801 372 - 0819 <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 36, Issue 5 - September 7, 2015 Click Here To Order or Renew Your Subscriptions <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> Elvis is still in the Building.Viva Las Vegas, er, Viva Los Videos We <http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/6/9268715/bronco-mendenhall -taysom-hill-byu-nebraska-game-ball-speech> 've got your back Chief Final play <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEPylRzJcc> Quack Quack and brotherly love. <http://t.co/avk2Ze0D1B> espn.go.com/video/clip?id=13596588 . Surfing <https://vine.co/v/eTVKlI3t0J5> Family Reunion <http://www.good4utah.com/video?videoId=230006079> Catch (pun intended) Mitch Mathews' twitter reactions <https://twitter.com/mitchmathews10> @mitchmathews10 Elvis recap <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ond-OwgU8> .Don't step on BYU's shoes Catch Yes's and No's in BYU's 33-28 Win over Nebraska Yes, BYU defeated Nebraska Saturday afternoon in Lincoln 33-28. They did it the old fashioned way; with great quarterback play from both Taysom Hill and backup Tanner Mangum and just enough defense when it counted to make their outstanding plays stand up. Yes, Taysom Hill is gone for the year. He has a foot injury (Lisfranc) that will need season ending surgery. There has been talk that Hill could apply for a medical redshirt year and return next season. I don't see that happening. I do see him rehabbing after the surgery and getting ready to play football again. Not at BYU, but as a free agent trying to land on a team in Canada or NFL. He is too competitive, in my opinion, not to give football one last chance. Then it is on to the business world. Yes, Tanner Mangum is that good. As awesome as he looked against Nebraska, he will still face some challenges once opposing defensive coordinators start to scheme for him. A couple of lumps doesn't mean he isn't the real deal. If he's as good as most think, including me, especially after his inaugural performance against Nebraska, then we need to start worrying about him leaving early for the NFL draft. Yes and No, The BYU secondary actually played well, in my opinion.in pass coverage. Using the Cougar coverage perspective of the last decade, these guys were in good spots. They never let any receiver go by them. That is what Bronco wants. The no was their tackling and angles taken to get to those missed tackles. This group has some athletes which usually is not the case. They will get better and start using better leverage and tackling techniques. Pass coverage isn't the problem in Bronco's coverage context. But if these guys don't getter better leverage and better tackling skills, they will quickly be replaced by guys who can't cover, but can tackle and be position sound. Bronco would rather have technique and tackling than pass coverage. The good news is that this group of Micah Hanneman, Michael Davis, Jordan Preator and Michael Shelton, can eventually do both. Throw in Kai Nacua back in the mix, and I still like this secondary. Yes, Travis Tuiloma is that good. He injured his knee late in the second quarter and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He is to the BYU defense what Taysom Hill was to the BYU offense. BYU had a talented replacement for Hill, but they don't have anybody to replace Tuiloma with anywhere close to equal skills. This is a huge defensive loss and will set back Mendenhall's plans for a rejuvenated defense until Tuiloma gets back. When BYU has been good defensively in the 3-4 scheme, they have had very good nose tackles such as Hebron Fangupo, Eathyn Manumaleuna and now Tuiloma. Bronco will need to find a solution quickly because you can bet Boise State saw tape and will force the Cougars to stop the run. If they can't, the current BYU euphoria will be very short lived. Yes, It was a good day to be a former BYU rugby player. Jonny Linehan, despite some early fall camp apprehensions, delivered the goods on Saturday and had a very nice debut punting the ball rugby style for the Cougars. Trevor Samson also made his field goal attempts. The kicking game seems to be at a good level this season. In other BYU Rugby to BYU Football news, Paul Lasike, the former Cougar rugger, was waived by the Arizona Cardinals last week, but signed by the Chicago Bears and will be on their practice squad drawing a paycheck. Free Agent Alani Fua, didn't play rugby, but he did make the Cardinals 53-man squad as a linebacker. No and Yes, No, the BYU running game, minus Taysom Hill's 72 yards on the ground, was abysmal against Nebraska. I blame it on the first game and the finger of Francis Bernard. BYU, without Jamaal Williams, doesn't have any backs without enough burst to get to a hole and through it consistently. Williams could do that. They also have no current running backs that are a threat to get to and turn the corner on defenses. The two best runs by a back at BYU against the Huskers were produced by Adam Hine. Both of those nice runs were because Nebraska was surprised both times by the calls. Now for the yes, BYU's ground game will get better. But they will have to wait until Francis Bernard, the true freshman, is cleared to play. He broke his finger in practice last week and didn't suit up in Lincoln. The early word is that he will be back for the UCLA game. I say this in hushed tones, but the word filtering out of the last two weeks of fall camp is that Bernard may be the next Harvey Unga. He was that impressive running the ball and catching it out of the backfield. We will see, but if true, I can hardly wait to see an Unga type back running over opposing safeties at the goal line. That implies that he also was able to get past the line of scrimmage and downfield. That didn't happen for BYU running backs against Nebraska. No, I didn't see any BYU player leave the field because of cramping. That has never happened in the first games of the season I have watched over many years. Yes, Virginia, there is a Frank Wintrich and he and his staff seem to be worth whatever Bronco and Tom Holmoe had to pay them to come over from North Texas. There were no soft tissue injuries of any consequence in fall camp or in the first game. I'm sure there was plenty of pickle juice in refrigerators somewhere in Nebraska last Saturday, but the only thing on the sideline for BYU was a group of extremely well-conditioned football players. No, There were not enough game balls to go around. Bronco awarded three game balls to Taysom Hill, Tanner Mangum and Mitch Mathews. He needed two more. One should have gone to Drew Brown, the Nebraska kicker, who missed two potential game clinching field goals. The other game ball should have gone to Devon Blackmon. He gave the closing prayer at the team devotional/fireside in Omaha Friday night before the game. He prayed that BYU would beat Nebraska. BYU already has two captains in Taysom Hill and Bronson Kaufusi, but they should make this guy team chaplain and keep him praying. BYU vs. Boise State It's all About the Line The line on this game in Las Vegas has Boise State as a 3-point favorite over the Cougars. The line in Provo is more important. How the offensive and defensive lines of the Cougars stack up against their counterparts from Boise will be the difference between winning and losing for both teams. You can expect the Broncos to test Tanner Mangum with a complete package of blitz schemes to see if they can rattle the still inexperienced signal caller who will be starting and playing his first full game as a collegian. If BYU can't block and protect Mangum, this will be a long and losing game for the Cougars. It will get worse if the BYU offensive line can't counter the pressure by establishing a running game. If Mangum gets time, BYU has the receivers who are long enough to cause some problems for the Broncos defensively. Throw in a little run game and the Cougars should be in good shape for their second win of the season. Unfortunately, the same holds true for the BYU defense. If they can't stop Boise's running game, this will go down as the first loss of the season for the Cougars. It all starts at the line of scrimmage. The loss of Travis Tuiloma will be a big handicap for Bronco Mendenhall and his defense. I think we can bank on BYU being able to protect Mangum, but BYU stopping the ground game of BSU is another matter. Boise put up 185 yards on Washington last week in the 16-13 win over the Huskies. Tanner Mangum, Mitch Mathews and Nick Kurtz will be the marquee names for BYU in this upcoming contest, but the offensive line of Koroma, Wilcox, Lapuahu, Kanuch, Matthews and Johnson will be the line for the Cougars that will determine if BYU is hung out to dry by the Broncos or allowing the Cougars to hang their head high with a win over Boise State. I'm going hanging high on this one and call it BYU 35 BSU 24. Brotherly Love in the Bag for BYU The Broncos of Boise State won't be the only visitors in town for the Saturday football game. Troy Warner, the cornerback from Mission Hills HS in San Diego will also be in town for an official recruiting visit. He is the younger brother of current Cougar Fred Warner. He committed to Oregon previously but has since changed his mind. Media outlets in San Diego think Warner is leaning towards staying home and playing for the Aztecs of SDSU. I would absolutely fall over backwards and tumble down two flights of stairs if Warner doesn't soon commit to the Cougars. Speaking of brothers, Matt Hadley, the younger brother of Spencer Hadley, the former BYU linebacker, actually saw considerable time at safety against Nebraska. He is a sophomore after returning from an LDS mission. Also, Frank Jackson won't be part of any BYU Band of Brothers when it comes to basketball. It came as no surprise that Jackson, the talented guard from Lone Peak HS turned down BYU and committed to Duke last week. Another brotherly combo is coming down the pike in football. KJ Hall was added to the BYU roster of 105 last week when school started. He is a returned missionary walkon and the older brother of Jaren Hall, the quarterback at Maple Mountain HS in Utah. Both are sons of Kalin Hall, the former BYU running back. Jaren has already committed to the Cougars and is off to an extremely fast start in his senior season. Click here <http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/college/byu/football/byu-getting-a-glimps e-of-what-quarterback-jaren-hall-can/article_e34b700f-57c5-5273-b75a-e86d340 ba0b3.html> for details. Soccer Sizzling The BYU women's soccer team continued its sizzling start to the season last week by taking down Utah 2-0 last Friday in Provo. The Lady Cougars are now 3-0 on the year. All three wins are against Pac-12 opponents. Next up for the Cougars will be No. 2 ranked Stanford on the road later this afternoon. Also off to a fast start this season is the women's volleyball team. The Lady Cougars are currently 5-1 on the year and coming off three wins in a tournament in St. Louis. The Cougars never dropped a set in beating Saint Louis, Purdue and Arkansas-Little Rock. Television Timetable BYU vs. Idaho State (Women's Volleyball) Wednesday, September 9 at Provo Start Time: 7:00 pm MDT TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Utah State (Women's Soccer) Thursday, September 10 at Provo Start Time: 7:00 pm MDT TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Oregon State (Women's Volleyball) Wednesday, September 11 at Provo Start Time: 7:00 pm MDT TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Boise State (Football) Saturday, September 12 at Provo Kickoff: 8:15 pm MDT TV: ESPN2 BYU vs. UCLA (Football) Saturday, September 19 at Pasadena Kickoff: 8:30 pm MDT TV: Fox Sports 1