Expectations were so high this year you wonder if in the end that it worked against BYU. A high preseason ranking, dreams of a perfect season and secret aspirations for a second national title might have been too much pressure for even the most talented team to bear. Last night's Utah vs BYU game was close until the fourth quarter and then the pressure got to Max Hall. He uncharacteristically threw five interceptions, practically his tally for the entire season. Can you blame it all on Hall? I think some of the blame falls on the coaches. The differences in the outcomes for the two different teams are as disparate as their philosophies in self-promotion.
I'm sure that Bronco Mendenhall's slogan "quest for perfection" was conceived with the best of intentions. Every school in their heart of hearts is hoping that they go undefeated and have a chance at the national championship. It is a part of sports to aim for the best, to strive for something that is realistically out of reach. The fans and media sure did buy into the idea that BYU had the potential to go undefeated but football isn't golf. It isn't an individual pursuit with a stagnant competitor. It is an undulating team sport with dynamic opponents that you can't predict. Utah finished strongly last year and privately they felt that they could win the MWC. Some even mentioned that both teams could meet undefeated but BYU was the team that won most of the attention. Utah quietly went about their business. Even with BYU's loss to TCU, they could have salvaged the season against their hated rivals. The problem is that BYU didn't plan for an opponent that was stronger, faster and in the end, more perfect than they were.
The polls don't matter at this point for Utah as they have won the automatic qualifier for the non-BCS. Boise State also won in a close game so it was good for the MWC that Utah won or Boise State would have won the bid. You have to wonder about a conference where a team can go undefeated in 04, 06 and so far in 08. Even as dominant as USC has been over the last five years, with some serious NFL talent, they manage to slip up to a conference rival most seasons. Some will say that it proves that Boise State is a great team but I think it says a lot more about the quality of their schedule and the weakness of the conference. I had written that Boise State would have posted the same record as BYU if they had played BYU's schedule. Well, I think BYU goes undefeated if they play Boise State's schedule. TCU too. Same with another 20 teams in other conferences. You can't blame Boise State for their conference and they did beat their lone ranked foe on the road in Oregon, but I don't feel their team is cheated out of a BCS spot, they simply didn't deserve it. What more could they have done? Nothing really but the same could be asked for Utah. What more could Utah have done to have a chance at the national title? Nothing, but no one feels bad that they won't even be considered.
So it looks like BYU is going to the Las Vegas Bowl to play some awful Pac-10 team. It would be nice to have another chance at a decent school in a bowl game but I'm afraid that they would lose, thus going 0-3 vs good schools. Its better that they play a mediocre team like Arizona so that they can eek out a victory and preserve some of their dignity. There is always next year. Hopefully they have learned their lesson and will start the year humble instead of having it force fed to them by better teams.
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4 comments:
I've gotta believe that if you are a die-hard BYU football fan that the recent Utah success can't sit well. What is it...two BCS bowl games in the last four years...two undefeated seasons in the same time span. Do you know how much difference there is between the respective football programs funding allocation??
I don't know the difference in how much money they put into football but BYU does have recently updated facilities that were put in to compete against bigger schools. BYU fans will say they won the MWC the last two years but looking closely at their seasons, they beat up on bad teams and lost to the only decent teams they played, usually non conference opponents that weren't even that good. Utah is the most dominant team in the MWC and the non-BCS.
i honestly think byu is lucky to have the record they have. they barely escaped from WAS, UNLV, and COL St. maybe the pressure got to them but we all know they were overrated since the rankings came out this year. they need to get some speed on defense and skilled postions. hopefully next year they come into the season un-ranked, where they belong.
phil, you are right about them being lucky to get the wins that they did but I think that they will be ranked in the top 15 with Hall, Unga and Collie all coming back, and probably should be the favorites to win the mwc. It would be great if they had some speedy corners and safeties to match up with quick offenses. The offense though is pretty good though, it could use a speed back- something they haven't had since the days of Ronney Jenkins.
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