BYU-Washington

[Pheidippides]

I dont think altitude had anything to do with it. I did some research on this a few years ago and, at least, convinced myself. They simply aren't high enough for it to matter. It is much more likely the lack of humidity bothered them much more than the altitude. If we wore them down it wasn't because of the altitude.

I agree on the altitude point, but I'm not sure I get the humidity point. My endurance is much increased when I go from here in Houston to Utah, for example - I can run faster/longer at equivalent HRs. I suspect the real answer is that you can't do as much conditioning in humidity without risking medical conditions and thus lowlander football players don't have the conditioning as a default in some marginal instances.

[BoylenOver]

If the coaches are fine playing a different style of offense every other drive, having two different QB's makes defenses split their attention between a conventional passer and a run/pass QB.

I'm interested to see how they build on this next week.

[creekster]

I agree on the altitude point, but I'm not sure I get the humidity point. My endurance is much increased when I go from here in Houston to Utah, for example - I can run faster/longer at equivalent HRs. I suspect the real answer is that you can't do as much conditioning in humidity without risking medical conditions and thus lowlander football players don't have the conditioning as a default in some marginal instances.

I just know that when I get to Utah and I ride my bike my lungs burn and I seem to need a lot more hydration which I assume is due to the dry climate. I am relying on anecdotal evidence for that argument, obviously. But the altitude issue I am pretty confident about.

[MarkGrace]

That said, I think BYU converted every short yardage situation they had tonight.

Did they? Probably one of those situations where the statistics don't agree with my impression. I felt like we kept getting stuffed on short runs.

[creekster]

Did they? Probably one of those situations where the statistics don't agree with my impression. I felt like we kept getting stuffed on short runs.

My imporession is that it was about half and half. But I agree we do miss Harvey in that position.

[Sizzle]

The biggest factors in the game, IMO, include:

1) Field Position. This was absolutely huge. Washington had at least three positions start within the 10, which is big because those drives lead to points much less than those that that start at the 20 or closer. Riley Stephenson deserves props for great punts and kickoffs.

On a side note, major pet peeve of mine is how many people don't grasp the importance of field position and special teams. Drives me nuts when people treat the game like an xBox game. Points are crucial. If you have the chance to get 3 points, take it. Just because seven points is better than 3, doesn't make 3 points less important.

2) Execution. Not sure what the final numbers were, but few penalties and no turnovers puts you in a great position to win the game. Starting two relatively young and inexperienced QBs to not turn the ball over is impressive.

3) Coaching. Bronco and Co did a great job putting together a plan and executing it. Sark made a few mistakes, most notably not kicking the Fg down six with about six minutes left. Being down three instead of six really changes the complexion of the game.

I hope to rewatch tomorrow and comment on the QBs and a few other items. But a good win. I'll take it!

[Pheidippides]

I just know that when I get to Utah and I ride my bike my lungs burn and I seem to need a lot more hydration which I assume is due to the dry climate. I am relying on anecdotal evidence for that argument, obviously. But the altitude issue I am pretty confident about.

Huh - I find the exact opposite. I need less hydration and haven't noticed any lung burning (I've run as far as 20 miles at altitude the day after flying up). Maybe it was a temperature factor more than a humidity factor. But I'm confident about the altitude issue to - I just don't think it makes much of a difference independent of other climate factors.

[MarkGrace]

On the quarterbacks. I really loved what Nelson showed tonight in terms of toughness and grit. That said, I found his passing to be pretty uninspiring. When Heaps threw, it was more a question in my head of whether the receivers would actually catch it. But the running game definitely looked better with Nelson.

I agree with Beck/Heaps comparison in that he needs to learn to take something off it, but at the same time we're still talking about throws D1 receivers should be coming up with. I watched Heaps in HS and he didn't magically transform on the trip from Skyline to BYU -- he was making these same throws to high schoolers a year a ago and it seemed like they came up with more catches than our guys.

The other thing that really impressed me is that he made no costly mistakes. Given all the emotion wrapped up in this for him and his inexperience at this level, I really expected to see at least one major error from him tonight and it never came. Well done.

Last comment. The two QB's thing worked alright for the most part, but I'm wondering if every other series is the best way to do it. There was a point in the first half where you're thinking, "ok, Riley has this thing rolling a bit maybe we should bring him out for the next series?" Then Heaps comes out and the offense stalls. Same thing happened in reverse in the second half. Heaps had it going and it would have been nice to keep him out there; Riley came out and stalled the offense next series.

[Surfah]

From Ted Miller's Pac-10 Blog - ESPN:

Big week for the Mountain West Conference, too. Utah beat Pittsburgh, the Big East favorite, on Thursday, and BYU's win over Washington gave the conference a 2-0 Saturday vs. the Pac-10. Why is that conference in turmoil when it's so darn good?

I guess he forgot UNM is in the MWC though.

[BlueHair]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with the comments that Heaps needs to throw with less velocity. The receivers need to learn to catch. There were at least 5 drops. If the pass is 10 yards or more, I say throw it as hard as you can if there is a defender nearby. Defensive players have a hard time intercepting hard throws. BYU has JUGGS machines. Turn them up and practice catching.

[MarkGrace]

One of the comments from poster on a UW board said now that the Heisman nonsense is laid to rest we can focus on realistic goals like being bowl eligible. Also, many of those guys were impressed with Heaps and commented that they hope Nick Montana is half as good.

Hey, hook me up with a link to that board.

[Surfah]

Hey, hook me up with a link to that board.

http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2010/9/4/...hread#comments

Near the bottom. Posted at 7:22. The follow up comment was pretty good too, "I thought you said realistic goals." Some of these guys are calling this a Willingham team. Ouch.

[MarkGrace]

Do you guys know how good I feel right now? I wore a BYU polo to work yesterday and got booed when I walked into a conference room. Suck on that, Husky fans!

[Surfah]

Since I don't think it has been mentioned, I think Wilson looked pretty good at TE. Muelhman and Matthews had some grabs too. I think we're going to be okay at TE for awhile.

[Surfah]

Do you guys know how good I feel right now? I wore a BYU polo to work yesterday and got booed when I walked into a conference room. Suck on that, Husky fans!

I have a buddy in Portland who said that we better win because he works with an asshole Husky fan. He's also a huge Ducks fan so today was great. Also, WTF with that kid who pulls up his BYU shirt to reveal an Oregon shirt underneath? I texted HFN because I thought that might have been his handiwork.