First off, some offseason admissions.
No. 1: I'm a BYU football nut. This time of year, like most of you reading this blog, I scour every inch of the Web and every inch of every preseason magazine, searching for kernels of BYU football truth. I can't get enough. But my Y fever gratefully has two limits, which make up admissions Nos. 2-3.
No. 2: I'm not a recruiting junkie. Recruiting day doesn't get me in a lather. I don't get juiced reading about the next big recruit. Like KSL's Greg Wrubell (see http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=498&sid=2613520), I get much more excited about the start of Fall Camp than I do about signing day.
No. 3: I'm not a spring football nut. This year was the first time I've ever taken in the Blue and White Scrimmage. It was fun, but the game itself, admit it, is boring.
No. 4: Every May, I start jonesing for the season to begin. While I love summer, part of me -- an increasingly big part -- can't wait for it to end so football season can begin.
With that in mind, here's a few thoughts on the season ahead.
BCS hype: Like the next guy, I'm pumped about the Cougars chances to go unbeaten and reach a BCS bowl game, perhaps even the BCS title game if the cards fall just right. But the pessimistic side of me sees another distinct possibility this season.
A third consecutive 1-2 start.
The Northern Iowa game is a gimmee. It may not be as bad as last year's Eastern Washington game, but the Cougs will win by double figures.
At Washington in Week 2 and hosting UCLA in Week 3 scare me. The Huskies are good at home, have a talented QB in Jake Locker and beat up Boise State at home last September. BYU can win this game, but I keep have a recurring nightmare about a repeat of 1996 when the 14-1 Cougars' suffered their lone blemish at Washington to a so-so Husky team.
UCLA has issues at quarterback, but the Bruin coaching staff makes this game dicey for BYU. The Bruin defense has the Y figured under Dewayne Walker. And with Norm Chow running the UCLA offense, anything could happen.
If BYU manages 3-0 through the first few weeks, a few cartwheels will certainly be justified. But don't count the BCS eggs before they hatch. Going at TCU and at Utah may be the two toughest tests of 2008.
Don't get me wrong, BYU will be good. Very good. Good enough that I've added my name to the waiting list for Fiesta Bowl tickets. Just in case.
But before we get too crazy with BCS talk, let's make sure we don't repeat the 1-2 start that's been a trademark of each of Bronco Mendenhall's teams.
1 comment:
I with ya, I don't put much into the hype of signing day. Sure I want the cougs to get the best recruits they can but lets face it most of the recruits we won't see untill 2-3 years down the road. I went to the booking store yesterday to do my annual reading of the pre-season college football magazines and I believe "lindy's" has Byu #17 and Utah #14. Can you belive it? They are the only magazine so far that has this misguided poll. I think utah will be good just as long as brian johnson stays healthy, but they are not better then byu.
Post a Comment