For the heck of it, I applied to the Bleacher Report for BYU football. Highly doubt I'd get accepted, or would do it even if I was. But, I always thought being a sports writer would be awesome.
With 2012 just days away, I have been thinking of some New Year's resolutions I will set (which I will most likely give up on in a few days). I also have some resolutions I want the BYU football team to set for next year (with hopefully more resolve than myself).
Resolution #1: Win a Big Game
This year's team has the potential to win ten games with a bowl win over Tulsa. However, it might be the least satisfying ten win season anyone in Cougar Town can remember. The only "quality" win was a comeback victory, at home, against a Utah State team that finished 7-6. BYU did not beat anyone else with a winning record and went 0-3 against the other bowl bound teams it faced. Next year, the Cougars will have great chances to make a statement in games against Utah, Boise State, and Notre Dame. Winning these games will keep fans interested in the otherwise uninteresting match-ups against WAC teams in the latter half of the season.
Resolution #2: Get the Ball to the Tight Ends
Granted, this year's team was much more effective in getting the ball to our tight ends. The emergence of Riley Nelson made a clear difference in the spreading of the ball across the field. While this year's by-committee approach yielded better results (55 catches, 4 touchdowns) than last year's non-existent tight end production (34 catches, 0 touchdowns), it is still well short of the typical tight end production in Provo (by comparison, tight ends in 2009 accounted for 93 catches and 13 touchdowns). I look for Richard Wilson to have a big 2012 if Doman utilizes the tight end more in his schemes.
Resolution #3: Get to the Quarterback!
When Bronco Mendenhall came to BYU as a defensive coordinator, he was known for his go-for-broke, aggressive scheme. In the last few years, he has utilized more of a traditional bend-but-don't-break scheme that fans in Provo are used to. While this has minimized points allowed, it has also steadily declined BYU's sack total (tied for 79th in 2011). As we saw against UCF and Ole Miss, getting to the Quarterback can quickly change games in favor of the boys in navy.
Resolution #4: Beat Utah
After last year's heart breaker and this year's travesty, BYU has now lost three of four to the hated Utes. BYU gambled by going and then staying independent. Continued losses to the team up north after they moved to the PAC-12 will hamper recruiting and lead to widespread discontent in Happy Valley. BYU needs to avenge this season's ugly loss when they travel up to Salt Lake next year; there is perhaps more riding on this game for the Cougs than any other "Holy War" in decades.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Season in Review
This year was in a word: weird. The Wonder Kid became Ben Olsen 2.0. The lefty duck thrower became a hero in our best win of the season (vs a bowl bound Utah State team). In another game, a backup quarterback came in and shredded our defense (which led to the starter also transferring). The normally solid Oregon State and Central Florida turned out to be really bad. We coughed the ball up 7 times against Utah, with the majority of those turnovers being unforced. Against TCU, our punter forgot how to catch snaps and BYU's Tim Tebow decided it was a good idea to throw the ball (he did this numerous times) when he was getting tackled by three or four people. We then played a bunch of WAC teams that nobody's ever heard of or ever will hear of, again. In the islands, we started off terrible and then regrouped and made a mockery of Hawaii. All this culminated into a wild 9-3 season that has us voted as the 26th best team in the nation. As with everyone else, I am not sure what I think about the season we've had. But, here are my awards and grades for the season.
Offensive MVP: Cody Hoffman. Hoffman finished the regular season with 53 catches for 821 yards and 7 touchdowns. While he struggled with Jake as the QB (no touchdowns in the first four games), Hoffman exploded over the latter half of the season and became our most consistent playmaker. He had some circus catches and knows how to use his height to his advantage. He also was solid as a kick returner, saving the day against UCF.
Defensive MVP: Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy was a beast, this season. He had 58 tackles (10 for a loss), 5 sacks, 3 picks for 79 yards, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery for a TD to save the game at Ole Miss, and he even blocked a punt (later, to add insult to injury, he literally injured the punter). I think he could be a good NFL player if he beefs up some. He's fast, aggressive, athletic and just makes plays.
Special Teams MVP: JD Falslev. I was tempted to give this to Hoffman, as well. However, a colleague of mine and I just don't understand why Hoffman and Chambers before him look like they are running in slow motion the first ten yards of the return. JD played well and had a great return against TCU for a score.
Freshman of the Year: Ross Apo. He started the season off by scoring our first three offensive touchdowns...in three games. He was slowed a little bit by a concussion against Utah State and seemed to struggle initially with the QB change. He came on late, though, with 5 TDs in the last three games. Maybe breaking his thumb, last season, was the best thing that could have happened for him (as weird as that sounds). Jake really would have benefited from having to sit out a season.
Biggest disappointment: Jake Heaps. Heaps was bad this year. Really bad. His QB rating was awful, his accuracy was awful, his TDs to INTs was bad. More than anything, though, he just looked scared after the Ole Miss game. That first play against Utah, he just looked like he didn't want to get hit, so he gave up a touchdown rather than taking any punishment. That really was the beginning of the end, for me. For a lot of people (many teammates included), the beginning of the end was when he hired a PR man to film "The Decision" ala LeBron James. I honestly don't think he's going to do much wherever he goes.
A distant second for me was McKay Jacobson. I really thought this guy was going to be a stud after a solid Freshman season. I don't know if he lost a step or what on his mission, but other than his TD against Oklahoma, he's been a non-factor his last three seasons. This season, he had only the sixth most catches on the team and again only had one score. He probably led the team in drops, as well.
Offensive MVP: Cody Hoffman. Hoffman finished the regular season with 53 catches for 821 yards and 7 touchdowns. While he struggled with Jake as the QB (no touchdowns in the first four games), Hoffman exploded over the latter half of the season and became our most consistent playmaker. He had some circus catches and knows how to use his height to his advantage. He also was solid as a kick returner, saving the day against UCF.
Defensive MVP: Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy was a beast, this season. He had 58 tackles (10 for a loss), 5 sacks, 3 picks for 79 yards, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery for a TD to save the game at Ole Miss, and he even blocked a punt (later, to add insult to injury, he literally injured the punter). I think he could be a good NFL player if he beefs up some. He's fast, aggressive, athletic and just makes plays.
Special Teams MVP: JD Falslev. I was tempted to give this to Hoffman, as well. However, a colleague of mine and I just don't understand why Hoffman and Chambers before him look like they are running in slow motion the first ten yards of the return. JD played well and had a great return against TCU for a score.
Freshman of the Year: Ross Apo. He started the season off by scoring our first three offensive touchdowns...in three games. He was slowed a little bit by a concussion against Utah State and seemed to struggle initially with the QB change. He came on late, though, with 5 TDs in the last three games. Maybe breaking his thumb, last season, was the best thing that could have happened for him (as weird as that sounds). Jake really would have benefited from having to sit out a season.
Biggest disappointment: Jake Heaps. Heaps was bad this year. Really bad. His QB rating was awful, his accuracy was awful, his TDs to INTs was bad. More than anything, though, he just looked scared after the Ole Miss game. That first play against Utah, he just looked like he didn't want to get hit, so he gave up a touchdown rather than taking any punishment. That really was the beginning of the end, for me. For a lot of people (many teammates included), the beginning of the end was when he hired a PR man to film "The Decision" ala LeBron James. I honestly don't think he's going to do much wherever he goes.
A distant second for me was McKay Jacobson. I really thought this guy was going to be a stud after a solid Freshman season. I don't know if he lost a step or what on his mission, but other than his TD against Oklahoma, he's been a non-factor his last three seasons. This season, he had only the sixth most catches on the team and again only had one score. He probably led the team in drops, as well.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The WAC-12 and Conference Realignment
So, the University of Utah absolutely choked against one of the worst teams in the nation, Colorado. Colorado had lost 26 straight road games coming into the game. What's amazing is that had the U won the game, at 8-4 (with 4 WAC-12 losses), they would be the second ranked team in the WAC-12 (we'll just rack up an L to Oregon for them to push them to 8-5). Now, soon to be 6-6 UCLA will be headed to the WAC-12 Championship game where they will certainly be pummeled by Oregon. With the loss in the conference championship game, UCLA will not even be bowl eligible. Which brings me to a point that's been harped on, again and again: why does the BCS exist?
The WAC-12 has two good teams that can play in a bowl (Oregon and Stanford with USC being banned for paying players...and will most assuredly be on probation again in the future with Kiffen at the helm). Other than that, they have 6-6 Washington, 6-5 UCLA, 6-6 Arizona State, 7-5 California, 7-5 Utah, 3-8 Oregon State, 4-7 Washington State, 3-10 Colorado and 3-8 Arizona. In other words, the rest of the conference is mediocre if not downright pathetic.
The Big Least is living up to its name, as well. 7-5 Louisville is going to get the BCS bid, this year. Which leads me to say, why did anyone think it would be a good idea for BYU to go there? Not only would we be 1,000 miles away from all of our opponents besides Boise (who we have a contract to play against, anyway), but we'd get frequent flyer miles to play pathetic teams in a conference that will soon lose its AQ status. While there has been much anger at BYU staying independent, I think any move into a conference other than the SEC is not a good move right now. And no, the SEC is never going to come knocking, so that one is out. The Big 12's infrastructure is still unsteady. The Big 10 isn't a possibility. The PAC-12 is bad and doesn't want a religious university. So, let us continue to celebrate Independence!!!
The WAC-12 has two good teams that can play in a bowl (Oregon and Stanford with USC being banned for paying players...and will most assuredly be on probation again in the future with Kiffen at the helm). Other than that, they have 6-6 Washington, 6-5 UCLA, 6-6 Arizona State, 7-5 California, 7-5 Utah, 3-8 Oregon State, 4-7 Washington State, 3-10 Colorado and 3-8 Arizona. In other words, the rest of the conference is mediocre if not downright pathetic.
The Big Least is living up to its name, as well. 7-5 Louisville is going to get the BCS bid, this year. Which leads me to say, why did anyone think it would be a good idea for BYU to go there? Not only would we be 1,000 miles away from all of our opponents besides Boise (who we have a contract to play against, anyway), but we'd get frequent flyer miles to play pathetic teams in a conference that will soon lose its AQ status. While there has been much anger at BYU staying independent, I think any move into a conference other than the SEC is not a good move right now. And no, the SEC is never going to come knocking, so that one is out. The Big 12's infrastructure is still unsteady. The Big 10 isn't a possibility. The PAC-12 is bad and doesn't want a religious university. So, let us continue to celebrate Independence!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Some Thoughts About the BYU-NMSU Game
First of all, the major thought on my mind is Matt Edwards is a champion. One catch, one touchdown in his last home game. As my brother Geoff said, if there was a WR rating for a game, Matt's would be like 10000. That was awesome.
Secondly, about Jake Heaps (it always seems to come back to him). He is such an enigma. It's infuriating. One play, he'll look off the defender and throw a beautiful pass right in the receiver's chest. The next play he'll stare at the WR and throw it 100 MPH and out of reach. That's why his final completion percentage for each game is average while he also has some good youtube highlights. Another major problem is that he completes a lot of four yard passes. Those are terrible.
Everybody keeps saying that Doman keeps calling only outs and timing routes for Heaps and that's why he's struggling. I've learned from an insider (I've always wanted to say that) that there are plenty of routes called over the middle for Heaps but he struggles looking that way. The interception he threw in this game was an out that he never took his eyes off of Apo. When Jake does keep teams honest with the utilization of the middle we're a much more effective team. That last TD to Falslev keeps hope alive that Jake might finally put it together (how many times have we said that before?)
Third, our defense is really tough. I wanted to go back through the season and see how many TDs given up were actually the defense's fault. The only TD Ole Miss scored was on defense. Against Texas, they had a scoring drive of 19 yards after Jake's pick. BYU gave up multiple defensive TDs to Utah and the U had a drive that was 3 yards and a drive that was only 35 yards after turnovers. One of UCF's TD was scored on a 17 yard drive after a Heaps pick. While Utah State's drives to the end zone wee long, it can be argued that the defense spending exorbitant time on the field due to offensive ineptness contributed to that. Against Oregon St, Riley had a pick six. TCU had four touchdown drives under 50 yards (including one that was only 8 yards). Factor this all in, and it's pretty impressive how few points the team has given up overall.
Fourth, I feel like it has been a pretty good year, so far. We've won every game we should have. We have a good record. We have a chance to beat a decent Hawaii team next Saturday and then we'll probably play Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl. Tulsa is a quality opponent who I think will be a good measuring stick for how far we've come. Hopefully, we'll get enough momentum going to have a year to really remember, next year.
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| He even outran someone to get in!!! |
Secondly, about Jake Heaps (it always seems to come back to him). He is such an enigma. It's infuriating. One play, he'll look off the defender and throw a beautiful pass right in the receiver's chest. The next play he'll stare at the WR and throw it 100 MPH and out of reach. That's why his final completion percentage for each game is average while he also has some good youtube highlights. Another major problem is that he completes a lot of four yard passes. Those are terrible.
Everybody keeps saying that Doman keeps calling only outs and timing routes for Heaps and that's why he's struggling. I've learned from an insider (I've always wanted to say that) that there are plenty of routes called over the middle for Heaps but he struggles looking that way. The interception he threw in this game was an out that he never took his eyes off of Apo. When Jake does keep teams honest with the utilization of the middle we're a much more effective team. That last TD to Falslev keeps hope alive that Jake might finally put it together (how many times have we said that before?)
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| Such good form...why can't you complete them at a higher percentage? |
Third, our defense is really tough. I wanted to go back through the season and see how many TDs given up were actually the defense's fault. The only TD Ole Miss scored was on defense. Against Texas, they had a scoring drive of 19 yards after Jake's pick. BYU gave up multiple defensive TDs to Utah and the U had a drive that was 3 yards and a drive that was only 35 yards after turnovers. One of UCF's TD was scored on a 17 yard drive after a Heaps pick. While Utah State's drives to the end zone wee long, it can be argued that the defense spending exorbitant time on the field due to offensive ineptness contributed to that. Against Oregon St, Riley had a pick six. TCU had four touchdown drives under 50 yards (including one that was only 8 yards). Factor this all in, and it's pretty impressive how few points the team has given up overall.
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| One of my all time favorite BYU pics. |
Fourth, I feel like it has been a pretty good year, so far. We've won every game we should have. We have a good record. We have a chance to beat a decent Hawaii team next Saturday and then we'll probably play Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl. Tulsa is a quality opponent who I think will be a good measuring stick for how far we've come. Hopefully, we'll get enough momentum going to have a year to really remember, next year.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
BYU to the Big East?
This sums up how I feel about the possibility of going to the Big East:
For more BYU football cartoons, check out http://www.bloodrunsblue.com/
Friday, November 11, 2011
BYU and Big Games Under Bronco
With another loss to TCU, I heard the common refrain that Bronco does not beat good teams. I have heard this over and over again, so I decided to investigate Bronco's record vs. bowl teams and non-bowl teams. While making a bowl game no longer necessarily qualifies you as a good team (remember how in 1995 BYU went 7-4 and didn't go to a bowl game? That seems ridiculous, now), it does mean that you at least have won 6 of 12 games. Here's what I found out.
Since 2005, BYU is 33-3 against teams that did not make a bowl game (or are D-II). In contrast, during that same span BYU is only 21-18 against teams that made a bowl game. This number was ugly to me when I first saw it. However, I took a closer look and it is not as bad as I originally imagined. Let me explain.
In 2005, Bronco took over a team that was made primarily up of players from the Dark Days with He Who Must Not Be Named as Head Coach. In that year, BYU went 1-5 against teams that ended up making a bowl game. Not great, by any imagination, but we also had 7 or 8 walk-on defensive players starting (because He Who Must Not Be Named decided it was a good idea to recruit like 25 WR's the year before). Throughout the season, BYU got consistently better and lost two heartbreakers to Utah then Cal.
In contrast, not surprisingly, BYU has done well against bowl teams in the year where we also had a quality team. In 2006, we were 5-1 against bowl teams. In 2007, we were 5-2. I would argue that 2008 was our worst 10+ win team since Bronco took over, and not surprisingly, they were 2-3 against bowl teams. In 2009, we were 5-2 against bowl teams. Last year (Bronco's biggest down year since his first year) we were a mediocre 3-5 against bowl teams.
It is yet to be seen how many bowl teams we have beaten, this year. Right now, it looks like there may be none. Central Florida, inexplicably, has gone down the tube but only need to win two out of three to get into a bowl game. Utah State has a more uphill battle with needing 3 of 4 games (although their schedule is pathetic from here on out. Remember how these guys should have beaten us, CSU, Louisiana Tech, and AUBURN?) Whatever happens, this probably will not be one of our great years to remember. However, with the above statistics, it might not be fair to say that Bronco doesn't beat good teams...and hey, there's something to be said for almost always beating the teams you should.
Since 2005, BYU is 33-3 against teams that did not make a bowl game (or are D-II). In contrast, during that same span BYU is only 21-18 against teams that made a bowl game. This number was ugly to me when I first saw it. However, I took a closer look and it is not as bad as I originally imagined. Let me explain.
In 2005, Bronco took over a team that was made primarily up of players from the Dark Days with He Who Must Not Be Named as Head Coach. In that year, BYU went 1-5 against teams that ended up making a bowl game. Not great, by any imagination, but we also had 7 or 8 walk-on defensive players starting (because He Who Must Not Be Named decided it was a good idea to recruit like 25 WR's the year before). Throughout the season, BYU got consistently better and lost two heartbreakers to Utah then Cal.
In contrast, not surprisingly, BYU has done well against bowl teams in the year where we also had a quality team. In 2006, we were 5-1 against bowl teams. In 2007, we were 5-2. I would argue that 2008 was our worst 10+ win team since Bronco took over, and not surprisingly, they were 2-3 against bowl teams. In 2009, we were 5-2 against bowl teams. Last year (Bronco's biggest down year since his first year) we were a mediocre 3-5 against bowl teams.
It is yet to be seen how many bowl teams we have beaten, this year. Right now, it looks like there may be none. Central Florida, inexplicably, has gone down the tube but only need to win two out of three to get into a bowl game. Utah State has a more uphill battle with needing 3 of 4 games (although their schedule is pathetic from here on out. Remember how these guys should have beaten us, CSU, Louisiana Tech, and AUBURN?) Whatever happens, this probably will not be one of our great years to remember. However, with the above statistics, it might not be fair to say that Bronco doesn't beat good teams...and hey, there's something to be said for almost always beating the teams you should.
Bowl Teams Non-Bowl Teams/D-II Total
2005: 1-5 5-1 6-6
2006: 5-1 6-1 11-2
2007: 5-2 6-0 11-2
2008: 2-3 8-0 10-3
2009: 5-2 6-0 11-2
2010: 3-5 4-1 7-6
21-18 33-3 54-21
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Bronco's Prophecy
All week long, Bronco said the difference the last few years against TCU was turnovers and special teams. Turnovers I understood, for sure, with Mad Max and Jake Heaps finding wide open TCU cornerbacks with ease the last three years. However, I hadn't thought about special teams...until last night. The special teams absolutely lost us the game (as well as Riley's two awful interceptions. But, we all knew that's how he plays; he'll make some great plays and he'll make some decisions where you wonder how Utah State even wanted him). Riley Stephenson single-handedly decided he did not want to beat TCU. Those snaps weren't great but they should have been caught. The one that was partially blocked was awful protection. The kick returns defense was bad, as well. The only reason I haven't gotten to the point where I say just go for it every fourth down and get rid of our special teams unit all together is both Hoffman and Falslev played well in the return game.
Geoff thinks this is Bronco's fault (he always does). I don't think it's Bronco's fault that our punter doesn't catch snaps, all of a sudden. I'm sure Stephenson gets to punt over and over again in his own practice segments. Gap protection on kick returns might need some tweaks (especially with how fast TCU's returners are). It's also not Bronco's fault that Nelson thinks a pick is better than a two yard loss...or that the number one high school QB recruit is a bust. However, the fake FG early in the first half was weird, mostly because there was no covering of what we were trying to do (we didn't leave the special teams in there or just have the offense stay in) and the clock management by both Bronco and Nelson at the end of the second quarter for that awful FG attempt was bad. We should've just taken the five yard penalty and ran a route that took us down the sideline. Or anything quicker would've been a good decision.
All in all, I thought we looked pretty good other than Special Teams. There always seems to be something against TCU. With exception of last year, they are not this much better than us. They just have our number. But, hey, they had been in the top 10 the last three years and I still think they'll be a Top 20 team by year's end. Could have a worse team to have your number (so, let's not let that be Hawaii).
Geoff thinks this is Bronco's fault (he always does). I don't think it's Bronco's fault that our punter doesn't catch snaps, all of a sudden. I'm sure Stephenson gets to punt over and over again in his own practice segments. Gap protection on kick returns might need some tweaks (especially with how fast TCU's returners are). It's also not Bronco's fault that Nelson thinks a pick is better than a two yard loss...or that the number one high school QB recruit is a bust. However, the fake FG early in the first half was weird, mostly because there was no covering of what we were trying to do (we didn't leave the special teams in there or just have the offense stay in) and the clock management by both Bronco and Nelson at the end of the second quarter for that awful FG attempt was bad. We should've just taken the five yard penalty and ran a route that took us down the sideline. Or anything quicker would've been a good decision.
All in all, I thought we looked pretty good other than Special Teams. There always seems to be something against TCU. With exception of last year, they are not this much better than us. They just have our number. But, hey, they had been in the top 10 the last three years and I still think they'll be a Top 20 team by year's end. Could have a worse team to have your number (so, let's not let that be Hawaii).
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