Many will list the BYU 2013 as a would-have and could-have season. But for me, the season was better than I expected. They won two games that early-on I thought they would lose, Boise State and Texas. Of course, that was tempered by BYU losing two games I thought they would win, Virginia and Utah. For those expecting more than 8 wins, I have to ask if those people were dreaming. BYU just didn't have the team that would have gone into Camp Randall Stadium or Notre Dame Stadium and walked out with a win.
Offense:
Why did I say that? BYU had two things lacking on offense to be great with the hot-read offense. First, BYU doesn't have speedy receivers. They had Cody Hoffman, recognized as a good 'possession' receiver, but not a speedster. BYU had few tools that could stretch the defense on the passing game. Second, they are seeing the effects, or the consequences of recruiting smaller, faster offensive linemen. The offensive line didn't have the ability to protect Taysom Hill for long. Therefore, BYU had to force defenses to respect his running ability. Texas refused and got burned. After that, rather than over-pursue Hill in the pocket, you cover, and when the protection breaks down, you have someone hanging around the secondary to keep the gains minimal. These are the reasons that the Cougars had trouble in the red zone and on 3rd downs.
Grade: C+
Defense:
The defense was much better earlier in the season. Part of that was the level of competition, and part of that was the effect of injuries and an offense that didn't hold onto the ball very long. There were too many drives that were 3-and-out in less than a minute. BYU's defense was not deep enough to handle that toward the end of the season, where the defense wasn't good enough to keep games against Wisconsin and Washington close enough to win.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
The punting wasn't as good in 2013, but the field goal kicking was much better. But the kick-off coverage was problem-some in some games.
Grade: B-
Best Win:
Texas
Worst Loss:
Virginia
Offesnive MVP:
QB Taysom Hill
Defensive MVP:
LB Uani Unga
Special Teams MVP:
PK Justin Sorensen
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Utah Utes 2013 Season in Review.
Whether or not to declare the 2013 season a success depends on your expectations were for the season, it also depends on how you define success. There was a time, back in the 1980s, when a victory over BYU meant a successful season, even if there were only one or two other victories. It meant another chance to rub your BYU-fan neighbor's nose in it for another year. Sooner or later, victories over the Cougars and just being in the PAC-12 will no longer be enough, and that is the way that it should be.
Offense
It has been said that the Utes are a healthy, consistent quarterback away from success. With a healthy Travis Wilson, the Utes were 4-2. With problems at quarterback, the Utes were 1-5. While it remains to be seen if Wilson will be healthy next year, the Utes were just a couple of plays from beginning the season 6-0, and a possible national ranking. The offense was scoring plenty of points as well. A more consistent running game and better protection of the quarterback may have led to a more successful season.
Grade: B+
Defense
The Utah defense was not as good as they should have been. As I just said, the Utes were only a pair of plays away from beginning 6-0. It's really hard to blame losses to Oregon State and UCLA on the offense. The Utes were close to finishing 11-1, and the defense is why. There were some good games, some good plays, but there were plenty of defensive breakdowns as well.
Grade: C
Special Teams:
Converting someone from the ski team into your full-time kicker?
Grade: A
Best game of the year:
Stanford
Worst game of the year:
USC
Offensive Player of the Year:
Travis Wilson
Defensive Player of the Year:
Trevor Reilly
Special Teams Player of the Year:
Andy Phillips
Offense
It has been said that the Utes are a healthy, consistent quarterback away from success. With a healthy Travis Wilson, the Utes were 4-2. With problems at quarterback, the Utes were 1-5. While it remains to be seen if Wilson will be healthy next year, the Utes were just a couple of plays from beginning the season 6-0, and a possible national ranking. The offense was scoring plenty of points as well. A more consistent running game and better protection of the quarterback may have led to a more successful season.
Grade: B+
Defense
The Utah defense was not as good as they should have been. As I just said, the Utes were only a pair of plays away from beginning 6-0. It's really hard to blame losses to Oregon State and UCLA on the offense. The Utes were close to finishing 11-1, and the defense is why. There were some good games, some good plays, but there were plenty of defensive breakdowns as well.
Grade: C
Special Teams:
Converting someone from the ski team into your full-time kicker?
Grade: A
Best game of the year:
Stanford
Worst game of the year:
USC
Offensive Player of the Year:
Travis Wilson
Defensive Player of the Year:
Trevor Reilly
Special Teams Player of the Year:
Andy Phillips
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Southern Utah Season in Review.
Although, under coach Ed Lamb, Southern Utah has a Great West Conference title, the Thunderbirds had to join the Big Sky Conference to earn their first post-season birth. This could be the first of many in Cedar City as rival Weber State failed to lure Lamb away. Although the offense didn't exactly light up the scoreboard, the defense was spectacular.
Grades
The offense wasn't great in 2013. The only time SUU scored more than 30 points was against Division II Fort Lewis. SUU didn't often beat themselves. In their 8 wins, there were very few turnovers and sacks. Half of Aaron Cantu's turnovers were in losses to Eastern Washington and Washington State. Half of Aaron Cantu's sacks were in losses to UC Davis and Northern Arizona. Outside of those 4 games, the offense was good enough not to loose games. In 2014, perhaps a little more consistency on the part of the offense will help the team to more wins. In the losses to Northern Arizona and Stephen F. Austin, the defense was tired toward the end of the games, which put otherwise close games out of reach. The team was not built to come from behind. Cantu's best games, statistically were in losses to Sam Houston State and UC Davis. Overall, SUU was the 97th best FCS running team and the 95th best offensive team, by yards. They were 107th in touchdowns scored. Their turnover rate is the reason why I did not grade them lower.
Offensive MVP: OT Cody Burgess
Grade C+
Defense
The defense was spectacular most of the season. They had the benefit of an offense that gave away few turnover and special teams play that forced the opponents into long drives. When winning the field position game, SUU was unbeatable. Even though Zak Browning was given first team all-conference honors, it was truly a team effort in 2013.
Defensive MVP: Browning
Grade A-
Special Teams
Both punter Brock Miller and place kicker Colton Cook earned all-conference honors, with Cook earning a first-team selection. Cook make 20 of 24 field goals and 24 of 26 PATs. Miller's 43.4 average is a big reason why the Thunderbirds were able to win 8 games with a less than spectacular offense.
Grade A
Special Teams MVP: Cook
Best Game of the Season: 22-14 win at Montana State
Worst Loss of the Season: 21-3 home loss to UC Davis
Areas of work needed for 2014: More production on offense. Scoring 24 points on offense per game would have won the Thunderbirds 2 more games in 2013, and may have helped the defense get better.
Grades
The offense wasn't great in 2013. The only time SUU scored more than 30 points was against Division II Fort Lewis. SUU didn't often beat themselves. In their 8 wins, there were very few turnovers and sacks. Half of Aaron Cantu's turnovers were in losses to Eastern Washington and Washington State. Half of Aaron Cantu's sacks were in losses to UC Davis and Northern Arizona. Outside of those 4 games, the offense was good enough not to loose games. In 2014, perhaps a little more consistency on the part of the offense will help the team to more wins. In the losses to Northern Arizona and Stephen F. Austin, the defense was tired toward the end of the games, which put otherwise close games out of reach. The team was not built to come from behind. Cantu's best games, statistically were in losses to Sam Houston State and UC Davis. Overall, SUU was the 97th best FCS running team and the 95th best offensive team, by yards. They were 107th in touchdowns scored. Their turnover rate is the reason why I did not grade them lower.
Offensive MVP: OT Cody Burgess
Grade C+
Defense
The defense was spectacular most of the season. They had the benefit of an offense that gave away few turnover and special teams play that forced the opponents into long drives. When winning the field position game, SUU was unbeatable. Even though Zak Browning was given first team all-conference honors, it was truly a team effort in 2013.
Defensive MVP: Browning
Grade A-
Special Teams
Both punter Brock Miller and place kicker Colton Cook earned all-conference honors, with Cook earning a first-team selection. Cook make 20 of 24 field goals and 24 of 26 PATs. Miller's 43.4 average is a big reason why the Thunderbirds were able to win 8 games with a less than spectacular offense.
Grade A
Special Teams MVP: Cook
Best Game of the Season: 22-14 win at Montana State
Worst Loss of the Season: 21-3 home loss to UC Davis
Areas of work needed for 2014: More production on offense. Scoring 24 points on offense per game would have won the Thunderbirds 2 more games in 2013, and may have helped the defense get better.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Would BYU have been BCS bound as part of the MWC?
Dick Harmon had an interesting piece of work the the Deseret News on Saturday, claiming that if BYU was in a conference, either the Big 12 or the Mountain West, they would be in a BCS bowl this year. Well, BYU had their chance to be in a BCS bowl this year as an independent, and they did not get the job done. That point should have been obvious after Fresno State lost to San Jose State two weeks ago and Northern Illinois lost to Bowling Green this last week.
What Harmon speculated was what would have happened if BYU had been part of the Big 12. They did beat Texas, and beat them good. But BYU would have had trouble with Oklahoma State and Baylor and a win over Oklahoma would have depended on who had home field advantage. Then there would have also been questions about Texas Tech and TCU as well. At best, BYU finishes 3rd this year. At worst 7th.
But what would have happened if BYU had remained in the MWC? In my opinion, probably another trip to San Diego. But lets take a look. If BYU had remained, the MWC likely would have become a 14 team conference at the demise of the WAC which would lost too many members to Conference-USA to remain viable. I suspect the 14th team would have been UTEP, that seems the logical choice. Because BYU beat Boise State and Utah State handily, they likely would have won that division. But how about their non-conference schedule? Well, let's take a look, assuming a 14-team MWC plays a 9-game schedule.
Week 1--@ Virginia--Loss
Week 2--Texas--Win
Week 3--Air Force--Win
Week 4--Utah--Loss
Week 5--bye
Week 6--@ Utah State--Win
Week 7--UTEP (HC)--Win
Week 8--@ Wyoming--Win
Week 9--@ Nevada--Win
Week 10--Colorado State--Win
Week 11--@ New Mexico--Win
Week 12--bye
Week 13--@ UNLV--Win
Week 14--Boise State--Win
Likely, how the divisions would have finished.
Mountain Division
1. BYU
2. Utah State
3. Colorado State
4. Wyoming
5. UTEP
6. Air Force
7. New Mexico
West Division
1. Fresno State
2. Boise State
3. San Diego State
4. UNLV
5. San Jose State
6. Nevada
7. Hawaii
I won't go into the conference championship. There is little chance that a team from the MWC with two losses gets into a BCS game. Especially with such a weak schedule. If Fresno State and Northern Illinois can't do it with one loss, how can BYU do it with two? Especially if the teams that beat you finish with losing records. However, their odds were better as an independent as the schedule was more challenging, especially if they would have been able to get wins over Wisconsin and Notre Dame. BYU is likely no worse off in independence than they were as part of a this conference. BYU would have been playing Fresno State for the right to go to Las Vegas.
I don't see BYU playing for a national title this decade, but there will be one of the big-money bowls that rotates into the National Semi-finals that will have two at-large openings every season. BYU's goal next season should be to make it to that bowl, which in 2014/15 will be the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Fresno State 24 Utah State 17
USU POW: QB Darell Garrettson
Conference Players of the Week
FBS Independents--No games scheduled. Army/Navy next week
PAC-12--Stanford RB Tyler Gaffney
MWC--Fresno State QB Derek Carr
Big Sky--Eastern Washington RB Quincy Forte
Prediction for likely bowl destinations
PAC-12
1. Stanford--Rose
2. Oregon--Fiesta
3. Arizona State--Alamo
4. UCLA--Holiday
5. USC--Sun
6. Washington--Fight Hunger
7. Arizona--Las Vegas
8. Oregon State--New Mexico
9. Washington State--Poinsettia (At-Large)
What is actually happening? (7 hours later.)
Looks like Oklahoma will get the last BCS spot.
Stanford--Rose
Oregon--Alama
Arizona State--Holiday
UCLA--Sun
Washington--Fight Hunger
USC--Las Vegas
Washington State--New Mexico
Oregon State--Hawaii (At-Large)
Arizona--Independence (At-Large)
MWC
1. Fresno State--Las Vegas
2. Utah State--Poinsettia
3. Boise State--Hawaii
4. UNLV--Armed Forces
5. San Diego State--New Mexico
6. Colorado State--Famous Potato
7. San Jose State--Heart of Dallas (At Large)
What is actually happening (7-hours later)
Fresno State--Las Vegas
Utah State--Poinsettia
Boise State--Hawaii
Colorado State--New Mexico
San Diego State--Potato
UNLV--Heart of Dallas
San Jose State--Left out.
No one knows why the MWC surrendered their Armed Forces Bowl bid.
FBS Independent
1. Notre Dame--Pinstripe
2. BYU--Fight Hunger (Already accepted bid)
3. Navy--Armed Forces (Already accepted bid)
BCS Bowl Predictions
1. BCS Championship--Florida State vs. Auburn
2. Rose Bowl--Stanford vs. Michigan State
3. Fiesta Bowl--Baylor vs. Oregon
4. Orange Bowl--UCF vs. Clemson
5. Sugar Bowl--Alabama vs. Ohio State
Actually Happening (7 hours later)
1. BCS Championship--Florida State vs. Auburn
2. Rose Bowl--Stanford vs. Michigan State
3. Fiesta--UCF vs. Baylor
4. Orange--Clemson vs. Ohio State
5. Sugar--Alabama vs. Oklahoma
What Harmon speculated was what would have happened if BYU had been part of the Big 12. They did beat Texas, and beat them good. But BYU would have had trouble with Oklahoma State and Baylor and a win over Oklahoma would have depended on who had home field advantage. Then there would have also been questions about Texas Tech and TCU as well. At best, BYU finishes 3rd this year. At worst 7th.
But what would have happened if BYU had remained in the MWC? In my opinion, probably another trip to San Diego. But lets take a look. If BYU had remained, the MWC likely would have become a 14 team conference at the demise of the WAC which would lost too many members to Conference-USA to remain viable. I suspect the 14th team would have been UTEP, that seems the logical choice. Because BYU beat Boise State and Utah State handily, they likely would have won that division. But how about their non-conference schedule? Well, let's take a look, assuming a 14-team MWC plays a 9-game schedule.
Week 1--@ Virginia--Loss
Week 2--Texas--Win
Week 3--Air Force--Win
Week 4--Utah--Loss
Week 5--bye
Week 6--@ Utah State--Win
Week 7--UTEP (HC)--Win
Week 8--@ Wyoming--Win
Week 9--@ Nevada--Win
Week 10--Colorado State--Win
Week 11--@ New Mexico--Win
Week 12--bye
Week 13--@ UNLV--Win
Week 14--Boise State--Win
Likely, how the divisions would have finished.
Mountain Division
1. BYU
2. Utah State
3. Colorado State
4. Wyoming
5. UTEP
6. Air Force
7. New Mexico
West Division
1. Fresno State
2. Boise State
3. San Diego State
4. UNLV
5. San Jose State
6. Nevada
7. Hawaii
I won't go into the conference championship. There is little chance that a team from the MWC with two losses gets into a BCS game. Especially with such a weak schedule. If Fresno State and Northern Illinois can't do it with one loss, how can BYU do it with two? Especially if the teams that beat you finish with losing records. However, their odds were better as an independent as the schedule was more challenging, especially if they would have been able to get wins over Wisconsin and Notre Dame. BYU is likely no worse off in independence than they were as part of a this conference. BYU would have been playing Fresno State for the right to go to Las Vegas.
I don't see BYU playing for a national title this decade, but there will be one of the big-money bowls that rotates into the National Semi-finals that will have two at-large openings every season. BYU's goal next season should be to make it to that bowl, which in 2014/15 will be the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Fresno State 24 Utah State 17
USU POW: QB Darell Garrettson
Conference Players of the Week
FBS Independents--No games scheduled. Army/Navy next week
PAC-12--Stanford RB Tyler Gaffney
MWC--Fresno State QB Derek Carr
Big Sky--Eastern Washington RB Quincy Forte
Prediction for likely bowl destinations
PAC-12
1. Stanford--Rose
2. Oregon--Fiesta
3. Arizona State--Alamo
4. UCLA--Holiday
5. USC--Sun
6. Washington--Fight Hunger
7. Arizona--Las Vegas
8. Oregon State--New Mexico
9. Washington State--Poinsettia (At-Large)
What is actually happening? (7 hours later.)
Looks like Oklahoma will get the last BCS spot.
Stanford--Rose
Oregon--Alama
Arizona State--Holiday
UCLA--Sun
Washington--Fight Hunger
USC--Las Vegas
Washington State--New Mexico
Oregon State--Hawaii (At-Large)
Arizona--Independence (At-Large)
MWC
1. Fresno State--Las Vegas
2. Utah State--Poinsettia
3. Boise State--Hawaii
4. UNLV--Armed Forces
5. San Diego State--New Mexico
6. Colorado State--Famous Potato
7. San Jose State--Heart of Dallas (At Large)
What is actually happening (7-hours later)
Fresno State--Las Vegas
Utah State--Poinsettia
Boise State--Hawaii
Colorado State--New Mexico
San Diego State--Potato
UNLV--Heart of Dallas
San Jose State--Left out.
No one knows why the MWC surrendered their Armed Forces Bowl bid.
FBS Independent
1. Notre Dame--Pinstripe
2. BYU--Fight Hunger (Already accepted bid)
3. Navy--Armed Forces (Already accepted bid)
BCS Bowl Predictions
1. BCS Championship--Florida State vs. Auburn
2. Rose Bowl--Stanford vs. Michigan State
3. Fiesta Bowl--Baylor vs. Oregon
4. Orange Bowl--UCF vs. Clemson
5. Sugar Bowl--Alabama vs. Ohio State
Actually Happening (7 hours later)
1. BCS Championship--Florida State vs. Auburn
2. Rose Bowl--Stanford vs. Michigan State
3. Fiesta--UCF vs. Baylor
4. Orange--Clemson vs. Ohio State
5. Sugar--Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Sunday, December 1, 2013
When there is nothing to play for.
BYU fans probably long more for the old days when BYU and Utah would meet on the last game of the season. But Utah fans must admit they miss those good old days, too. The rivalry with Colorado would mean something if the two schools had met at least once after 1962. It will never take the place of the rivalry with BYU, even if the Utes and the Cougars don't meet every season. Please don't blame anyone on the coaching staff or on the field if the Utes looked a little lethargic against the Buffaloes especially in the 2nd half. But a win is a win, and the Utes need all they can get.
As for BYU, they have had little to play for since getting shown the ropes in Madison on week 9. And they offense has played like it. They followed the trip to Wisconsin with one uninspired performance after another, until the 2nd half of the game against Nevada. But what did BYU have to play for? They had already secured a bowl bid. Unless there is a 48-team NCAA playoff, there isn't much to motivate a team with only 7 victories where the biggest rivals are on the schedule in the first half of the season.
There are some Novembers to look forward to in Provo and in Salt Lake. Sure, Utah is suffering with their 2nd 5-win season in a row, but don't expect the futility to last very much longer. If you believe Ivan Maisel of ESPN, the Utes are one healthy quarterback away from doing something special in the PAC-12. It's probably not just a healthy quarterback, I would also include some speedy outside linebackers as well, but they aren't that far away. BYU needs continuity on the offensive line and a quality tight end, and yes, some meaningful games. Both teams are about 3 to 4 players away from being special again.
Meaningful Novembers will come for BYU in 2015 where the season ends at home against Fresno State and on the road against Utah State. Novembers will improve for BYU. But I certainly hope that one of these days the schedulers in the PAC-12, at BYU and at Utah will wake up and realize that the week that Notre Dame plays either Stanford or USC is a good week for BYU and Utah to meet. Utah can then play Colorado the week that USC and UCLA or Cal and Stanford meet. Colorado can finish their season against either Cal or USC. It makes sense, but except for 2018, it seems like the Republicans will win the White House first.
The season ended for both Utah and Southern Utah. The season ended last week for Weber State, but truth is, they cashed it in about week 5 of the season, therefore they are looking for a new head coach. The Cougars have their bowl game and the Aggies travel to Fresno next week for the MWC Championship game vs. Fresno State. If they win, it will be the Las Vegas Bowl. If they lose, it will be the Poinsettia Bowl.
By the way, I like the fact that USU and Wyoming are playing for Jim Bridger's Rifle. It's great that it will reside in Logan for the next year.
Beehive State POW
BYU 28 Nevada 23
BYU POW: RB Jamaal Williams
Utah 24 Colorado 17
Utah POW: RB Kelvin York
Utah State 35 Wyoming 7
USU POW: RB Joey DeMartino
Sam Houston State 51 Southern Utah 20
SUU POW: QB Aaron Cantu
Games of the Week
FBS Independents:
Stanford 27 Notre Dame 20
PAC-12
Oregon 36 Oregon State 37
MW
BYU 28 Nevada 23
Big Sky
Both BSC teams were blown out of their playoff games.
Players of the Week by Conference
FBS Independents
BYU RB Jamaal Williams
PAC-12
Washington RB Bishop Sankey
MW
San Jose State QB David Fales
Big Sky
Southern Utah QB Aaron Cantu
Power Rankings
FBS Independents
1. Notre Dame (Pinstripe Bowl)
2. BYU (Fight Hunger Bowl*)
3. Navy (Armed Forces Bowl*)
4. Old Dominion
5. Army
6. New Mexico State
7. Idaho
PAC-12 (Likely Post-Season)
1. Stanford (Rose Bowl)
2. Arizona State (Alamo Bowl)
3. Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)
4. UCLA (Holiday Bowl)
5. USC (Sun Bowl)
6. Washington (Fight Hunger Bowl)
7. Arizona (Las Vegas Bowl)
8. Oregon State (New Mexico Bowl)
9. Washington State (Some other bowl)
10. Utah
11. Colorado
12. California
MW
1. Utah State (Las Vegas Bowl)
2. Fresno State (Poinsettia Bowl)
3. Boise State (Hawaii Bowl)
4. Colorado State (Armed Forces Bowl)
5. UNLV (New Mexico Bowl)
6. San Diego State (Potato Bowl)
7. San Jose State (Some other Bowl, but possibly left without an invite.)
8. Wyoming
9. Nevada
10. New Mexico
11. Air Force
12. Hawaii
Big Sky
Eastern Washington (Still in post-season, will face South Dakota State at home on Saturday)
Montana (Still in post season and will entertain Coastal Carolina on Saturday)
3. Northern Arizona
4. Southern Utah
5. Montana State
6. Cal Poly
7. UC Davis
8. Portland State
9. Sacramento State
10. North Dakota
11. Northern Colorado
12. Weber State
13. Idaho State
Predicted Finishes
BYU:
Current Record 8-4
Projected Loss: Washington (Fight Hunger Bowl)
Note: The Huskies should be a 7-point favorite for the bowl game. It should turn out to be, for BYU, like the Notre Dame game where the offense can't get much going because the O-Line is over-matched. The D will keep BYU in the game. More on that later.
Final Record 8-5
Utah State:
Current Record: 8-4
Projected Win: Fresno State (MWC Championship Game)
Note: According to Sagarin, USU is the better team. They played a more difficult non-conference schedule (Utah, BYU, USC and Weber State) than Fresno (Rutgers, Idaho and Cal Poly), and it should show on Saturday. It should be a close and exciting game, however. I expect the Bulldogs will be the favorite by about 7 points. But I expect that the Aggies will build an early lead and hold on. Fresno has one of the worst defenses in the country and a mediocre running game. Utah State has one of the best defenses in the country and a balanced offense. Utah State will win if they can control the clock and keep the ball out of Derek Carr's hands.
It should be pointed out that if Fresno State had not qualified for the MWC Championship game, they would have needed an NCAA exception to play in a bowl game. Their game at Colorado was canceled.
Projected Loss: Arizona (Las Vegas Bowl)
Note: Arizona should be a 7-point favorite in the Las Vegas Bowl. I expect that for USU, this will be like the Utah game where the Wildcats pull away late. More on this later
Final Record: 9-5
Utah finished the season at 5-7
SUU finished the season at 8-5
WSU finished the season at 2-10
One final comment:
One thing that the first round of the NCAA playoffs missed was drama. There wasn't a single game decided by 7 points or less, and the eventual victors all had leads at the end of the 3rd quarter. There were 3 cases where the road team won. (Sigh) Hopefully the second round is more exciting.
As for BYU, they have had little to play for since getting shown the ropes in Madison on week 9. And they offense has played like it. They followed the trip to Wisconsin with one uninspired performance after another, until the 2nd half of the game against Nevada. But what did BYU have to play for? They had already secured a bowl bid. Unless there is a 48-team NCAA playoff, there isn't much to motivate a team with only 7 victories where the biggest rivals are on the schedule in the first half of the season.
There are some Novembers to look forward to in Provo and in Salt Lake. Sure, Utah is suffering with their 2nd 5-win season in a row, but don't expect the futility to last very much longer. If you believe Ivan Maisel of ESPN, the Utes are one healthy quarterback away from doing something special in the PAC-12. It's probably not just a healthy quarterback, I would also include some speedy outside linebackers as well, but they aren't that far away. BYU needs continuity on the offensive line and a quality tight end, and yes, some meaningful games. Both teams are about 3 to 4 players away from being special again.
Meaningful Novembers will come for BYU in 2015 where the season ends at home against Fresno State and on the road against Utah State. Novembers will improve for BYU. But I certainly hope that one of these days the schedulers in the PAC-12, at BYU and at Utah will wake up and realize that the week that Notre Dame plays either Stanford or USC is a good week for BYU and Utah to meet. Utah can then play Colorado the week that USC and UCLA or Cal and Stanford meet. Colorado can finish their season against either Cal or USC. It makes sense, but except for 2018, it seems like the Republicans will win the White House first.
The season ended for both Utah and Southern Utah. The season ended last week for Weber State, but truth is, they cashed it in about week 5 of the season, therefore they are looking for a new head coach. The Cougars have their bowl game and the Aggies travel to Fresno next week for the MWC Championship game vs. Fresno State. If they win, it will be the Las Vegas Bowl. If they lose, it will be the Poinsettia Bowl.
By the way, I like the fact that USU and Wyoming are playing for Jim Bridger's Rifle. It's great that it will reside in Logan for the next year.
Beehive State POW
BYU 28 Nevada 23
BYU POW: RB Jamaal Williams
Utah 24 Colorado 17
Utah POW: RB Kelvin York
Utah State 35 Wyoming 7
USU POW: RB Joey DeMartino
Sam Houston State 51 Southern Utah 20
SUU POW: QB Aaron Cantu
Games of the Week
FBS Independents:
Stanford 27 Notre Dame 20
PAC-12
Oregon 36 Oregon State 37
MW
BYU 28 Nevada 23
Big Sky
Both BSC teams were blown out of their playoff games.
Players of the Week by Conference
FBS Independents
BYU RB Jamaal Williams
PAC-12
Washington RB Bishop Sankey
MW
San Jose State QB David Fales
Big Sky
Southern Utah QB Aaron Cantu
Power Rankings
FBS Independents
1. Notre Dame (Pinstripe Bowl)
2. BYU (Fight Hunger Bowl*)
3. Navy (Armed Forces Bowl*)
4. Old Dominion
5. Army
6. New Mexico State
7. Idaho
PAC-12 (Likely Post-Season)
1. Stanford (Rose Bowl)
2. Arizona State (Alamo Bowl)
3. Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)
4. UCLA (Holiday Bowl)
5. USC (Sun Bowl)
6. Washington (Fight Hunger Bowl)
7. Arizona (Las Vegas Bowl)
8. Oregon State (New Mexico Bowl)
9. Washington State (Some other bowl)
10. Utah
11. Colorado
12. California
MW
1. Utah State (Las Vegas Bowl)
2. Fresno State (Poinsettia Bowl)
3. Boise State (Hawaii Bowl)
4. Colorado State (Armed Forces Bowl)
5. UNLV (New Mexico Bowl)
6. San Diego State (Potato Bowl)
7. San Jose State (Some other Bowl, but possibly left without an invite.)
8. Wyoming
9. Nevada
10. New Mexico
11. Air Force
12. Hawaii
Big Sky
Eastern Washington (Still in post-season, will face South Dakota State at home on Saturday)
Montana (Still in post season and will entertain Coastal Carolina on Saturday)
3. Northern Arizona
4. Southern Utah
5. Montana State
6. Cal Poly
7. UC Davis
8. Portland State
9. Sacramento State
10. North Dakota
11. Northern Colorado
12. Weber State
13. Idaho State
Predicted Finishes
BYU:
Current Record 8-4
Projected Loss: Washington (Fight Hunger Bowl)
Note: The Huskies should be a 7-point favorite for the bowl game. It should turn out to be, for BYU, like the Notre Dame game where the offense can't get much going because the O-Line is over-matched. The D will keep BYU in the game. More on that later.
Final Record 8-5
Utah State:
Current Record: 8-4
Projected Win: Fresno State (MWC Championship Game)
Note: According to Sagarin, USU is the better team. They played a more difficult non-conference schedule (Utah, BYU, USC and Weber State) than Fresno (Rutgers, Idaho and Cal Poly), and it should show on Saturday. It should be a close and exciting game, however. I expect the Bulldogs will be the favorite by about 7 points. But I expect that the Aggies will build an early lead and hold on. Fresno has one of the worst defenses in the country and a mediocre running game. Utah State has one of the best defenses in the country and a balanced offense. Utah State will win if they can control the clock and keep the ball out of Derek Carr's hands.
It should be pointed out that if Fresno State had not qualified for the MWC Championship game, they would have needed an NCAA exception to play in a bowl game. Their game at Colorado was canceled.
Projected Loss: Arizona (Las Vegas Bowl)
Note: Arizona should be a 7-point favorite in the Las Vegas Bowl. I expect that for USU, this will be like the Utah game where the Wildcats pull away late. More on this later
Final Record: 9-5
Utah finished the season at 5-7
SUU finished the season at 8-5
WSU finished the season at 2-10
One final comment:
One thing that the first round of the NCAA playoffs missed was drama. There wasn't a single game decided by 7 points or less, and the eventual victors all had leads at the end of the 3rd quarter. There were 3 cases where the road team won. (Sigh) Hopefully the second round is more exciting.
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