U vs. Y '12

[Jeff Lebowski]

Heh. I thought the same. Would you trade him for Riley?

I doubt it. Look at the stats from last year. Riley had more INTs but a higher PER. Riley had a higher rushing average by 20 yards per game. Keeton's record (games he played) was 3-5. Riley's was 8-1.

Why would I trade him?

[splitbamboo]

We take our cue from the sons of Helaman. Like them, we would not fight our Cougar brethren if they would let us alone; therefore, we say, let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Kyle.

Brother LA Ute, I'd be grateful if you would respect Bronco's ownership of that metaphor here.

'Preciate ya.

[pellegrino]

BYU fans are sandbagging because they know that they really don't know much about how good their team really is. The game against Weber St. didn't teach them anything. The win against Washington St. looks ok on the surface, until you recognize how poor of a team WSU is. WSU barely held on to a win over Eastern Washington at home. They were outgained by over 100 yards by an FCS team. In fact, EWU put up more yards against Wazzu than BYU did.

For all of the talk about how bad Utah's OLine play has been(and it has been bad), how good can Cougar fans feel about their OLine. An OLine that could only average 3.0 yards a carry against the worst front 7 in the PAC-12. How many rushing yards do you think they will get against Utah's front 4?

How do you think that BYU's offense compares to Utah State's? Riley Nelson is at best a B grade replacement for Chuckie. He isn't anywhere near as shifty and fast, and he isn't as accurate of a passer. Arm strength is probably a push. Williams is a much better back than anyone in BYU's backfield. No one that Utah will face Saturday will have the speed and ability of the Aggies backfield, and Riley while having 2 better targets, is not as good a passer as Keeton. Despite these weapons, USU's offense was only able to get 13 points during regulation against the Utes. Do BYU fans think they will do any better.

On the other side, Utah's line was a hot mess in the first half. Utah made some drastic alterations in the lineup for the second half, and despite not having any practice time with that lineup, they didn't give up any sacks and there was much less pressure. Moving Brenner to LT is a key move. He is hands down the best lineman on the team. I don't know why Whitt insisted in keeping him at RG. He filled in for Beadles at LT as a Freshman, and started for Cullen as a Soph. He is 6'4" which is a little short, but his presence there is going to stabilize the entire line. Jones will get the start at RG. Bot(#79) was abused by USU, but people forget that he replaced Bergstrom last year against BYU and held his own. The line is still a worry, but it will be much better this week.

BYU is stout against the run, but they are going to have to commit their linebackers to run support much more than they did against Wazzu. No luxury of playing a 2-4-5 this week. The Cougar secondary better be ready to be tested much more in their base alignment this week. Scott will be a matchup problem for your secondary as will Anderson. DVC is inconsistent, but will have to be accounted for as will Rolf and Murphy.

Ultimately, the game is going to be a defensive struggle that will be decided by QB play. Losing Wynn was addition by subtraction. Riley is more accurate than Hayes, but Hayes has a stronger arm and is more likely to beat you with a big play than Nelson. The advantage that Utah has is that they will not have to commit as many resources to stop the run as BYU. Leaving more players for coverage and containment of any scrambling that Nelson may try. Utah will also cover better than anyone that BYU will see on their schedule. Losing Rowe hurts, no doubt. But Blechen didn't play SS against BYU last year(he was at LB) and Chappius had his best game of the season. BYU is going to have to commit more of their front 7 to stop White, even with Utah's line trouble. This is going to lead to a soft spot behind Ogletree and Kaveinga. The safeties are not going to be able to fill that void because they will have to respect the speed on the outside, and Hayes ability to get the ball down the field.

Fans tend to get wrapped into what happened last week and not look at the whole picture. Based on the play last week, most fans should view BYU as a prohibitive favorite, but the smart fans are sandbagging, because they know that their offense can be yield quite inept this weekend, and they know that Utah has the weapons on offense that can beat them down the field.

I hate it when you're right.

[Indy Coug]

[DU Ute]

I had some stuff to add and modify, but it says definitive. Crap.

[TripletDaddy]

I hate it when you're right.

[Top Ute]

I had some stuff to add and modify, but it says definitive. Crap.

If by definitive, you mean cherry-picked figures from the mid-1970s, I guess he's right. Also, Utah has a lot more than zero NCAA individual records.

Dennis Smith, most TD receptions by a TE (18)

Norm Thompson, highest yardage return per INT (51.8)

Erroll Tucker alone still holds or shares nine NCAA records

[ERCougar]

I had some stuff to add and modify, but it says definitive. Crap.

No, please do!

Here, I'll get you started with some of the old standbys:
Rivalry wins, 1940-1950
Prophet alumni
Institute size
Number of medical schools

[TripletDaddy]

If by definitive, you mean cherry-picked figures from the mid-1970s, I guess he's right. Also, the NCAA records stat is flat-out wrong -- Utah actually leads here.

Dennis Smith, most TD receptions by a TE (18)

Norm Thompson, highest yardage return per INT (51.8)

Erroll Tucker alone still holds or shares nine NCAA records

how about all the individual awards, national championship, heisman trophy, season ending rankings, All Americans, wins per year, university ranking? Are those accurate? I want to get this info straightened out, especially if Errol Tucker factors into some of this.

[byu71]

The spread has moved to 4 1/2. I might have to change my prediction of the score.

[Top Ute]

how about all the individual awards, national championship, heisman trophy, season ending rankings, All Americans, wins per year, university ranking? Are those accurate? I want to get this info straightened out, especially if Errol Tucker factors into some of this.

I notice how you glossed over undefeated seasons, BCS bowl wins, wins vs. season-ending ranked teams, anything that happened in the first 100 years of college football and invites to major conferences. But it's OK -- you sell what's on the shelves.

[MartyFunkhouser]

So why start with 1975?

[Top Ute]

So why start with 1975?

Dummy. It's when Lavell Edwards invented college football.

[Portland Ute]

You've taken to calling us that too:

Seriously, though. Provo State? That's dumb. It makes no sense on any level.

[ERCougar]

Dummy. It's when Lavell Edwards invented college football.

Inventors of college football: BYU-1, Utah-0