Saturdays game was a great stepping stone for the cougars, and a very impressive win. the Cougars rolled into Colorado Springs with high hopes of a win and continuing onto the next part of their quest. The Cougars fought for the win and looked great throughout most of the game. All the thoughts from the critics saying that they would expose our DB’s as well as our rushing defense, the Falcons did put up some great numbers against us offensively, but with the exception of a few big plays the Cougars pretty much shut down all the talk of the rushing offense that was suppose to crush us.

BYU again put up some amazing numbers on offense and proved once again that we are extremely powerful, and have some very threatening weapons. During the commentary of the game, the announcers continued to prove the point that I made in the last post “BYU is everybody’s big game” the commentator said that he was talking with the Air Force team and during the conversation they said and I quote “Navy is a big game, and army is a big game, and all the other conference games are big, but when it is BYU on the other side of the field, it is taken to a whole other level” the way that they practice and play is much different then the preparation for other games. Yes I do realize that is a compliment to BYU for wanting to perform to the best of their abilities against us, but also shows that we have to be on the top of our game every week in order come out with a win.

Coming out of Saturdays game Max Hall was awarded with the Mountain West Offensive player of the week, completing 28 of 37 for 354 yards and two touchdowns. Hall looked great on Saturday minus his fumble that he had rushing for a first down.  Bronco said at the end of the game that the players will celebrate this win throughout the weekend, and feel the accomplishment of what they did to win. He said that nobody will be looking forward to the big game until monday. The cougars once again were very impressive and showed that they have what it takes to make the wins happen on the road as well.

At this point there are many fans that are looking onto the game with Utah next week, but more importantly there is a huge game that lies in our path this weekend against Air Force. Yes the stats show on paper that BYU does in fact always play Air Force very well. Greg Wrubell did a blog on cougar tracks called Falcon facts, that he talks about the game between BYU and Air Force. We have done very well against them, and usually seem to be able to shut down their offense, that they are able to run rough shot over everyone else with.

Last weeks game between Air Force and Colorado State showed that Freshman Tim Jefferson is a great passer completing 6/8 for 171 Yards and 2 touchdowns as well as leading them to 3 rushing touchdowns. The Falcons are going to be a great challenge for the cougars because they want this game very badly. Going into Colorado Springs the cougars definitely have their work cut out for them. The falcons defense is tied for 23rd in the country for sacks, and 26th in the country for total defense. You can expect that they will be there on Saturday with their A game ready to go, in hopes of a huge upset and respect in the Mountain West Conference.

Opinionated columnist David Ramsey of Colorado posted an Article in the Gazette entitled “Falcons good enough to upset No. 17 BYU” in the beginning of the article he talks about the fact that Air Force can destroy the so called “Tomato-cans” of the conference and nation, but when it comes to the big dawgs they just can’t beat them. There is a lot of things that can be read into that statement that I don’t think he was meaning to bring out but hey. . . he wrote it!

He goes onto say in that article:

On the surface, BYU looks terrifying. The Cougars will prowl into Colorado Springs with only one loss, a powerful passing attack and four straight wins over Air Force.

That’s the bad news.

Here’s the good news:

BYU might be the most overrated No. 17 team in American football history.

The Cougars barely beat CSU a week ago and UNLV the previous week. The Cougars surrendered 109 points in three dreadful defensive weeks.

Are the Cougars powerful? No.

Vulnerable? Oh, yes.

If that statement alone doesn’t light a fire under your butt I don’t know what will. I understand that there has been some close games, but it seems to be that every team that has played BYU this year has focused more time on playing us then any of their other games, just to get a shot at beating the “Big Dawgs” in the conference. Yes we are the defending champions of 2 years, yes we are 9-1, and yes we still are in the race to share the conference title this year, but it doesn’t mean that we have to be your freakin bowl game. I realize that I’m going on a rant right now but when you have teams with a “Y” on your pads, because that is all you have in your mind “Beating BYU” it just goes to show you how important the BYU game is to everyone in the conference. Everyone knows that conference games are important to a teams season, but it seems that teams have BYU marked with a highlighter on their schedules.

Every team playing BYU leading up to Air Force so far, has been playing for something a little bit extra, Including Air Force who will be playing a team still in reach of the conference title, a team that is ranked 17th in the nation, and a team that besides the TCU game, has proven to be an offensive powerhouse. No I’m not making excuses for their loss against TCU, what I’m saying is that 3 of the top 5 teams in the nation have 1 loss, and some others really close. BYU might not be an explosive Florida team, but they definitely are not weak.

Yes The Air Force game for BYU is very important this weekend. Not only to keep the conference title in sight, but also to again prove to the world that we are not as overrated as everybody thinks we are. BYU to close the season out is facing one of the toughest schedules left in NCAA football. BYU is going to have to bring it all, and more to ensure that we keep “The Quest” alive.

In the last post I talked a bit about the importance that Bronco Mendenhall has to the BYU football program, and what an influence that he has played in the lives of not only the players, but the fans and the community as well. I was reading through my feeds the other day and saw a post on CougarBoard that struck me hard, “Blame for this disappointing season rest(’s) on Bronco” at first I got so fired up that I had to read more.

Far and away, the blame for this disappointing season rests squarely on Bronco Mendenhall’s shoulders. Yes, he had help – Max Hall, Austin Collie, even John Beck and Curtis Brown and some stellar linebackers – but Bronco is the man who bears ultimate responsibility.

Why? It isn’t because Mendenhall has done a bad job; on the contrary, it is because he has done an absolutely outstanding job. The bar has been raised once again. Think back over the past ten years. Would a 9-1 record and #15 national ranking be cause for disappointment at this point in that time? Even in Crowton’s first year, no one EXPECTED the Cougs to win 12 games.

This year, the Y could end up with only one or two losses and everyone, myself included, will be disappointed at what might have been. But that disappointment is tribute to, and not an indictment of, the coaching staff.

There is a huge difference between a disappointing season and a bad season. I am just grateful we are back to a place where were are aiming for national rankings and the BC$ rather than .500 seasons. -by Rotorhead-

The most incredible thing about this post is that it is 100% true. If Bronco hadn’t lead the team to two years of 10-2, then fans would not be sitting there saying how disappointing this season is. In years past if we are where we are now, we would be rejoicing at how great this season has been. In our conference contrary to popular belief it is very hard to go undefeated every season. On any given Saturday, anybody can beat anybody depending on what teams show up that day, as we have seen with big powerhouse teams like Penn State against Iowa, USC against Oregon State, and Florida against Ole Miss.

I do agree that there are some conferences out there like the WAC and that can be cake walks from year to year, but I stand to say loudly “The Mountain West Conference is not one of them” our conference has played well against non conference teams this year. No we have not played anyone in the top 10 besides the TCU Oklahoma game, but we have played some teams that have been extremely good in years past, but are struggling this year.

Having a coach like Bronco Mendenhall be able to turn a program around in 2 years, and have taken them to 4 straight bowl games and won 3-4, I believe is a pretty incredible accomplishment. Just because we are not playing for a national Championship this year, and most likely not a BCS game because of the circumstances, doesn’t by any stretch of the imagination mean that this year is a disappointment.

I for one am extremely grateful that we are able to make teams believe that everytime they play us is their bowl game, because we are the defending Conference champs, and will continue to keep the rest of the conference in check.

The Cougars wrap up their 3rd straight season with no losses at home.  Since Bronco Mendenhall took over as head coach for the 2005 season, the cougars have had a huge emphasis on not losing on their home turf. This is the first time in school history that BYU has gone undefeated at home. As we all know Bronco has had a huge part in that, getting the team to understand that no should be able to come into Provo and beat us.

Right after bronco took over as head coach, one of the first things that he did was take the team up to the stadium and had them lay on the grass, and played highlights of years past to show them what a tradition this school has had. After is was over he had Lavell Edwards talk with them about BYU football and the significance that it has to the University and the area.

Bronco has been exposed in the media as of late, and people are starting to get the feeling that he is not liking his current position, and that there are rumors of him not sticking around very long. Bronco as head coach is now 31-11 overall and 21-3 at Lavell Edwards Stadium. If you ask me that is pretty significant considering the previous years to Bronco taking the head coaching position, with the exception of the 2001 season.

He has had a very influential part in bringing back the “Spirit” and “Tradition” of BYU football. The game today showed that we truly are a very tough team, and very tough to beat at home. Expecting that BYU beats Utah this year that would put him 3-1against Utah as well, which also is a great stat considering the history of the “Holy War”. I don’t know about the rest of the cougar fans out there, but I think it is pretty safe to say that we would love to see him stick around for a really long time.

So what does Utah’s win last night really mean for the cougars? Some may say that last nights win for Utah means that they are the better team this year and that BYU has no chance at the title this year, that Utah is going to go undefeated and get to an all holy BCS game, which is really hard for a team in the Mountian West Conference to do. What it really means is that BYU has a wonderful chance of getting dealt some great cards, and if they play them right BCS hopes are still alive.

We all know that last nights game was not pretty and that TCU had plenty of opportunities to put the game away, but for that matter so did Utah. We all know that it is very hard to see Utah beat someone that BYU got slaughtered by, but we also know that since they did we have a chance at sharing the title this year, and being the co champions of the Mountain West Conference. To me that is much better then seeing Utah win it outright.

I had a great conversation with a colleague of mine who happens to be a very avid fan of the red team on the hill.  In the conversation we discussed how horrible it is that teams in the  Mountain  West are cursed by the conference, because one loss to a team in our conference hurts us really bad due to the lack of respect payed to the teams of the Mountain West. More then likely after TCU’s loss to Utah last night they will drop into the 20’s if not more, but as I recall last year the team that won the national championship went into the big dance with two losses, that is a discussion for a completely different post. At this point BYU has to bring their A game against SDSU and Air Force, and then prepare good and Hard to play in the most volatile environment possible for the cougars. Putting all of these tasks out there seems like a very long road still for the cougars, but “The Quest” still lives on.

Hypothetically speaking, if the cougars finish out strong and win the remainder of their games the BCS hopes are still alive. Obviously other things are going to have to happen around the nation including Boise State losing one of their remaining games, which on any given Saturday could happen as we have seen this year with some big teams. Hoping that all these events play out in that manner BYU is going to have to hold up their end of the bargain, and make it happen.

The sad part about a win for BYU against Utah means that there is a slight possibilty that neither team could end up in a BCS game which means less money for the conference. If Utah does win out, there is a greater possibilty of them getting to a BCS game which means more money for the conference, and hopefully a little more respect. Laying all these insights out in plain daylight truly shows that the whole system has it’s flaws and that we really need another solution. All this being said it does not mean that I don’t want BYU to go into Utah and tear them apart, because that is what I live to see year in and year out. I just wish that there was a better plan put in place then the Bowl Championship Series.

Another great season for BYU football is coming to a close. Saturday the 2008 seniors will be

honored in front of 60,000+ fans who have been graced with their presence on the team.  We have had the opportunity of having great players who consistently put it all out on the line to make one more play to bring home the victory, as we have seen of late including the the win at Washington, CSU and at home against UNLV.

The cougar tradition lives on and continues to better itself one season at a time. BYU has had a great recruiting base that has been built up because of the culture and traditions of the school. We consistently continue to prove ourselves and broaden our horizon for future success by having great players from all of the nation be impressed what BYU has to offer as a school as well as an incredible football program.

We solute the wonderful things that the 2008 seniors have brought to the team, and look forward to finding out what fate has in store for them career wise. We want to send out a special thanks to all of them for the wonderful things that they have done, and the great plays that we have been able to witness.

The following seniors will be honored Saturday afternoon:

1. Fui Vakapuna
2. Bryce Mahuika
3. Michael Reed
4. Kellen Fowler
5. David Tafuna
6. C.J. Santiago
7. Reed White
8. Tana Uyema
9. Isaac Taylor
10. David Nixon
11. Terrance Hooks
12. Chris Muehlmann
13. Dallas Reynolds
14. David Oswald
15. Travis Bright
16. Ray Feinga
17. Mosese Foketi
18. Brock Richardson