(Blue)Victory...Barely

The rushing on to the field after the winning TD pass. I kissed the grass, even if it is crappy and has been falling apart all year.


Malu (my wife) has become a true cougar and admitted that Swoop, (the other teams mascot) is really dumb looking and quite crappy overall. As opposed to an awesome, sleek break-dancing cosmo. She enjoyed attending her first game ever.


There were pockets of U fans all over, this is an angle of where we sat, and the valiant enemies who represented despite being surrounded by a sea of blue.


Hall played like crap, the offense didn't do squat in the second half, and Bronco refused to follow the standard football procedures *(such as deferring the opening kickoff, icing opposing kickers with time outs, and going for the win with three time outs and 30 seconds left). But most important of all? Hall had ZERO turnovers. Granted, he had a lame duck game as far as his record is concerned, but hey, at least he didn't gift wrap the game like he did last year. *More on hall later.
With all that has been said about the game in other places, I am not going to pull the long boring play-by-play that RED usually does, but here are a few of my thoughts:
The defense- did an outstanding job. I was particularly impressed, as I have been all year, with #7 corner Logan. The guy is shorter than I am and I am no giant, yet he applies pressure and makes tackles, and even manages to break up a pass or two.
Gorgeous George- The guy has been there when you needed him. As much as I like Pitta, I have always been glad when George made big plays instead of him because George is essentially been living in Pitta's Shadow for his career. Good job on catching the ball George, this caffeinated beverage is for you.
Oopsey Woopsey- Is what one U fan who sat behind us screamed maybe 200 times throughout the course of the game. Let me just say to you if you are reading this, you were killing me with you stupidity and I was really wishing you'd be struck mute. Shakespeare somes up my feelings for you best when he wrote "Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon!" Timon, Timon of Athens.
Mike Wright- A UofU linebacker said "We're going to show them what's up this upcoming week." All I can say is: HA!
Helicopters- Are cool, especially ones that say BYU on the bottom of them.
MY HAT- You know what I am talking about RED, hand it over.
Sweet Uniforms- The 1984 throwbacks were really, really cool. I wish we'd just go back to those because they looked snappy.
Next year- I am not looking forward. Quick rundown of seniors leaving and the impact: Offense- The QB, center, both tight ends, Tonga, and likely Unga, so both RBs Defense- Pretty much all the good ends and backs, linebackers, and the safety. So... Bummer for us.

Max Hall's mouth- Wish he'd have kept it shut. I read the apology, and I can even understand that the U fans have been incredible wanks to him and his since last year, but still. HATE? That's a pretty strong word to be throwing around so liberally. I find myself extremely irritated that what should have been focus on a team victory over a bitter rival has now turned into state and nationwide psycho-analysis on why Hall ran his mouth. Both sides have douche-bag fans. The U people can't stand the righteous, uppity attitude of some BYU fans and the BYU people can't stand the crass, alcohol influenced actions of some U fans. Different kinds of douche-baggery, spread equally across the board.

So in conclusion, we won, I'm glad.

(Red) Keys to victory

DON'T TURN THE BALL OVER! - since Wynn has taken over this hasn't been that big of an issue, offensively anyways.

DON'T HAVE STUPID PENALTIES - Utah can not give byU extra plays. They can't take a 3rd and long and turn it into a 3rd and manageable. they need to get off the field on 3rd downs.

Harness the emotion - The is a huge game and Utah needs to harness the emotion that will be going on at the beginning at end of the game. They need to keep their cool to help avoid one of the other keys of penalties.

Win special teams - Special teams really hurt Utah against TCU. If they can win this they probably win the game. Shaky Smithson could possibly bust a return this game, because it sounds as if byUs kick coverage isn't very good. And also win the field position battle with the punting. Utah can't give byU short fields. I like Utahs defense when they have to make the opposition drive 80ish yards.

BRING THE HEAT! - Max Hall can't handle it. Period. Get in his grill and knock him down.

(Red) Position breakdown

QB - Senior BYU Max Hall  vs.  Freshman Utah Jordan Wynn
Experience vs inexperience has been the theme through out the media this week. Max Hall is the vet that has been playing for 3 years and he is BYUs winningest QB. Jordan Wynn is trying to grow a mustache, and he did handle the pressure of TCU much better. The kid has a ridiculous amount of potential. He is a gun slinger and will go deep on BYU early and often. I actually think Wynn may be more talented but if you look at the experience I have to go with my head and not my heart....
Advantage - BYU (but watch out for the frosh)

RB - BYUs Unga, DiLuigi, the other dude. vs Utahs Wide III, Shakerin, and Smithson
Unga will get his yards if healthy, no question. The kid is a stud. I'm not sold on the other 2 backs, they are ok but that about it. Wide is the league leader is rushing yards right now and he practically didn't play in the first 3 1/2 games. He is almost to 1000 for the season. Shak is a great backup, although he is also a frosh, he is a bruiser. And Shaky Smithson you will see in the wild cat taking snaps. Running up the gut may be a challenge for Utah but around the edge I don't see much of a problem.
Advantage - Push

WR - BYUs Jacobson, Chambers, and the other white guy vs Utahs Reed, Brooks, Smithson, Christopher, Mathews.
Ya Utah has a lot of wide outs. And they have the best wideout in the conference in David Reed. Nobody on BYU can cover him or Brooks, or any wide out for that matter. Jacobson is pretty fast, but thats about it for BYU.
Advantage - Utah


TE - Don't even need to break this down.
Advantage - BYU


O-Line - Zane Beadles, Zane Taylor, and Caleb Schlauderhoff are the anchors of the Utah o-line. And they are good. BYUs o-line has given up a lot of pressure on Max Hall, and we all know what happens then. BYUs o-line has done pretty good this year but I still think they are shaky at best.
Advantage - Utah


Defense
I'll make this one easy. Utah Koa Misi, Nai Fotu, Dave Kruger (yes he's the brother of Paul) Stevenson Sylvester, Mike Wright, Kepa Gaison, Joe Dale, and the best safety in the conference Robert Johnson. BYU has Jan Jorgensen.... and who else? Scott Johnson?
Advantage- Utah ... big time


Special teams -
Kickoffs - Ben Vroman is a touchback machine and Utahs return guys, if given a chance, are dangerous.
Advantage - Utah
Place kicking - Joe Phillips has been consistant for Utah since taking over. He's reliable, he has missed a few kicks. I know BYU people are scared of their own place kicker.
Advantage- Utah
Punting - I know both teams have good punters.
Advantage - Push
Punt returns - I think both teams need to learn how to hold onto the ball when fielding the punt.
Advantage - Push

Head Coach - Kyle Whittingham vs Bronco Mendenhall
I would say Kyle is a much better big game coach. I think that shows with the 13-0 run last year and helping this very young Utah team get to 9-2 in a reloading year. Bronco is consistent and wins games, but i don't think his motivation tactics are good, at all, and I think his in game adjustments are... well.. non existent. And i mean seriously listen to the man talk you wouldn't like him either.
Advantage - Utah


more to come...

(Red) more funny stuff

Q: What do you call a BYU player with a BCS ring?
A: A thief!



Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in Provo?
A: Salt Lake City: 40 Miles

Q: What's the hardest thing about being a BYU Cougar fan?
A: Telling your parents that you're gay.

Q: Did you hear about the Brigham Young University fan who locked his keys in his car?
A: He couldn't get his family out.

Q: What do BYU and pot have in common?
A: They both get smoked in bowls!

Q: What should you do if you find three Brigham Young University fans buried up to their neck in cement?
A: Get more cement.

Two Brigham Young University fans were walking down the street when they came upon a dog lying on the sidewalk licking and cleaning his groin like dogs do.
The first BYU fan says to the second, "Boy, I wish I could do that."
The second BYU fan replies, "Yeah, me too. But I wouldn't try it."
The first BYU fan asks, "Why not?"
The second BYU fan replies, "Because I'm afraid the dog might bite me."

Q. What did the BYU graduate say to the Utah graduate?
A. "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order, please?"

Q: Why do Brigham Young University fans keep their diplomas on their dashboards?
A: So they can park in handicap spaces.

Q: What do you call a good looking girl on the Brigham Young University campus?
A: A visitor.

(Blue) Smack talk you say....

Well,
I will put these up for all to see. I found them on ahajokes.com.

Q: What do you get when you crossbreed U. football and a groundhog?

A: Six more weeks of bad football!


Q: How do you get a U. of U. grad off your front porch?

A: Pay him for the pizza.


Q: What do you call a U. of U. fan with half a brain?

A: Gifted.


The engineer who graduated from Utah State asks, "How does that work?''

The engineer who graduated from BYU asks, "How can I make that work better?''

The engineer who graduated from the U. of U. asks, "Would you like fries with that?''


Q: What does the Ute student get on his SAT?

A: Drool.


Q. How many U. of U. graduates does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Answer unknown. Still searching for a U. of U. graduate with the qualifications to do such a task.


Q: How many Utes does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Just one. . ..but he gets three credit hours for it.


Q. How do you tell the difference between a BYU coed and a U. of U. coed?

A. The BYU coed is looking for a husband. The U. coed is looking for the father.




Anywho, that seems like enough for now. Enjoy douchebag red.

(Red) byU coed jokes!

Todays is -

What does a moped and a BYU coed have in common?


They're both okay while the ride lasts, but you don't want anyone to see you on them.

(Blue)*WARNING* I intend to deceive.

I like Air Force.
That being said, I am not too fond of refs these days. As is customary, there was a good old fashioned throw down with AFA this past Saturday. There were the chop blocks, triple options, and discipline that we've come to expect from AFA. What was new were the douche bag calls that effectively took away two touch downs from us and gave one to them. In the interest of being impartial, the calls were legitimate rules and I am sure that most of them were warranted. What I disliked were the following- an unnecessary roughness against our defender when the offense was still trying to run. The flagging of Hafoka down when he rolled over a defender and never actually touched the ground. And of course, the intent to deceive call. Basically, it was a like the first sneaky move ever that BYU has pulled this year (not true, but for effect) and it worked beautifully. What bothers me is this: the wording of the penalty. My friend RED informs me that the call was technically sound and I believe him, but it makes the officials sound like morons. If there was no intent to deceive in football, what the h*@% would the point be? I can just see it now, the QB lines up, and then shouts clearly to the defense, "HEY, we are going to throw a short pass to Pitta and a left to right crossing route, and... uh, it's on two guys. ARe you guys ready to start? Great, ok, HUT HUT..." Well you can imagine. Anyway, we walked away with a victory and Big Steve and I felt justified that at least we didn't freeze out butts off in Lavell Edwards Stadium for nothing.
Now, for the enemy at had.

University of Utah... I don't even want to talk about you. I predict a victory for BYU, but a close game. History backs that up, in 8 of the last 12 conflicts, the score has been determined by12 points or less(I read that in our student paper... which I write for, so it's obviously a sound well assembled document:)-Shameless plug). I worry about the passing game of their offense, but I believe our defense will find a way to deny them too much. I like our offensive scheme, if we aren't too predictable and we can give Hall enough time. AND IF HE DOESN'T throw INTERCEPTIONS! I say, let the runners loose this game, and throw to shake things up sparingly. Anyway, I am officially throwing down the gauntlet for RED to address the situation, and I am sure he will with gusto.

(Red) My story on the BCS...

So I am currently conducting a story on the BCS. My story is a little bit different than the normal bcs stories. Mine is about the financial aspect of things. I am considering posting some of the media modules I've been doing throughout this semester. Here is one interesting number I have stumbled upon with in research thus far....

2008 Utah Utes (13-0)
Net earnings from sugar bowl win - ~$1.5 Million

University of Washington Huskies (0-12)
Net earnings from being in the Pac 10 and USC going to the rose bowl - ~$1 Million

hmmmmmmmmmm

(Blue) The lobos have teeth... for us anyway.

I was an angry guy with two minutes left in our game against New Mexico on Saturday. It's a good thing they couldn't get anything going, because we played maybe ten or fifteen minutes of good football combined throughout the whole game. It is worrisome that this should occur right before Air Force (who almost beat Utah and TCU). And of course the used douches from SLC.
Speaking of the douches...
They lost. I was glad. Not just for the conference, but so Red could be forced to see the mortality of his own team. They lost by less than we did, but hey, four less than we did. They scored more, but allowed more against TCU. So I am interested to see what happens end of November.
Though this has nothing to do with the conference or even football, big props to Real Salt Lake for getting into the Championship, that was crazy.
In other Mountain West news, good job to Wyoming for coming from a large deficit to beat SDSU. I was all kinds of pleased because I kind of like the Cowboys(but than again, it's easy to like someone you shut out 2 years in a row.)
Just a few more comments, what the heck was up with the Lobo kicker? C'mon man, that is just unbelievable. Cross bars THREE times for points lost. Guess the force was with us.
And Wynn is new, high fives for your three or so good passes to Reed, but I still think Utah is trying to be too clever for it's own good. That is all, next week will tell more tales.

(Red) The beat down in cow town...

Yes Utah lost. I would say not a surprise this is TCUs year. I'm not ashamed to lost to a top 5 team. After all when they go to the BCS that will be more money for the conference and in 2 of the 4 years of the BCS evaluation period the MWC will have 2 bcs teams, Utah (08) and TCU (09). But to the game. Overall the thing that makes me the most sick was the special teams. Jay Hill, the special teams coach, should be suspended for the way special teams played tonight. Granted Utah probably doesn't win tonight anyway but the special teams put the rest of a team in a hole. There was a fumble on a kick off, a blocked punt, a punt returned to the 30 yard line, a couple botched returned kick offs that put the offense in a hole. I would say the special teams were directly responsible for at least 21 points for TCU tonight. The defense, despite the bad numbers, I think played ok at best. They gave up a few big runs but overall the TCU offense only had a couple sustained drives of big yardage. I'd say TCU earned 28 points on offense tonight on good drives. They way they did it was different than i expected too. Dalton didn't overwhelm me tonight. The game plan for him was swing passes and thats about it. Some missed tackles helped those plays out a lot. I still think he is an average qb. The running backs did a great job later in the game when the defense was tired. They would use the speed of utah against them and misdirect the running plays to get the momentum moving one way and coming back the other, a lot of plays utah used to beat TCU within the last 3 years. And offensively I think it was ok there as well given the quality of TCUs defense. I think Utah scored the most points on them this year, 28. Wynn had a bad INT for a TD but it was a freshman mistake locking in on the wide out. He made some ballsy plays however, a great rollout and improv throw to DeVonte Christopher. Some great throws to david Reed. Overall I thought he played rather well given the situation. The play calling I wasn't a huge fan of outside of one drive well the calls were mixed well with run and passes of various kinds. I think we should have went to Reed more often. Time after time Reed got behind their corners, no one for the rest of the year will be able to guard Reed, period. I thought they abandoned the run for a little to long to. Yeah it wasn't working very well but still you need to still run the ball to keep the D honest.
It is what it is. We lost. Only for the 2nd time in 2 years. So I'm ok with it overall, just a couple small things could have made this a much closer game and thats the frustrating part. I think Utahs speed matched up well with them just to many mistakes. over 100 yards penalties. most on defense too. We have them in a 3rd and 10 and get an offsides and turn it into 3rd and short. With all that being said Utah needs to get up off the mat now and move on to SDSU. I don't think Utah loses again this year. But they need to worry about SDSU and take care of business there, get some confidence back and they will be in great shape. This teams youth will build upon a loss like this. It should make them hungrier for the next meeting with the Frogs next year... back in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

And WTF happened in Albuquerque?  BYU almost losing to UNM, a winless UNM. I didn't watch the game but wow. BYU is vulnerable right now going into Air Force not to mention the match up at the end of the season with Utah. I think there is reason to be concerned in Provo. If there wasn't already.

(Blue) The season moves on.

We beat Wyoming. I'd say that we had our most complete game to this point. The only thing that frustrated me about that game was the "mercy mode" that BYU always assumes in those situations. It seems to me that we are doing a disservice to our future team by keeping our future QB from being able to really play hard when he does get on the field. But a clean win. We looked a lot better against them than the U, but that was a different game and we just came off a BYE, so that made a difference.
The UofU beat New Mexico, big whoop, who hasn't?
This week TCU and Utah in Texas. You know what I think, I say TCU wins by more than ten, RED thinks they win or lose by less then ten. We'll see.
We play New Mexico this week. If we lose to them, I'll open up my veins.

(Red) We have a Wynn-er!

18/28 ; 297 yards; 2 TDs 1 INT; Is that a line you would expect from a TRUE FRESHMAN starting QB. For a kid that is not even a calendar year out of his senior year in high school he has given the Ute offense a spark it has been looking for. The kid looks like he just barely hit puberty and he is drawing many comparisons to GASP ... Alex Smith, the greatest Ute QB of all time. I'm not going to lie, watching the kid tonight I could have mistaken him for the one time #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Now we all know it was against a winless New Mexico, but still his poise in the pocket and down field accuracy was great. This is an 18 year old kid we are talking about, not a seasoned vet. I am the first to admit that I am a huge Terrance Cain fan, but with Wynn this offense has gotten a spark. Now I think that is largely due to the fact that play calling has changed hands going to Aaron Roderick now instead of Dave Schramm. Coach Rod has opened up the playbook into more of a true spread, which we saw tonight. More option runs, more 5 wide sets, more reverses, more down field throws. That is a distinct difference between Wynn and Cain as well. Wynn is not scared to throw it down field, he is a gun slinger. Cain would hesitate to throw the deep ball, much more conservative. Since Wynn has taken the reigns of the offense they are averaging over 30 points a game, and he has played a game and a half. Thats 19 points in the Wyo game and 45 tonight, and they are still leaving points on the field. They just need to clean up some ball security issues and this offense has even more potential now. Also something to keep in mind, Wynn, Shakerin (100 yards tonight), Luke Mathews, DeVonte Christopher are all just freshmen on this Ute squad. and they are all seeing significant time (not to mention about 5 or 6 defenders as well). The future is bright for the boys in Crimson. But for now the question at hand is, is Wynn capable of going into Fort Worth and beating #6 TCU. I guess we will find out....

More on the showdown with TCU as the week progresses

(Red) The Utah QB Situation

So last week against Wyoming Utah did something I was hoping they would avoid. They played Jordan Wynn. The true freshman went through 7 and 1/2 games of the season without playing, I was hoping for a redshirt season but Utah decided otherwise. Now with me I'm a big Terrance Cain fan, I laid out his stats last week and he did lead Utah to a 6-1 record. In all honesty I believe the Qb that gives the team the best chance to win should play. If thats Wynn or Cain I'm fine with that. There is no question Wynn is going to be a stud for years to come, he has a cannon for an arm. So I guess may the best QB play.

(Blue) Cain, sorry buddy.

From the UofU coaching staff.
Dear Terrance Cain,

Bummer for you man. We guess winning most of your games and filling the shoes of B. Johnson in a big way is just not enough. We looked at the stats, you were doing your job. Unfortunately for you, the other guy is pretty good too. Wynn is just a strong arm and that's a different kind of QB. From the staff of the UofU, we're letting you go. It's not you, its us. We're just not heading in the same direction anymore. Lets just be friends. Lets just say that we're a company and we're not picking up your option. Feel free to keep talking to the team and coming to practice, but you should probably avoid the family gatherings from here on out. We mean, how awkward would it be if we were at a function with Wynn on our arm and then we turn around and there you are, looking at us with sad puppy dog eyes. Please don't turn to drinking, we are sure there's someone out there good enough for you ... just not us.
Respectfully (insert awkward handshake/hug),
The coaches of UofU




Ok, so this letter is a gross exaggeration of the story. I'm sure Cain will be in and out of play lots before the end, but it was just to illustrate a point in how it must have felt to Cain in their last game. In all honesty, that would blow. On the other hand, that wouldn't kill me if it happened to Hall someday...
Anywho, this week, we go to Laramie. As LaVell once said, "I'd rather be losing in Provo than winning in Laramie." Amen, Wyoming blows. I've been there, it blows. Sorry Wyoming, I'm sure you like it, but it's hella ugly except for Yellowstone.
So we'll see if this bye week will get the team back on track. On a side note, if I hear Bronco say the word execute or any of its variations again... STOP DENYING IT BRONCO, WE JUST AREN'T BETTER THAN SOME TEAMS> NO AMOUNT OF "EXECUTION" CAN MAKE UP FOR NO CORNERS, CRAPPY SECONDARY, HIT AND MISS O-LINE, AND SLOW WHITE GUYS. Sorry, somebody had to say it. That being said, I'd rather have our discipline than Utah's athleticism. Seriously, it's a team game and I think the the team than is more cohesive and controlled will generally beat a faster more athletic team. We will see. Till next time.