BYU's defense...

[smokymountainrain]

Consider me extremely impressed, excited and thankful for how they played against Oklahoma, but I'm not convinced quite yet.

There are a couple things that Oklahoma either didn't or can't throw at BYU, inspite of all their talent, things that typically give BYU's defense fits.

1) A mobile QB or even just a QB who is willing to take off. Brett Ratliff. Jake Locker. Bradlee Van Pelt. Christian Ponder?

2) I really thought Oklahoma bailed BYU out by running the ball as much as they did. The BYU DBs did an excellent job all night, but I still worry about if a team with a good QB who pulls a Tulsa on BYU, abandon's the run for the most part, and just airs it out.

3) A spread or similar offense where the QB is not only doing the above by running and throwing, but an offense that includes fakes, misdirection, option, etc.


BYU's defense played great on Saturday and one has to be encouraged by what we saw, but for all of that, I don't think we've really seen them tested by those things that traditionally give them the most trouble.

[Pheidippides]

Consider me extremely impressed, excited and thankful for how they played against Oklahoma, but I'm not convinced quite yet.

There are a couple things that Oklahoma either didn't or can't throw at BYU, inspite of all their talent, things that typically give BYU's defense fits.

1) A mobile QB or even just a QB who is willing to take off. Brett Ratliff. Jake Locker. Bradlee Van Pelt. Christian Ponder?

2) I really thought Oklahoma bailed BYU out by running the ball as much as they did. The BYU DBs did an excellent job all night, but I still worry about if a team with a good QB who pulls a Tulsa on BYU, abandon's the run for the most part, and just airs it out.

3) A spread or similar offense where the QB is not only doing the above by running and throwing, but an offense that includes fakes, misdirection, option, etc.


BYU's defense played great on Saturday and one has to be encouraged by what we saw, but for all of that, I don't think we've really seen them tested by those things that traditionally give them the most trouble.

But after the OU game, our defense should have some swagger about them. I wouldn't underestimate that.

[BoylenOver]

I think someone brought it up in another thread, but BYU's blitzing last night was something they simply didn't do last season. That will have a huge effect on their success the rest of the year.

[smokymountainrain]

But after the OU game, our defense should have some swagger about them. I wouldn't underestimate that.

That's a great point. Confidence became a huge issue toward the end of last season. Right now they have it in spades.

[Babs]

But after the OU game, our defense should have some swagger about them. I wouldn't underestimate that.

That's right. Somebody else was talking about the something different in the team. What was most noticeable to me was that the team (first-game mistakes aside) played with a poise and determination that you never really saw last year. And now with the win, they're going to believe. Really believe. That make all the difference.

[smokymountainrain]

That's right. Somebody else was talking about the something different in the team. What was most noticeable to me was that the team (first-game mistakes aside) played with a poise and determination that you never really saw last year. And now with the win, they're going to believe. Really believe. That make all the difference.

Babs, how do you feel about OU taking the ball out of Sam Bradford's hands for most of the first half? Or is it even fair to say they "took it out of his hands"?

Either way, I will say that as a BYU fan, every time OU ran the ball in the first half, I breathed a little sigh of relief.

[CJF]

1) A mobile QB or even just a QB who is willing to take off. Brett Ratliff. Jake Locker. Bradlee Van Pelt. Christian Ponder?

I had similar thoughts during the game. When Jones was being discussed I was worried he would be a dual threat QB. My heart actually sank at that thought. I would have rather had Bradford than a fast, talented dual threat QB. That said, as I thought about it after the game I think this BYU team is more equiped to handle that threat. The secondary is faster than years past and Pendleton seems to have completely removed his wussitis, has the speed to control his side of the field. So'to, Denny, and Jan have better than average speed and assignment sound. BYU would still get beat from time to time, but I don't think it would be on the outside like years past. And while I'm not convinced our MLB'ers are solid yet, I do think we're light years ahead at safety so the middle isn't as vulnerable either.

[Babs]

Babs, how do you feel about OU taking the ball out of Sam Bradford's hands for most of the first half? Or is it even fair to say they "took it out of his hands"?

Either way, I will say that as a BYU fan, every time OU ran the ball in the first half, I breathed a little sigh of relief.

Here's the biggest difference:
The way we were so successful last year was by running the hurry-up offense. No huddle, get the ball off in eight seconds. The defense never has time to think straight, let alone settle in. We did that all last season until the Florida game, where we played the slow-way-down offense. Why we would have wanted to allot all that extra time to the #2 defense in the country is a mystery to me. You'll recall, I imagine, how successful it was.

I would have thought we'd go back to hurry-up, yet it was anything but yesterday. I think that could have made a big difference.

Here's the other thing:
They only had two days to adjust to Jermaine Gresham, our all-american receiver, being out. I'm guessing that the passing attack was going to be very Gresham-intensive, and either Bob or Sam (I'm guessing the former) got nervous without Jermaine in there to haul in the balls; so Bob (desperate to prove that he can win a game against the little guy) decided to keep it on the ground as much as possible to minimize the potential for picks.

The truth is that I have no idea. I thought the OCs were calling really odd plays for both teams. The Sooner fans seem to feel that way about our team, anyway. The boards are pretty much full of a whole bunch of "WTF??!!"s.

[Pheidippides]

Pendleton seems to have completely removed his wussitis, has the speed to control his side of the field.

Yeah, what the hell happened there? What I saw was anything but a wuss. He and Rich were unreal all game long.

[CJF]

Yeah, what the hell happened there? What I saw was anything but a wuss. He and Rich were unreal all game long.

It's a mystery to me. You would think someone would rather hit consistently WR's rather than RB's, FB's, TE's and pulling O-Lineman. I'm really surprised at how physical he played yesterday and he was very good in coverage also. I'm glad. He completely changed the personality of the defense.

[cougjunkie]

It's a mystery to me. You would think someone would rather hit consistently WR's rather than RB's, FB's, TE's and pulling O-Lineman. I'm really surprised at how physical he played yesterday and he was very good in coverage also. I'm glad. He completely changed the personality of the defense.

For two years we have heard how great of an athlete and physical specimen Pendleton is, but he lacks courage for some reason. I think he found it in a big way.

[Goatnapper'96]

BYU's defense played great on Saturday and one has to be encouraged by what we saw, but for all of that, I don't think we've really seen them tested by those things that traditionally give them the most trouble.

This is a simple concept. What "traditionally" gives BYU fits is marginal athletes playing for the BYU defense. The defenses torched by Brett Rattliff or others pretty much sucked against any offense that was decent. There were some brainfart games/ games with an inordinate amount of players hurt such as the Tulsa '07 or Utah '06 games respectively. I think the talent is better this year. The defense is confident and aggressive. They never backed down and they were every bit as physical and nasty as OU. Last year BYU never had that type of mean streak, they lacked the confidence. The increase in athleticism and experience is evident. I don't think they are going to be a great college defense but I think they will be good. However, if/when Unga gets back to healthy and the OL gets some more experience and time playing together, good will be just fine.

[All-American]

I imagine BYU's defense was very confident after the 59-0 and 44-0 shutouts against UCLA and Wyoming last year.

[Goatnapper'96]

Here's the biggest difference:
The way we were so successful last year was by running the hurry-up offense. No huddle, get the ball off in eight seconds. The defense never has time to think straight, let alone settle in. We did that all last season until the Florida game, where we played the slow-way-down offense. Why we would have wanted to allot all that extra time to the #2 defense in the country is a mystery to me. You'll recall, I imagine, how successful it was.

I would have thought we'd go back to hurry-up, yet it was anything but yesterday. I think that could have made a big difference.

Here's the other thing:
They only had two days to adjust to Jermaine Gresham, our all-american receiver, being out. I'm guessing that the passing attack was going to be very Gresham-intensive, and either Bob or Sam (I'm guessing the former) got nervous without Jermaine in there to haul in the balls; so Bob (desperate to prove that he can win a game against the little guy) decided to keep it on the ground as much as possible to minimize the potential for picks.

The truth is that I have no idea. I thought the OCs were calling really odd plays for both teams. The Sooner fans seem to feel that way about our team, anyway. The boards are pretty much full of a whole bunch of "WTF??!!"s.

Your issue was your OL. I don't think they are experienced enough to run a hurry up like that. They need the extra time to think through their assignments. It makes them play slow and limits what you could do offensively, not to mention the impact of their penalties and errors. These two teams could play in the middle of October again and even with pornstache at QB, OU is likely to score 30+. I think the BYU OL, even with replacing as many starters, outperformed OU's OL. I think the reason is that BYU doesn't recruit kids able to jump to the pros after 2-3 years. BYU takes second tier BCS caliber OL and is able to develop them and train them on BYU's system. While they lack the natural ability of the OL OU put out yesterday they were more assignment sound, IMO. Give it 4-5 games and I think the offense will look more and more like last years. Until then be a Cougar, girlfriend!

[Goatnapper'96]

I imagine BYU's defense was very confident after the 59-0 and 44-0 shutouts against UCLA and Wyoming last year.

No. The defense knew their issues. There is a huge difference in how much more aggressive and physical this defense is. It reminded me of how I felt watching the BYU defense against BC in '06. BYU had beaten some BCS teams the previous years yet never really looking like they belonged physically, but that BYU team last nite looked like it belonged physically. Last year the defense did have those shutouts, but BYU knew it was against lackluster competition. BYU's defense physically belonged on the same field as Oklahoma yesterday. This defense is far more athletic and physical than it was last year.