Friday, August 30, 2013

THREE THOUGHTS FROM UTAH VS UTAH ST.

I wanted to take the time to go over a few things i learned from Utah vs Utah State last night.


1. QUATERBACKS
For Utah one of the biggest question marks surrounding this program and it's successes this year was how QB Travis Wilson would progress from the seven games he started last year and how productive he would be this year. Well he sure showed up to play against the Aggies of Utah State. Wilson finished 17-28 for 302 yards and 2 TDs. A very solid performance for the youngster. He tended to focus on a couple of receivers but overall threw passes to six different receivers. He does need to improve on third how however, Utah was 7 for 16 on third down. The play calling could be to blame for this also, but Travis Wilson is expected to improve on this point.

On the flip side, the Aggies of Utah State had no concerns over who was going to start for them at Quarterback. Chuckie Keeton solidified himself last year as the best QB in the state and led the Aggies to an 11-2 record including a bowl victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Keeton continued to impress as he led his team going 31-40 for 314 yards and 2 TDs. Completing almost 78% of 40 passes is pretty impressive to me. Keeton also led his team in rushing going for 85 yards on 15 rushes for one touchdown. He also completed passes to eight different receivers.

Quarterback play for both teams was solid and will help each team win games in the future.


2. RECEIVERS
The receiving corps for Utah and Utah State came out to play with a couple of somewhat unknown receivers being the biggest contributors for the Utes. WR Anthony Denham led the team with 6 receptions for 113 yards, tie that in with WR Sean Fitzgerald catching 5 passes for 79 yards and you have 192 of Wilsons 302 passing yards in just two receivers. Other than a 56 yard reception for Dres Anderson he only caught 1 pass for 3 yards. Kenneth Scott didn't record a reception and TE Jake Murphy caught just 2 passes for 41 yards including a 30 yard TD grab. Luckily for Utah Denham and Fitzgerald stepped in to show that they deserve to be on the field and will continue to get looks if they keep up this trend.

Nobody should be surprised that WR Travis Van Leeuwan led the Aggies with 5 receptions for 107 yards. He was constantly harassing the DBs, making catches in the open field and even making tough catches over defenders. He is a stud and will continue to be productive. Second behind Van Leeuwan was WR Bruce Natson with 9 receptions for 83 yards. The Sophomore receiver found ways to get open all night against the Utes.


3. DEFENSE
The defenses for both the Utes and the Aggies strugged almost all game, especially against the pass. There were a couple of standout players for both teams including DE Nate Orchard who was harassing QB Chuckie Keeton all game, and LBs Jake Doughty and Nick Vigil were beast in the middle stopping Utah's running backs and keeping QB Travis Wilson on his toes. Outside of Utah State's goal-line stand, the Aggie defense got beat up by Travis Wilson and beat themselves up with penalties. Utah State had 7 penalties for a whopping 94 YARDS!!! Most of these penalties were on third downs after stopping the Utes, but instead giving them first downs so they could continue their drives. The penalties need to get reigned in or the Aggies will continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Utah, even after giving up a lot to Chuckie Keeton, played well enough when they were needed the most to win the game. Props goes to the Utah defense for showing up in the fourth quarter. Kalani Sitaki should be watching that quarter over and over again to see what kind of adjustments were made and continue to build on that.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Prediction time! (Casey)





So with College football starting today we at Finny Sport Time figure we better get out our predicitons for this years local college football season. So check out what we think and let us know if we are wrong, what games you agree with or tell us if we are up in the night.

Dallin Finlinsons Picks:
Utah: Overall 5-7               USU: Overall 9-3           BYU:Overall 7-5
Utah State-L                                       @Utah-W                            @Virginia-W
Weber State-W                                  @Air Force-W                      Texas-L
Oregon St-W                                      Weber St-W                          Utah-W
@BYU-L                                           @USC-L                               MTSU-W
@UCLA-L                                        @SJSU-W                             @Utah State-W
Stanford-L                                          BYU-L                                    Georgia Tech-W
@Arizona-L                                       Boise St-L                               Houston(N)-L
@USC-L                                          @New Mexico-W                   Boise St-L
ASU-W                                             Hawaii-W                                @Wisconsin-L
@Oregon-L                                      @UNLV-W                             Idaho St-W
@WSU-W                                        CSU-W                                   @Notre Dame-L
Colorado-W                                      Wyoming-W                            @Nevada-W

Tyler Finlinsons Picks:
Utah: Overall 4-8             USU: Overall 9-3           BYU:Overall 9-3
Utah State-L                                        @Utah-W                               @Virginia-W
Weber State-W                                   @Air Force-W                         Texas-L
Oregon St-L                                        Weber St-W                             Utah-W
@BYU-L                                            @USC-L                                  MTSU-W
@UCLA-L                                          @SJSU-W                               @Utah State-W
Stanford-L                                            BYU-L                                     Georgia Tech-W
@Arizona-W                                        Boise St-L                                Houston(N)-W
@USC-L                                             @New Mexico-W                    Boise St-W
ASU-L                                                 Hawaii-W                                 @Wisconsin-L
@Oregon-L                                         @UNLV-W                               Idaho St-W
@WSU-W                                           CSU-W                                    @Notre Dame-L
Colorado-W                                         Wyoming-W                              @Nevada-W

Casey Finlinsons Picks:
Utah: Overall 4-8             USU: Overall 7-5          BYU:Overall 10-2
Utah State-W                                    @Utah-W                                 @Virginia-W
Weber State-W                                 @Air Force-W                          Texas-L
Oregon St-L                                       Weber St-W                             Utah-W
@BYU-L                                           @USC-L                                  MTSU-W
@UCLA-L                                         @SJSU-L                                @Utah State-W
Stanford-L                                           BYU-L                                    Georgia Tech-W
@Arizona-L                                        Boise St-L                                Houston(N)-W
@USC-L                                           @New Mexico-W                     Boise St-W
ASU-L                                               Hawaii-W                                 @Wisconsin-W
@Oregon-L                                       @UNLV-W                               Idaho St-W
@WSU-W                                        CSU-W                                      @Notre Dame-L
Colorado-W                                      Wyoming-W                               @Nevada-W

So there you have it! Call me a homer I know but if you think about this, when Bronco has time to prepare BYU has only has 5 losses and 3 of those loses came in 2005 when he was just getting started and 2 of those 5 games were bowl games. So call me crazy but I have BYU beating Wisconsin and in my mind there is a good chance BYU could beat Notre Dame because they play Idaho State the week before and should be able to rest there starters. So take a look and let us know if we are crazy or not!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

BYU names Captains and other notes (Casey)

So yesterday at practice BYU players had a vote to name the 2013 team captains. When the votes were all tallied they had 2 defensive players and 2 offensive players selected. The 2 Offensive players were not Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill, it was JD Falslev and Skyler Ridley.
BYU captain JD Falslev

BYU captain Skyler Ridley
On the defensive side of the ball it was not Kyle Van Noy and Spencer Hadley, rather Uani Unga and Daniel Sorensen were named captains.
BYU captain Uani Unga

BYU captain Daniel Sorensen
I have no problem with these guys being named captains in fact earlier this off season I heard Van Noy say that Unga the vocal leader of there defense so it should come as no surprise that he was chosen and because it was a vote of there peers there should be no complaints from fans as well.

Chris Badger
 BYU has received word that former Timpview safety and 2009 Notre Dame commit Chris Badger has decided to transfer to BYU as per his father Dr Rod Badger and as long as he is accepted into BYU he will transfer and according to BYU beat writer Jay Drew he is going to appeal the transfer waiver and hope he can play today. If not he will sit out this year and be ready to play 3 years at Safety for the Cougars. So if all are healthy BYU will have next year as potential starters; Trammell and Leavitt at Corner and Bills and Badger at Saftey (They were teammates at Timpview), it looks pretty solid. Plus next year BYU will also have TCU transfer Tayo Fabuluje on the offensive line. Side note on Badger was a 3 star recruit out of high school and he was offered out of high school by Notre Dame, Florida State, BYU, Oregon, and Stanford. Things are looking solid!

Monday, August 26, 2013

BYU notes (Casey)

Everybody we are only 5 days away for BYU vs Virginia and I can't wait. So here are some BYU notes that you all might like to read and my reminder!

BYU has released there 2 deep depth chart. There are a few interesting thing listed on the two deep.

The depth chart is kind of what we expected except I really like that they moved Hadley to the Buck Linebacker spot and gave time to a very talented linebacker in Alani Fua to get out and play. There are only 4 spots that are solidified on the offensive side of the ball with the QB, RBs and Center, everyone else will be rotating in and out a lot. Also the secondary is going to be interesting. Look for PoVey and Leavitt to be switching in and out as well as Daniels and Davis but not as much if you ask me. At some point I would like to see Manumaleuna be able to move out to End and have Marques Johnson take over at the NT to add depth and I really thing JonRyheem Peoples will get playing time soon and will be a beast. So anyway here it is everyone take a look and see what you think. Let me know if anything stands out to you or you think will be different.

This Made me sick today. So I was scrolling through twitter today and came across a couple tweets that made me angry and actually changed my mind to me wanting Utah to beat Utah State (Sorry USU fans). Someone that goes by the twitter handle @TheShow which has something to do with San Diego State University, the tweet read (with Editing) "Seriously F@#$ BYU! OK well there was a reply to that tweet by someone that goes by the twitter handle @USUFacts and this tweet read "AGREED, CHEATING MORMONS #KILLEMALL. Then after that they tweeted about Taysoms knee (calling him Gaysom) and used the hashtag BREAKITAGAIN. But to no surprise to me about 2 hours after that tweet went out the twitter account @USUFacts was deleted. Way to show class there USU fans. I expect that vomit coming from SDSU but not from the Aggies. I know its not all of you but the vocal minority can ruin it for all. I had the Aggies with a win over the Utes and Cougars this year but I will be cheering OUT LOUD for the Utes and of course the COUGARS this year. 

Here is a late note coming out about an hour ago:


BYU has announced that they have agreed to a home and home with the California Bears. The Cougars will be heading to Cal in 2014 and then have the Bears come to Provo in 2017. This game in 2014 fills out the Cougars schedule with home games against Virginia, USU, Nevada,  Houston, UNLV, and Southern Miss and road games against Texas, UConn, Cal, Boise State, UCF, and Middle Tennessee. Looks like a good schedule for next year and the 2017 home schedule should be real good with home games against Wisconsin, Cal, Boise St and San Jose State, and yes this should be the Utah home game but it has not been made official so its not listed yet.
Here is the link to BYU's official announcement:
http://byucougars.com/m-football/byu-cal-announce-two-game-series

Friday, August 23, 2013

Reminder (Casey)

Cougar Fans we are SO SO close!



And Another game I am looking forward to watching is only 6 days away!


Should be a whole lot of Fun!

Rivalry opinions? (Casey)

So as the football season draws closer and closer and for Utah and Utah State it will be here in 6 days so right off the bat we get a rivalry game. Rivalry games are awesome and something I look forward to every year. Not just BYU vs Utah or USU vs Utah or BYU vs USU, but nationally I love Michigan vs Ohio State, ND vs USC, Texas vs Oklahoma, Georgia vs Florida and many other. They get the fan bases are riled up and excited and even sometimes they get a little extreme. Trash talking is fine with me, I love the back and forth between fan bases and the banter that it creates, THAT said there is a time to do it and a time to keep your mouth shut. I am kind of getting fed up with the trash talk I receive in locations that I would not expect to get it. For local fans in the state of Utah lets take Church for example. In a meeting where you are suppose to be trying to feel a certain way and all of the sudden you have somebody take a shot at the other team or there fan base is NOT an appropriate place to display your distaste for the other team. And lately I have ran into a trend of going into gas stations and being harassed by the clerks about me wearing a BYU hat or shirt or something. You are there as a representative of that establishment and should not be telling me as a customer that you do not serve BYU fans in there, I am buying a drink, take my money and shut the hell up! Now maybe I am being to sensitive? Maybe I should just take it and laugh (which I do)? It to me seems a little unprofessional to get after someone for wearing or cheering for a certain team in a place of business especially when you are working there. There is a certain gas station in Orem that I used to go to all the time until a employee began giving me a hard time for wearing a BYU hat. I bantered back and forth with him but do I really wanna hear him talk crap about what I am wearing every time I go in there? NO I just wanna get my stuff and get out, like I said before take my money and shut up! Now this goes to all fan bases that talk crap to other fan bases when you work for a company is wrong in my mind as well. I remember working for a company that told us we are to not have any kind of sports or political things on our vehicles because If you pull into someones driveway and they happen to not like or disagree with your point of view they may never call you back and now you have lost a customer. So I guess the point I am trying to make is, trash talk is fine and fun and I love it, but it needs to be done in places outside of work. If and when you work for ANY company DO NOT share your opinion on your favorite sports team when uninvited to do so. Thats my rant for today and If I am just whining about something very stupid and unimportant I'm sorry but I for one have had enough of it.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

PickUp basketball Stereotypes (Casey)

Everyone Watch this video and I bet you can put an name to everyone of these guys! It is an amazing video and I love it!

BYU Stuff (Casey)

So it looks like things with San Jose State are not done! Today BYU announced it has scheduled a home and home with San Jose State. In 2015 BYU will travel to Spartan Stadium in San Jose California and in 2017 BYU will welcome the Spartans to Provo. Looks like a good game but as a BYU fan I would have enjoyed seeing the Other Spartan team here in Provo.
No not these Spartans although they are hillarious! I'm talking about These Spartans!


Here is the link to the story of the BYU vs SJSU game.
http://byucougars.com/m-football/byu-san-jose-state-agree-home-and-home-football-series

So today BYU finished Fall camp with a scrimmage at Lavell Edwards Stadium and from all I saw things are beginning to come together. The offense looked good at times and definitely went fast and hard. Taysom Hill looked real good and crisp with his passing and at one point I saw him throw a pass over 50 yards, I don't think we have to really worry about his arm strength. The Offensive Line although still patched together looked pretty good at times and did open up some holes for the running backs. The defense had some moments. Field Corner Robert Daniels had a pick of a throw from Ammon Olsen and Michael Dolman had a Sack on Taysom Hill as well. I also noticed that Daniels was able to run down Hill from behind on a QB bootleg that fooled everyone, I'm not sure whether to contribute that to Daniels Speed or to the thought that maybe after knee surgery Taysom is not as fast as he was last year? But the Highlight of the scrimmage was close to the end when Algie Browns run where he just went into Beast Mode and took guys out left and right breaking 3 tackles on his way to a 27 yard gain.

Here is the link to that Algie Brown Run!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLTs4X7j5ic&feature=youtu.be

So as fall camp comes to an end and Virgina Prep starts tomorrow I am more excited than ever to watch me some BYU football. The coaches are ready, I think the players are ready, and I for one am VERY ready. Its about time to Rise and Shout folks so get ready because Cougar Football is only 10 days away!

Another quick note for all you BYU fans. According to Athlon Sports they have ranked BYU's Linebacker corp as the #10 best Linebacking group in the country. This is great company to be in but I think they could be higher. Number 9 is Washington and USC is 8 and I think BYU's linebackers are better in my mind than both of those but to be listed as 10th is and awesome achievement!
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-top-25-linebacker-units-2013

BYU is also mentioned in Athlon as having the #12 Wide Receiver Group in the Country!
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-top-25-wide-receiving-corps-2013

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

BYU News and Notes (Casey)

As August 31st draws closer and closer and as of today we only have.....

I wanna report on some things that I have heard about in fall camp that I find interesting and also give me a glimmer of hope for the future of BYU football.

First lets talk about Defense. There have been a lot of turnover on the defensive backfield. Corners are getting injured or drafted into the MLB and this trend has brought the what looked like great depth at corner to almost nobody back there. BYU is going to have to rely on talented but inexperienced corners to step up this year. I have been asking on Twitter who some of the BYU insiders think will start at Corner and @drewjay said in his opinion the starting corners if there was a game today would be Robertson Daniels and Skye PoVey. Daniels is a 6'2" 205lb JUCO transfer and looks like the starter at the Field Corner position. Skye PoVey is a 5'11" 200lb senior that should know the playbook and what Bronco and Coach Howell expect. Jay Drew also thinks that its really going to be a toss up between PoVey and true freshman Dallin Leavitt who will be the starter come the actual game day. Leavitt took over the starting Boundary Corner spot before he injured his hip but he has been practicing and in fact got into a little scuffle with Mitch Matthews yesterday at practice. When it comes to game week however I do think that the starters at corner will be Daniels at FC and PoVey at BC but Leavitt will see playing time. Another thing coming out of fall camp is the fact that BYU has an overabundance of very talented Linebackers and wants to get them on the field. Well when I asked Jay Drew he mentioned that the starters as of right now are KVN, Spencer Hadley, Tyler Beck, and Uani Unga. This is an awesome starting 4 but I have also heard that yesterday Coach Mendenhall and Coach Poppinga moved Hadley inside with Unga and started Alani Fua on the Outside. This might have been on just a test and see basis but I think that would be a very interesting thing to do. Hadley to me seems a little small to be an inside linebacker but Fua has been really impressive during Fall camp, so possibly look for something different with that linebacking core. Jay also said that when it comes to the Buck Linebacker spot Tyler Beck and Minoa Pikula are neck and neck and because Beck is the senior he would get the nod. Along the defensive line it looks like its going to be Kaufusi, and Manumaleuna, as the Defensive Ends and at Nose tackle Marques Johnson has solidified himself the starter but I have heard that his backups have been making a push to see if they can get some playing time. Watch for there to be some rotation at that Nose Tackle spot this year early but I still think when its all said and done a healthy Marques is going to be the starter at the end of the year.

The Offense looks like as long as the officials will place the ball in time this Go Fast Go Hard mantra will come to fruition. As charted by 1320 KFANs Ben "Napoleon" Wilson BYU was running plays every 12-15 seconds with completed passes and runs and 18-22 seconds between plays when incomplete. That said BYU is going to be rotating out offensive lineman a lot. I think the first and second team and even possibly some of the 3rd string O-Line needs to be ready to play and contribute. Coach Anea and Coach Tujague have said they are going to sub out there entire line (including center which I disagree with) regularly. This will keep the big uglys fresh and ready to go all game and all season long. There has been a lack of fire with this BYU offensive line for a long time but from what I hear that is changing and its all starting with true freshman Center Brayden Kearsley. Yesterday During practice Kearsley took a run at a guy that was taking shots at one of his lineman and that really didn't sit well with Kearsley. Brayden ran over and hit the guy way late and according to Bronco he committed a foul that would have got him kicked out of a game so he was kicked out of 11 on 11 drills. Although it was a cheap shot I love the fire and the mean streak shown and so did his team mates. This will take him far and i think he should be the starter and ONLY center for the cougars this year and for the next 3. The running backs are looking good as ever. Jamaal Williams is for sure the man back there but his partner is a different story all together. Mike Alisha is still injured and that forearm is not looking like he will be ready till week 1 or 2. I would love to see Adam Hine get some reps along with Jamaal. Hine is a fast and strong running back and would be a great complement to Williams back there. Wide Receiver at BYU is gonna be a strength for this squad. I think Ross Apo is going to be a dominant force opposite Cody Hoffman this year. He has created a relationship with Taysom Hill over the summer and should be more of a weapon this year. I think Skyler Ridley and Mitch Matthews will be amazing and dangerous weapons along with Apo and Hoffman. It looks like Coach Anea is moving to keep his Tight Ends in as blockers more which has taken possible catches away from Kaneakua Friel. Friel has mentioned that he has taken on more of a blocking roll and has not be out catching the ball, but who can blame the coaches for keeping the Tight Ends as blockers with all that depth and speed and height at Wide Receiver. So with only 11 days till BYU vs Virginia its looking like things are starting to fall into place for the Cougars and I for one can not wait.

Monday, August 19, 2013

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS!!!
THE SEC (TYLER)

To polish off my 2013 College Football Predictions lets take a look at the South-Eastern Conference.

Everyone (including me) thought the SEC would continue as normal even with the additions of both Missouri and Texas A&M from the BIG 12. Boy were we wrong, Texas A&M proved that wrong with exceptional football played mainly by QB Johnny Manziel. However he is not the only solid quarterback to play in the SEC this year. This conference boasts Manziel, defending BCS Champion A.J. McCarron at Alabama, and Aaron Murray at Georgia, unfortunately this conference lost both Tyler Wilson at Arkansas and Tyler Bray at Tennessee. But even though the remaining teams in the SEC don't have that "star" quarterback, there are plenty of talented players that play football to the level only the SEC knows like Heisman hopeful DE Jadeveon Clowney at South Carolina, LB C.J. Mosely at Alabama, RB Todd Gurley at Georgia, LB Denzel Nkemdiche at Ole Miss and S HaHa Clinton-Dix at Alabama.

The recent past has been claimed by the Alabama Crimson Tide led by Head Coach Nick Saban, but watch out Bama for a Georgia Bulldogs team that has been right there to snag the title away if Alabama were to slip up. Is that all? Oh no, LSU is always right on their heels followed by the Florida Gators. And if anybody thinks they are going to get an easy game from teams like Mississippi State, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and South Carolina you better think again. For me, Quarterbacks make or break a season as you will see by my predictions.

WESTERN DIVISION
Alabama 12-0
Texas A&M 10-2
Mississippi State 9-3
LSU 9-3
Auburn 6-6
Arkansas 6-6
Ole Miss 6-6

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are rollin' and who is gonna stop 'em?

EASTERN DIVISION
Georgia 11-1
Florida 9-3
South Carolina 9-3
Missouri 7-5
Tennessee 5-7
Vanderbilt 5-7
Kentucky 4-8

Georgia will make the closest push they can this year. Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley are going to be explosive but will ultimately fall just short of the Crimson Tide when they each other in the SEC Championship Game. Could it Saban win three BCS Championships in a row? We shall see

CHAMPION
Alabama

Does Bama repeat in your mind also? Let me hear why or why not.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Wow (Casey)


MiamiHerald.com
  1. Yahoo! News ‎- 9 hours ago
    From Yahoo! Sports: LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas coach Charlie Weis is following a familiar game plan and hoping for different results.
     
     
    It looks like Yahoo is not really familiar with former BYU and Current Kansas quarterback Jake Heaps so they wrote a story about his brother?
     
     
     
    Also your daily reminder 
     
     Another piece of BYU news, it looks like former BYU, TCU and current BYU student Tayo Fabuluje has been accepted to BYU and could play for BYU in 2014. It is looking like he will have to sit out a year or be released by TCU before he can join the team. An option I have heard is that he can walk on to the team and pay his own way but play on the scout team this year, because he is a current student he does not need to be released from TCU to join the team. But according to @gregwrubell his likely playing career could look like 2010 BYU redshirt, 2011 sit out (transfer), 2012 Play TCU, 2013 sit out(transfer), 2014 Play BYU. I hope for BYUs sake and for Fabuluje sake he can get that release or receive a hardship waiver so he can play right off the bat and contribute with this team. But when your relying on Gary Patterson and Mark Emerick good luck!
2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS!!!
THE PAC 12 (TYLER)

Time to move on and cover the self proclaimed "The Conference of Champions" The PAC 12.

Pre-Sanctions, USC was the face of the (then) PAC 10, but afterward they have struggled to hold of competition from Stanford, Oregon, and even up and coming teams like Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon State, and Washington. Overall the better competition throughout the conference has been a bonus and strengthens the conference as a whole. Gone are the days that there was only one "powerhouse" at the top.

This year in the PAC 12 features the strengths of the Oregon Ducks at the top in my mind, even with the departure of Head Coach Chip Kelly to the NFL i see a lot of good things happening within this team, they are going to be tough to beat and will continue their run towards the National Championship game. However, they will be challenged in their division by Washington and Stanford, and you know how hard Oregon State plays against Oregon the last game of the year. The South Division boasts the talents of Quarterback Brett Hundley who did some nice things for this team. They will have to watch their backs though for teams like Arizona State and USC.
There is definitely some really solid talent in the PAC 12 from all over the field and there is always great in-conference battles. Here is how i have the Divisions finishing.

NORTH DIVISION
Oregon 12-0
Washington 10-2
Stanford 9-3
Oregon State 7-5
California 4-8
Washington State 3-9

I'm officially on the train with Oregon. I like their new coaching staff, i like their scheme and their players. The Huskies in Washington will try their best this year to make their move toward the division championship and nearly get there but overtaking Stanford barely.

SOUTH DIVISION
UCLA 10-2
Arizona State 10-2
USC 8-4
Utah 4-8
Arizona 4-8
Colorado 2-10

Arizona State will do their best to overtake UCLA in South and it will have to go down to the 2nd to last game of the year where these two teams meet to decide the division with UCLA barely coming out on top. So that leaves a Conference Championship game between the Oregon Ducks and the UCLA Bruins. This game would be a lot closer if it was played at a neutral site instead of the best conference record holder's site. I predicted UCLA loses their game mid year at Oregon and i see the same fate again in the Championship Game.

CHAMPION
Oregon

The Ducks win the Conference Championship and await the ending of the year in hopes they are placed in the BCS National Championship Game. (Remember i already predicted Ohio State undefeated along with Louisville, and i haven't even got to the SEC yet)

How do you predict the PAC 12 playing out? Let me know in the comments section. No wrong answers. (until the season is over lol)

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Latest BYU recruits and news! (Casey)

I'm a little late to post this but in case people didn't see, over the weekend BYU received 2 solid verbal commitments from 2 very talented players.

BYU commit Cedric Dale
On Saturday after the scrimmage BYU received there first commitment of the weekend by landing Cedric Dale. Dale is a 5'9" 175lb running back out of Hebron High School in Texas and is going to join a very talented backfield at BYU. In high school he also played corner so he could play either but he committed and was given a scholarship to play running back at BYU. Dale is a non LDS athelete but is a devout christian and has said that BYU fits with the standards that he wants to live and would be a perfect fit for him. He is entering his Senior year in High School this year and is currently a 3 star recruit according to Scout.com. Dale also held offers from North Texas as well as Texas Tech. Here is a link to his highlights.

BYU commit Nick Kurtz
Now if that wasn't great news in and of itself, Sunday afternoon BYU received a commitment from Nick Kurtz a 6'6" WR from Grossmont Junior College in California. If you all remember Kurtz is the guy that received the tweet from Denver Broncos WR Wes Welker trying to persuade him to go play at Texas Tech. Well So far it looks like Wes's tweet hasn't worked. Kurtz is a very talented and Tall Wide receiver. If you add the height of Mitch Matthews and Nick Kurtz together next year for BYU you will have 13' of Wide receiver to throw to and that is gonna be a great luxury for Taysom Hill even after Cody Hoffman graduates. Kurts held offers from a lot of schools including: Akron, Cal, Kansas State, Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, San Jose St, Texas Tech, and Utah State. He has plans of enrolling at BYU for the Spring semester and should be ready for spring ball in 2014. Kurtz is also a non LDS athlete but  is excited to come to BYU and take over for Hoffman when he leaves. I think with both of these athletes seeing that non LDS players can not only play but thrive here at BYU is helping them see that they to can survive the atmosphere and culture that is BYU. I also put a lot of this success on the new offensive coaching staff in Guy Holliday who is also not LDS and is African American as well and Garrett Tujague and his influence with JUCO kids (Was a head coach at a JUCO before coming to BYU) Here are some highlights of Nick Kurtz to enjoy.


This 2014 recruiting class is shaping up to be a very very good class especially on the defensive side of the ball. With names like Fred Warner (OLB), Sione Takitaki (DE), Kavika Fonua (S), Tyler Cook (OLB), and  Zac Dawe (DE) all 3 star or above guys according to Scout.com. Also Cougar fans be on the lookout for a kid from Texas named Courtland Sutton. Sutton is Saftey prospect that will be making his official visit to Provo during the Texas game on September 7th. He has BYU very high on his list of schools and could possibly commit to BYU then if all goes well. Another name fans should watch for is 5 star Offensive lineman Damien Mama out of Bellflower California (St. John Bosco HS). Damien is 6'5" and 370lbs and is rated the #1 offensive lineman in the entire country and has BYU on his top 8 list. He made a visit to BYU over the Pioneer Day weekend and seemed to love it here. He is an LDS kid and would be a huge, no better yet a HUGE get for BYU if he came here. His top 8 list includes: Alabama, BYU, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin. With those names on that list it is amazing that BYU is on there, but I think it is unlikly that Mama would chose to come to BYU but stranger things have happened. I have heard that Mama and Coach Anea have a strong relationship that started while Anea was at Arizona. It might be a while till Mama commits, it could possible be at signing day that we find out. 
BYU recruit Courtland Sutton

BYU recruit Damien Mama
 Here is a little friendly reminder that there is not much longer we Cougar fans have to wait till football.
Also here a Video that caught my eye today.


Monday, August 12, 2013

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROJECTION!!!
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE (TYLER)

I decided to drop the former "Big East" Conference in favor of the Mountain West Conference due to the local interest of both Boise State and Utah State fans in this area... and the terrible teams in the "Big East"

After the Mountain West lost both BYU, Utah, and TCU to the BIG12, PAC12, and Independence respectively many thought the Mountain West was done for. Then the addition of Boise State almost backfires when Boise State and San Diego State almost jump to the BIG East. Luckily both Boise and San Diego State decide to stay, the Mountain West then goes active and brings in Utah State, Fresno State, Hawaii, San Jose State, and Hawaii to create a 12 Team Conference that actually provides intrigue and good competition. On paper Boise State is a clear cut favorite due to the exceptional coaching of Chris Peterson but don't sleep on team like Utah State, San Jose State, and Nevada that are bringing back excellent Quarterbacks and other skill players. And if you think you've got any easy games against Air Force and Colorado State then think again. 

Here's my break down of the Mountain West Conference by division.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Boise State 9-3
Utah State 9-3
Air Force 7-5
Colorado State 7-5
Wyoming 5-7
New Mexico 1-11

It's going to be a fun year to watch Boise State and Utah State battle for the division and push their way towards the Conference Championship. Will they have company at the top? Lets take a look.

WEST DIVISION
Nevada 9-3
Fresno State 8-4
San Jose State 7-5
San Diego State 7-5
Hawaii 3-9
UNLV 3-9

Good quarterback play from Cody Fajardo at Nevada, Derek Carr from Fresno State, and David Fales from San Jose State are going to make things very interesting in the West Division. However; the insanity of having former WAC rivals Boise State and Nevada playing for the Conference Championship is going to be intense! Who will win? Here's who i think.

CHAMPION
Nevada

Suprised? You should be. Head Coach Chris Peterson doesn't usually lose big games with Boise State. However, if you have seen QB Cody Fajardo play for Nevada, you will know why i'm picking the wolf pack to win. Most "experts" give Boise State the nod without much thought and i won't blame them, but the more i think about it the more i like Nevada's chances. Boise QB Joe Southwick has a lot to prove this year as a leader on this team and we will see what he can do.

Who do you think will win the Mountain West? And are you even interested in watching the Mountain West? 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

LATEST BYU NEWS AND COMMITS (TYLER)
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It was announced today that for the remaining tenure of Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall the BYU Football team will sport uniforms that say "Tradition" "Spirit" and "Honor" on the backs instead of players names as depicted in the picture below.

I don't know how much i like the change yet, i would guess that the change is to focus the minds of the coaches, players and fans on what BYU Athletics is all about, but i have always liked seeing the names of players on jerseys

What are your feelings on the change. Like i stated, as long as Bronco is Head Coach he says this will stay put, and you never know this could be permanent.

UPDATE: After discussion with his coaches and players Bronco Mendenhall has decided to use the new jerseys for the Homecoming game Oct 12 against Georgia Tech ONLY!



NEW COMMIT (VERBAL)
OLB TYLER COOK #88

BYU has received a verbal commitment from outside linebacker Tyler Cook.
Cook is from Vista Murrieta High in Southern California and is good friends with fellow BYU OLB commit Fred Warner. Cook checks in at 6-3, 215 pounds and reportedly runs a 4.51 40. The talented outside linebacker is graded as a 3-star in the 247Composite rankings. Cook grades out as the 87th best player from the state of California, the 71st best outside linebacker in the country. 
Cook held offers from as many as 16 programs at the time of his commitment, including offers from Washington State, Hawaii, Boise State, Arizona and Miami (Fla.) according to scout.com.
Cook is LDS and plans to serve a mission. He becomes BYU's 11th commitment for 2014
2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS!!!
THE INDEPENDENTS (TYLER)



The lone wolfs of the College Football world, The Independents will be the subject of today's College Football Predictions.

For the longest time Notre Dame has been the face of Independence. Joined by Army and Navy and finally by BYU, New Mexico State, and Idaho makes six schools holding their fate in their own hands.

As we all know well Notre Dame went to the BCS National Championship Game where they faltered beneath the beast known as Alabama. BYU finished 8-5 after a bowl win against San Diego State. Army finished 2-10 on a disappointing season. Navy finished 8-5 even after losing in their bowl game to Arizona State. New Mexico State and Idaho both finished their WAC runs at 1-11 before jumping to independence.

Since obviously there aren't any divisions or even a conference in the Independence world my predictions are pretty singular for each school. It's pretty obvious where the strengths are, It's Notre Dame with BYU coming in second. Notre Dame has so many "rivalry" games that they play every year, their schedules don't vary a whole lot, they suffered a few setbacks with the loss of LB Manti Teo on defense and would be returning QB Everett Goldston gone. This team turns to former starting QB Tommy Rees and stud DL Louis Nix III to lead this team to another great season. BYU loses the services of DE Ziggy Ansah, LBs Brandon Ogletree and Uona Kaveinga, and CB Preston Hadley on the #3 Ranked Defense from last year but return All American LB Kyle Van Noy to what should be another solid defense under Bronco Mendenhall. Thank all that is holy QB Riley Nelson is finally gone from the program so BYU can move forward on offense with RB Jamaal Williams and WR Cody Hoffman ready to put points on the board.

Army and Navy always have interesting games they play all across the map. Navy Head Coach Ken Nuimatalolo has put together some impressive teams the last few years and should continue his trend. Army loses their QB Trent Steelman to graduation and will probably struggle this year also. New Mexico State and Idaho just do what they do. However i think New Mexico State is putting themselves in a position to win more games because they get to pick and choose which games they play more so now.

Now for my predictions.... Don't laugh
INDEPENDENTS
BYU 9-3
Notre Dame 8-4
Navy 7-5
New Mexico State 5-7
Army 4-8
Idaho 1-11

I have BYU losing games to Texas, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame. While Notre Dame drops games at Michigan and Stanford and home games against Oklahoma and Arizona State. I don't have a whole lot put into QB Tommy Rees based on his previous play, you know what your going to get from him. BYU has a lot of weapons on offense with a quarterback that actually knows how to play quarterback and a defense that will not disappoint. 

These are my predictions. What are yours?