This Means War: Cougars vs. Vikings

[Joe Public]

blitz·krieg
ˈblitsˌkrēɡ/
noun
An intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory.

"Just remember, college football is not anonymous and you are competing with players who are 10x better than you are and some of them have no qualms about ruining lesser football teams."

*****

Game week! The 2017 BYU football season is here. The Cougars open against FCS opponent Portland State University. The Vikings were 3-8 last year, but they did go into Pullman two years ago and knock off Washington State. The Cougars should roll, and it will be fun to see how this year's team looks a week before the big game against LSU.

GO 2017 COUGARS!

[Green Monstah]

Missed opportunity on the thread title. Reference to valhalla or Odin would have been nice. Or you could have gone full Portlandia on us.

[Joe Public]

Gurney tweeted the depth charts for offense and defense:





It looks like Hadley will be starting in Bernard's place.

[falafel]

Bushman gets the nod over Balderree at TE.

[Green Monstah]

Hadley starting at OLB. A bit surprising that no one else is ready to step up.

[frank ryan]

We are thin at linebacker. Losing Bernard fucking blows.

[Green Monstah]

Fonua got very few mentions during camp and listed in 2-deep at tailback.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Our main job on Saturday is to keep Portland weird.

[cougjunkie]

Fonua got very few mentions during camp and listed in 2-deep at tailback.

19 guys are listed in the two deep at tailback. Basically every formation will have a different running back. Same with Tight end, which is why Nwigwe is also in the two deep. He will only play on the goal line or late game blowout situations.

[Sleeping in EQ]

So, what are we expecting from the Cougars on Saturday?

Will they stay conservative offensively?

Will Tanner sit after half-time?

[Topper]

So, what are we expecting from the Cougars on Saturday?

Will they stay conservative offensively?

Will Tanner sit after half-time?

My prediction is that they will do enough to win the game, and to give everybody playing time, unless Tanner and the offense struggle early.
If there is early success with a comfortable lead, the game will become a snoozer in the second half. Maybe Beau will juice it up a bit. Now, if BYU is struggling to find consistency through its own mistakes, we may see Tanner still in longer.

[Shaka]

I predict more running than usual. They need to see the RB's in game situations.

[Flystripper]

So, what are we expecting from the Cougars on Saturday?

Will they stay conservative offensively?

Will Tanner sit after half-time?

First game mistakes and maybe a few blown assignments will lead to Portland scoring when they shouldn't. Offense will feel like its sputtering but we will win comfortably.

[Sizzle]

Things I'm especially interested in watching:

1) The DL rotation: BYU has a lot of bodies and a lot of really interesting players here. Who is putting on pressure here? (My guess is Takitaki is a beast) How often do they rotate? What do the rotations look like, especially early in the game? I don't expect the game to be in doubt, but having quality DL who can rotate throughout the game and put pressure on the QB could be a big deal next week (as well as the week after).
2) The RB rotation: Who is going to be the guy? Is it Squally (I'm not convinced). Is it Burt? Is it truly RBBC? Who is the guy BYU looks to in short yardage situations when they need to get the first?
3) The WRs: Do we look like D1 receivers getting separation and running crisp routes against Portland or do we struggle? Also, who steps up out of this group? Shumway? Trinnaman? Simon? Davis? Someone else? For Mangum to have the year I think we all think/want him to have, someone is going to need to catch a lot of balls from the outside. Who is that going to be?
4) The OL: How good are we as an OL? Does Mangum have time to make reads and deliver the ball? I'm hoping he doesn't really get hit all game. It's a high standard, but I think it's achievable. If he gets pressured on Saturday, I'm terrified for LSU next week.

Either way, just glad we're playing games in 3 days.

[Crockett]

Things I'm especially interested in watching:

1) The DL rotation: BYU has a lot of bodies and a lot of really interesting players here. Who is putting on pressure here? (My guess is Takitaki is a beast) How often do they rotate? What do the rotations look like, especially early in the game? I don't expect the game to be in doubt, but having quality DL who can rotate throughout the game and put pressure on the QB could be a big deal next week (as well as the week after).
2) The RB rotation: Who is going to be the guy? Is it Squally (I'm not convinced). Is it Burt? Is it truly RBBC? Who is the guy BYU looks to in short yardage situations when they need to get the first?
3) The WRs: Do we look like D1 receivers getting separation and running crisp routes against Portland or do we struggle? Also, who steps up out of this group? Shumway? Trinnaman? Simon? Davis? Someone else? For Mangum to have the year I think we all think/want him to have, someone is going to need to catch a lot of balls from the outside. Who is that going to be?
4) The OL: How good are we as an OL? Does Mangum have time to make reads and deliver the ball? I'm hoping he doesn't really get hit all game. It's a high standard, but I think it's achievable. If he gets pressured on Saturday, I'm terrified for LSU next week.

Either way, just glad we're playing games in 3 days.

I like these. I also want to see how we adjust without Bernard and how Hadley performs. Also, curious to see how well the safeties perform post-Nacua -- do we have a ball-hawk or a heavy hitter that receivers will fear back there? I don't expect complete answers this Saturday, though.