Utah 17 BYU 16

Great game. Congrats on the block. Both D's looked great. I think BYU's D surprised Utah at how good they were. A little disappointed that the fumble wasn't overturned. Both commentators thought it was an easy call. What it comes down to is Utah made a great final play. What I can say is this: This BYU team is going to be really really good for the next few years. See you in 8 months!

WHY BYU IS GOING TO WIN THE HOLY WAR 2010

We are finally here. Rivalry weekend. The purpose of this blog. The Holy War is just 2 days away. So as per tradition I will now point out the 5 reasons why BYU is going to win this year's Holy War.

5. The Three-Headed Monster. BYU should have success running the ball behind three very solid running backs. JJ DiLuigi can pick up big chunks of yard with his shifty style, Brian Karyia is good for 3 yards up the middle every time which means that first downs will keep coming. Add to that the emerging powerhouse of Juice Quezada who has been averaging around 8 yards per carry and that means that every single down BYU can feature a strong, rested RB. Expect BYU to pick up close to 200 yards on the ground.

4. BYU's Defense. Utah has a solid running game. But this will be the 2nd best Rush D Utah will have faced all year. Look how they did against TCU. If BYU can limit Utah's yards on the ground, Utah will be forced to try and win it in the air. Enter BYU's stellar secondary. Led by Andrew Rich, BYU's pass protection has been excellent. Look for at least 2 picks this game with some sacks coming off of corner blitzes as well.


3. Wynn has become a head case in the passing game. He will face an aggressive Bronco Mendenhall pass rush an excellent secondary and I predict that if he gets sacked early the game will be over mentally for him. He hasn't hit the ground much this year but against BYU's rushers like KVN and speedster Corby Eason, he'll be introduced to the turf multiple times. Same goes for picks. At least 1 will happen this game and what little confidence Wynn has will be gone.

2. The Game Changer. Cody Hoffman has been inches away from returning a big one all year long. It will finally happen.

1. Jakes Heaps Will Feast on Utah's Porous Secondary. Utah has been playing man as though they still have last year's secondary. Trouble is, they don't. SDSU passed for more than 500 yards against them last week. Ultra accurate Heaps must be licking his chops. This will be a signature game for him as long as he doesn't succumb to the pressure from Utah's front 7.

With all this being said, considering Utah's strong rushing game but poor pass D, this could be a shootout.

BYU 34 Utah 28

Going in Different Directions?

BYU started the season with a tough schedule (at one point ranked 4th hardest) and they suffered. Now they are playing less talented competition and they are thriving. Utah started the season playing bad teams and they piled up points. Now two weeks in a row they have been piled on by better teams. Let's look at each team.

For BYU it could be argued that it was their tough schedule (Air Force, FSU, Nevada, TCU) but there were a lot more problems than just who the opponents were. Ever since Bronco took back his team things have changed. The Defense has been awesome for about the last 4-5 weeks. But now the Offense has really caught up and they are playing lights out. Granted the last two opponents were UNLV and CSU but anytime you get 11-12 third down conversions and go an entire game without punting there is more going right than just playing a weak opponent. I now submit that BYU's team right now beats AF, Nevada and USU. TCU is in another league but I think the FSU game would be competitive. We won't know for SURE for sure how much BYU has improved until the Holy War.

Now on to Utah. Utah piled on weak teams and on the strength of impressive offensive output they climbed to the #5 spot in the rankings. Then TCU murdered them. That's OK because TCU is REALLY REALLY GOOD people! But today Utah only managed a field goal against a mediocre Notre Dame. All of a sudden the Utah O can't seem to get anything done. Is Notre Dame better than their record? I think we'll no more when Utah plays a very dangerous SDSU (BTW who would have guessed they would be in the top of the MWC this year? Wow!) If SDSU wins then there are real problems in Uteville.

This all leads up to a great game for rivalry weekend. Utah is not as good as we all thought but they will be angry and ready to prove something. BYU on the other hand is gaining momentum like a freight train. They are worlds better then the team that lost to USU just over a month ago. They also will have something to prove - that they aren't simply the beneficiaries of a weak stretch in their schedule but instead have genuinely become a pretty good BYU football team. I can't wait for Nov 27th! Go Cougs!

*****UPDATE***** BYU is favored over UNM by 28 points. Utah is a 3 point underdog to SDSU!!!!

Jake Carves Up UNLV

BYU vs UNLV from James B Ellison on Vimeo.

Two Games, Two Different Outcomes

What did we learn?

1 - TCU is VERY VERY GOOD. As a side note, BYU played them better on the road than Utah did at home.
2 - Jake Heaps is finally showing why he was the #1 QB recruit from last year's class. He looked very accurate and poised.
3 - BYU and Utah will not miss competition the likes of UNLV. They are terrible.
4 - The new camouflage uniforms are terrible. Really Ugly. And they open the door to jokes about not being able to see the offense all game long.
5 - BYU v Utah could actually be a game. Utah is not as good as we thought though still a very good team. BYU, on the other hand, is not the same team today that was was humiliated by USU. We'll know more next week when BYU plays CSU on the road.

For now, GO COUGARS!