Wow. I didn’t see that one coming, but if that is how it’s going to be, then I hope I’m off every week. The first half of that game was perhaps the best and most complete football BYU has played since the UCLA game last year and was a fine reward for fans. It even looked like the players themselves were having a good time. And once again, the team, with a near flawless game, has done a good job of raising expectations for the next three games to a level that may be hard to meet. As we witnessed in the aftermath of the FSU and TCU games, it can be dangerous to set such high expectations for fans (although fortunately it appears as if the players themselves have been more grounded), but at the same time, it will ensure that BYU football is the topic of conversation in meetinghouse hallways on Sunday mornings across America once again.
What we learned:
• Which team will show up? This was answered quickly and decisively, and as mentioned, perhaps beyond anyone’s expectations.
• Will BYU finally resolve to disrupt an opponent’s quarterback? Yes they did. And it worked like a charm. ACS was on the run nearly every play ensuring insufficient time to throw downfield and limiting his accuracy. Let’s hope this continues for a few more games…
• How much will the return of McKay Jacobsen impact the game? As expected. Jacobsen returned and promptly made one of the first big plays of the game, then broke out his 80 yard TD reception outrunning the defender for the final 20-30 yards. BYU really needs another one or two fast/impact wide receivers.
• Can the secondary (or the defense as a whole for that matter) limit the big plays? YES! Other than one scoreless drive at the end of the first half, Wyoming didn’t really have any plays.
• Will the team succeed on its first drive of the second half? Yes and Yes. After losing the coin toss and taking the ball on the opening kickoff, the Cougars to set the tone early and never slowed down. In opening the second half, the defense held and then the offense promptly scored again. It was Wyoming, but Bronco must be reconsidering his preference to defer.
• Will the running game be more than adequate? This was the Max Hall show, but the running game was a big part of making that happen. Harvey Unga had several nice 7, 8, and 9 yard runs. Riley Nelson also showed some ability to pick up yards, practically running the same play all the way down the field at 10 yards a pop.
• Will we finally see a non-offensive touchdown? Not this time, but there has to be something left to next time.
• Weather. Beautiful. Other than the coats worn by the few fans in the stands, it could have been Palo Alto.
A few other thoughts:
• I wrote last week that Wyoming was probably the fourth or fifth best team in the conference. But after Saturday’s game, I sure hope not.
• Wyoming did not look very good, but played Utah tight last week. What does that say about the Utes’ chances against TCU on Game Day on Saturday?
• What was up with the call of 12 men on the field? Thanks to the magic of DVR, those of us following along at home were able to do our own version of the ‘review’ and came up with a different conclusion. Does anyone have any more info on that? (Wrubell on call-in show, etc?)
• Back in the BCS at #22. It is nice to be able to appreciate the little things again.
• It was good to see the second and third teamers get some game time in the third and fourth quarters. There hasn’t been as much of that this season as was expected.
• Kudos to the offensive line, which had a great game in pass protection and opening up running lanes.
• Another shout out to the defense--across the board a job well done. They looked good while turning in lopsided efforts in the turnover (2) and sack (3) departments. Jan Jorgensen was named conference defensive POW for his 1.5 sacks (the first mulit-sack game he has had going back at least to last season).
• Max Hall was unreal. Only two incomplete passes (20 of 22)—one of which he threw away to avoid a sack and the other was dropped by Pitta. Only one game in BYU history has seen a quarterback with a higher completion percentage—Steve Sarkisian was 91.2% on 31 of 34 against Fresno State in 1995, which is an NCAA record (for more than 30 attempts). There may not be a game next season that we don’t think back with fondness for the days of Max Hall. Oh, and it appears he figured out how to ‘fix’ that interception thing he had going on…
Showing posts with label BYU vs. Wyoming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BYU vs. Wyoming. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
What to Watch for Against Wyoming
Given what happened in the TCU game, it could be argued that this has been a great time for a bye week or that it was terrible timing. But in either case, being focused back on the field this week will be great not only for the team, but also for the fans. Let’s be honest, even though last week was likely the most productive week many of us have had since early August, two weeks in a row of such productivity and people would begin to expect that kind of performance week in and week out… what do they think this is—the SEC?
On to the game. Wyoming is coming off of a confidence building performance against Utah. It is still hard to tell just how good Utah is, but in any case, Wyoming managed to lead for three quarters, so they can’t be far behind. They have been improving nearly every week and we all remember their first half against Texas. Their freshman quarterback, Austyn Carta-Samuels, is mobile and has been a spark for the offense and now has a number of games under his belt (becoming the starter in game 4). Their defense is very similar to the 3-3-4 that BYU runs and has been efficient. With a couple of days extra for BYU to prepare, the bye week may have been pretty good timing in any case.
A few things to watch for:
• Which team will show up? Will it be a team on a mission, ready to take out an opponent early, and vindicate its futility of two weeks ago? Or will it be a team that has been put in its place, and is now scrapping with its peers for the conference leftovers? The half time score may tell us all we need to know.
• Will BYU finally resolve to disrupt an opponent’s quarterback? It seems the last few games, BYU’s defensive philosophy has been to dare an opponent’s average to below-average quarterback to play like an All-American, and has decided that it is only a fair dare if they give him at least seven seconds to prove it. And we know how that has turned out. Pressure good. No pressure, bad. Another lack of pressure first two quarters and Wyoming will be very much in this game at the half.
• How much will the return of McKay Jacobsen impact the game? Jacobsen would have been a great asset in the TCU game, and hopefully will be able to contribute fully on Saturday and help stretch a field that has seemed increasingly crowded in his absence.
• Can the secondary (or the defense as a whole for that matter) limit the big plays? In the TCU game, it was really only 3-4 big plays that determined the outcome of the game. But it was 3-4 plays. Can the defense keep that to one or less?
• Will the team succeed on its first drive of the second half? There has been a disturbing trend this season to squander offensive opportunities to open the second half. Coming out of the locker room with a score, will either put a dominating game out of reach quickly, or will help take control of a close game taking some pressure off of our defense and placing it on their offense—either way, has a clear impact on the direction of the game. Failing to score in that situation achieves just the opposite for the other team.
• Will the running game be more than adequate? In both of the last two games, the running game as been OK. Adequate. Serviceable. A nice distraction from the passing game. But it has not been reliable or able to make a big play when it was needed. Three or so yards per run is not going to do it. Harvey, JJ, Bryan, and Manase need a big game. Let’s hope they bring it.
• Will we finally see a non-offensive touchdown? It has been way too long. When was the last one—Tulane? I miss David Nixon.
• Weather. You can’t mention Laramie in November without discussing the weather. You can’t play a football game in Laramie in November without being impacted by the weather. Perhaps it will be the wind, or some sleeper snow, but at the minimum there will be the cold. Good luck Cougs.
Wyoming is playing good football right now. They are probably the fourth or fifth best team in the conference right now (battling for those honors with Air Force and San Diego State). BYU has a game on its hands, but should be the better team. I think BYU comes out focused and plays a good first half, but finds itself only up by a small margin (3-10 points) at the half, due to inspired play by Wyoming as opposed to poor play by BYU. The blue and white come out in the second half and take that opening drive the distance. Finally. Then pull away. The cold weather and some wind impacts the passing game and the Cougars run the ball out in the fourth quarter, while Wyoming gets some points it should not have been given. Final score: BYU 37 Wyoming 24.
What else are you watching for? How do you see the game playing out? Reactions? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments below…
On to the game. Wyoming is coming off of a confidence building performance against Utah. It is still hard to tell just how good Utah is, but in any case, Wyoming managed to lead for three quarters, so they can’t be far behind. They have been improving nearly every week and we all remember their first half against Texas. Their freshman quarterback, Austyn Carta-Samuels, is mobile and has been a spark for the offense and now has a number of games under his belt (becoming the starter in game 4). Their defense is very similar to the 3-3-4 that BYU runs and has been efficient. With a couple of days extra for BYU to prepare, the bye week may have been pretty good timing in any case.
A few things to watch for:
• Which team will show up? Will it be a team on a mission, ready to take out an opponent early, and vindicate its futility of two weeks ago? Or will it be a team that has been put in its place, and is now scrapping with its peers for the conference leftovers? The half time score may tell us all we need to know.
• Will BYU finally resolve to disrupt an opponent’s quarterback? It seems the last few games, BYU’s defensive philosophy has been to dare an opponent’s average to below-average quarterback to play like an All-American, and has decided that it is only a fair dare if they give him at least seven seconds to prove it. And we know how that has turned out. Pressure good. No pressure, bad. Another lack of pressure first two quarters and Wyoming will be very much in this game at the half.
• How much will the return of McKay Jacobsen impact the game? Jacobsen would have been a great asset in the TCU game, and hopefully will be able to contribute fully on Saturday and help stretch a field that has seemed increasingly crowded in his absence.
• Can the secondary (or the defense as a whole for that matter) limit the big plays? In the TCU game, it was really only 3-4 big plays that determined the outcome of the game. But it was 3-4 plays. Can the defense keep that to one or less?
• Will the team succeed on its first drive of the second half? There has been a disturbing trend this season to squander offensive opportunities to open the second half. Coming out of the locker room with a score, will either put a dominating game out of reach quickly, or will help take control of a close game taking some pressure off of our defense and placing it on their offense—either way, has a clear impact on the direction of the game. Failing to score in that situation achieves just the opposite for the other team.
• Will the running game be more than adequate? In both of the last two games, the running game as been OK. Adequate. Serviceable. A nice distraction from the passing game. But it has not been reliable or able to make a big play when it was needed. Three or so yards per run is not going to do it. Harvey, JJ, Bryan, and Manase need a big game. Let’s hope they bring it.
• Will we finally see a non-offensive touchdown? It has been way too long. When was the last one—Tulane? I miss David Nixon.
• Weather. You can’t mention Laramie in November without discussing the weather. You can’t play a football game in Laramie in November without being impacted by the weather. Perhaps it will be the wind, or some sleeper snow, but at the minimum there will be the cold. Good luck Cougs.
Wyoming is playing good football right now. They are probably the fourth or fifth best team in the conference right now (battling for those honors with Air Force and San Diego State). BYU has a game on its hands, but should be the better team. I think BYU comes out focused and plays a good first half, but finds itself only up by a small margin (3-10 points) at the half, due to inspired play by Wyoming as opposed to poor play by BYU. The blue and white come out in the second half and take that opening drive the distance. Finally. Then pull away. The cold weather and some wind impacts the passing game and the Cougars run the ball out in the fourth quarter, while Wyoming gets some points it should not have been given. Final score: BYU 37 Wyoming 24.
What else are you watching for? How do you see the game playing out? Reactions? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments below…
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