Cougar Digest

2009 BYU Football: In-Depth Personnel Breakdown By Position

2009-01-30T15:32:00.267-07:00

With National Letter of Intent Day this coming Wednesday, and with future Cougars making their commitments to Brigham Young University official; I was curious to see what the depth at each position was looking like as we get one month closer to the season.

My plan is to keep this personnel list updated each month. So at the end of February I will post anonther one of these mentioning all the comings and goings with personnel in the program. Hopefully there will be a surprise or two in the Signing Day class so we can add another player or two to these units.

The units are listed based on what year the player is going into '09. Didn't put in order of depth, we can leave the coaching brain trust to do that. :)

Also, I have listed the current missionaries in each unit.

If there are any players that I'm missing, feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section.

* = 2009 Signee
^ = RM

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

Max Hall Sr.
Brenden Gaskins Sr.
Kurt McEuen Jr.
Stephen Covey So.
Riley Nelson So.^
Dallin Cutler Fr.^

Missions

James Lark
Jason Munns
Christian Stewart

OUTLOOK: In Hall We Trust! I have a good feeling that Max Hall is determined to redeem himself after the struggles towards the end of the season. He is ready to regain the swagger the team had, and he is going to take full leadership of this team by the horns. He's got the moxy, he's got the game, he will come through. Believe in Hall Cougar Fans! He will turn this ship around.

As for the guys behind Hall, there are two reserves that know this program very well and one of which has been behind Hall for the past two seasons in Brenden Gaskins. But the wild card in this whole group is Riley Nelson the transfer from Utah State. I wouldn't be surprised if Cougar coaches still find a way for Nelson to get on the field, because he is such a great athlete. Dallin Cutler is a walk-on out of Alta High who was on the Utah State Championship team in 2006 along with current Utah RB Sausan Shakerin.

RUNNING BACKS

Manase Tonga Sr. (Needs to get eligible still; Bronco has said he is on track)
Harvey Unga Jr.
Bryan Karyia So.
Mike Hague So.^
JJ DiLuigi So.
Malosi Te’o Fr.^
Anthony Heimuli Fr.*
Peni Ma’akafi Fr.*
J.D. Falsev Fr.*
Seta Pohahau Fr. (Will he be able to get eligible?)

Missions

Ryan Folsom
Ryan Love
Brad Markham
Adam Timo*

OUTLOOK: Cougar coaches made a valiant effort late in the recruiting season to get a change-of-pace back to bring some lightening in the backfield to compliment the thunder in stud Harvey Unga, who if healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see back to his '07 deceptive speed form; and the Unga we saw at Washington in Seattle last season. The change-of-pace guy could be Adam Timo but he is projected to go on a mission and we won't see him in Cougar Blue till 2011.

This unit really needs Manase Tonga to re-join the fold. Hopefully he is working his tail off at UVU, and staying in good condition to make contributions this year. This is his last go-around, so hopefully he makes the most of it.

Another RB with eligibility issues is Seta Pohahau; one of the "sleepers" in the Signing Class of '08. Was 1/100th of a point to get eligible before Fall '08. Couldn't get eligible this Winter. We will have to see what goes down this Fall.

It will be interesting to see if any of the newcomers make waves in the depth chart. Wouldn't mind seeing J.J. DiLuigi at the slot position, if BYU opts to make it more a part of their offense again in '09.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Luke Ashworth Jr.
Tyler Kozlowski Jr.
Matt Marshall Jr.
Parker Mangum Jr.
Landon Jaussi Jr.
Spencer Hafoka So.
McKay Jacobsen So.^
O’Neill Chambers So.
Marcus Mathews Fr.^
Mitch Mathews Fr.*
Brett Thompson Fr.*
Cody Hoffman Fr.*
Michael Edmunds Fr.*

Missions

Jordan Smith
Mitch Palsson
Jake Murphy

OUTLOOK: With the departure of Austin Collie to the NFL, who will emerge as that go-to guy in '09? There won't be the "go-to" guy you could say. It will be a group by committee, headlined by McKay Jacobsen a.k.a. Virgil (For those of you who have the 2006 Football Season DVD) who returns to Cougar Town after his two-year mission in Japan. But I don't expect Jacobsen to be the deep-threat to step in for Collie like some Cougar faithful would think. McKay will flourish in underneath routes and get out in the open field, and he doesn't drop anything. He should have a solid year but people should expect the kind of production Collie had.

O'Neill Chambers should make strides in his Sophomore season to replace Michael Reed. Chambers has given us glimpses of his athleticsm and upside. The play from '08 that stands out all the time with me is that one-handed grab he had against Air Force. It was ruled out of bounds, but you could just see the athleticsm and the sure hands the guy has. Just needs to get down the route running.

Love the upside of this group, and if they make progress in '09 could set up to be a solid unit in 2010 with a brand new starting Quarterback.

TIGHT ENDS

Dennis Pitta Sr.
Andrew George Sr.
Kaneakua Friel So. (Mission?)
Braden Brown Fr.
Mike Muehlmann Fr.^
Devin Mahina Fr.^
Richard Wilson Fr.*
Thomas Bryson Fr.*
Remington Peck Fr.*

Missions

Austin Holt

OUTLOOK: From top-to-bottom this unit is stacked and will carry on the TE legacy at BYU quite nicely. Dennis Pitta and Andrew George are the best 1-2 TE tandem since Mili-Lewis in '96, and you would be pretty hard pressed to find a better TE combo in all of College Football this upcoming season.

Highly-regarded recruit Devin Mahina returns in the summer from his mission. I remember before he left coaches were talking that he was a candidate to switch over to Defensive End. Honestly, I would love that move. Mahina and the '07 class in general set the tone with BYU coaching staff recruiting players that were hybrid TE/DE type of athletes.

Does anyone know if Kaneakua Friel is going on a mission? Friel of course saw time at Fullback last season along with time at Tight End.

OFFENSIVE LINE

R.J. Willing Sr.
Nick Alletto Jr.
Jason Speredon Jr.
Garrett Reden Jr.
Jesse Taufi Jr.
Matt Reynolds So.
Terrence Brown So.
Ryan Freeman So.^
Braden Hansen Fr.^
John Barrett Fr.^
Jackson Smith Fr.^
Nate Hartung Fr.
Houston Reynolds Fr.^
Famika Anae Fr.^
Terry Alletto Fr.*
Tui Crichton Fr.*
Ryan Mulitalo Fr.*
Fono Vakalahi Fr.*

Missions

Walter Kaahaiali’i
Manaaki Vaitai
Michael Yeck
Brock Stringham
Solomone Kafu
Brad Wilcox*

OUTLOOK: Need to figure out who will replace the four starting Offensive Lineman. Matt Reynolds is of course a lock at Left Tackle. The injury to Tom Sorensen during last Fall Camp turned out to be a blessing in disguse, because now we have an established lineman protecting Max's blindside.

Another lock on this line would probably be Senior R.J. Willing who was the "6th Starter" on the O-Line last year, as the #1 backup for every spot. He has experience at every spot on the line, but that experience will be at Center where there shouldn't be any significant dropoff from departed Dallas Reynolds.

Jesse Taufi, Jason Speredon, and Terence Brown who has starting experience from his Freshman season back in '05 are my guesses to round out the starting line. This group has some good, young talent. A sleeper to watch is Nate Hartung. Departed Travis Bright, always said, that don't be surprised if Hartung is breaking all the weight-lifting records Bright holds here at BYU. Hartung is one of the strongest members on the team.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

Jan Jorgensen Sr.
Brett Denney Sr.
Russell Tialavea Sr.
Ian Dulan Sr.
Kyle Leukenga Sr.
Bernard Afutiti Jr.
Rick Wolfley Jr.
Tevita Hola Jr.
Matt Putnam So.
Romney Fuga So.^
Jordan Richardson Fr.^

Missions

Eathyn Manumaleuna

OUTLOOK: It will be interesting if rumors of a 4-3 actually come to fruition this season. Stud Senior Jan Jorgensen wants to see it, and I think this coming season BYU has the personnel to go to a 4-3. Bronco has always said he wants the best 11 on the field. If that's the case the talent is in this Defensive Line.

I'm really excited for Bernard Afutiti, he could be the missing link to a defensive line that struggled to get pressure in the opposing backfields, making our Secondary look worse than they actually are. Afutiti had a neck injury prior to the Northern Iowa game and Red-Shirted this past season. He was a late arrival mid-way through Fall Camp. I would expect with a full year under his belt, he makes waves on this unit and helps this group as one of the more improved units in '09.

Along with Afutiti, thrilled to see Matt Putnam. Putnam had a solid red-shirt Freshman season, and looks to have a bright future in Cougar blue. Color analyst on KSL 1160, Mark Lyons dubbed Putnam as being similar to former Oakland Raiders lineman Ted Hendricks a.k.a. "The Stork". If he's anything like The Stork he will have a nice career in Cougar Blue.

LINEBACKERS

Matt Bauman Sr.
Matt Ah You Sr.
Dan Van Sweden Sr.
Vic So’oto Sr.
Terrance Hooks Sr.
Shawn Doman Sr.
Coleby Clawson Sr.
Shane Hunter Sr.
Jeff Bell Sr.
Grant Nelson Jr.
Jordan Atkinson Jr.*
Aveni Leung-Wai Jr.^
Jadon Wagner So.
Masi Tuitama So.
Brandon Ogletree Fr.^
Dan Alletto Fr.^
Connell Hess Fr.^
Zed Mendenhall Fr.^
Austin Nielsen Fr.^
Robbie Cook Fr.^
Kyle Van Noy Fr.*

Missions

Austen Jorgensen
Tyler Beck
Kevan Bills
Neil Crook
Cody Monsen
Michael Alisa
Iona Pritchard
Spencer Hadley
Daniel Sorensen
Jefferson Court

OUTLOOK: Losses of Bryan Kehl and Kelly Poppinga appeared to leave bigger voids than many thought in Cougar Town, and had many scratching their heads as to why the Linebackers were a weakness on last year's defense. Injuries didn't help matters at all, but it was a better group than the way they played.

So what should we expect in '09? This unit would benefit greatly to a switch to the 4-3. Although, he gets a lot of slack from fans for some odd reason, Matt Bauman is a solid backer in the middle. His performance in the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona with 15 tackles was one of the lone bright spots to take away from that game. He is a definite starter going into Spring.

A healthy Terrance Hooks should be tough next season. Can you believe he's already a Senior? Then returners Shawn Doman, Matt Ah You, and Coleby Clawson who all have a fair amount of experience. Clawson is a player who could be switched back to his original position he was intended to play at BYU and that's Defensive End. Don't be surprised if other players in this group are switched from LB to Defensive Line to add more depth at that position. But a lot of these potential position change decisions will depend on which young guys emerge as guys who see significant time. My guess is Brandon Ogletree a return missionary out of McKinney, Texas. Ogletree has already been around the program since late October of 2008. He was a member of the scout team and doing quite well. He's like a Shay Muirbrook type, he's just a flat-out ballhawk who racks up tackles.

Then there's Mid-Year transfer Jordan Atkinson out of Diablo Valley Community College. Atkinson who is cousins with former BYU linebacker Bryant Atkinson also known by the die-hards of BYU football as, "The Silencer". And finally, Kyle Van Noy out of McQueen, Nevada. One of BYU's top targets in the 2009 recruiting class. Van Noy made his commitment official to BYU coaches and media during the recruiting weekend on January 9th. His build and speed remind many Cougar fans as possible the next Bryan Kehl.

All in all, the future of this position is very bright. Its too bad the Cougs lost as many players as they did to missions at this position. Michael Alisa, Iona Pritchard, and Daniel Sorensen who switched from Safety were all guys who contributed.

CORNERBACKS

Brandon Howard Sr.
Scott Johnson Sr.
Brandon Bradley Jr.
Lee Aguirre Jr.* (Eligibility Issues)
Gary Nagy So. (Did he transfer?)
Brannon Brooks So.
Steven Thomas So.
Robbie Buckner Fr.^
Rhen Brown Fr.^
Garrett Nicholson Fr.
Jeff Sorensen Fr.^
Trevor Bateman Fr.*

Missions

Cameron Comer

OUTLOOK: Some bad news came out of this group already recently, when expected mid-year transfer Lee Aguirre wasn't able to enroll in school for Winter Semester. He's still expected to sign on the dotted line on Signing Day to the Cougars, but he will now have to enroll in the Fall; which hurts because that puts him behind the 8-Ball in terms of getting accustomed to the defense. Aguirre is no slouch, in last years Sporting News College Football Annual Preview, there was a section previewing the Junior College season and one of their two "Super Sophomores" at the CB position was Lee Aguirre. Hopefully he gets enrolled, he can add much needed depth.

As for the starters, Brandon Howard is a lock at the Field Corner. Boundary in my opinion will go to Brandon Bradley. Bradley was starting to come into his own when Scott Johnson went down with a double groin injury. Howard and Bradley are solid starters, and with what looks to be an improved defensive front seven, these guys should definitely improve.

Scott Johnson returns and will be a valuable piece as a Nickel cover guy. A player many are intrigued about is Robbie Buckner. Buckner of course was a 2006 signee out of Arkansas, who in his first Fall Camp as a Cougar was already seeing time with the 1s, and making many plays on the field in scrimmages. He's returning home from his mission sometime in Spring. It will be interesting to see if he can make a valuable impact as a RM.

What's the status of Gary Nagy? Read that he was transferring and Hawaii was a possible suitor for Nagy's services. Any confirmation on this?

SAFETIES

Andrew Rich Jr.
Shiloah Te’o So.
Jordan Pendleton So.
Carter Mees Fr.^
Landon Fowler Fr.^
Craig Bills Fr.*
Jray Galea’i Fr.*

OUTLOOK: I have no qualms with saying bye-bye to the Kellen Fowler-David Tafuna era at Safety for BYU Football. Fowler started off well in replace of Quinn Gooch in 2007, but it turned drastically in 2008 for the worse.

There's already more optimism in Andrew Rich and Shiloah Te'o/Jordan Pendleton in my book than the Fowler-Tafuna duo. Rich, proved last season that he is legit. From preferred Walk-On to a solid contributor and in some games starter in the secondary. For the other Safety spot, Te'o and Pendleton would be the favorites with 4-star commit Craig Bills out of Timpview as the Wild Card in the group. HB Arnett has been high on Bills as a guy who can contribute right away to the Cougars in '09.

Hopefully Jray Galea'i stays in the Cougar fold and doesn't spurn the Cougs and sign with his buddy over at Hawaii. He looks to be a talented athlete.

KICKERS/PUNTERS

Mitch Payne Jr.
Riley Stephenson Fr.^
Jordan Miller Fr.*

Missions

Justin Sorensen

OUTLOOK: There is definitely some concerns with the kicking unit in 2009. First and foremost, who is going to replace C.J. Santiago at Punter? Jordan Miller is going to be a Walk-On who is out of Nevada, but is he honestly going to be the answer? Riley Stephenson was a highly-regarded signee out of Pine View in 2005, but has been away from the game for awhile. If the staff has a scholarship available, they should find another JC Punter in the summer like they did with Santiago two years ago. Also, need to find someone who will handle the kickoff duties. Payne as shown in 2007, is not the man for the job.

Now Payne will be solid on Field Goals unless its a critical situation in a game and its farther than 40 yards; but other than that he should be good, and hopefully he continues to improve.

I just don't think we realize how significant a loss Santiago is. He was nails in '08 at pinning opposing teams inside their own 20. From getting boo'd in game 1 against Arizona in his career to being a pretty clutch Punter, Santiago is a big loss. Have to watch closely who is battling in Spring.

DEEP SNAPPERS

Chris Muehlmann Jr.
John Pace Jr.

OUTLOOK: Don't have any gripes with Muehlmann and Pace. Both have been solid the past two seasons handling the deep snaps. Just stay healthy and were gold at this spot. I've really liked since Bronco took over the emphasis on this position. In my opinion, its paid huge dividends to have designated Deep Snappers.

Again, any players that I happened to miss who are in the program for the 2009 season; post in the comments section or shoot me an e-mail over at:

cougardigest@gmail.com

Go Cougs!

Who Redshirted For BYU Football in 2008? Offense Edition

2009-01-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Much was said about Bronco's unique redshirting policy he announced during Fall Camp this past season. Mentioning going into a season, a player will not be dubbed as redshirting. To insure the player is still ready when called upon if injuries happen, or other factors that would cause a player that is likely destined for a redshirt year but still has the mindset to play at his best level.

Bronco mentioned to Jay Drew that he wasn't quite sure yet who will receive the redshirts from last season. I thought I would do my best to take a stab at who possibly received redshirts this year. Jerry posted a comment in the story about Elite LDS Athletes not knowing the status of redshirts, so I thought this could be a good resource.

This is the first of a two-part breakdown of who possibly red-shirted this season. Starting with the offensive personnel.

Quarterback

Everyone in the Quarterbacks unit had used a redshirt, with the lone exception being Walk-On Christian Stewart from Timpanogos. Stewart is going on a mission soon.

Stewart was a talented player out of Timpanogos. He landed at BYU as a Walk-On mainly due to schools not knowing about him till late in the process. Stewart had three offensive schemes in his years for Timpanogos. He set Utah state passing records in a few passing categories. He knows how to throw the ball.

Running Back

Manase Tonga is the obvious guy who used a red-shirt year in this group. Tonga came off his mission and joined the program in 2005, and had not used a red-shirt until this past season. Manase is expected to be back, but probably not until Fall semester. Which is a big blow to the team. It makes you wonder how effective Manase will be one year away from the program. Hopefully he has worked hard in the weight room and class room to get back into the fold.

Isaac Taylor had an available red-shirt, that was never used. He leaves the program as a graduating Senior. Newcomer Jerry Bruner from Washington, who struggled adjusting to the D-1 game didn't participate in any games this season.

Bruner when he committed to BYU, had comparisons of Luke Staley. Mainly due to his build and the fact that he's from the Northwest. Let's just put that to rest, in any other comparisons.

Y Receiver (Tight End)

Dennis Pitta hasn't used a red-shirt season in his career at BYU, and obviously he didn't use it in '08 with the great year he had. The depth at Tight End is in good hands for years to come.

Braden Brown (pictured) out of Highland High School in Salt Lake, looks to be a likely guy to have received a red-shirt in '08. Brown of course was a highly-regarded TE recruit in the 2006 class. Brown was expected to go on a mission straight out of high school. He left the mission early due to medical reasons, and enrolled in school in Fall of 2007. He Grey-shirted in '07, and I would expect gets the red-shirt in '08.

Really excited about the future of Brown. He's a typical TE, with his blocking skill set but has terrific hands.

Wide Receiver

There were a few possibilities going into the season who looked like guys that could be red-shirt options. Didn't happen though due to an overall lack of depth at the position.

O'Neill Chambers saw significant minutes this past season in the return game. As the season wore on, Chambers was improving and making better decisions. The key to showcase his speed is getting in the open-field. He will break one eventually, and his receiving skills are there. That one-handed grab he had against Air Force might of been out of bounds but to me and Cougar fans everywhere it was a sign of things to come with O'Neill. He's going to be very talented.

Luke Ashworth returned from the mission, and I really thought he was going to step right in where Matt Allen left off. That never came to fruition, as BYU practically went away from the slot and went with more two Tight End sets. But can you blame Anae for that? Pitta and George are pretty awesome.

Spencer Hafoka the man who seemed to be a name lingering in the program for years finally arrived this past season. Had a great spring scrimmage, and many felt he was going to make great strides in '08. Never happened, as we saw Hafoka in a limited role.

A lot of this was due to the security of Austin Collie, that Hall had in him. Next season he's going to be delegating the ball more and these guys have some game experience.

The only other WR that had a red-shirt season available was Landon Jaussi. Jaussi was a contributor on Special Teams this season, so probably no red-shirt for him. Jaussi be a name Cougar fans will hear as a "sleeper" in the WR unit, but I wouldn't bank on any of that happening. Remember Matthew Smith? I rest my case.

Rhen Brown is a name to remember. Brown was a player in the 2006 recruiting class out of Lone Peak High. He returned to BYU during the season, and grey-shirted. He's expected to play WR, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was switched to Defensive Back if needed during the Spring. He was recruited for both out of high school.

Offensive Line

A lot more candidates for red-shirts in this talented unit.

Terence Brown out of South Carolina returned to BYU from a mission in late July. He was behind the 8 ball all season, and didn't participate in any games in '08. Expect good things from Brown though. He was talented at Tackle as a Freshman in 2005.

Jesse Taufi a JC signee in the 2008 class didn't play this season. Taufi is projected to be a Guard at BYU. Taufi of course, during his recruitment was one of the few recruits who turned down Slick Pete at USC for BYU. Supposedly, Pete Carroll was telling Taufi to hold off his commitment to BYU and wait for SC to offer him later in the recruiting process, but Tafui was so impressed with Bronco and BYU that he couldn't turned them down and he has been a Cougar since.

Both Solomone Kafu and Brock Stringham didn't participate in '08. They are each heading out on missions soon. Kafu as soon as next month.

Then finally there's Nate Hartung a.k.a. "Big Rig". Hartung didn't play in any games, but Cougar fans should be excited for his future. Travis Bright who has graduated, and was the strongest player on BYU last season has said that Hartung will probably break all of Bright's weight-lifting records before his days at BYU are over. Bright said that in an interview to Sammy Linebaugh on The mtn. That's pretty exciting, especially since Bright was a beast.

I will post Part 2, the Defensive Breakdown on likely Redshirts this week.

Frustrated BYU Basketball Fan Rant

2009-01-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

I am completely miserable BYU Fans!

When Steve Cleveland stepped away from BYU Basketball after the '04-'05 season, to go onto to Fresno State. I didn't blame him. He put BYU Basketball back to being a yearly competitor in this league, and restored the Marriott Center Magic. But there was only one guy I wanted to see as coach for BYU Basketball; and that was Dave Rose.

I was thrilled that Rose got the job especially since one year prior Rose was a serious candidate for the Head Coaching position at his alma-mater Houston in 2004. But current Houston coach Tom Penders got it over Rose. So there was a feeling that BYU needed to lock up Rose immediately to keep him around in Cougar Town. I loved his ties to a great program like Phi-Slamma-Jamma of the 80s, and the fact he has all the connections one could possibly have in the JUCO ranks. Rose and Cleveland were well known for that, and JC coaches knew players would be taken care of in Cougar Town.

But Rose being hired was exciting. I really felt that BYU Basketball was going to be elevated to a new level, and through three and a half seasons, this program has. BYU has been dominant at home under Rose losing only two games. The program seems to have improved drastically on the road, when that was always an issue during the Cleveland tenure, and the history of this program in general. Also, this program is getting a lot more talented players and reloading.

But with all the great things Rose has done with this program there are still a few things that have been eating at me as a Cougar Cager fan. Can't break through in big games, and lacking a player on the wing who can put it on the floor and create his own shot. Those are the two things BYU Basketball need to improve on in the coming years.

The only "big win" we can really claim in the Rose era thus far is the win over Louisville in Las Vegas last season, when they were ranked #6 in some polls, but that was without the Cardinals captain, Padgett and Juan Palacios wasn't there either. Add in the fact, that it was a neutral floor, so what can we really take from that?

This program has had so many close calls against some great teams lately. North Carolina, Michigan State, Xavier, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Wake Forest. When will we break through? What's it going to take?

Wake Forest is proving to be one of the best teams in the nation right now, and is probably a favorite to win the National Title if you were to make a bet today on it. They are one of the most physical teams in America as well, we outrebounded them, had the 2nd largest crowd in the 37-year history of the Marriott Center and still couldn't do it. It's just frustrating right now as a BYU Basketball fan, because a game like that could of actually gave us some credibility come Selection Sunday.

From here on out, we basically have to win the rest, including the UNLV Invitational, and the best we probably get is a 7 seed.

The New Mexico game was a humbling experience. Granted, I'd rather lose by 19 and get blown out of the gymnasium then lose like the team did against ASU in Glendale. But man, that was a disappointing effort. Yeah, Albuquerque was riled up and ready to go for it, including their infamous fan, "The Snake", but the team should of played a lot better than that. And it raised some concerns the rest of the way out in conference. It worries me to think BYU is going to go back to their road woes again. I'm hoping not. Lee Cummard needs to emerge in these big game moments. He has faded away in every game that has been close, with the lone exception being Long Beach State to open the season where he single handidly won the game. But other than that, Lee has been in a funk. Particularly since that Weber State game in Ogden. He just hasn't found a consistent shooting groove from game to game. It's hit and miss with Lee anymore, and that can't fly in conference. Especially on the road, with everyone and their fan bases bringing their best efforts as always for the Cougars coming to town.

This rant could go on and on, so I'm gonna wrap it up. But as I said earlier, this program needs to find an athletic wing player at around 6'6 to 6'8 who can put it on the floor and get to the basket, and create his own shot. Cummard is a great defender and a guy who can fill up a stat sheet, but he can't but it on the deck and take over.

Imagine Luiz De Toledo and Jean Carlos De Otero on this team. Problem solved with Toledo on the offensive end and Otero who was supposed to be the defensive stopper.

Hopefully, in the future Rose can find a player like them to get in school. Because athletes like that could elevate BYU Basketball. Look at our team with a real Point Guard finally. Its on the up and up, but I still get pessimistic at times because we've yet to prove we can come through when it counts. And with the NCAA Selection Committee and a clown like Utah's Chris Hill on board, I'm not optimistic about our first round matchup in the NCAA Tourney. We will get some athletic team that felt that deserved a better seed, and will come out driven and focused to prove a point. While UNLV who will probably win the UNLV Invitational will get a higher seed and get a favorable first round matchup like Kent State again. Sheesh.

Recruiting: Can BYU Get the Elite LDS Athletes?

2009-01-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts since Christmas. Just haven't had any motivation lately to discuss anything in the sports world right now. But it's time to get back at it with the Holidays over and recruiting season heating up.

But the question the many Cougar fans are asking lately is, "Has BYU reached its peak?"

Initially I would immediately say no. But if you sit back and think about it, what really will put this program over the top to be a Top 10 program every few years and be a contender for BCS games? We've proven that 11-2 seasons with Top 25 finishes are achievable, but what will it take to get over the hump?

What's concerning is BYU isn't landing the Elite LDS recruits. The LDS church is well over 6 million people now and has members all around the nation, so it's impossible to land all of them but the Manti Te'o's of the recruiting world are guys BYU needs to land, and the past 10 years in BYU recruiting has shown were not capable of that. Haloti Ngata, Sione Fua, Christian Tupou, Stanley Havili, Uona Kaveinga, Al Afalava just to name a few are some of the huge recruiting misses we've had. The only one I can remember getting was Ofa Mohetau, but we all saw how that turned out.

If recruits don't commit to BYU early, it seems like their heart really isn't into BYU and they usually don't last the full four or five years. Especially now, with the stricter rules at the school, since the glory days of the 80s. So whenever I read stories with potential recruits saying they won't make their decision till Signing Day, its pretty much clear cut to me that BYU isn't where that student-athlete is heading.

I've always wondered, why is that? Why wouldn't a big-time recruit come to BYU? Its a program with a rich tradition, some of the best facilities in America and a style of play that they can flourish in early. But no, the usual destination is USC. The glitz and glamour of Los Angeles or the chance to be on the national stage is all these guys really want. They also feel that these "bigger" programs give them a better chance to go to the NFL. The NFL finds players that are good, regardless of school. I remember a few years back a guy was drafted in the 2nd Round from Tuskegee college. Tuskegee! A few years back, BYU had produced the most NFL Draft Picks behind only USC in the West.

Recruiting has always been a favorite of mine, but its getting old to me how these recruits act anymore. They go to these programs based on one-year success, a good performance in one-game, or if they are in a big city or not. Its weird to me, that none of these guys look for the place that will best suit their skill set. That's why I loved the recruiting process of O'Neill Chambers.

Didn't know anything about BYU until his high school coach, Tyler Anderson (former Cougar) mentioned to Chambers that BYU would be a good school for him. Chambers researched BYU thoroughly and was impressed with the way they pass the ball and felt that he could make an immediate impact in BYU's offense. He got on BYU's campus and loved every aspect of it. This was a Non-LDS guy, who knew nothing of BYU until a few months ago and decided to choose BYU over Purdue and Florida, just to name a few.

Justin Luettgerodt a Linebacker for BYU was another impressive recruiting story. He sat through the 3-0 loss to Utah in 2003, but decided right there and then to commit to BYU. Most recruits these days it seems like would shy away from a school after a season-ending performance like that but Luettgerodt, didn't look it at that way. He was quoted saying how he loved the blitzing and the defensive performance BYU put out and he wanted to be a part of that. Luettgerodt was a Non-LDS guy as well and had a good career as a JUCO Linebacker.

It seems to me that BYU has some success with Non-LDS recruits when they visit the campus. When they come out to Provo and experience what the program is all about they seem to commit. But the Elite LDS guys we struggle with. They act like their bored with BYU because they know what its all about and they weigh their options elsewhere, and usually wait till Signing Day to commit. It's getting to be old.

The only way BYU will start getting these guys is if BYU goes to a BCS game. That's probably one of the ways it will happen or someone breaks the mold and commits to BYU, with many players following suit.

Hopefully Class of 2010 recruit, Jake Heaps comes to BYU. He has been stated that he intends to commit early to a school, and help recruit the best possible class to that school so he can be a part of a special team. Pretty impressive remarks for a High School guy.

Then there's recruits who will keep their commitment silent until Signing Day, leaving a bunch of schools hanging and hurting their chances to get other recruits who might actually want to attend.

I'm hoping to see Bronco and staff go after more Non-LDS recruits in the future, that would be good fits at BYU. Not everyone wants to party and drink. There are good guys out there who want a great education and play at a big-time program. Gotta take more chances, because banking on these upper-tier LDS guys is becoming a joke if you ask me.

What do you think Cougar fans? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Poinsettia Bowl: A Non-BCS Showdown Between Boise State and TCU

2008-12-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

#9 Boise State (12-0) vs. #11 TCU (10-2)

Tonight, 6 P.M. (MT), ESPN

Announcers: Reece Davis, Mark May, Lou Holtz, Todd Harris

San Diego, CA, Qualcomm Stadium

Last Five Bowl Games

Boise State: 2-3 (7th straight Bowl appearance)

TCU: 4-1 (Last loss in a Bowl game was to Boise State in the '03 Fort Worth Bowl)

Players To Watch

Boise State: Kellen Moore, Quarterback

The Broncos redshirt Freshman Quarterback has been terrific in his first season at the helm of the high-octane Bronco offense. Moore has thrown for 3,264 yards, 25 Touchdowns, and only nine interceptions. Moore hasn't seen a defense like the Horned Frogs D this season. This will be his toughest test yet, and if he plays well expect even more big things from Moore for years to come.

TCU: Daryl Washington, Linebacker

With the Frogs vocal leader in Robert Henson ineligible in tonight's game due to academics, Washington's role on the defense will be more significant. Washington had 57 tackles this season alongside Henson and MLB Jason Phillips, both potential NFL players. Washington is a better player in coverage than Henson. It will be interesting to see how he does.

PREVIEW

TCU and Boise State are two of the best "Non-BCS" programs in the country, and with the Vegas Bowl taking BYU over the Horned Frogs it set up this very good matchup between the Frogs and Broncos.

TCU and Boise State met in a bowl game already before, back in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl where Boise State edged out the Frogs on their home field, Ammon G. Carter Stadium; led by Quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie who under his reign as QB put Boise Football on the map.

Five years later, these two programs are still playing at a high level. TCU has the talented defense led by Defensive End Jerry Hughes who has had an NCAA leading 15.5 sacks this season. Many "experts" consider Hughes to be a 1st Round NFL Draft pick.

Boise State has the high-octane offense that started out somewhat slow this year but has picked up late in the year, scoring over 40 points in the last five games. Including a 61-point outing on WAC foe, Fresno State.

Its bound to be one of the better bowl matchups in this year's bowl season, and a showcase game for Non-BCS programs, which is always good to see for once. Tired of seeing all the attention go towards the overrated SEC.

This is a tough game to call, so I'm going with a gut feeling on this one. Boise State wins this, in a close one. TCU's offense does not finish drives and they struggle in the Red Zone. Prime Example, their game against Utah one month ago.

Yeah the old saying goes, Defense Wins Championships but in College Football now-a-days you need to be able to score as well. TCU won't be able to score enough to down the Broncos. The TCU D will keep them in it, but it won't be enough, as Boise gets their first win since the unforgettable 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.

Prediction

Boise State 31 TCU 24

Excitement Level For This Game (1 to 5): 5

Gunaxin Bowl Coverage of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Full Analysis Coming Tomorrow

2008-12-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

I really can't comprehend the thought of discussing the two games from yesterday right now. I'll probably watch the New Orleans Bowl and that's about it. Need some time to get my thoughts gathered and just recooperate from what took place yesterday.

Hard day as a Cougar fan. Full breakdowns will be here tomorrow.

New Orleans Bowl Preview: Troy and Southern Miss Come In Streaking Something's Gotta Give

2008-12-21T11:11:00.001-07:00

Southern Miss (6-6) vs. Troy (8-4)

Today, 6:15 P.M. (MT), ESPN

Announcers: Eric Collins, Shaun King

New Orleans, LA, Super Dome

Last Five Bowl Games

Southern Miss: 3-2 (Last Year: Lost to #20 Cincinnati in the Papajohns.com Bowl 21-31. 7th straight year in a Bowl)

Troy: 1-1 (First bowl appearance since '06 New Orleans Bowl in a win over Rice 41-17.)

Players to Watch

Southern Miss: DeAndre Brown, Wide Receiver

For College Football junkies across the nation, DeAndre Brown has been a player people have known about for a few years. Brown was a highly touted recruit out of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, he had offers from practically all of the SEC and many teams around the nation. But decided to go to Southern Miss where he could play right away and have an immediate impact.

Brown did have an immediate impact as he caught 66 passes this season for 1,108 yards. Tonight's game will put him as one of the household names in College Football.

Troy: Levi Brown, Quarterback

Took over mid-season for Jamie Hampton at Quarterback and has brought much needed consistency to the Trojan offense. Brown completed 62% of his passes and had a 14 TD-3 Int ratio, which was a big reason Troy finished the regular season with a 4-game winning streak.

PREVIEW

Both Troy and Southern Miss come into this game with four-game winning streaks, Southern Miss had to win its last four games to get bowl eligible for first-year Head Coach Larry Fedora. Troy had three of its four losses come against BCS Conference schools in Ohio State who the Trojans hung around with the entire game until late where the Buckeyes pulled away. A blow-out loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, which was revenge for the Cowboys. Then a heart-breaking loss to LSU where Troy had a 28 point lead and let it vanish in the blink of an eye, as LSU rallied in the fourth to get the win.

Troy is a very talented, athletic team that could compete at a high level with many of the "Non-BCS" leagues, and they are looking to put their mark as the Sun Belt's elite program with a solid win over a Southern Miss program who has been a measure of consistency for the past decade.

The Golden Eagles this season had four losses by seven points or less, and even competed at home with undefeated, offensive juggernaut Boise State at home holding to the Broncos to just 24 points in the loss.

Both teams have many players returning in 2009, so this is your typical springboard type game for some Pre-Season buzz the following year.

I give the edge to Troy who has been tested by some talented ball clubs and held their own. Southern Miss down the stretch in their four-game winning streak has played some mediocre teams with the only exception being C-USA Champion, East Carolina who the Golden Eagles beat 21-3.

Look for Troy's defensive front seven to bring a lot of pressure on Southern Miss' Austin Davis to lead the Trojans to a victory and a nine-win season, the first in school history.

PREDICTION

Troy 21 Southern Miss 13

Excitement Level (1 to 5): 2

Gunaxin Bowl Coverage of the New Orleans Bowl

Exciting News on the Recruiting Front

2008-12-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Lee Aguirre the Cornerback out of Fullerton College committed to sign with BYU yesterday which was great news. Many Cougar fans figured that was probably it on Junior College recruits, not so.

Salt Lake Tribune BYU Beatwriter, Jay Drew gave some great info as always in his BYU blog today about two recruits that BYU is currently going after.

Hebron Fangupo is a name BYU recruiting junkies are very familiar with. Fangupo is a potential mid-year transfer. Hebron was all but signed, and delivered to USC from how it appeared back in May. I don't think any Cougar recruiting buffs even thought twice that BYU was in the running for this guy. According to his Rivals page, BYU wasn't even one of the schools on there.

Fangupo was teammates with current Cougar D-Lineman Bernard Afutiti who was a highly-recruited player as well. Afutiti redshirted this season, so maybe the possibility of playing with a former teammate for two years is appealing to Fangupo and its one of the reasons he is looking into BYU more. Fangupo for the record is LDS.

The other JUCO recruit BYU is going after is Dominque Gaisie a Cornerback out of Mt. San Antonio College, same as Fangupo.

In a article on JCFootball.com, Gaisie apparently doesn't have any D-1 offers yet. The schools that are currently recruiting him are BYU, Temple, UNLV, Arizona and Washington. Also said that he is visiting BYU on January 9th and has three years to play two.

I'm sure Gaisie will continue to keep a close eye on tomorrow's Las Vegas Bowl to see how BYU and Arizona do.

I continue to be amazed at the recruiting job, Bronco and staff are currently doing. Bronco made it a point that the staff would be going after some JC recruits and that was in October. Its amazing how late in the game they were but still being able to find the right guys to match the system and have a chance at landing some of these guys. Exciting stuff.

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl Preview

2008-12-19T11:09:00.002-07:00

Memphis (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5)

2:30 P.M. (MT), ESPN 2

Announcers: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone

St. Petersburg, FL, Tropicanna Field

Last Five Bowl Games

Memphis: 3-2 (6th Bowl appearance All-Time; Last Year: New Orleans, Florida Atlantic 27-44, Loss)

South Florida: 1-2 (4th straight Bowl appearance. Last Year: Sun, Oregon 21-56, Loss)

Players To Watch

Memphis: Curtis Steele, Running Back

It's not every day you see a Junior College player dominate in his first season in FBS after transferring from the JUCO ranks. Steele did just that rushing for 1,175 yards this season and 7 TDs. Steele was the first 1,000 yard rusher since current Carolina Panther D'Angelo Williams was rushing for NCAA records at Memphis in 2005. Steele had six games with over 100 yards rushing. In those six games the Tigers went 6-0. In the six losses, Steele rushed for under 100. Steele needs to have a big-game to keep the Tigers in it.

South Florida: Tyrone McKenzie, Linebacker

Defensive End George Selvie gets all the press clippings, but McKenzie is the glue to this Bulls defense that ranks in the Top 15 in Total Defense despite being put in many bad situations due to their turnover happy offense. McKenzie racked up 105 tackles this season including 13 Tackles For Loss. McKenzie was a 1st Team All-Big East selection.

Preview

Another new bowl game, this one being played in St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicanna Field, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Tropicanna Field is less than 30 miles away from South Florida's campus so it is essentially a home game, and I wouldn't expect there to be many Memphis Tigers fans making the trip.

South Florida had a lot of pre-season buzz this season as the team in the Big East to de-throne West Virginia off the top and become the league champion. The Bulls started the season 5-0 and were in the Top 10 for the second time in school history (the first being last season). A loss to Pitt on a Thursday night, and the wheels started to fall off for the Bulls who ended up losing five of their last seven ball games.

USF Quarterback Matt Grothe who everyone on ESPN seemed to adore at the mid-way point of the season showed his true colors down the stretch. Throwing seven of his 14 interceptions in the last five games of the season. Grothe led the Bulls yet again in rushing yards totaling 508, but it wasn't as efficient and productive as in 2007.

The Bulls defense on the other hand has been solid this entire season, despite injuries to key players including Georgie Selvie who hasn't been the same explosive player off the edge we saw in '07. USF will have to shut down the Memphis rushing attack and they should get the victory in this one. Should be a low-scoring affair but with South Florida being practically at home, and their team is trying to salvage some momentum going into 2009 the Bulls come out on top in this one and get their second bowl victory in school history.

Prediction

South Florida 13 Memphis 10

Excitement Level For This Game (1 - Rather watch re-runs of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas to 5 - I will go streaking with this bowl game's logo tattooed on my ass cheeks):

1. Fire up The Year Without a Santa Claus, this game is gonna be boring.

Gunaxin Bowl Coverage of the St. Petersburg Bowl

New Mexico Bowl Preview: Two Teams in Different Directions Meet in the Land of Enchantment

2008-12-19T10:13:00.002-07:00

Colorado State (6-6) vs. Fresno State (7-5)

12:30 p.m. (MT), ESPN

Announcers: Joe Tessitore, Rod Gillmore

Albuquerque, NM, University Stadium

Last Five Bowl Games

Colorado State: 2-3 (First appearance in a bowl since 2005. Last Win: 2001 New Orleans, North Texas, 45-20)

Fresno State: 4-1 (Last Year: Humanitarian, Georgia Tech, 40-28 Win)

Players To Watch

Colorado State: Gartrell Johnson, Running Back

Known by his peers as, "The Predator" because of his dreadlocks. Johnson is a beast for a running back, and wears defenses down as the game progresses. Johnson ran for almost five yards per carry this season, en route to rushing for a total of 1,228 yards. Fresno State has a talented defense, but this is probably the best running back Fresno has faced since playing against Wisconsin and their stud of a back, P.J. Hill. The Bulldogs have faced some good backs this year, Ian Johnson from Boise State and Colin Kaepernick from Nevada. "The Predator" is really good. He could emerge as a better known name in the College Football world with a big bowl performance. Similar to what East Carolina's Chris Johnson did last year, now he's tearing it up with the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

Fresno State: Return Specialists

Fresno State's two-headed monster in the return game has been one of the bright spots for the Bulldogs this season, in a year where BCS was running in the minds for the fans out in the Fresno Valley. Rashad Evans and AJ Jefferson are the two guys you need to watch. Evans leads the Bulldogs in punt returns at 14.2 yards a pop, which is seventh best in the nation. AJ Jefferson has returned a kick for a TD this season and has totaled 908 yards this season on 31 returns, which is 17th best in the nation.

Preview

These two teams are in completely different directions heading into this bowl game. Fresno State as mentioned had aspirations for a BCS game at season's end, but Pat Hill's questionable scheduling tactics did the 'Dogs in again and they struggled in WAC play losing games they shouldn't have.

Colorado State was a program in flux coming into the season. The Rams practically ran off the coach who's name graces their stadium in Sonny Lubick, and replaced him with Steve Fairchild who came from the Buffalo Bills. Fairchild brought a new sense of excitement to Fort Collins, as they were very competitive this season. Losing to Mountain West powers TCU by only six and BYU by 3. The Rams were also competitive in the Rocky Mountain Showdown against rival Colorado for about a half but wore in half number two.

This game should be interesting, and is a lot better matchup than people would suggest. For Fresno State to win this game they need to get Quarterback Tom Brandstater's confidence up, with some quick completions early on and get the Bulldog offense going, which has been inconsistent this season. For Colorado State, they need to get Johsnon "The Predator" going, if they establish the running game Colorado State should win this one and possible run away with it.

Excitement Level (1 to 5): 4

Prediction

Colorado State 30 Fresno State 14

Gunaxin Blog Bowl coverage of the New Mexico Bowl

EagleBank Bowl Preview: Deacons Look to Show their Demon Side in a Re-Match Versus Navy

2008-12-19T09:10:00.003-07:00

Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Navy (8-4)

9 a.m. (MT), ESPN

Announcers: Terry Gannon, David Norrie, Quint Kessenich

Washington, D.C., RFK Stadium

Last Five Bowl Games

Wake Forest: 4-1 (Won last two. Last loss: 2007 Orange Bowl, #5 Louisville, 13-24)
Navy: 2-3 (Lost last two. Last Win: 2005 Poinsettia Bowl, Colorado St., 51-30)

Players To Watch

Wake Forest: Aaron Curry, Linebacker

This year's winner of the Butkus Award over guys like James Laurinatis and Brian Cushing; racked up 101 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception. He leads the Demon Deacon defense that ranks in the Top 20 in Scoring Defense at 18.25 points per game.

Navy: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, Quarterback

Enhada came back from a hamstring injury against Army. He was limited this season, from that hamstring injury he suffered in the second quarter against Wake Forest. Enhada brings the potential Play Action threat that is so crucial to an option attack, catching a defense off guard and getting the big play down field. Enhada has the capability to do that, especially with a Running Back like Shun White who has ran for over 1,000 yards this season.

Preview

Back on September 27th of this season, Navy stunned 16th ranked, and undefeated Wake Forest in Winston-Salem to give the Demon Deacons their first loss of the season, 24-17. A costly six turnovers did the Demon Deacons in, and since that game have had an up-and-down season; finishing the season with a 7-5 record. A major disappointment for a team that had aspirations of a second ACC title in three years.

Navy on the other hand, after beating Wake Forest, their first win over a ranked team since 1985 had a solid season under first-year Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo. The Midshipmen went 8-4 capping the season off with their seventh straight victory over rival, Army. This is Niumatalolo's second bowl game as Head Coach however. Last season, Niumatalolo was HC in the Poinsettia Bowl against Utah in replace of Paul Johnson who left for Georgia Tech.

In this rematch tomorrow, Navy must force turnovers again to come out victorious. Wake Forest is a team that's reeling, losing two of their last three to finish the year. Navy needs to get out to a fast start and they should be in control for the rest of the game. Wake Forest is a program this year that has been exposed as a fraud in my opinion. Many "experts" were thinking the Demon Deacons were a program on the rise, but they have proven their another "one and done" program and the rest of their years wallow in mediocrity. Navy on the other hand is excited to be in the Inaugural EagleBank Bowl, and they are thrilled to have a bowl game close to home for once. Three of their last four bowl games have been out on the west coast.

Excitement Level For This Game (1 - Don't Care to 5 - I would hit a child to watch this game): 2

Prediction

Navy 24 Wake Forest 17

For more info and analysis of the EagleBank Bowl go to the Gunaxin Blog Bowl. LINK

Cougar Digest is a Proud Member of the Gunaxin Blog Bowl

2008-12-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Cougar Digest has teammed up with Gunaxin.com to provide content for the 34-game College Football bowl season, which starts tomorrow.

Make sure to check back for our picks and go to the other Blog Bowl sites, which can be found at the following link.

http://www.gunaxin.com/blog-bowl

Also, each bowl matchup has its own page filled with content from the Blog Bowl writers. Here is the link to the first week of bowl matchups. LINK

When your there click on any of the bowl games and it will lead you to content from the other writers.

Here's what other bloggers are saying about the BYU-Arizona matchup.

Here's to a great bowl season!

Looks Like the Las Vegas Bowl is Over the $500 Limit on "Swag"

2008-12-17T23:31:00.001-07:00

Found the list of "swag" that each student-athlete receives from the bowl they are at. It's located here at SOX & Dawgs.

In that article it mentions the limit on gifts the players can receive is capped at $500. The stuff that BYU and Arizona players are receiving adds up to more than $500. Let's take a look.

Wii System bundle package

The Wii console with the Wii Sports bundle runs at a standard rate of $249.99. Hopefully players aren't playing Bowling all night rather than prepare for the 'Cats.

Oakley Hijinx sunglasses

Hijinx shades from Oakley are runnin at $100 a pop. When guys like Brody from The Hills (pictured) are wearing these things thats some serious "Swag." I laugh at the thought of some of BYU's players wearing these things. Picture David Oswald in these. Your laughing aren't you? I am. These are a total Austin Collie set of shades, to the T.

Oakley Holeshot Three-Hand Watch

Went to Oakley's website and these are currently going for $395 a piece! That's almost over the $500 "limit" right there. Sweet lookin watch none the less.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl Hat

Probably around $10. Nothing special. Some guys on this year's team like Dallas Reynolds have four of these now.

So estimating from what the retail price of these gifts are, it comes to around $760 per player. Not bad, for a bowl game that is supposedly a joke. Way to go Vegas!

Atkinson Commits To Cougs

2008-12-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Linebacker Jordan Atkinson out of Diablo Community College committed to Bronco Mendenhall and the BYU Cougars today. Atkinson will enroll at BYU next semester. This is a good get for the Cougs.

What got me even more excited for this commitment is Dick Harmon's blog entry about Atkinson's commitment.

Harmon apparently talked with Atkinson's father, Dave, a former BYU Cougar himself who holds the record for most intereceptions in a Cougar career, about his son's commitment to BYU.

The elderly Atkinson also mentioned he has a son currently attending BYU who is on a academic scholarship, Josh, and apparently Josh is the best football player in their family.

Here's the exact quote:

"Josh is by far the best football player in our family and it will be interesting to see how he stacks up if he decides to go through with it," said Dave. Josh is 6-1, 230 and can play linebacker or runningback."

It will be interesting to keep an eye on that in the off-season.

The current tally on commitments now for the 2009 class goes up to 17.

Mid-Year Signing Day Thread

2008-12-17T10:32:00.001-07:00

Signing Day is upon us! Not the big one on the first Wednesday in February but the Mid-Year Transfers one is upon us.

There is some excitement for Cougar faithful this year as there are some offers on the table for three prospects we know about. Two linebackers in Aaron Gress and Jordan Atkinson, then a Cornerback from Fullerton College in Lee Aguirre.

All of these players will be able to enroll come January and prepare for Spring Practices, at which ever school they do decide to sign with.

Mid-Year transfers have until January 15th to sign with a respective school, to be eligible to enroll in Winter semester.

With no official press release yet on anyone who has signed. Here is some links to info I have gathered on the three recruits.

Lee Aguirre, CB

10:54 a.m.: Aguirre has offers from BYU, Hawaii and New Mexico, but it looks like it will come down to the Cougars and Warriors.

Hawaii's commitment list on Scout.com is showing the Warriors already have three commitments from JUCO Cornerbacks, one of which is a "Soft Verbal" from Kevin Williams of Los Medanos JC. The Warriors also have a high school Cornerback commitment on that list as well.

From looking at that, I would think BYU's chances of landing Aguirre increased a lot, due to all the other Corners Hawaii already has committed.

Jordan Atkinson, LB

Found this link over at CougarBoard.com in regards to Atkinson having a commitment to BYU. Just waiting for it to be official.

This is no surprise, I had a good feeling that he would probably commit to BYU after reading the recap of his visit to Provo over at Total Blue Sports. But ya never know what could happen, we have to wait till it becomes official.

Aaron Gress, LB

Gress had his decision down to BYU, Marshall and Illinois, all of which had offered. He visited BYU, but shortly after his trip to Cougar Town he just went to Champaigne to visit Ron Zook and Fighting Illini of Illinois. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

--- For The Record: The recruiting "Dead Period" starts on Friday so there can't be any contact with recruits during the bowl season.

I will post updates as soon as there is more information revealed on these three and other recruits.

UPDATE (11:52 a.m. MT): Gress signs with Illinois

ESPN's Todd McShay Breaks Down Vegas Bowl

2008-12-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

How Accurate Were the Pre-Season Magazines Picking the MWC?

2008-12-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Every Summer, in anticipation for the upcoming College Football season, local Barnes & Noble's and grocery stores get bombarded with College Football preview magazines.

There was a lot of pre-season buzz surrounding BYU this season, and that showed in the predictions for the Mountain West Conference picks.

Here is a review of how the four major publications fared in picking the Mountain West standings. I just did a basic point system. For example, if Team A finished the actual season in 7th place, and they were picked third in the Pre-Season, that would be 3 points (spots). The lower the score the more accurate the predictions. And in the case of a tie on scores, the magazine that picked the most accurate spots, gets the edge. Now you can get an idea of what magazine is the best for future years, when it comes to accuracy in predicting the league.

Final 2008 MWC Standings

#1 Utah
#2 TCU
#3 BYU
#4 Air Force
#5 Colorado State
#6 UNLV
#7 New Mexico
#8 Wyoming
#9 San Diego State

----

Lindy's Predictions

1. BYU (2 spots off final spot)
2. Utah (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. New Mexico (3)
5. Wyoming (3)
6. Air Force (2)
7. San Diego State (2)
8. Colorado State (3)
9. UNLV (3)

Total: 20

Athlon Predictions

1. BYU (2)
2. Utah (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. New Mexico (3)
5. Wyoming (3)
6. Air Force (2)
7. Colorado State (2)
8. UNLV (2)
9. San Diego State (0)

Total: 16

The Sporting News Predictions

1. BYU (2)
2. TCU (0)
3. Utah (2)
4. Air Force (0)
5. New Mexico (2)
6. Wyoming (2)
7. Colorado State (2)
8. San Diego State (1)
9. UNLV (3)

Total: 14

Phil Steele's Predictions

1. Utah (0)
2. BYU (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. UNLV (2)
5. New Mexico (2)
6. Wyoming (2)
7. Air Force (3)
8. San Diego State (1)
9. Colorado State (4)

Total: 16

-- Note on Steele's predictions: Steele usually picks two teams at a particular spot in his conference rankings. In his magazine he has both New Mexico and Wyoming at #5. He has Wyoming listed after so I put it the six spot to make it even with the other magazines.

So here's how the final magazine rankings go (if you can't figure it out on your own):

1. The Sporting News: 14 points
2. Phil Steele: 16 (Tie-breaker)
3. Athlon: 16
4. Lindy's: 20

There you go. So next year wait around for The Sporting News that usually comes late in June to get your accurate Mountain West picks. Out of the four mags, its definitely one of the better ones. Phil Steele's is still the Taj Mahal for info though, with its two-page breakdowns. Lindy's year-in and year-out is one of the more inaccurate magazines, but I buy it every year because its the first one to come out; usually the day after Memorial Day in late May. Then Athlon is unique because they have magazines designed for certain conferences, which is really cool. Gives a lot of teams a chance to pick up a Pre-Season magazine with a play from their favorite team on the cover. This year BYU Quarterback Max Hall graced the cover of Athlon's Western cover.

Recruiting: Mid-Year Transfers Can Sign On Wednesday

2008-12-14T22:14:00.003-07:00

One of the forgotten parts about College Football Recruiting is the Mid-Year Signing Period for transfers. Usually from the Junior College ranks and occassionally high school student-athletes that receive their H.S. Diploma in the Winter.

This particular signing period starts this Wednesday, December 17th and runs through January 15th of 2009. It gives these guys time to decide where they are going to sign, and they can immediately join a program for Spring Practices, which is always a plus for newcomers to get a early edge on the learning curve.

Last month, Greg Wrubell mentioned in his blog, "Cougar Tracks" that Bronco was going to hit JC's for some defensive help. I can't find the link at this time, but its apparent Bronco is living up to his words as Junior College recruits have been visiting Cougar Town lately. Here are the three mid-year players that BYU has offered.

- Lee Aguirre, CB, Fullerton College

At around 5-9 or 5-10, Aguirre is a guy that has plain and simple tore it up at Fullerton College. The only reason more colleges aren't going after him is mainly due to his size. Aguirre currently holds two offers from both Hawaii and BYU*. (*=Subscription Required at TotalBlueSports.com --- Highly Recommended!)

Aguirre visited Hawaii the weekend the Warriors played BCS-bound Cincinnati. I watched that game on my DVR, and I spotted Aguirre in the third quarter on the sidelines with around 9:20 left in the quarter. Apparently he enjoyed his trip to Hawaii, mainly due to the weather I would assume. I can't imagine he was impressed with the facilities. Remember when former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan said his team didn't even bars of soap during Spring Practice? Well that's still the same program, and with the nation being in a recession I can't imagine the facilities have been upgraded much since last year. Then there's BYU where the facilities are probably the best in the West and some of the best in the nation, and that includes the NFL. Also, another positive to BYU is he can be a part of a Top-15 program and have the opportunity to play right away if he works hard and learns the defense fast. That's why Spring ball is critical for a Cornerback. Juco's that come in the Fall tend to be late bloomers and don't flourish till late in their Senior seasons. (i.e. Andre Saulsberry, Chris Bolden, just to name a few.)

Hope to see him come to BYU, from what I've read he is a great specialist. He blocked many kicks his Freshman season at Fullerton.

Here's a good article on him that was posted earlier this month at his school's website. LINK

Then here's two highlight videos from his Freshman season at Fullerton. Kind of hard to watch, but in the first one you clearly see his ability for blocking kicks. In the second vid, I noticed he is a very good open field tackler which would be a welcomed trait to our Secondary, and has a flat-out knack for finding the ball and getting picks, another skill needed in our Secondary.

- Jordan Atkinson, LB, Diablo Valley Community College

Atkinson is the cousin to fomer Cougar Linebacker, Bryant Atkinson a.k.a. "The Silencer." Jordan is projected to play the "Will" Linebacker spot at BYU. Atkinson attended the Boise State game along with David Nixon and Aaron Gress who we will talk about later in the article.

Here's some video on Atkinson. He appears to be very fast on the edge and wraps up instantly. Has great size at 6-3 235. He just looks like a prototypical big BYU Linebacker. He had a visit this past week at Colorado State, and the Rams did in fact offer him. So it comes down to CSU and BYU. I would sure like to see Steve Fairchild cry again.

A side note about Atkinson he was a Pre-Season 2nd Team JC All-American Selection by Scout.com, so he is no slouch by any means. LINK

- Aaron Gress, LB, College of the Sequoias

Gress is a 6-1, 225 pound Linebacker who visited BYU along with Atkinson to get a better feel for what BYU had to offer.

Gress is a Non-LDS athlete and has been offered by three schools now. BYU, Marshall and Nevada. Gress though has no interest in Nevada, and has stated his decision to which college he will attend will come down to BYU, Marshall and Illinois. Gress visited the Fightin' Illini on Friday according to Scout.com. No reports wether or not Illinois has offered.

Gress racked up 135 tackles in his two years at the Sequoias and has three years to play two at whatever college he opts to sign with.

Here is some highlights on YouTube of Gress:

I'm glad to see Bronco is going after some JC's to maybe sure up some holes in the Defense, its needed. Many coaches around the country are usually very stubborn when it comes to JC players and refuse to sign any. Sometimes BYU needs to take some gambles with in recruiting and JC players are probably where its at, but if any of these guys were to commit to BYU I think they could make immediate contributions right away and make waves on the 2-deep depth chart. Three very talented players. Bronco and staff have an eye for talent regardless of what people in the media say.

Cougar Cagers Are 10-0 for the First Time Since 1988.

2008-12-14T21:05:00.002-07:00

BYU Basketball is experiencing the most success right now in Non-Conference play since the 1987-'88 Cougar squad led by Michael Smith and Jeff Chatman, that started out the season 17-0 and was as high as #2 in the AP Top 25 Poll. That team's streak ended at UAB with a 83-102 loss. From that point on the team was up-and-down the rest of the way out and was eliminated on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Fast forward to the 2008-2009 BYU squad that is currently 10-0, and has their toughest test of the season to this point coming up this Saturday in Arizona State at the University of Phoenix Stadium; home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

This game for BYU basketball is probably the biggest game for the program since the 2003 Oklahoma State match-up in the Delta Center, where Rafael Araujo poured in a career-high 32 points to lead BYU to a 76-71 win over the Cowboys who eventually went to the Final Four that season.

The reason I point to that game, is that both Oklahoma State and Arizona State were ranked, both BYU teams were streaking and had very talented teams, neutral floor, and it was a chance for BYU to make a huge statement. To show the nation that BYU is the real deal this season, and is a team that you should expect to see making some havoc in March.

This Saturday's game will be a good measuring stick of where this team and program are at. There has been so many close calls against good teams since that Oklahoma State breakthrough, that its time for one of the big games to go in BYU's favor.

Arizona State is 8-1 right now and is currently ranked #18 in the Coaches Poll. They had a close call today on a neutral floor against IUPUI, down by 16 at half, the Sun Devils found a way to eeek out a 59-58 win in overtime over the Jaguars of Ooooie Poooie.

The Sun Devils also had struggles against a team BYU has struggled with the past few years in San Diego State. It was the second game of the season for ASU on CBS College Sports and the Aztecs controlled most of the game till the final five minutes where the Sun Devils hit three straight 3-pointers to pull away and get a hard earned 7-point win. From that game, I realized that ASU was a beatable team. They have a ton of talent in All-American candidate James Harden, Jeff Pendergraph at Center, and Rihards Kuksiks at Forward but they are not the most efficient offense you have ever seen. And a team like BYU can score in bunches. ASU hasn't faced an offense like BYU's yet, the Cougars can score at will and when they get on a roll they are almost unstoppable.

The keys for BYU to win this game in my opinion will be the following.

- Quick Start

In big games, BYU has been known for struggling out of the gates under Dave Rose teams. Particularly the Texas A&M game in the tourney last season. If BYU can hit a couple of three's early out of the gate, BYU will be in good shape to win the game.

- Shut down Pendergraph/Not allow second chances on boards

Jeff Pendergraph (pictured above) is probably the best Center in the Pac-10 this season and BYU's Centers will be put to the test. They did a very good job against a mechanical Gary Wilkinson at Utah State, but Pendegraph has a lot more athleticsm. Miles and MacGregor need to alter shots and make sure to lock up defensive rebounds. Offensive boards kept Utah State in the game in the first half at the ESA. ASU is a team that will be a lot more at ease than USU was against BYU, so you have to figure ASU will capitalize at a higher ratio than the Aggies did when given opportunities.

- Cummard needs to get back on track

Since the Utah State game, Cummard has been struggling to find his shot again. Cummard needs to have a big game, and if its not on the offensive end, just doing the little things: boards, steals, blocks, like he is so accustomed to doing. Hopefully he can get his rhythm back in this one in front of his home crowd, and find that rhythm he had against Long Beach State and Weber State.

Its an exciting time for Cougar Hoops, hope to see more and more people getting into it, and going to the Marriott Center for home games. This team deserves your support, some of the crowds this season have been pretty to sad to say the least. The game this Saturday is on at 2:30 P.M. on FSN Arizona. So tune in for this big game!

What Makes A Good Offense?

2008-12-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

What makes a good offense?

Change…

In 2001, BYU football fans experienced a dramatic change in the team that they had followed for the past 29 years. With the hiring of Gary Crowton, fans were treated to a high powered, aggressive, spread offense utilized by standout players such as Luke Staley, Brandon Doman, and Reno Mahe. If you look at the 2001 team, you will realize that they were stacked with a very talented depth chart on both offense and defense. Coach Crowton was an offensive genius, and walked into any coaches dream of running a successful spread offense. BYU led the nation in almost every offensive category and Luke Staley finished the season as the best runningback in College Football, winning the Doak Walker Award. Both Staley and Brandon Doman were Heisman Trophy candidates throughout the season.

What if…

What if you were to take away Luke Staley and Brandon Doman from that offense? Can we imagine that the Cougars would have produced similar results with Charlie Peterson and a healthy Brian McDonald? All we can say is … maybe. I mean, who knows?

Following the 2001 season, Doman graduated and went on to the NFL along with Luke Staley who declared himself for the draft a year early. What happened to BYU’s offense and Gary Crowton during the next 3 seasons? We all know what happened. Do we even want to talk about it?

Difference…

What is the difference between the 2001 team and the teams that couldn’t go above .500 for 3 straight years after ’01? I see only one difference. The quarterback. To make a successful Gary Crowton offense, you need to have that special ingredient to allow it to taste just right. That ingredient is the person lining up behind the center.

Brandon Doman was able to get things done and win games through the air and on the ground. We saw several examples of this. When you have a dual threat “Tim Tebow” style quarterback, Crowton’s offense is much more productive and dangerous. Could you rely on Brandon Doman or Tim Tebow to effectively run a Texas Tech offense? Could you rely on John Beck or Colt Brennan to be the dangerous weapon to Coach Urban Meyer’s wild option run and gun offense? When it’s the 4^th quarter, and the game is on the line, you want that perfect ingredient. During 2002-04, BYU and Gary Crowton lacked that perfect ingredient.

Stepping Down…

I have the upmost respect for Coach Crowton. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is an offensive mastermind and a genious to the game. But why did not succeed during the losing years of BYU football? What was the cause to the “Great Apostasy”? Obviously we understand that the reason Gary Crowton wasn’t successful is because of the lack of players he needed for his offense. Fans were getting frustrated, and while the short tenure of Coach Crowton was fun at first, the memories of LaVell Edwards were being greatly missed. It was time for a restoration. Coach Gary Crowton resigned following the 2004 season and BYU hired Bronco Mendenhall as head coach and Robert Anae as offensive coordinator.

New Offense…

In 1972 when LaVell Edwards was hired to be the head coach at BYU, what was the first thing he did? He went out and found a new offensive coordinator. When critics and fans look at the success of BYU’s passing game, they tend to give LaVell Edwards all the credit. Sure he guided and presided over BYU’s successful program, but the actual offensive masterminds were the ones wearing the headsets and holding the clipboards. The men running the show were names like Dewey Warren, Doug Scovill, and Norm Chow. They consistently pumped out conference championship teams and All-American quarterbacks and tight ends. Why? Because they were consistent. They weren’t trying to re-invent the wheel. They had the mechanics. They had the ingredients. Crowton didn’t. So what did Bronco Mendenhall due when he was handed the whistle and clipboard in December of 2004?

Texas Tech…

Why is Texas Tech so successful on offense? Simple. They are consistent. They don’t try and pull something new out. They see what works, and continue to do it. Every year they are at the top of the nation in passing and total offense. They have winning records and go to bowl games. They have top recruits and speed. They have all-conference quarterbacks and wide receivers. Does that sound familiar? Maybe Provo, Utah from about the 1970’s through the 1990’s? If you were a BYU fan, would you want to have that kind of success back? That kind of consistency? Bronco wanted it back. So he called up former BYU Football alumni Robert Anae and bought him a one way ticket to Provo, tossed him an empty notebook and said “Write me a playbook. Oh and by the way, you’re hired.”

Consistent.

When we look back at the 2005 season, we recognize it was the transition period from Crowton offense to the brand new Robert Anae offense. Crisp passing, accurate routes, more yards, more attempts, more touchdowns, more wins. The Cougars were starting to look like the ones we remember from the glory days. The next 3 years would be summed up in one word: Consistent. The Cougs reeled off 2 conference titles and 4 straight bowl games. Consecutive all conference quarterbacks and 3 straight double digit win seasons. Who can we credit it to? I guess what you are wondering is what the theme to this blog is.

Blame Game…

Over the past few weeks, I have heard lots of criticism in the direction of Coach Anae. If you look at all that he has done for this program, you would understand that he is a valuable piece to all the recent and “consistent” success BYU has had and will have in the future. Looking back at BYU’s history, you see a bunch of 2-3 loss seasons over the years, and only one undefeated. Sometimes I think as BYU fans we get a little too impatient. We want that undefeated season now. If we don’t get it, we want to immediately find someone to blame. Many BYU fans have pointed the blame towards Coach Anae. They look right past the consistent success that we have seen. No one looks at the defense, or lack of talent, or injuries, or opponents, etc… It’s time to start being humble. Let us be grateful for what we have.

A Successful Offense…

If you look back at the last 4 years of BYU football, ask yourself these questions: Have you seen consistent success in BYU’s offense? Has it improved? Do we see future improvement? Right now, I sleep happy knowing that Coach Robert Anae is holding the clipboard. And you should be too.

Austin Collie gets pissed at Cougar fans....and I don't blame him

2008-12-12T10:03:00.008-07:00

Instead of being in Orlando to be a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, where Collie was screwed over. (An injured Jeremy Maclin? Please.) Collie was hard at work practicing with the rest of the team in the Indoor Practice Facility getting ready for the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona.

In post-practice interviews with the media Collie showed no love for BYU fans reaction to the fourth straight Las Vegas Bowl. Here's what he had to say: (found in Deseret News Blog)

"The fans don't even play the game. Just go and watch football for the love. Man, we went 10-2 this year again and we're going to a bowl game. This will be the only time in history we can win three consecutive bowl games. If I'm a BYU fan, I'm looking at that as a positive outcome for the season and a positive for the team.

If you're complaining about what bowl game you have to go to, you're not a true fan. Put that in there."

Couldn't agree more Austin. I get tired of BYU fans being down about playing in this game again. I'm actually more excited for this matchup than any other Las Vegas Bowl matchup we've had there since 2005.

If you have to force yourself to get motivated for a BYU Football game, a bowl game no less, don't call yourself a Fully Invested Fan, or hell even a BYU fan for that matter.

Now I'm not saying I'm the greatest BYU Football on the planet, I'm not. There's someone out there I'm sure that's a bigger and better fan, and that's great. But I do pride myself on being a loyal BYU fan. No matter what I always try to put a positive spin on the program. I never get down on these teams. Now guys like Cecil O. Samuelson, different story. But all in all I try to be an eternal optimist. Why get down and out? Its Cougar Football! This is the last football game were gonna see till September 2009, well unless you count the Blue-White Scrimmage. But still, it only comes 13 times a year the actual games. Get pumped about it, and cherish it.

I've never understood the mindset of fan bases anymore, and this is with any team across the country. Its just give up, win now, fire this coach fire that coach, etc. I get annoyed with it and its almost caused an elitist attitude on my part, I guess. I just get frustrated with how people act towards any of their teams. I rarely encounter a fan who is just there through thick and thin.

One of my biggest gripes with BYU fans has always been the lack of respect for Gary Crowton. I'm probably one of the few people who still respects what he did as a Head Coach at BYU. It's always a pet peeve of mine, when I see these BYU message boards and people post with titles such as, "Oh, I traveled with the team during the Crowton years." Or when people call local sports radio shows and say, "I've been a die-hard Cougar fan for years and I even put up with the Gary Crowton years and went to every home game still." Just stuff along those lines. Oh so it was so tough being a fan during those years? My personal view during that time was that BYU was snake bit. No confidence due to lack of support from fans at home games. I mean when the team was playing better away from Provo you know there's a problem. The negativity towards Crowton during his tenure has since left a bitter taste for me with BYU fans. People act like he was the biggest idiot there was, but if it wasn't for him we would have never seen John Beck step on a field. When Cougar fans were pleading for Matt Berry at QB, Crowton believed in Beck saying he would be one of the all-time greats at BYU by the time his career is over; and people just thought Crowton was high up in the night. Guys like Jonny Harline, Dennis Pitta, Austin Collie, Todd Watkins, never come to BYU probably if it wasn't for Crowton. People tend to forget that.

I could go on and on with this group. The negativity towards the hire of Bronco in December of 2004. Everyone was devastated that the program didn't get Whittingham. I remember the knock on Bronco was his lack of ability to recruit and his disinterest in making recruiting visits, but I wasn't all too concerned with that because the one trip Bronco made in his tenure as Defensive Coordinator, a trip to see Vince Feula, who at the time was a HUGE get for the program a 4-star JC transfer out of Cerritos who was gonna go to Utah had it not been for the visit by Bronco and Crowton.

Then when Bronco started his first season in 2005, the bad start he had. Everyone was just ready to jump ship after that San Diego State game, then everyone believed again after the New Mexico win. What kind of attitude is that?

Since, Bronco hasn't received as much slack, until the TCU game where the Firesides are now being mocked by some BYU "fans" and think Bronco's recruiting tactics bring no speed to the program. Then they mock the "The Quest" shirts thinking Bronco was actually referring to it as a Undefeated season. When Bronco said it had nothing to do with that I would take Bronco's word for it, the man doesn't say things for the hell of it. But that doesn't mean anything to BYU fans. 10-2 record is pathetic now apparently in Cougar Town. BCS every year is whats expected apparently. Four tough non-conference games is what we must schedule every year according to Cougar Fandom. And on and on and on. It seriously gets old.

I wasn't planning on posting all this, but its a topic that has always eeked at me and I have some strong views on it. I don't want to see a coach like Mendenhall walk away from the game in three years because all the stress this job and fan base has caused him. To me, Bronco has already reached a status where he leaves BYU on his own terms. Regardless of wins and losses, lack of difficult scheduling, or whatever. What Bronco says goes in Cougar Town, in my opinion.

So Bronco, Austin or anyone with BYU's Athletic Department that might come acrossed thisl; just know there are two fans on this little blog that win or lose, bowl game no bowl game, were here for the long haul and will support these programs no matter what, and be Fully Invested along the way.

I love Bronco. I love Austin Collie. And I love BYU Athletics.

Go Cougars!

"Todd's Taste of the Town" coming to the Las Vegas Bowl

2008-12-10T13:13:00.001-07:00

The broadcasting team for the Las Vegas Bowl has been set, and its one of the better ESPN crews on their BCS-loving channel.

Mike Patrick will be doing the play-by-play and former Davey O'Brien winner Todd Blackledge will be the color commentator, with Holly Rowe holding down the sidelines. Rowe if you remember is a former KBYU announcer.

But with Patrick and Blackledge doing the game, we get "Todd's Taste of the Town" which has become a popular segment in his broadcasts. Usually takes place some time in the third quarter.

This crew is a major upgrade from the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl announcing team of Brent Musberger and Craig James who were interviewing guests it seemed like the entire time rather than broadcast the game. Ryan Leaf if I remember was one of the guys who stopped by and was interviewed for what seemed to be the entire third quarter. Granted, it was a 38-8 blowout in favor of the Cougs, but still, it was a sad call from one of College Football's best in Musberger.

Last year had a good group with Brad Nessler, probably most fondly remembered for his call of the '96 BYU-Utah game in Salt Lake on ESPN. Alongside him was Paul McGuire and Bob Griese with Bonnie Bernstein on sidelines. Very good team and Nessler's call of the Manumaleuna blocked Field Goal was pretty awesome as well. Still, I'm really excited for Patrick and Blackledge doing the call. I don't recall Mike Patrick ever announcing a BYU game so it should be fun to see how it does and how much he knows on the Cougs.

Extra tidbit on Blackledge: He won the Davey O'Brien at Penn State in 1982 one year after Jim McMahon won his and one year prior to Steve Young winning the award.

Tom Holmoe on 1320 Kfan's DJ and PK talking '09 Schedule, BCS, LV Bowl, and fan conduct in the Rivalry

2008-12-10T08:03:00.001-07:00

BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe was on 1320's DJ and PK today talking about a few topics; one of which was regarding the 2009 Non-Conference schedule.

PK asked Holmoe if there was any new information on BYU playing Oklahoma next season and it seemed as though Holmoe kind of ducked around that question by answering, "there is a few possible games were looking at." Holmoe didn't give any specific names but did say that the fourth game should be known within a couple of weeks.

David James asked Holmoe if this type of scheduling was going against Bronco's usual theories of balance with teams like Arizona State and Florida State on the schedule, and a possibility of Oklahoma. Holmoe said we got a good team with a lot of players coming back so lets take it on! It was exciting to hear but I still don't see Oklahoma happening. As excited as it sounds I think its for the best. Florida State and Arizona State are enough in one season if you ask me. Personally, I would like to see a 7th home game but that's just my opinion.

Holmoe mentioned that yesterday he was in Vegas along with Bronco addressing the media along with members from the Arizona Wildcats, and Arizona is very excited to be in this bowl game. BYU has got to be ready from how it looks, because the Cats are stoked.

The tickets for this game were already sold out prior to teams being announced, but now teams gotta sell their ticket allotments. Each team gets 12,000 tickets and Holmoe said BYU is doing just fine with their tickets. Arizona is selling many as well.

It was asked who Holmoe would be cheering for in the Sugar Bowl game with Utah and Alabama and Holmoe said he was cheering for the Conference. He never really came out and said he was cheering for Utah but wants to see the Mountain West do well. Wants to see this league get an Automatic Bid and feels the league has put together back-to-back solid seasons of football and hopes to see great bowl success as well.

Then finally the rivalry game was brought up and the lack of security there was in the stands and for the team prior to coming out on the field. Holmoe said that fans gotta cool off in the rivalry and said that there are rivalries across the land that don't have the craziness like this one does. Said something needs to be done. Also brought up the MWC Basketball Tournament Championship game last year that saw fights break out in the stands and the lack of security that was there.

Personally, I don't think fan behavior in this rivalry will ever change. Its gotten to the point where a lot of fans of both schools go to that game with the intent to just throw hay makers are persecute another fan for no reason at all and not even focus on the main importance of the event, the game itself. I'm intrigued to see what Holmoe does to get the MWC to have more security in place, because he seemed to have some strong views on the topic.

The Wildcats in Las Vegas and a look at BYU's past five bowl games.

2008-12-07T23:05:00.003-07:00

No shocker today. BYU is playing Arizona in the XVII (Thanks BYUCougars.com for clarifying that much needed stat) Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl. I'm excited, I just hope the team is.

Now I know all the expectation this season was to go perfect and be BCS bound but it didn't happen. Oh well, time to move on and get excited for the best matchup we have seen in the Vegas Bowl since coming here in 2005. Both teams know each pretty well and each have a respect for one another. Unlike that clown Mike Bellotti from Oregon in 2006. Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford came off as arrogant towards BYU it seemed like as well going into the 2005 matchup. Arizona on the other hand, is a team and a program that is just thrilled to be bowl bound. I'm excited for the "Rubber Match" against a talented Arizona team. Just another good bowl team BYU has had over the years. Which got me to thinking about all the good bowl teams that BYU has played as of late. So I give you a little reference quide to BYU's past five bowl games. Enjoy.

2007 Las Vegas Bowl: UCLA, Win, 17-16

BYU had lost earlier in the season to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, 17 to 27; in a game that BYU knew they should have won over the Bruins who were #13 in the nation at that time. The Bruins finished 2007 with a mediocre 6-6 record and fired Head Coach Karl Dorrell. UCLA put Defensive Coordinator Dewayne Walker as the interim coach for the bowl game. The Bruins looked like a team on paper that had no prayer against the Cougs who had just won ten straight games coming in and another Mountain West Championship but the Bruins defense kept them in it playing a spirited game to make a case for Walker to be the next head coach. Defensive End Bruce Davis was a mad man for the Bruins on and off the field, on the field he was causing havoc on BYU's Offensive Line like he did in the first matchup; off the field he was making cutting of the throat gestures towards BYU fans. He looked like a guy who had not taken his steroids that day.

BYU was shooting themselves in the foot the entire first half with UCLA's offense doing nothing and BYU not capitalizing. The biggest play of the first half was when BYU backed up by their own endzone with less than a minute left in the half decided to run the ball rather than take a knee. Harvey Unga fumbled the ball and UCLA capitalized scoring a Touchdown as time expired on the half to bring the score to 17-13, when clearly it should of been a lot more in BYU's favor.

BYU continued to struggle in the second half offensively, not scoring any points but that didn't mean stud Wide Receiver Austin Collie didn't make some amazing catches. Collie earned MVP honors for the game with his six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. But Collie's efforts were still not enough for BYU to put up points. UCLA's offense put up a drive late in the game with less than two minutes putting the Bruins in Field Goal range which was set up by the key completion from Bethel-Thompson (yeah seriously) to Logan Paulsen for 36 yards and but the Bruins on the BYU 13 yard-line. We all now what happens after that as Eathyn Manumaleuna the stud Freshman who started every game in replace of the injured Russell Tialavea at DT got his big Cougar paw on the Kai Forbath kicked ball and BYU won it's 2nd straight bowl game. The first time that had happened since the '94 and '96 Bowl games.

2006 Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon, W, 38-8

BYU came into this Las Vegas Bowl clicking on all cylinders, 8-0 in Mountain West play and had a historic come from behind win over arch-rival Utah, everything was going right for the Cougs. But there was still unfinished business of beating a Pac-10 opponent and getting the first bowl victory since the 1997 Cotton Bowl.

Going in, it looked like this would be a game that was evenly matched and should be a close one. People mainly thought that because of BYU's lack of success against BCS schools in recent history and that season (losses at Arizona and Boston College), but these were two teams headed in opposite directions. BYU was rolling and Oregon had lost their last three including the Civil War game against Oregon State. This game however, had its bulletin board material with Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti saying BYU wouldn't do well in the Pac-10 conference and the Mountain West Conference was inferior to the Pac-10 and at the Fremont Street Extravaganza a fight broke lose when BYU was doing the Haka, a Oregon player got into the fray and started pushing. Nothing serious happened but you could clearly see both teams didn't like one another and it was classic Pac-10 not respecting BYU garbage.

BYU struggled early, with a few dropped passes by Matt Allen but other than that BYU rolled to an easy win over the Ducks who had an ugly yellow helmet with flames. Oregon's offense couldn't do anything on the Cougar D who was starting Cole Miyahira at Cornerback in replace of Ben Criddle who suffered a foot injury due to the horrible turf at Rice Chex Stadium. QBs Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf were helpless as former BYU HC Gary Crowton's offense was ineffective against the Cougar D. It was a great way to cap off the Comeback season for guys like John Beck, Curtis Brown, Jonny Harline and Cameron Jensen who led the Return To Glory charge for BYU Football. Another thing I loved about this bowl game was that it was one of the few games BYU played up to its potential and played really well.

2005 Las Vegas Bowl: California, L, 28-35

The first bowl game since 2001. BYU was matched up with a Cal team who started the 2005 season ranked #19 in the Coaches Poll. Cal started the season 5-0 but went on to lose four out of their final six due to the loss of QB Nate Longshore due to injury and costly turnovers. The Bears still had future NFL star Marshawn Lynch at Running Back and Justin Forsett, the Bears also had one of the best defenses in all of College Football.

Lynch was too much for BYUs D to handle as he ran for 194 yards and three TDs, as BYU's late comeback effort fell short when John Beck threw a interception to seal the win for the Bears. But there were many positives to take from this game going into 2006. BYU was the only team other than USC to produce 90+ yard scoring drives on the Bear defense, BYU did it three times. Cal was obviously no slouch as that same Bears team practically returned in 2006 and was a Pre-Season Top 10 team in 2006.

You could see John Beck finding his groove though in this game with the new Robert Anae offense and it made BYU hungrier for better results in 2006. I think that story turned out nicely.

2001 Liberty Bowl: Louisville, L, 10-28

This is one of those games I always look back at and wonder what could of been. Doak Walker winning RB Luke Staley was of course out after tearing his ACL in the final minutes at Mississippi State and practically all of BYU's team was banged up and staggering into the bowl game after getting lit up at Hawai'i 72-45, in a game where BYU was playing for nothing already knowing the BCS was out of the question.

BYU was a worn out team already playing 13 games coming into the not fan-friendly Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve. #22 Louisville was no slouch and was a program on the rise and had one of their best seasons in school history led by QB Dave Ragone and future Super Bowl MVP WR Deion Branch. Louisville was a talented group on both sides of the ball and BYU was struggling to find its idenity again with a defense that was giving up points at will and no rushing attack. It was a sad outing. Offensive Lineman scored the only touchdown for the Cougs in that game as BYU put up a season-low 10 points in a season that saw over 600 points scored in Head Coach Gary Crowton's first season.

Here's some sad stats from this game. Leading rusher: Paul Petersen (73 yards, 15 carries). Leading receiver: Andrew Ord (4 catches-62 yards). No one left to put up a good effort and the program still didn't have the Indoor Practice Facility at this time so the bowl preparation was being done in the sorry Smith Fieldhouse. Not a good combo.

1999 Motor City Bowl: Marshall, L, 3-21

Another BYU team that came into the bowl game reeling. Lost the last two games of the regular season to Wyoming and Utah causing BYU to share the first Mountain West championship in a 3-way tie with both Colorado State and the Utes. Had BYU won one of those last two they would of won the league outright.

Marshall on the other hand, was undefeated coming into the game and looking to prove they should have been considered for a BCS bowl led by future NFL player Chad Pennington at Quarterback. The Thundering Herd were a offensive juggernaut and a Mid-Major powerhouse at the time.

BYU got on the board first with a 28-yard Owen Pochman FG in the opening quarter but that was it for the Cougs as Pennington to WR Doug Chapman was the theme the rest of the afternoon in Mo Town.

Things got ugly for BYU QB Kevin Feterik who was playing in his last game as a Cougar. Feterik got injured with a collarbone injury from all the pressure the Marshall defense caused. Feterik was pissed and got after the O-Lineman grabbing one of their facemasks. If I remember correctly it was John Skiba's facemask he grabbed. Bret Engemann and Charlie Petersen had to finish the game for BYU. Another thing that didn't play into BYU's favor was stud Freshman Luke Staley only played the opening drive, after that he was done due to his lingering knee injury. It was the first 3-game losing skid to end a season in LaVell's coaching tenure at BYU.

I don't want to stop, I'm in the mood to keep going here's quicker recaps for the next five games.

1998 Liberty Bowl: Tulane, L, 27-41

Along with Marshall in '99 Tulane was a undefeated Mid-Major led by a future NFL QB, the Green Wave had Shaun King. King torched BYU's secondary who didn't have Heshimu Robertson due to Grades, so Rob Warcup was getting burned all day. On the other side, Brian Gray, King and the Wave weren't even looking his way. Ronney Jenkins was also suspended in this ball game. The Wave and the '99 Marshall squad are the only undefeated teams in the '90s to go undefeated and not claim at least a share of the National Championship.

1997 Cotton Bowl: Kansas State, W, 19-15

The first ever New Year's Day bowl in BYU's history in the historic Cotton Bowl. Kansas State didn't give BYU any respect leading up to the game and the Cougars proved K-State should of given the Cougs more respect as Steve Sarkisian went to K.O. Kealauhi and James Dye to put BYU up 19-15. Defensively, LB Shay Muirbrook was a beast at Linebacker with five sacks and Omar "The Blanket" Morgan sealed the win with a Interception capping off BYU's 14-1 season.

1994 Copper Bowl: Oklahoma, W, 31-6

Oklahoma had a lame duck coach in Gary Gibbs roaming the sidelines as the next OU HC watched from the Press Box in Howard Schnellenberger. Mr. Fedora got a show, not from his future Sooners but BYU QB John Walsh and the Cougar offense. Walsh threw 454 yards in a rout over the Sooners. Walsh rode that wave of momentum bolting for the NFL thinking he would be a high draft choice because of Mel Kiper dubbing him the #1 prospect for the '95 NFL Draft, he went in the 7th round to the Bengals.

1993 Holiday Bowl: Ohio State, L, 21-28

A mediocre 6-5 BYU team came into the Holiday Bowl as a major underdog to Ohio State who came into the game 9-1-1 on the year. But the Cougs should of won this game. The difference was a blocked punt that Ohio State returned for a Touchdown in the first quarter. BYU tied the game at 21 at Half but couldn't produce any points in the second half as Ohio State got the close win. A Tim Nowatzke dropped pass cost BYU big time.

1992 Aloha Bowl: Kansas, L 20-23

4th string QB Tom Young got the nod to start due to injuries with Ryan Hancock, John Walsh and Steve Clements. BYU still produced yards outgaining the Jayhawks 402 to 372.

BYU got off to a fast start with a Kickoff returned for a TD by Hema Heimuli to open the game but an inability to capitalize kept the game close as BYU lost to the Jayhawks on Christmas Day in Hawai'i.

BYU the past 10 years has played some tough teams and has had some things play against them in these games as well. One thing I will say, is that I have loved the preparation Bronco has had in the program for bowl games. Bowl games are no longer treated like vacations like they once were under LaVell. BYU has better facilities now to prepare for these bowl games and the results are starting to show with more wins and better execution in bowls.

So what would you say is BYU's best bowl opponent in the past 10 bowls? Also what was BYU's best played game in the last 10 bowls? I'd like to hear your opinion. Post in the comments section, love to hear.

Viva Las Vegas again in another "Rubber Match" with a Pac-10 program

2008-12-06T22:15:00.008-07:00

Going into the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry game tonight it was pretty much determined that whoever won that game would face BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Well it looks like we have our opponent and a familiar one at that.

Arizona.

Watching the second half of the "Duel in the Desert" I was thinking, wow BYU's defense would terrorize Arizona State's offensive line how bad they are. They have given up 38 sacks this season. The whole second half ASU QB Rudy Carpenter had happy feet causing him to force the issue on his passes resulting in turnovers. Jan Jorgensen and Brett Denney would have a field day on that unit. But then I thought, what if BYU played Arizona State in the LV Bowl blew them out then in '09 ASU would be gunnin' for the Cougs in the off-season when BYU heads to Tempe and we run into a buzzsaw in Max Hall's homecoming. That's not good so maybe no ammo for the Sun Devils is a positive thing.

Now we go to what looks to be our opponent, the Arizona Wildcats a team we have split meetings with in 2006 and 2007, with both meetings ending up in victories for the home team.

BYU has played well against Arizona the past two seasons but its been unproven BYU teams at the time.

In 2006, BYU was trying to find its self with John Beck at QB and looking for that big road win to jump start the program and get over the hump. Some costly turnovers and questionable Pac-10 officiating caused BYU's hopes for a big-win over a Arizona team who had a lot of Pre-Season buzz going in to a 13-16 loss in the desert.

---SIDE NOTE: The "Zona Zoo" is one of the most classless student sections you will ever find in College Football without a doubt; and Tucson looks like it is all meth'd out. Pathetic campus.

In 2007, BYU was coming off an 11-2 campaign in '06, the best season since the 14-1 '96 team. But there were a lot of question marks going in. Max Hall at QB. Harvey Unga at RB. Dennis Pitta at TE. Could the defense repeat its production in 2006? Those concerns were left with positive feelings after a blue-collar 20-7 win which should of been a shut-out had it not been for a late Arizona TD with one minute left in the ball game.

So now the rubber match on a neutral field in Las Vegas. This will be Arizona's first bowl game since the 1998 Holiday Bowl where they destroyed Nebraska en rout to a 12-1 season. Their one loss cost them a trip to the Rose Bowl. A loss to UCLA. Since then 'Zona has had four coaches; Dick Tomey, John Mackovic (who the team boycotted playing for), interim coach Mike Hankwitz and current coach Mike Stoops who has been feeling the heat in Arizona to produce wins since he got there. His program has underachieved with their talent until this season, and the success this year was due to a favorable schedule and 10 returning starters on an offense that was the best passing unit in Arizona football history in '07 led by QB Willie Tuitama and Offensive Coordinator Sonny Dykes who has put in the Texas Tech style of offense.

Arizona showed tonight they can move the football and BYU's defense better be up to the task and the Cougar secondary will get tested. Arizona WR's Mike Thomas, DeLashaun Dean and TE Rob Gronkowski and all gamechangers who break open a game with big plays.

What also hurts BYU is the fact that Arizona ended their season tonight, while BYU has already been done for two weeks. With the bowl game being on December 20th, two weeks from tonight. The Wildcats will just have a regular bye week and then the game. So BYU's defense could be rusty early on in the game which is a definite concern.

Here's some other information on the 2008 Wildcats.

- Record: 7-5 (5-4, 5th in Pac-10)

- All five of their losses came by less than 10 points. Three of those five were less than 7 points. So no one really blew this team out.

- They rank in the Top 50 in every major offensive category with their highest being Total Offense at #16 with 37 points per game.

- Lead the Pac-10 this season in yards per Punt Return with speedy Senior WR Mike Thomas manning those duties. He is getting 17.33 yards per punt.

- This is HC Mike Stoops fifth season in Tucson his overall record is 22-32. This will be his first bowl game appearance.

Should be an exciting bowl match-up if it comes to fruition. We will find out officially tomorrow night around 6 p.m. MST.

Go Cougs!

Recruiting: Quick thoughts from the Top of the Mountains Bowl

2008-12-06T22:12:00.007-07:00

I was able to attend the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl featuring a rematch between Snow College (Ephraim) the #2 ranked team in Jr. College Football and Butler College the #1 team and defending champions in the JUCO ranks. I attended to see a few guys with BYU ties and recruits. Here's what I thought.

- Atem Bol, WR

Bol was watching the game from the stands wearing a Snow Badgers hoodie. He is listed on their roster but I assume he is redshirting this season. I really hope Bol can end up at BYU down the road. He has great size I saw him standing up and the guy is definitely 6'3 or maybe even 6'4. Good size. Hopefully everything is going well for him in school.

- Star Lotulelei, DL

Did not know Lotulelei was on Snow this season until today. Great to see him play first hand. The guy has some great athleticsm, was getting many double teams opening things up for the other DE, Utah commit James Aiono. Coming out of Bingham High, Lotulelei for his physical play and motor, I saw that today. He was listed as a Freshman on the roster so he is probably going to play 2009 at Snow then we will see if he is a prospect in the 2010 class.

- Jordan Brown, DB

Jordan Brown is a prospect who is visiting BYU next week along with many other Junior College players. Brown plays Corner for the Badgers and has D-1 speed but struggles to make tackles. He also returned kicks for Snow and seemed to struggle back there. That might be because of the new field they were playing on which was at the new Rio Tinto RSL Stadium, and that field was not suited for Football in my opinion. So I'm not sure, but I didn't come away overly impressed with Brown.

- Sam Doman, TE

Former BYU and Oregon QB, Sam Doman is on the Badgers roster as a Tight End. Did not see Doman participate today though.

- James Aiono, DE (Utah commit)

I have seen for awhile that Aiono is a 5-star prospect on both Rivals and Scout and I was always skeptical, so I was intrigued to see for myself today if it was legit. Aiono is definitely a D-1 player. He has talent, uses his length well and has a knack for knocking down passes which would probably be a good fit at Utah because it seems thats all Koa Misi and Paul Kruger did late in their season.

Mid-Year Signing Period starts on December 17th and National Letter of Intent Day for Fall enrollees is Wednesday, February 4th, 2009. Not too far away. BYU currently has 16 commitments.

Basketball: BYU-Utah State game was exciting from start to finish

2008-12-06T21:49:00.007-07:00

An intense College Basketball game took place tonight at the Energy Solutions Arena as BYU improved their record to 8-0 with a with a 68-63 victory over in-state foe, Utah State.

From start to finish the game was a rocking atmosphere. Prior to the game starting the Utah State fans were doing all these pathetic choreographed cheers and chants to get the Aggies pumped up and the BYU squad intimidated. Seriously? Is this High School again? I know its bad enough living in Logan, but come on Aggie fans show some life for other games other than just BYU and show support for your football program, you can barely get 10K at Romney.

Anyways, let's just say the antics of the Aggie fans made me want BYU to win this game even more than before and I was pretty excited for this one leading up to it.

BYU played really well tonight but the game could of been a lot bigger margin of victory had it not been for lack of rebounding early on and missed free throws. Here are some positives and negatives I took away from tonights game.

POSITIVES

- Defensively BYU adjusted really well to the big men of Utah State, Gary Wilkinson and Tai Wesley. Early on Wilkinson was dominating getting to the line and having his way on the glass. BYU started double teaming and was doing a really nice job. Jonathan Tavernari is showing his improvement this season becoming an all-around player.

- Gavin MacGregor needs to be the #2 Center behind Miles. I remember back in the 2007 win at the Huntsman Center over Utah, MacGregor was holding his own against Nevill and basically shutting him down. MacGregor last year was out due to injury and this season he came back and is strong as ever. Hasn't seen many minutes till tonight due to foul trouble from Miles and James Anderson early on. MacGregor has great size and length to alter shots and has a nice touch around the basket. Anderson is going to be a nice player down the road but he's not ready for the big stage yet. MacGregor needs to see more minutes and he made a strong case for that tonight.

- BYU has a knack for forcing turnovers. Jackson Emery, JT and Jimmer just to name a few seem to find ways to produce turnovers and know the angles of basketball very well. The Cougs forced Utah State to 17 turnovers tonight, while BYU only had 9 which is always critical in big game situations like this.

- Finding a way to win a big-game without Lee Cummard being in the game down the stretch. Cummard had probably one of his nights as a Cougar and fouled out with five or so minutes left in the ball game. BYU came up clutch led by Jimmer, Emery and JT. Charles Abuouo made soem nice plays as well, but BYU is showing its definitely no one-man show and is a very deep team from 1-12.

NEGATIVES

- Free Throw Shooting. When BYU was causing all those fouls early in the second half it became huge in retrospect. BYU was in the double bonus early in the second half, had it not been for that BYU would of been in many missed front ends on 1 and 1s. Jackson Emery couldn't hit two free throws for the life of him, along with Jimmer who is usually automatic from the line. JT even missed a couple. The game wouldn't have came down to the final minute if the Cougs would of hit their free throws.

- Giving up Offensive Boards. 20 to 9 was the rebounding edge at half in favor of Utah State. BYU was even in the second half but that first half giving Utah State second chances prevented BYU from having a chance to start and pull away when they had a 10-point lead. Wilkinson and Wesley though are one of the better front-courts BYU will face all season. They are pretty solid. Against teams like Arizona State with Pendegraff and Wake Forest who have four guys above 6-11 it showed we have a lot of work to do. This team still has a lot of upside, they are not even close to peaking like some would suggest.

- Couldn't capitalize in situations to take control of game. This occured mainly in the second half. It seemed like BYU had a lead of about five for awhile and was getting numerous defensive stops but was rushing down the court on the offensive and forcing the issue on some bad shots. It was hard to have a more stable offensive output with Cummard having a bad night and the overall intensity of the game but the team shouldn't be afraid to dump in the low-post more. Miles and MacGregor have some really nice low posts moves. Go to them more and slow it down on occassion to get em involved.

All in all though it was a great game to attend. I was really pissed with Utah State fans chanting "Dave Rose Sucks!" How do you honestly chant that towards a guy who is a class-act in every sense of the term. Rose gives no one ammo to bash him, but it just shows what living in Logan can do to ya, and all the storming they do on the Spectrum floor over meaningless opponents. That was annoying, but again it was a great game and the Cougs are 8-0 and have Boise State on Wednesday night at home in the Marriott Center at 8. Time to get a little revenge on the Broncos who have been little pests that past few years.