Enjoy Each Win

This week BYU defeated the UNLV Rebels, 42-35.  BYU's defense looked quite porous overall (in terms of moving forward, the players and coaches on the defensive side of the ball have some serious work to do), but they did make three key stops, all in the second half.  The first was with UNLV backed up inside their ten yard line.  It broke up UNLV's streak of scoring consecutive TDs on our defense.  The second was a non-advantaged stop in the middle portion of the field.  And the third was at the conclusion of the game to protect the lead and the win, with consecutive plays resulting in a sack, and an interception.  

While the defense struggled, the offense was fairly solid.  Back Fui Vakapuna was back in form and used as a primary weapon (he's been used more for his awesome blocking much of the season).  We had a great mix of run and pass.  And Hall was back to his efficient self.  Not a perfect game, but a good one.

UNLV played I think at their highest level.  And the result was a competitive, close game to the end.  And to be honest - as a fan - I loved it!  It felt very satisfying to walk out of Edwards Stadium with a hard-fought victory.

The win also gave us a small boost in the polls to #17.  

Our four remaining games include only one at home: against MWC cellar-dweller San Diego State.  The roadies start with Colorado State this Saturday, then after the SDSU home game our last two are on the road against two of the top teams in the conference: at Air Force, and at Utah.

We have a whole lot we can accomplish this year.  Gotta win these next four!  

TCU Tsunami: 32-7 Loss Drops Y to #17/#18

I think one of Bronco's greatest strengths as a coach is his willingness to learn from experience/mistakes and make changes.  So it will be interesting to see what changes he makes based on this drubbing on the very-visible national stage just a step or two away from real consideration for a BCS game, if not the national championship game. 

It seems very clear that the factor most to blame for this loss was our preparation to handle the high level of emotion and subsequent high-speed execution on the TCU side.  We were on our heels almost from the get-go due to 2 early turnovers and an inability of our defense to match them offensively until later in the game.  

If you look at the quarter by quarter matchup, TCU had 14 points in the first quarter, then 9, 9, and 0 in the next 3 quarters.  Our offensive output can't be seen as clearly in points, but we clearly moved the ball better and better as the game progressed.  We were halted again by turnovers which can in part be blamed on the pressure to have to come back against a very good team.  

Looked at that way, it was that early emotional high-energy onslaught that won TCU the game, and our inability to handle it that lost it for us.  

So, how will Bronco change so that the next time they face one of these extra-crucial, extra-high-energy games and teams, they can match it and work it to our advantage.  I expect the next such game is likely to come in 5 weeks against Utah in Salt Lake.  The 3 BYU-Utah games Bronco has coached so far have been similar in nature to this TCU loss: a very amped-up opponent getting us on our heels early.  True, Bronco won the last two of those three, in part due to lessons learned from that first loss.  But both those wins were by the skin of our teeth on last-second-come-from-behind wins.  

Let's hope that Bronco and the coaches and players can identify and plan an effectively different approach to this problem soon.  This team can still accomplish a lot this year, including setting up for next year, when both Hall and Collie and others will be seniors. 

Next up: UNLV comes to Provo next Saturday.  We better prepare to put it together strong in that game. 

Still at #8/#9

No movement in the polls for BYU.  I was hoping for one spot.  

BYU Over UNM Lobos, 21-3, Goes to 6-0 on Year

BYU extended its best-in-nation overall winning streak to 16, and its best-in-nation home winning streak to 16 as well.  I would imagine BYU's 18 straight conference wins must be the best in the nation as well, and BYU hasn't lost in October since 2005.  

I mention these streaks because as BYU continues to remain in the national spotlight and the Top Ten, there will be many debates going on in the media, as well as fan circles, about how to evaluate BYU compared to other Top Ten and near-Top-Ten teams--in particular teams from auto-BCS conferences.  

In these comparisons, I think we need to recognize that BYU is doing things that these other teams haven't and aren't.  We also need to keep in mind that the Mountain West conference this year is in the top four conferences in the nation in terms of its record against other conferences overall as well as auto-BCS conference teams.  BYU hasn't lost to an auto-BCS team since the second game of last season in a close loss at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.  

And not only has BYU put together very impressive ongoing win streaks as I listed here, but during our 28-4 record since from 2006 to now, here are our losses: 13-6 loss at Arizona (we outgained UA in yards 313-253), 20-23 overtime loss at #23 Boston College (we outgained BC in yards 547-471), 17-27 loss at #13 UCLA (we outgained UCLA in yards 435 to 236), and 47-55 at Tulsa (we outgained Tulsa in yards 694-595).  

To me, this makes an incredibly compelling case as to how tough the Cougars are and have become.  

In addition, BYU is showing themselves to be a complete team.  In a game like today's where the offense seemed to struggle to get into the endzone, the defense pitched a near-shutout, and is allowing just over 4 points per game over the past 4 games.  BYU's defense is #2 nationally now in points per game allowed.  The offense was still reasonably good, but performed under its usual against a very good and physical New Mexico defense.  

Austin Collie had about 160 yards receiving with 9 catches...and is well on his way to becoming the top Cougar receiver of all time by the time he's done next year.  Harvey Unga is still consistent and working his way up BYU's all-time rushing charts.  Max Hall had a good day, not great, but good, and no major mistakes.  

And although the crowd had fewer big plays and moments to cheer than we're used to, the way the game ended with 3 straight tackles for a loss including 2 sacks put big smiles on our faces walking out of Edwards Stadium.

All in all, a good day.  And with losses by 3 teams ahead of us and 1 just behind us, I think there's a chance we could move up a spot in the national polls.  We will know by this time tomorrow.  

Next will be the huge matchup in Dallas next Thursday night against the 6-1 TCU Horned Frogs.  TCU's only loss is against currently #1 Oklahoma (of course, OU lost to Texas today and will drop a few spots).  Get ready for a dogfight that night!  

Love this from ESPN

Adam from Berkeley writes: Hey Ted, What exactly has BYU done to deserve a top ten spot? I'm looking at the teams that they've beaten and their opponents schedules thus far and there is nothing truly impressive other than that they have won games by a huge margin. It seems like the only reason that they're in the top ten is because of their preseason ranking along with their victory over UCLA (right after they beat Tennessee). Seeing how that is no longer a noteworthy win, why don't they drop in the polls?

Ted Miller: Know why BYU is ranked really high?

Because folks who do the rankings think the Cougars are really, really good.

Why do they think BYU is really, really good?

Because BYU has really, really good players. And a really, really good head coach.

If you're looking for accomplishments, well, there are plenty of teams that haven't done much -- Texas Tech, Texas, Penn State, Florida, Oklahoma -- that haven't done a whole lot.

Why are those teams ranked highly?

Because folks think they are really, really good.

#8/#9

We fell one spot this week...kinda dumb I think, but I'm not that concerned.  We just gotta be ready to go and bring our 'A' game Saturday against the Lobos.

BYU Wins (Twice?) vs. Utah State, 34-14

With a top ten ranking, BYU was expected to easily handle the Utah State Aggies in Logan on Friday night.  In a way, this did happen, with BYU going up 24-0 in the first quarter, and extended to 34-0 by the fourth quarter before allowing two late TDs by Utah State (ending our consecutive shutout streak at 11 quarters--the longest in 70 years).  The outcome of the game was never in doubt. 

However, were we sharp mentally and physically?  No.  The defense for the most part was, though they did seem to make errors late in the game.  But the offense seemed a little sluggish and out-of-synch for most of the night.  The defense scored 2 of our touchdowns, so our offense both in terms of yards and points had its worst outing of the year so far.  

So, we won.  But could we get two wins out of this?  It depends on how we respond and play next week.  I think human nature, even with high-character people, makes it very very difficult to sustain success without a hitch.  Sometimes you have to struggle to stay sharp.  If this sharpens us back up going back to conference play and the remainder of the year, then I think we will have had a double-win out of this game.

Regardless, as several of us had a chance to go to the game, it was really a fun game to watch and be at.  Beautiful night in Cache Valley and a win by the Cougs! 

From Sports Illustrated on BYU's BCS Position

From SI's Brad Edwards:

"BYU is entering October with a BCS standing that would be good enough for automatic inclusion in a major bowl game. So the question isn't whether the Cougars will make the BCS if they go undefeated. It's whether they could actually work their way into the BCS Championship Game. Obviously, that's impossible to answer right now, but by having a coaches' poll ranking of 7 and a Harris poll ranking of 9 entering October, BYU has made such a discussion far from ridiculous.

It's the highest a non-BCS team has been ranked at this stage of the season in the BCS era, and it's pretty close to where the Cougars were ranked (6th by the coaches, 7th by the AP on Oct. 1) when they won their national title in 1984."