How many wins is Harvey Unga worth

[Jarid in Cedar]

The question is not how many games will BYU win with/without Harvey, but what difference would he make on the 2010 season. Choose a (+) if you think he was worth X more wins or a (-) if you think the team is better without him(I doubt anyone will take this choice, but I don't want the poll police disassembling)

[cougjunkie]

I would say at least 2. If not more, a hot Harvey Unga that carries the ball 30 times and gets you 150+ yards is huge for a freshman QB. If BYU could pound the rock and give Heaps a lot of 3rd and shorts they would be in good shape.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I said one, mostly because I don't see a team below the upper tier of the conference that will sneak up and get them, and he may help get one win that they wouldn't have covered either way.

I think the biggest question is how does this affect the QB situation. I was in the camp that Unga returning=Heaps starting, without question. I would ask those in the know if this weeks news changes that perception

[Coach McGuirk]

Could be more than three. I could see times this year where he could have carried a struggling offense. Will be interesting for sure.

[jay santos]

Two. 8-4/9-3 with him. 6-6/7-5 without him.

[cougjunkie]

I said one, mostly because I don't see a team below the upper tier of the conference that will sneak up and get them, and he may help get one win that they wouldn't have covered either way.

I think the biggest question is how does this affect the QB situation. I was in the camp that Unga returning=Heaps starting, without question. I would ask those in the know if this weeks news changes that perception

This is actually a very good point. With or without Harvey they beat New Mexico, UNLV, Wyoming, San Diego State and Colorado State. Air Force may sneak up on them without Harvey, but TCu and Utah are most likely losses either way.

[jay santos]

This is actually a very good point. With or without Harvey they beat New Mexico, UNLV, Wyoming, San Diego State and Colorado State. Air Force may sneak up on them without Harvey, but TCu and Utah are most likely losses either way.

This is a common way to view things but it's not how it usually happens. Even in a "guaranteed" win there is chance we lose. So in 8 games we're expected to win, the probabilities might be 90%, 90%, 80%, 80%, 70%, 60% whatever and when you sum them up it equals one loss out of there somewhere.

[woot]

It's a real shame that Harvey's gone, but I'm in the camp that says RB is the position more than any other where a talented freshman can be similarly good as a talented senior.

I still voted +1, but with our big stable of RBs I'm not too worried about it.

[jay santos]

It's a real shame that Harvey's gone, but I'm in the camp that says RB is the position more than any other where a talented freshman can be similarly good as a talented senior.

I still voted +1, but with our big stable of RBs I'm not too worried about it.

If I knew we had someone as good as Harvey waiting in the wings, I'd agree, but I'm not convinced. He's in the top 3-4 RB's we've had over the past 20 years. I'm not counting on his replacement being as good.

[Portland Ute]

It's a real shame that Harvey's gone, but I'm in the camp that says RB is the position more than any other where a talented freshman can be similarly good as a talented senior.

I still voted +1, but with our big stable of RBs I'm not too worried about it.

There are many people that wear both red and blue that would say it's one of the easiest positions to replace on the offense.

I know I believe that for Utah. I'm not sure about BYU. I don't know if it's more a position thing or a program thing. Maybe both. I'm going with it being a position thing.

In other words, I don't losing Unga makes much difference...1 game at most.

[falafel]

I think without Harvey (and without a suitable replacement) we drop two games. However I think there's a good chance that one or tow of the freshman can/will step in and provide 90% of Harvey's production. In that sense, we probably only drop one game, but maybe none.

[LA Ute]

The question is not how many games will BYU win with/without Harvey, but what difference would he make on the 2010 season. Choose a (+) if you think he was worth X more wins or a (-) if you think the team is better without him(I doubt anyone will take this choice, but I don't want the poll police disassembling)

Not trying to be obnoxious (some would say I don't need to try in order to accomplish that), but this "what if" game is pretty hard to play. For example, Utah fans could wonder how they would have done in 2009 with Matt Asiata playing all season. This discussion about Unga looks like BYU fans making excuses in advance.

[All-American]

Depends on how good the backups are, I suppose. It's probably too much to ask that those guys are plug and play, but on the other hand, BYU's biggest win of the year last year came without Unga.

There's at least some chance that at the end of the season, we'll look back and be unable to identify a game that we lost which we would have won had Harvey Unga been available at RB. I wouldn't be willing to risk more than a few swedish fish in so wagering, though. We've been awfully lucky with some of the talent we've been able to find at running back over the last fifteen or so years, what with Ronney Jenkins, Luke Staley, Curtis Brown, and Harvey Unga. It may be asking too much to just inherit another gem.

[Surfah]

Depends on how good the backups are, I suppose. It's probably too much to ask that those guys are plug and play, but on the other hand, BYU's biggest win of the year last year came without Unga.

There's at least some chance that at the end of the season, we'll look back and be unable to identify a game that we lost which we would have won had Harvey Unga been available at RB. I wouldn't be willing to risk more than a few swedish fish in so wagering, though. We've been awfully lucky with some of the talent we've been able to find at running back over the last fifteen or so years, what with Ronney Jenkins, Luke Staley, Curtis Brown, and Harvey Unga. It may be asking too much to just inherit another gem.

Quezada. I'm pushing my Swedish Fish all in.

[byu71]

According to some, we should win more games, shouldn't we. You know, when the team is right physically and spiritually they should perform better.

I am going to start thinking positively along with those who love the honor code and think BYU would be a den of iniquity like all the other Universities without it.