HB Arnett’s 801 372 - 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South – Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 35, Issue 7 –September 8, 2014 Click Here <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions Stupid Good Better Late Than Never Timing and Taysom is everything. Last season, after the conclusion of fall camp, I wrote that the 2013 offense would be Stupid Good! The only thing stupid was my assessment of what turned out to be an 8-5 season. One year later, time and Taysom have healed all stupid predictions. Stupid good was meant as a complimentary description of what I assumed would be a highly productive offense. No declarations of Stupid Good this year. We are way beyond Stupid Good now. When it comes to the BYU offense this season, I’m going with Dullardly Dangerous or Imbecilicly Impressive. My IQ is just barely bigger than my belt size, but I know good to great when I see it. And now, so does the rest of the college football nation. BYU has a very good and productive offense. A 41-7 drubbing of Texas articulates that assessment nicely. Hyberbole Cutback I’m cutting back on my praise of Taysom Hill this week. At the rate he is going and producing I will suffer hyperbole hyperventilation. He can’t get better than this. Can he? Don’t answer that. Hill’s numbers; 134 yards rushing (minus 35 yards in sacks), 181 yards passing and 3 (should have been 4, if not for an ill timed holding call) touchdowns, was just pedestrian production for the kid from Pocatello. He will be better. Now that is not only scary good, but just plain scary. Forget Hill and scary good for now. Let’s talk nasty good. Nasty is what BYU line coach Garett Tujague had hoped the Cougar offensive line would become this season. After just two games, we don’t know if that is mission accomplished, but it certainly is mission in progress and head and shoulders better than it was last season. With three freshmen, Tejan Koroma, Tuni Kanuch and Ului Lapuaho all seeing serious time in the trenches, scary good may be an appropriate use for describing the future of this Cougar offensive line. Alisa the next Ziggy? It took an injury two seasons ago to force Bronco Mendenhall into playing Ziggy Ansah full time. That led to a full time gig in the NFL. Bronson Kaufusi saw limited time against Texas after an Achilles heel scare. Michael Alisa replaced him and played extremely well. He caused a fumble on a kickoff and had a nice interception. He isn’t headed for an NFL career, but accurately demonstrates the depth of BYU’s defensive side of the ball. There have been a few requests to include the box score and stats in the letter. You can click here <http://byucougars.com/event-stats/m-football/box-score/105923> for that information. BYU vs. Houston Will This Be a Re-Run or a Rout? If you like your college football with big numbers, you likely thoroughly enjoyed last year’s matchup between BYU and Houston in Texas. There were 93 points scored between the two teams and 780 of passing in that game. The two guys mostly responsible for those numbers are back for an encore. Taysom Hill threw for 417 yards for BYU last year against Houston and true freshman John O’Korn put up 363 yards through the air against the Cougar defense. It’s obvious that Taysom Hill is a better passer now than he was last season. O’Korn should also be a better thrower as a sophomore with a year of playing time under his belt. This game is set up for aerial fireworks, but don’t be surprised if it turns out to be a battle of ground games. Houston rushed for 275 yards last week and BYU racked up 248 yards against a pretty good Texas defensive front. Any way you cut it for the Cougars, Taysom Hill is the guy that will be doing the deed against Houston. He is a handful for opposing defenses with his run game and also now a serious threat throwing the football. BYU opened as a 16 ½ point favorite and quickly moved to an 18 ½ point favorite. With a short week to get ready for the Thursday night kickoff, there may not be enough time for BYU to get back and get ready the three players who came up lame against the Longhorns. That would be Bronson Kaufusi, De’ondre Wesley and Algernon Brown. This should be a game full of big plays from both sidelines. That means plenty of excitement despite what should be fairly easy contest for the Cougars. I call it BYU 45 Houston 21. Bronco Talks “Not Good Enough” Last Week In the lead up to the Texas game, Bronco Mendenhall gave numerous media interviews. The one that grabbed my attention was when Bronco was asked about the ACC and SEC deciding that in the future the Cougars won't count as a BCS-level opponent in their new scheduling philosophies. Bronco basically replied that BYU’s play and success on the field will be what changes that perception. He then added this: While playing BYU won’t count as strength of schedule opponents, that hasn’t kept teams from the ACC and SEC from scheduling the Cougars. Bronco said that in the coming seasons BYU has 15 games set against teams from those two leagues. You can listen to the salient segment of Bronco’s message by clicking here. Bronco <https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmcollege/byu-head-coach-bronco-mendenhall?utm _source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter> interview. It gets interesting at the 1:45 mark and he talks about the future 15 games at the 2: 50 mark. Actually the whole segment is worth listening to, especially in light of BYU’s trouncing of Texas. Are Snow College and BYU Equals? If the comparison is in the number of alums both academic institutions have on NFL rosters as interior linemen, then yes, currently they are equal. Snow College has former Badger footballers Star Lotulelei (Utah), Tenney Palepoi (Utah) Brett Keisel (BYU) and Jordan Devey (Memphis) as defensive and offensive linemen on current NFL rosters. BYU has Ziggy Ansah, Dallas Reynolds and Brett Keisel as interior linemen currently on active rosters. Hebron Fangupo is a BYU line product, but he currently is on the practice squad at Kansas City. The name that most won’t recognize is Jordan Devey, originally out of American Fork HS, just a few miles from the BYU campus. His story is definitely unique for an NFL player drawing a paycheck. Here is his bio from the New England Patriots: Devey’s path to a successful college career was not exactly a cookie-cutter one. Devey did not play football in high school after suffering from Osgood-Schlatters while playing football in junior high. Instead, he played the tuba as a 6-5, 270 pound member of the American Fork High School band. He also turned down multiple music scholarships to serve an LDS church mission after graduating from high school. However, his knee condition subsided and he went on to play football at Snow College. Devey started every game at left guard during his freshman season in 2009 before transitioning to left tackle in 2010. Following the 2010 season, he was named the team's Offensive Player of the Year and earned all-region and all-conference honors. Dewey started all 12 games in his first year at Memphis, as he bounced around the offensive line. He had five starts at right tackle, one at right guard, and six at left tackle. As a senior, Dewey started in all 12 games once again, and recorded two starts left guard, and 10 starts at left tackle. Dewey did not miss a single offensive snap in his time at Memphis. Other BYU players currently on NFL Rosters as of this week include Kyle Van Noy, on the Detroit Lions roster, but on the Injured Reserve list. Daniel Sorensen made the Kansas City roster as a safety and Dallas Reynolds is on the New York Giants roster. Dennis Pitta is still at Baltimore and Spencer Hadley is currently on the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders. SOS Strengthens Slightly This Week Here’s a recap of last weeks Strength of Schedule for BYU: UConn beat Stony Brook 19-16 at home…Now 1-1, Next, Boise State Texas lost to BYU 41-7 in Austin…Now 1-1, Next, UCLA Houston beat Grambling 47-0 at home…Now 1-1, Next, BYU Virginia beat Richmond at home 45-13…Now 1-1, Next, Louisville Utah State beat Idaho State 40-20 in Logan…Now 1-1, Next, Wake Forest Central Florida had a bye…still 0-1, Next, Missouri Nevada beat Washington State in Reno 24-13…Now 2-0, Next, Arizona Boise State beat CSU 37-24 at home…Now 1-1, Next, UConn Middle Tennessee lost to Minn 35-24 on the road…Now 1-1, Next, Western Kentucky UNLV beat Northern Colorado 13-12 in Vegas…Now 1-1, Next, Northern Illinois Savannah State lost to GA Southern 83-9 on the road…Now 0-2, Next, Fort Valley State Cal beat Sacramento State 55-13 at home…Now 2-0, Next, bye Rankings and Ratings BYU cracked the AP top 25 this week, coming in at No. 25. They are ranked No. 27 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. In Sagarin’s rankings, Click Here <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/> , BYU is rated the 16th best team in the country this week. Here are Sagarin’s current rankings of the schools on BYU schedule, plus Utah: Central Florida 22, Texas 44, Boise State 49, Utah 52, Cal 56, Utah State 76, Virginia 85, Houston 92, Nevada 103, UNLV 110, Middle Tennessee 111, UConn 127, Savannah State 247 Next season’s SOS will be dramatically improved, especially in the early part of the schedule. BYU opens with Nebraska, Boise State, UCLA and Michigan. Only Boise State will be in Provo. What BYU fans have to hope for is that Taysom Hill remains in Provo for his senior season and doesn’t opt for an early out to the NFL. The Previous (Play) Prediction is Under Further Review Two weeks ago I wrote the following: Best: Defensive backs this season are the best that BYU has ever had. They are just good, however, when compared to the db’s from the upper echelon of college football teams. BYU is better in the depth department with good cornerbacks in Jordan Johnson, Trent Trammell and Robertson Daniel. The safeties are the kind Bronco Mendenhall loves. They are assignment sound, don’t make many mistakes and are decent, but not great athletes. Daniel Sorensen will be sorely missed this coming season. Again, no NFL paychecks for this group anytime soon. NFL paychecks are not the ultimate barometer for having a good college football team, but it is a good barometer for elite athletes. BYU doesn’t have any in their defensive backfield. Now after two games, as they say on the field, “the previous prediction is under further review.” Bronco Mendenhall has frequently said during fall camp that Robertson Daniel is his best cornerback. He has decent speed and good size for a corner. He has played just one game, against Texas this season, but acquitted himself extremely well in the contest. I am now saying that he may be a very late round draft pick and like Daniel Sorensen, even if he isn’t drafted, he has a chance to stick with an NFL club. The guy that will be drafted, barring injury, is Michael Davis, the sophomore corner who converted from wide receiver. He also has great size and the great speed to go along with that size. That is what NFL scouts are looking for. Davis is still raw at playing the corner, but based on the massive progressions he has made since making the switch late last season, he has better than a puncher’s chance at being the Cougars’ first NFL drafted corner since Rodney Thomas and Rodney Rice were both drafted in the late ‘80s. Kurtz on the Clock It was one month (4weeks) ago that Nick Kurtz, the ultra talented juco receiver suffered a stress fracture in his foot. He had surgery and at the time the prognosis was that he would be out of action 6-8 weeks. As good as BYU is now offensively, it should be interesting to see how they play with the best receiver on the roster back in business. BYU hasn’t said anything about the status of Kurtz’s recovery, but if the original timetable holds, look for him maybe to be back for sure for the Utah State game on October 3. That would be at the 8 weeks mark. If it is just 6 weeks for recovery, he could make the Virginia game on September 20. TV Timetable BYU vs. Houston Thursday, September 11 at Provo Kickoff: 7:00 pm MDT TV: ESPN BYU vs. Virginia (Time and TV should be announced later this week) Saturday, September 20 at Provo Kickoff: TBD TV: TBD BYE Saturday, September 27 BYU vs. Utah State Friday, October 3 at Provo Kickoff: 8:15 pm MDT TV: ESPN BYU vs. Central Florida Thursday, October 9 at Orlando Kickoff: 5:30 pm MDT TV: ESPN