HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 35, Issue 17 - November 17, 2014 Click Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> Half Full or Half Empty BYU "Big Gulps" its way to Another Bowl Invite According to Wikipedia, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is a philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding observation and knowledge of reality. Saturday night in LaVell Edwards Stadium the reality was that BYU beat UNLV 42-23 amidst a forest of empty seats even though the announced official attendance was 53,622. Depending on your point of observation and knowledge of reality, LaVell Edwards Stadium was either half full or half empty. The half full fans showed up despite cold temperatures. The half empty fans left their seats vacant. Half full or half empty could also describe the current situation with BYU football. According to the guy who should actually know what he is talking about, Bronco Mendenhall continues to emphasize that the BYU glass is half full and on the verge of overflowing into a national powerhouse and eventual national championship. In my opinion, based on Mendenhall's musings to the public and press, if not for injuries, youth, and lack of defensive execution, this season could have been BYU's ultimate 44 ounce "Big Gulp" and gallop to national prominence. According to those not in attendance at the UNLV game, their lack of fannies in the forest could also be an actual big gulp and swallow hard realization that the Cougar football program is in trouble and leaking fluid and fans faster than BYU's athletic administration wants to admit. Who would have thought that BYU football is now a philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding a coach's observation and fan's knowledge of reality? Meanwhile, back to the football forest where BYU dropped another log and loss on UNLV's season ledger. The Rebels are now 2-9 on the year. They are a tree and team that has been infested with beetles and beatings by almost every team they have played. BYU beat UNLV, not like a drum, but like a dead and deciduous program that will likely cost UNLV coach Bobby Hauck, his job this year. Bronco Mendenhall, on the other hand, has secured his 10th consecutive bowl bid. The Cougars are headed to Miami to participate in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22. BYU will face an opponent from the American Athletic Conference. Tickets are on sale now at BYU for the game which will be held at Marlins Park and will kick off at 2 pm ET. For the half full crowd, this is a great time to get a pre-Christmas break in Miami and enjoy the 72 degree weather. For the half empty crowd, they are thinking 72 might be closer to the number of tickets BYU sells. Once again, who would have thought that BYU football is now a philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding a coach's observation and fan's knowledge of reality? Either Bronco Mendenhall's half full "Big Gulp" to glory or BYU's half empty fan base's big gulp of reality should get a boost to bolster their own perceived reality depending on what happens in Miami and against whom it happens. With just two or three games remaining on their regular schedules and with 6 wins a must to be bowl eligible, the whom will likely consist of the following AAC teams with their current season records: Memphis, 7-3; Cincinnati, 6-3; Central Florida, 6-3; East Carolina, 6-3; Houston, 5-4; Temple, 5-5 and South Florida, 4-6. Since the Cougars have already played both Houston and Central Florida it looks like BYU's opponent will likely be either Memphis, Cincinnati or East Carolina. My bet is that it will be East Carolina because they are the closest to Miami and would likely sell the most tickets. Cougars Now 6-4 BYU Routs Rebels 42-23 For those old enough to remember the old TV series, Dragnet, featuring Sgt. Joe Friday and his famous saying, "Just the facts, ma'am" here they are. BYU, a very ordinary football team this year, beat UNLV, an extraordinarily bad football team 42-23 last Saturday night in LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYU is now 6-4 on the year and the Rebels fall to 2-9. A Rugby player and former Reject led the Cougars offensively. Paul Lasike, the Rugby player, scored three touchdowns for the Cougars. He scored on runs of 8 and 4 yards and also tallied a touchdown on a 26 yard pass from Christian Stewart. For the night, Lasike rushed for 70 yards on just 8 carries. He also had the one TD pass. Christian Stewart walked on at BYU out of high school and was rejected and told he wouldn't play in Provo. Five years later, the original reject has reemerged as a legitimate college quarterback and been responsible for BYU's current 2-game winning resurgence. Stewart completed 18 of 32 throws against the Rebels for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns. The TD tosses were 15 yards to Devin Mahina, 26 yards to Paul Lasike and 8 yards to Mitch Mathews. Stewart should have had another 30-yard scoring toss when he hit Jordan Leslie behind the line of scrimmage and Leslie went the distance. Because the ball was thrown behind Stewart, it was ruled a pitch and Leslie was credited with a run not a pass reception for a touchdown. Defensively, Bronson Kaufusi had his best game. His stats weren't off the chart, but his play was disruptive. He played like most fans thought he would early in the season. Better late than never. BYU turned the ball over twice on special teams on kickoff and punt teams. Special teams has been anything but this season. BYU will finish its home season next Saturday against Savannah State. If the 0-11 Tigers would arrive a day early, they might have a chance to win their first game of the season if given the chance to play in the 4-A or 5-A Utah State Football Championships at Rice Eccles Stadium. If I was a Las Vegas type odds maker, In the 5-A bracket I would have Savannah as a 2-point favorite over Bingham HS or American Fork and a 3-point dog against 4-A participants Timpview or Roy HS. Yes, they are that bad. Before you blame BYU and Tom Holmoe for putting Savannah State on the schedule, they were forced to find a game late when Hawaii backed out of a contest and contract with BYU. The Warriors were slated to fill this slot originally, according to reports we received. Next Season SOS Could Mean Strength of Schedule or Please Help! Tom Holmoe officially confirmed what had been leaked several weeks ago. BYU and Missouri will be playing each other in football next November in Kansas City. The game is set for Saturday, Nov. 14 and will be played in Arrowhead Stadium, the home stadium of the Kansas City Chiefs. A return game will be played in Provo on Nov. 7, 2020. Speaking of 2020, you have to admire Holmoe's and Bronco Mendenhall's vision for the Cougars next season. In case you haven't been paying attention, BYU will now play on the road and at Kansas City against Nebraska, Michigan, UCLA and now Missouri. To make the Missouri matchup work, BYU and UNLV moved their game originally scheduled for next year in Las Vegas in November to either 2016 or 2017. Click here <http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article 3915773.html> for a nice story from the Kansas City Star on all that had to happen, including the help of KC Chiefs head coach and BYU alumnus Andy Reid in the process. Here is BYU's 2015 Schedule. They still need one more game late in October. Most likely this will be with a FCS team. Idaho State was originally slated for a game against BYU next season, but they now appear headed to UNLV to take BYU's place on the Rebels schedule for 2015. Sat Sept 5 Nebraska at Lincoln Sat Sept 12 Boise State at Provo Sat Sept 19 UCLA at Pasadena Sat Sept 26 Michigan at Ann Arbor Fri Oct 2 UConn at Provo Sat Oct 10 East Carolina at Provo Sat Oct 17 Cincinnati at Provo Sat Oct 24 TBA Sat Oct 31 Bye Sat Nov 7 San Jose State at San Jose Sat Nov 14 Missouri at Kansas City Sat Nov 21 Fresno State at Provo Sat Nov 28 Utah State at Logan Dave Rose and BYU Announce Early Signing and Missionaries for Next Season As expected, Dave Rose announced that Zac Seljass, a 6-7 forward from Bountiful HS in Utah, has signed an early letter of intent to play for the Cougars next season. Rose also announce the return of 4 missionaries previously signed by Rose and his staff. They include Cory Calvert, a guard that played as a freshman, Nick Emery, another guard from Lone Peak HS, Jakob Hartsock, a forward from Bartlesville, OK and the younger brother of Noah Hartsock and Braiden Shaw another front court player from Eagle, ID. Last week, I detailed the scholarship crunch that Rose will have over the next few years. It is even worse than I detailed because I neglected to account for Calvert or Peyton Dastrup, currently serving an LDS mission in Panama. Here, once again, is the scholarship allotments for this season and projected allotments for next season. Scholarships Allotted for This Year 2014-15 Ryan Andrus, Freshman Nate Austin, Senior Jamal Aytes, Sophomore Frank Barley IV, Sophomore Jordan Chatman, Freshman Kyle Collinsworth, Junior Chase Fischer, Junior Skyler Halford, Senior Tyler Haws, Senior Isaac Neilson, Freshman Josh Sharp, Senior Anson Winder, Senior Luke Worthington, Sophomore Non-Scholarship Players for This Year Kyle Davis, Junior Jordan Ellis, Junior Corbin Kaufusi, Freshman (actually playing with a football scholarship) Dalton Nixon, Freshman Jake Toolson, Freshman BYU will get 5 scholarships freed up with 5 seniors graduating and another with Ryan Andrus headed on an LDS mission after the season. Even if Dalton Nixon opts for missionary service, the situation for next season, 2015-16, is still tight and tenuous. My Projected Scholarships for Next Season 2015-16 Jamal Aytes, Junior Frank Bartley IV, Junior Jordan Chatman, Redshirt Freshman Kyle Collinsworth, Senior Chase Fischer, Senior Isaac Neilson, Sophomore Luke Worthington, Junior Jake Toolson, Sophomore Kyle Davis, Junior Corbin Kaufusi, Sophomore (Football won't carry him again as a sophomore) Nick Emery, Freshman Zac Seljaas, Freshman Jakob Hartsock, Freshman Braiden Shaw, Freshman Cory Calvert, Sophomore Based on what Rose says he will bring in next year, and with the returners from next season, he is at 15 grant in aids and only 13 are allowed. If Dalton Nixon doesn't opt for LDS missionary service, it gets even tighter. There is one scholarship that may come available, but not until next year. That would be the one reserved for Frank Jackson. According to recent reports, the 6-3 guard, whom many consider the top shooting guard prospect in the class of 2016, has de-committed from BYU and re-opened his recruitment. He is now considering Duke, Stanford, Arizona and BYU. I still consider BYU to be in the driver's seat on this deal. If nothing else I think there is still hope based on photos used by Al Jackson, Frank's dad's, on his website. Jackson was recently selected to replace a State Senator in Utah. You can check out those photos here <http://www.votealjackson.com/about/> . BYU in Trouble? Here's Hoping Long Beach State is a Sweet Sixteen Team After BYU's 95-90 win over Long Beach State last week to officially open the Cougar basketball season, BYU fans better hope that LBSU is a top twenty team. If they aren't, the way they scored against BYU and the way BYU allowed them to score because of their quickness, is a scary thought. Especially when we have been told just how much better defensively this Cougar team was going to be. Here's what I saw. BYU's post play is still problematic, at least in this first outing. Point guard is also a question mark. The questions are; can Kyle Collinsworth get back to his old self of last season and can he do it quickly. Skyler Halford saved BYU's bacon with his point guard play off the bench against Long Beach, but can he be consistently good enough with his long range shot to solve the Cougars point guard issues early in the season. This looks like it will be a typical Dave Rose team. It will only be as good as its three point shooting allows it to be. Anson Winder is the only defensive player that can hope to stop the penetration of a good opposing point guard. Nobody on this roster can stop a good 6-8 athletic opposing wing player. At least not yet and at least after watching just one game. We will know quickly if this is an original Steve Cleveland team. Remember when he was first hired, his mantra was "shoot the three and play some D". Based on the Long Beach State game, that mantra has made a comeback except for playing some "D". I don't think BYU's lackluster play will last because Rose actually has some prospective post presence on this team if he can find a way to get it out of his big guys. My opinion is that this team will be much better than they showed against Long Beach. That opinion will either be backed up or battered to pieces in a week when BYU will face a slug of teams much better than LBSU at the Maui invitational. Before heading to Hawaii, BYU will get two more games at home this week against Arkansas Little Rock and Southern Virginia. Those two games are set for Tuesday and Wednesday and both will be televised by BYUtv. TV Timetable BYU vs. Arkansas State Tuesday, November 18 at Provo Tipoff: 7:30 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Southern Virginia Wednesday, November 19 at Provo Tipoff: 7:30 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Savannah State Saturday, November 22 at Provo Kickoff: 1:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. San Diego State Monday, November 24 at Maui Tipoff: 9:30 pm MST TV: ESPN2 If you also want a PDF copy of this issue, email and request it.