutes of play.
The Rams put up
438 yards of total offense on BYU's defense. Conversely, the Cougars had 373
yards of offense against CSU.
Like
For BYU cornerback
Brian Logan, it was "the best of times
and the worst of times" for the new juco transfer.
He had a
"Dickens" of a time against the Ram passing game. His best came in
the first quarter when he was involved in both CSU interceptions. He was on the
receiving end of the first interception and broke up the second that resulted
in Andrew Rich coming up with the ball.
The rest of the
game didn't work out so well for him as CSU continually tried to mismatch him
with bigger receivers. Two of the Ram touchdown passes were against
Sticks
and Stones
While CSU was
throwing sticks, stones and touchdowns over
We agree.
Winning also is
the perfect cosmetic for covering up rashes.
A rash of
interceptions is what Max Hall is currently throwing.
Here is a stat
that even globs of makeup and cosmetics will be unable to cover up.
In four games,
Hall's touchdown-to-interception ratio is not good. He has thrown 8 touchdown
passes and 8 interceptions. Balance offensively is good, but balance in
td/int's is not.
In Hall's sophomore
year when BYU won the MWC championship, that ratio was much better. He threw 26
touchdowns and had 12 interceptions. Last year he threw 36 TDs and 14 picks.
Harvey Unga's
hamstring doesn't need any cosmetic enhancement. The junior running back is doing
quite well on his own. Unga turned in another nice rushing performance Against
CSU. He ran for 113 yards on 22 carries and scored 3 touchdowns.
He currently has
gained 227 yards on 35 carries for 4 touchdowns in basically two games. He
didn't play against
Rouge
In the recurring
blemish department and cosmetics, the BYU kicking game could certainly use more
rouge.
In Canadian
Football it is called a rouge or single when a team kicks the ball into the
opponent's end zone and they can't or don't run the ball out.
The last few
seasons, rouge has been rare for the BYU kicking game. Despite all the
recruiting promises of big-leg kickers, BYU seldom can get the ball into the
end zone on kickoffs.
It wouldn't be
that big of a deal except for the fact that BYU kickers are at 4000-plus feet
and when we randomly change channels while watching other college football
games, kickers at sea level seem to have no problem reaching and rouging the
end zone.
AGGIES
ARE AN OFFENSIVE TEAM
We have never
liked
This year we find
them particularly offensive.
Based on their
first three games, USU, under new coach Gary Anderson, the former
They just have had
problems winning games.
In case you
haven't been paying attention, BYU's opponent for this coming Friday night in
LaVell Edwards Stadium, is 1-2 on the year.
They opened their
season in
Losing is not new
for
The Aggies have a
formula for giving the BYU defense fits. They have an experienced and returning
quarterback in Diondre Borel. Even worse, Borel is a quarterback that can make
plays with his legs.
Problems
BYU has problems
containing mobile quarterbacks. The latest example was Christian Ponder of
They have
playmakers on that side of the ball.
It will be
interesting to see how BYU and its defense game plans for the Aggies. We are
sure that their top priority will be to keep Borel from getting outside of
containment. That is when he is most dangerous.
Defensively, The
Aggies are giving up about the same yardage that they are producing on offense.
In three games, they have let their opponents have 1459 yards of offense and
giving up 35 points per game.
This has the
makings of an offensive shootout.
Its a good thing
that offense is the strong suit of BYU.
We call it BYU 48
USU 31.
The game will be
televised live on the Mtn with kickoff set for 7:00 pm.
DAN
HAWKINS SPEAKS TO MY VIEW OF BYU FOOTBALL
I admit that I
used to be insecure about BYU football.
When the Cougars
were in their heydays of the '80s, I followed the national polls religiously. I
couldn't believe that the Cougars were always underrated and not higher in the
polls. The East coast bias bugged me.
I intensely
disliked Barry Switzer and Bryant Gumbel for their total lack of respect for
the BYU football program.
I used to eagerly
await post game shows just to hear what opposing coaches said about BYU after
the Cougars had defeated them. I was always sure that they would be effusive in
their praise of BYU after the Cougars whipped them.
I hated it that
the Cougars weren't given enough accolades for their accomplishments.
I used to
subscribe to the Kevin Bacon and six degrees of separation football theory. If
BYU beat
Pundits
and Polls
I no longer care
what the polls or pundits say. It doesn't bother me if others across the
country don't think BYU is a top five football program, because I don't think
they are either.
My football
philosophy is now more in line with Dan Hawkins, the head coach of Colorado,
when he screamed in 2007, "It's Division I football. If you don't like it,
go play intramurals."
In case you missed
it or forgot, here is an audio clip of Hawkins' infamous tirade.
YouTube
- Dan Hawkins - Go Play Intramurals Brother
It used to be that
if BYU lost a game or even won, but didn't play well, I couldn't sleep at
night. How could the Cougars let me down?
Those days are
long gone. It's Division I football.
Good teams lose.
Great teams lose. Bad teams occasionally win.
If BYU played
The Sooners now
have tape of the Cougars. Who cares? BYU's win over OU was the ultimate
entertainment and is one of my all-time favorite BYU football moments.
If BYU played
How can
College football
is a lot like the national political scene. Substance is gone, regardless of
party affiliation. Without a playoff, we don't really know which teams can beat
other teams.
Talking
Heads
Instead, it is
about sound bites, snippets of video and talking heads on networks who tell us
who is good and why we should think like they do.
Take away the
studio hosts and sets and it is still Division I football where real teams with
real players with abilities and talent are spread among all teams. Those teams
then actually go out and go mano a mano on the football field.
How else do you
explain USC getting beat by Washington last week and this week Cal getting
pummeled by Oregon or highly regarded Penn State taking it on the chin at home
against Iowa. How do explain a nondescript team like
Pardon the
backtracking to Kevin Bacon, but in their opening game at home this season,
That means that
since BYU pounded Northern Iowa last year, they could beat
Crown the Cougars
champions of the Big Ten.
Top 25
At the risk of
sounding like one of those talking heads, BYU is a very good football team, one
of the top 25 in the nation, but they are not an elite team. They don't have a good
enough defense or enough speed to bang heads consistently with the elite teams
of the nation.
Regardless, they
are still very entertaining to watch and follow. They are what they are.
Craving respect is in my rear view mirror. What I am looking for is
entertainment and some much needed recreation and relief from real life.
BYU football
provides that, thank you.
BYU will win some
big games. They will lose some big games. Harking back to Hawkins, "It is
Division I football." That is what happens.
In the last two
decades BYU has won a lot of football games and most of the time looked good
doing it. That said, there are plenty of teams that can beat them or make them
look ordinary just because it is Division I football.
BYU isn't the only
team with decent coaches who watch film and find deficiencies they can attack
and defeat.
Give any coach in
the MWC a little bit of talent in the right spots, enough looks at enough film
and enough times on the same field with BYU, and they will eventually make it
competitive. As Dan Hawkins shouted, "It's Division I
football."
QUARTERBACK QUEUE
Max Hall...Completed
18-of-29 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Also threw two interceptions.
Riley Nelson...Did not
play against
James Lark and Jason
Munns...Both are still serving missions. Lark is due back in January and Munns
will return in May.
Jake Heaps...Completed 17
of 22 passes for 272 yards and five touchdowns in Skyline's 55-6 win over
Newport HS.
Tanner Mangum..The
sophomore qb from Timberline HS in
Alex Kuresa...Completed
18-of-24 passes for 356 yards and six touchdowns in 50-17 win over Box Elder
HS.
Football Fluff and Stuff
We don't know if
he is LDS, but with a name like Mahonri Bostrom, it is a possibility. The 5-9,
180 pound senior running back for Nampa HS in
A week or so back
Tom Holmoe was speaking to a luncheon group and said that BYU is well aware of
its speed issues in football. He basically said it would likely take another 15
years of
Holmoe also stated
that after the
TELEVISION
TIMETABLE
BYU vs.
Friday, Oct 2 at
Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
UNLV
Saturday, Oct 10 at
Kickoff: 8:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
Saturday, Oct 17 at
Kickoff: 4:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
TCU
Saturday, Oct 24 at
Kickoff: 5:30 pm Mountain
Time
TV: Versus