Cougars need voters to have selective memory

Most folks seem to have a selective memory. I for one, can never seem to recall the four times my wife claims to have asked me to take out the trash. I'm now holding out hope that the writers of the college football preview magazines and the voters in next year's Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls have selective memories as well.

Here's why:
BYU's postgame comments after the Las Vegas Bowl centered largely around next season. A BCS bowl is all the talk with nine starters back on offense and a decent group returning on defense. But starting high in the preseason polls could make or break the Cougars' 2008 postseason dream. Especially if next season includes a loss to either UCLA or Washington.
So here's what the Cougars need preview mag writers and poll voters to remember and to conveniently forget.

Remember: BYU beat UCLA in the Vegas Bowl.
Forget: BYU was more lucky than good in Vegas, winning just 17-16 against a 6-7 team thanks a blocked field goal on the final play of the game.

Remember: BYU finished the season 11-2 with a 10-game winning streak.
Forget: Most of that streak came against bad Mountain West teams and the Cougars are lucky the streak is alive after a miracle finish against the Bruins.

Remember: An offense loaded with underclassmen, including Max Hall, Austin Collie and Harvey Unga was good in 2007 and should be great in 2008.
Forget: Against UCLA, Unga went for just 16 yards on 17 carries behind a line unable to open holes and Hall looked quite average under center.

Remember: The Titans.
Forget: The Replacements. What a lame football movie.

Remember: BYU returns a talented stable of defensive lineman and some decent talent at linebacker.
Forget: The Cougars lose most of their secondary and their two best linebackers.

Remember: Bronco Mendenhall is 22-4 in the last two seasons.
Forget: The last three years of the Gary Crowton era.

With selective memory, BYU should land in the top 20 in both polls. Yes, the AP poll doesn't figure into the BCS standings, but it still plays a role. When the Harris poll comes out, its voters will surely mirror some of what they see in the other polls. If preview magazine writers focus on the nature of the UCLA bowl win, BYU won't be seen in an overly positive light and voters, who are influenced by Phil Steele, Athlon, Lindy's and the like, will land BYU in the back of the Top 25.
The difference between preseason No. 17 and preseason No. 23 could be huge in the BCS picture.

Oops, better go, the wife is saying something about a dishwasher I was supposed to unload. Funny, I don't remember that ...

Familiarity hurts in Vegas

Bowl week is here. But does anyone care? OK, that's an overstatement. Folks care. Cougar fans care.
But not as much as last year.
Why? There's simply a been-there-done-that feel to this year's Las Vegas Bowl. From the bowl itself to the opponent, a feeling of deja vu dominates the proceedings.
With BYU making a third straight trip to the Las Vegas, it's apparent the third time is not the charm. Tickets to the 2006 bowl game against Oregon were a tough buy. E-bay prices were through the roof and BYU's allotment was gone faster than you can say "Big-money Cougar Club members only."
This year, not so much. The Las Vegas Bowl is still a popular ticket, at least for BYU fans, but the BYU ticket office still had seats to sell this week.
And facing UCLA takes a bit more from the game's luster. While BYU fell 27-17 to the Bruins in September, the Cougars now are much different than the Cougars then. And today's depleted UCLA team is just a shadow of it's then-No. 13 self.
Will it be as lopsided as the Oregon blowout? Probably not. This could be a tight game going into the fourth quarter. But more than likely, BYU will beat a disinterested, coach-less Bruin squad by double figures.
Really, this game is all about next year. Preseason rankings rely heavily on the previous season's finish. If the Cougars want to be in the Top 20 next August, they need to win on Saturday. Impressively.
We will watch. We will care. But not quite as much as we could have. If Boise State was the foe, or Oregon State or some team not named UCLA, there would be plenty of energy in the air.
Instead, the fan focus is more on the BYU basketball team with its own Top 25 ranking. That's something to get excited about.
Too bad the same can't be said for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl. Maybe on game day that will change.
Here's hoping.

Finding positives after defeat

BYU's 68-61 loss to No. 9 Michigan State on Saturday was one of the most disappointing Cougar defeats I have endured in a while. Yes, the Cougars were underdogs going in. Yes, the Spartans are a Top-10 team. And yes, the game wasn't at the Marriott Center. But this was a big one. A game to plant BYU firmly on the collegiate hoops' map in 2007-08 and possibly beyond.
Rankings, NCAA seeding and more were on the line. And with a huge first-half lead, things were looking good. But as soon as MSU trimmed a 14-point lead to 10 at intermission, I smelled trouble.
And while the Spartans were far from impressive in the first 20 minutes, they looked every bit a Big 10 champion after the break. Still, the Cougars had their chances. But much like the loss to No. 1 North Carolina, they just couldn't get the key shots to fall in the final minutes.
Saturday night was rough. But a couple days of perspective lead to the positives.
Here goes ...
1. BYU has played three Top 10 teams and played all three close, beating then-No. 6 Louisville. With no lopsided loss and plenty of lopsided wins, BYU resume is impressive.
2. Even with an off game from Jonathan Tavernari on Saturday, BYU still nearly beat MSU. Prior to the game, I felt J.T. needed to hit 4-5 treys for the Cougars to win. He went 2-for-6 from distance and 2 of 10 overall. Despite one of his worst outings (offensively and defensively), the Cougars were right there with five minutes to play.
2. Despite the defeat, the Cougars kept their spot in the Top 25, sitting at No. 25 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.
3. BYU's schedule sets up a 12-2 record heading into the Jan. 8 game in Winston-Salem, N.C. against Wake Forest. The Cougars should have no trouble in home wins over Lamar, Pepperdine, Southern Utah and Loyola Marymount. Add in a likely road win at Boise State and BYU should be sitting between Nos. 18-20 in the rankings when it faces the Deamon Deacons (and I'm not referring to the 12-year-olds in your ward). A win at Wake would set BYU up nicely heading into conference play.
4. All the Cougars' goals are still reachable. A Mountain West title and MWC tournament title are certainly achievable as is a run in the NCAA Tourney. The Sweet 16 is not out of question for this group. When Dave Rose took over for Steve Cleveland and proclaimed his goal was to win a national title, I laughed a bit. "BYU" and "national title" don't belong in the sentence when basketball is the topic. But watching the Cougars this year, Rose's lofty aspirations don't seem to crazy.
5. The Church is true. Now there's a reason to smile. No matter what happens on the hardwood.

Hoop dreams ... on Fully Invested

This week's Fully Invested audio show shifts gears a bit as we look at the No. 20 BYU basketball team's matchup with No. 9 Michigan State. But don't fret football fans, we also preview the Las Vegas Bowl contest with UCLA and take an early look at the 2008 BYU football season. Check back early next week as Fully Invested looks back at the MSU game and takes an in-depth look at the Cougars' bowl game.
To listen to this week's show, click the link below.
http://www.mediafire.com/?9ldggy00yjh