You Just Got Jimmered

Most athletes are relentlessly seeking to find the zone. Tuesday everyone's all american somehow found not only the zone but something even beyond it as Fredette dropped 47 on the yewts with 13 NBA scouts present. Teammate Jackson Emery even said "When he starts to shoot from 40 feet out you know he's feeling something". Jimmer's thoughts? "I just felt good right from the beginning. It was just one of those special nights. The basket felt real big and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in good situations." Fredette like his brothers song was simply "Amazing". That night was an absolutely surreal and phenomenal performance. The avalanche of shots came from everywhere and the yewts had no answers to stop it. The daggers to the heart just kept coming. It marked the highest scoring outburst by a player in the Huntsman Center in 37 years. No other cougar has ever waltzed onto the yewts own homecourt and scored more than 35. That performance helped vault Fredette into an elite list one could call the 2000 point club joining former legends Danny Ainge, Devin Durrant and Michael Smith. One could say with complete confidence tuesday to team north: you just got Jimmered.

Possibly lost in the highlight show is Emery reaching significant milestones of his own. With 12:47 left in the first Jackson passed all time great Danny Ainge as the all time steals leader. He also became the 42nd cougar who have scored 1000 when he drained a three with 6:55 remaining on the clock. Emery finished the night with 20 points 3 rebounds 3 assists and 2 steals. Absolutely not a bad stat line from possibly the leagues best defender.

Cougs we got something truly special and simply amazing right in front of us that doesn't come along often. There are 7 home games remaining. Take the time, reschedule events if you need to and get out to see Jimmer and the cougar cagers while you can. Blogger Matt Jones for cbssports summed it up rather nicely: "Get out in front of the masses, upgrade your cable package and buy whatever version of the Home Shopping channel is showing his next game".

Mark your calendars. Circle the 26th. A matchup of epic proportions. Next few stops on the schedule include TCU (the 18th), Colorado State (the 22nd) and San Diego State (the 26th). The aztecs will ride into Marriott Center with a #6 ranking currently attempting to steal one away in what could be one of the biggest games on the season. Fans across the nation will be watching two top ten teams battling out for MWC supremacy. Hopefully at games end cougar fans will be able to say once again you just got Jimmered.

Upon Further Review: The Gift

All charitable donations must be accounted for on all tax forms including the gift that was handed to the yewts on saturday. Apparently Christmas was rescheduled and arrived early for Whittingham and the yewts who were simply handed the W so conveniently wrapped in holiday paper and a red bow saturday. This year's Holy War matchup was yet another epic nail biter on paper and possibly anything but holy or even a pure win. It was the 12th time of 14 meetings where the outcome was by a touchdown or less. In this case possibly even decided in a replay booth and controversial call rather than what actually occurred on the field. Unfortunately, never overturned one can still clearly see Bradley's knee is clearly down and change of possession has not occurred.

Saturday's contest began with even the coin toss being delayed with a pre-game scuffle and even ended with more scraps having to be broken up by team north's coaching staff. In fact, during post game interviews where Bronco stood yewt fans per Jay Drews blog threw snow and ice while hurling derogatory slurs. Yeah. Way to stay classy yewts.

Heaps may have been a freshman academically but was clearly the more poised and composed like a true senior quarterback than his two couterparts combined. Jake finished the day 22 of 37 for 228 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. On the other sidelines Wynn was only 13 of 30 and between their two quarterback system the yewts together threw for 3 INTs on the day.

The jerseys in blue played their hearts out like a band of brothers. Putnam fired up the defensive engines with the first play sacking Wynn untouched forcing the yewts into a 2nd and 19. In the first half the jerseys in blue held Eddie Wide on 7 attempts to only 11 yards. Yes, thats 1.6 per carry. Asiata didn't find much success either on his mere 3 attempts for only 7 yards. The cougs held the yewts in the half to 6 possessions with 5 punts and a missed FG. The band of brothers stood strong holding team up north to 4 of 15 on third down conversions for the day even clearly owning the field of position in the first half. The cougs average first half position was the 33 yd line while team up north could only muster the 18 yard line which also took the crowd out of the game.

On paper the yewts may have gotten the Wynn on the scoreboard but the cougs clearly come out ahead by a Heap of a margin in class, confidence and composure. Next season the matchup week might change but the cougs will have their opportunity at payback reclaiming what was rightfully theirs to obtain the last laugh concerning the gift.

Rich Future

Saturday the cougs steamrolled 40-7 over the Lobo's becoming bowl eligible with a rich future. Four out of five touchdowns scored were made by freshman. Heap's ran one in for a TD and finished with a 137.5 efficiency rating against New Mexico. Freshman Cody Hoffman caught two TD passes on the day. Was really nice to finally see the ball thrown around to at least three different tight ends and over 236 total receiving yards. Quezada is also definately making himself a known commodity rushing for a TD and 107 yards. The defense also had an absolutely solid performance with sophomore Eathyn Manumaleuna's INT, Shane Hunter's 11 tackles, Brandon Bradley's fumble recovery, freshman Van Noy's sack, and of course Andrew Rich's 2 interceptions. Yes, the cougs might have have struggled earlier in the season and have some abundance of inexperience on paper. On the other hand the jerseys in blue have a newfound attitude and are peaking at the right time. They have become like a band of brothers with a rich future.

Bowl Ram-ifications

The cougs visit to Fort Collins was certainly a treat for the jerseys in blue and its fans dismantling Colorado State 49-10. They say momentum is without question often the key in winning games. Just ask the school up north the last couple weeks. The cougs made things happen early and that swagger or shift whatever you like to call it took care of itself led by the duo of Ashworth and Heaps. The rams had their senior day but had no idea it truly was to become a monumental senior day.

Ashworth, the senior wide receiver couldn't have asked for a better ratio beginning with a flea flicker catch for 62 yards touchdown haul. Four receptions and four touchdowns on the day. The four first half touchdown hauls set a cougar record for most TDs in a single half by one player. Not a bad days worth of work. Saturday's matchup and avalanche was essentially over at halftime 35-0 with the rams dazed and confused as to where to begin and what to correct.

From the cougs official website game summary each team apparently had the ball 30 minutes which clearly shows that often time of possession means nothing. Its what you do with it when you have it. When the cougs had their opportunities on third downs they converted 12 of 13. On the other hand the rams had 5 turnovers on saturday. Yes 5. Not exactly a formula for success. Even freshman Kyle Van Noy got into the action with a 44 yard fumble recovery for a TD. Senior ram linebacker Ricky Brewer even mentioned "It happened so fast...we beat ourselves...obviously they are a great team...penalties and turnovers, those are a recipe for disaster and that's what we served up today".

Approximately two months ago things may have looked rather bleak for the bowl outlook with the jerseys in blue. With saturday's contest against a struggling 1-9 New Mexico team here at home by all means the cougs should finish no worse than 6-6 making a bowl game this season a very real possibility. Considering the shift in momentum for both school up north and the cougs in coming weeks it certainly makes the Holy War game rather intriguing of a matchup.

Are You Serious?

Apparently three prominent San Diego State boosters have refused to accept the loss and are unwilling to give up on "replaygate" by sending an express letter to BYU President Cecil Samuelson on monday directing his staff to "stop the stonewalling" according to an article in signsonsandiego.com. The boosters have asked for the October 9th game to be "forfeited" to the Aztecs if evidence is found of gross negligence or foul play was committed that day. The letter refers to a possible fumble by JJ DiLuigi. No, it didn't happen in the waning seconds of a possible closing game winning drive but in the third quarter. Yes, lemme repeat. The third quarter. Did it decide the game? Not even close when the Aztecs had a full quarter still to work with. There's still a ton of plays to be made on both sides of the ball.

Couple of thoughts and stats here to consider that standout from that game. The cougs had the ball for just over 45 minutes and 24 first downs compared to the Aztecs 12. Those boosters might want to begin looking for blame at the end of their own shirtsleeves before sending a letter to its opponent. The cougs owned the ball and the clock for 45 minutes. How about lookin at Rocky Long the defensive coordinator? He allowed the jerseys in blue twice as many first downs and for the cougs to hold the ball for three fourths of the game. How about looking at Al Borges the Aztec offensive coordinator for not putting more points on the board that day? There was still yet another entire full quarter to work with. How about having some words with Darrell Funk the OL coach who allowed the cougs to hold their star RB Hillman to nearly half of his average (finished with 62 yards) by not blocking better or creating more holes for him to bust through? Consider as well San Diego State was held to -2 yards rushing in the first half.

If that isn't enough and those boosters still have a problem when they have only need to the look to their own Aztec coaching staff to blame they should look at the MWC for botching things up even more. Apparently those in the booth that day were suspended BEFORE a complete analysis was even finished. How about YOUR own university first to submit an express letter to the MWC headquarters for an official investigation with a complete analysis into the matter? It should be the MWC who completes any investigations when necessary not one of its schools. Why not go through the proper channels? Just a thought. Those boosters are expending wasted energy in the complete and wrong direction if they still have a problem with it. Just a thought. Are you truly serious? Teams lose all the time. Peeps get over it and move on. Small recommendation and yet nothing profound here: its in the past. Bury the hatchet and move on. Otherwise, those boosters and any other fans will be carrying unnecessary weight on their shoulders for a long time.

One Last Stand

With 16 seconds left the Coug defense made one last stand as Kyle Van Noy's paws were able to swat down Wyoming's last hopes for a victory. The jerseys in blue made enough plays in all phases of the game: offense; defense, and special teams to enjoy the sweet taste of victory winning 25-20 saturday. In the process two of its own were recognized as MWC players of the week in Cody Hoffman and Brandon Ogletree.

Ogletree made things happen when in counted in the fourth quarter. Four of his tackles came on the cowboys last offensive drive. On the special teams Hoffman stepped up taking four returns for 104 yards averaging 26 per opportunity. The triple threat of DiLuigi, Kariya and Quezada were able to grind out 229 yards together. Heaps was even able to connect with Ashworth 6 times including a 12 yard pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

From the offensive side 9 of the 10 receptions were to receivers which is nice to see that ratio finally. However, Heaps was 10 of 18 for only 81 yards. Did the cougs play to win or were the jerseys in blue playing not to lose? Does the staff have faith in their players constantly calling the shots so conservatively? If many of these cougs athletes are truly those heralded recruits isn't it time to take those training wheels off? Let them mix things up and begin to stretch the field and not be so vanilla. It's sad when fans and opponents already know whats coming before the play has even begun. No more bump and run or nickel and dime plays over and over. It's not the cougars identity. Start stretching the field alot more somehow. How about taking more shots downfield from time to time? Yes, the cougs took care of business on the field saturday and were likely thrilled to see another cougar victory regardless of the manner it came. During this stretch of scheduled teams its time for the staff to allow their players to begin being used more to their strengths. Otherwise, it could be expected that those wins will be even tougher to come by and possibly some coaches on the hotseat in their one last stand.

SDSU Out: Gained, Muscled, Outplayed

Last time the jerseys in blue lost 5 in a row during a single season was back in 1970. The resilience, grit and determination of the band of brothers was not gonna let that happen no matter the cost. Bronco seems to have made all the right decisions saturday beginning in the trenches. In a brilliant move the 62 rushing attempts were the most since 1996. It took the pressure off of Jake and placed it on the shoulders of the offensive line. All those carries allowed the cougs to play keep away with an unheard of time of possession just over 45 minutes. By keeping the Aztec offense off the field it also enabled the cougs to hold San Diego State to a minus 2 rushing yards in the first half and 53 for the entire game. The cougs OL grated the road for 271 rushing yards to beat the Aztecs at their own game 24-21. Di Luigi and Kariya both had 22 carries each. JJ ran for a career high of 134 yards while Brian rushed for another 85. Juice even became one of the backfield staples with 11 touches for 50 rushing yards. Even Matt Marshall became more involved converting a 16 yard pass to Mike Muehlmann on a fake field goal. Yes, a fake field goal keeping the cougar drive alive ultimately resulting in the first TD of the game for the cougs. Nice change from the vanilla keeping defenses honest.

It's definately a beautiful sight to see cougar football back where it should be making plays, executing at a higher level and stretching the field. The defense definately was pumped up and ready to roll. Van Noy emerged as a force finishing the game with 5 tackles, one sack and very easily could have had a fumble recovery. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Ogletree played tough with a pass interception as well. The coug defense stood strong, held together like a band of brothers and made things happen. In short, on saturday the Aztecs were simply outgained, outmuscled and outplayed.

Different Shade Of Blue

Friday the Aggies ended a 10 game losing streak against the Cougs and in a major way almost to a sense a different shade of blue. Unfortunately, it wasn't pretty as Utah State throttled the Cougs 31-16 owning the field overall for 434 yards with 192 through the air and 242 on the ground. The aggies defense also held BYU in check limiting DiLuigi to only 42 yards and 1 TD. Freshman Joshua Quezada did begin to get more involved rushing 6 times for 20 yards. The list of injuries from previous games continued to pileup. Much of the second half was played defensively by the Cougs without the services of leading tackler Adam Rich (stinger and upper arm contusion) and Jordan Pendleton (knee sprain). Shane Hunter had a game high 13 tackles while Jadon Wagner and Travis Uale had 10 each. It doesn't get any easier as the Cougs fall to 1-4 with the loss and face San Diego State at home who throttled the aggies 41-7.

Picking Up The Pieces

With the Cougs limping away from its 3rd loss in 4 games the jerseys in blue are still looking for answers trying to put the puzzle pieces together. The Cougs will also be without the services of junior Romney Fuga who is done for the season injuring his ACL and LCL. Absolutely no clue and appalling how an entire officiating crew could miss that one. Considering as young as the jerseys in blue are and have the fourth toughest schedule in the nation can only help ease the pain so much. Some positives from saturday? Holding a team that averaged nearly 51 a game to 27 for starters. The cougs also only had one penalty and had no turnovers. It was nice to see Hoffman seeing more looks. Also a beautiful site was having "Juice" getting more involved. Hoffman and Quezada by all means should have outstanding careers and those need more touches. The Heaps era is also officially underway and the passing game is starting to take shape with 229 yards against the wolfpack. Lets remember that Heaps is only beginning to get the necessary full time reps to learn his receivers. In the last three previous games the Cougs only mustered 115 yards against FSU, 73 yards again Air Force and 131 with the Washington matchup. So yes the air attack is making strides.

Whats missing though from the passing game are the tight ends. Through the first four games the TE position has only 7 catches. By comparison in the Oklahoma game last year alone there were 10. Got four freshmen at the position in Austin Holt, Devin Mahina, Richard Wilson, and Mike Muehlmann who were all great recruits. The tight ends must get more involved. Someone has got to step up for the air game to be complete and keep defenses honest.

On defense the secondary has been solid considering both Logan (was even a gametime decision) and Rich were banged up. Apparently junior linebacker Jameson Frazier even broke his thumb in the Nevada matchup but returned to action and is not expected to miss any time against the aggies. Andrew Rich on the season is the second in the nation for solo tackles with 30 and 47 overall. Unfortunately, that is not a good sign. Stopping the run has got to be a priority when seeing the Cougs are currently ranked 112th against the run. Keep in mind Nevada went for it on almost every fourth down definately not showing the Cougs defense any respect. Pendleton is clearly a presence who makes plays but somehow others must begin to step up especially with losing Fuga. Stout and Van Noy need to find a way to get on the field more. The potential is there and with more reps understanding the schemes and the execution at a higher level will happen.

In every game there will always be some questionables. Back the truck up what did I miss. Those kind of things. Not sure how the Cougs can only find a 2 yard punt and on a fourth and four calling a sweep. With the schedule beginning to "lighten" up things should begin to improve for the Cougs being a 6 point favorite. Although, this week will be a short one as the Cougs travel to Logan matching up against the Aggies.

Tallahassee Tutorial

Saturday's matchup was frankly a tutorial in a 34-10 smackdown. The seminoles attack dominated the Cougs up and down the field with Christian Ponder throwing for 149 yards and the Seminoles grinding out 278 yards on the ground. Its definately not a positive sign and is rather concerning seeing so many missed tackles when Chris Thompson hauls off for 123 yards while Ty Jones scampers for another 95 yards. Often in games as such I do believe that those are more about our personnel, our matchup and our instruction. Yes, essentially learning experiences and teaching moments. Losing as much experience as the Cougs did the jerseys in blue will be expected to go through some growing pains.

Were the keys finally and officially handed over to Heaps? That remains to be seen and lies in the hands of the coaching staff. On the other hand, it is clearly a step in the right direction. Only with a leader firmly in place can a team begin to find its chemistry and rhythm giving it a better sense of direction. Heaps finished 15 of 31 for 114 yards while posting his first offical touchdown connection to Cody Hoffman who had 5 catches for the day. The OL must begin providing much better time and protection for whoever is calling the shots behind center. Pretty much any team that allows 8 sacks will lose a game at this level and clearly must be improved upon. It was rather enjoyable seeing DiLuigi step up yet again posting 18 carries for 93 yards. The learning curve will happen. Those jerseys in blue will come together. Yes, the future is bright with the pieces in place. Although, that learning curve must happen and quickly considering the dangerous wolfpack rolls into town saturday. The schedule might not get any easier this upcoming week but its always nice to be at home.

Unfinished Business

Defeat is always bitterly hard to swallow. Last saturdays 48-24 awful implosion to the yewts was incredibly hard to digest. No possible BCS bid. No conference championship, etc. Like Thanksgiving it was a feast, on turnovers. Six TOs will pretty much seal the deal for anyone. It seemed like that afternoon/evening the offense's ball control had A.D.D. on some energy drink. Games of intense rivalry are often determined by execution (as Bronco says), focus, discipline, and simply hard work. Unfortunately, those characteristics weren't present on the field that day. Although hard to take the Cougs will bounce back. Former great Cowboy coach Tom Landry once said "Something contructive comes from every defeat". When was the last time the jerseys in blue had a 3000 yard QB, two 1000 yard receivers AND a 1000 yard rusher BEFORE a Bowl Game? No the season it NOT over. There is still one more game to be played. There is still work to be accomplished and addressed. We are still undefeated at home and heading to our 3rd consecutive bowl. (Photo Credit Douglas C Pizac)

Whose "Overrated"

Saturday 42,177 fans were able to watch at Falcon Stadium the Air Force cadets getting beat by a team that "might be the most overrated No. 17 team in American football history" as quoted David Ramsey from the Colorado Springs Gazette Sports Columnist. Yes, the Falcons put up a fight and threw up a few points on the board. Air Force senior Todd Newell (5.10/210) was the cadets highlight who had 21 carries for 116 yards and 1 TD. The 38-24 loss to BU drops the falcons to 8-3 and 5-2 in the conference. On the other hand the Cougs can still control their destiny with a 10-1 overall record (6-1 in MWC play). The jerseys in blue have now won 22 of 23 MWC games and have claimed 5 straight wins over the cadets. Overrated? Max Hall was 28 of 37 for 354 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Unga (despite playing with a stinger) carried the rock 19 times for 88 yards and 2 TDs. Pitta reeled off 9 receptions for 113 yards while Austin torched the cadet secondary 7 times for 130 yards with 2 TDs and a halftime pep talk. By the way the Falcons now drop to 14-62-4 against "ranked" teams. So David Ramsey if you are out there, you tell me who's overrated?

Clutch Cummard

Inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center the Cougars tusseled with the Long Beach State 49ers en route to a hard fought 75-65 victory. From the Sporting News Mike DeCourcy put together his top 10 list of small forwards which included Lee "Clutch" Cummard. Last nite showed why. Lee carried the Cougs scoring 22 of the blue jerseys first 31 points. Cummard does it all showing his versatility. In 36 minutes Lee had 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists even included 3 blocks. The Cougs were also able to shut down Donovan Morris holding him to 13 points. Tavernari added 19 points, 7 rebs and 5 assists while Miles had 9 points and 6 rebs. Next up the Cougs will head tuesday to Pepperdine. (Photo Credit Douglas C Pizac)

Quest For Perfection

Failure was not an option. In the final home game of the season the 15th ranked Cougars "Quest For Perfection" remained alive at least in defending its home territory over three seasons with 18 total wins by thumping on turnover prone San Diego State. The Aztecs came into saturdays contest nationally ranked 119th and its performance showed why (keep in mind only 7 Aztecs have been able to start all 10 games). Senior receiver Michael Reed said "Not too many teams across the country can say they've done what we've done". David Nixon experienced his last home game of the year as well and went out in style. Nixon went sideline to sideline registering a career high 14 tackles as well as an INT. The cougar defense played rather well gathering three fumble recoveries and an interception. (Photo Credit Jeffrey D Allred)

Taking snaps behind center Max was all business. Hall had yet another efficent day at the office throwing for 317 yards 3 TDs and no INTs with an end result of another team "W" including a 205 QB rating. Max found Collie 9 times for 127 yards with 2 TDs. It was Austin's 14th career 100yard receiving game and I'm sure it won't be his last.

High five needs to go Andrew Rich who filled in rather nicely for Brandon Howard considering he hasn't played that position. Mitch Payne seems to be bouncing back from a rough year last year. Mitch has made 39 of 41 PATS this year while hitting 6 of 8 FG attempts (21, 25, 26, 30, 39, 44). Harvey Unga ran 11 times for only 37 yards leaving the game with a shoulder stinger and did not return. On games like this I would have especially liked to see Chambers and Diluigi get more PT but due to the "senior day" I assume Latu took JJ's reps. With the loss San Diego State now has lost 12 of its last 13 games overall. The cougars will next travel to face Air Force (8-2) this saturday at 1PM.

Another "Tight End" -ing

Saturday evening the jerseys in blue escaped Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins with yet another tight ending (45-42). The cougs have now won 5 consecutive games against CSU. BYU continues to somehow roll in wining its eighth straight game decided within a TD margin or less. It wasn't pretty (teams combined for 14 total penalties) but good teams find a way to work their way through adversity when the chips are down.

With the regular starting secondary practically missing it seemed like deja vu all over again for the Cougs back to the old WAC shootout days. Tafuna did not play still dealing with his dislocated shoulder. Scotty Johnson left the game (groin pull) and did not return. Bradley also was injured while playing (bruise to the shin). Backup Shiloah Teo did not travel still recovering from his bell ringer. Can't blame the rams for doing some traveling through the air (270 yards on the night through the arms of Farris and one nifty throw from Morton).

With a number of NFL scouts present the stars came out. Max, Pitta, Unga, Collie, and even John Beck (visiting on the sidelines with former Cougar John Denney) made their presence known. Max provided another efficient night at the office (214.7 efficiency rating) completing 28 receptions for 389 yards with 5 TDs and 1 INT. Hall spread the wealth again to 8 different receivers. Unga did his work bruising for 133 yards on the ground. Pitta also showed why he's among the best in the nation at tight end. Dennis snagged 12 catches for 175 yards including 2 TDs. His 2nd TD pretty much sealed the deal with 22 seconds left. Collie came into the game as the nations leading receiver and posted yet his 7th straight 100yd receiving game (9 catches for 156 yards) with 3 TDs. Jorgensen had two sacks becoming the MWC All Time Sack Leader (record now at 22.5 sacks). One can only wonder how many close games the Cougars can grit through. The jerseys in blue return home to matchup against San Diego State in a game that will be televised November 8th on "The MTN" at high noon.

Fui's Field

Saturday the jerseys in blue successfully defended its territory at Lavell Edwards Stadium in a slugfest to remain undefeated against UNLV (4-0) under Bronco Mendenhall in its 11th straight home sellout. Good ole #9 (Austin Collie) got things quickly rollin with a 75 yard opening kickoff return breaking this seasons previous high of 51 when O'neill Chambers took some serious chunks of yards off the field against Northern Iowa. Marching down a short field Max Hall completed his opening drive with a 8 yard TD completion to Andrew George placing the Cougars on the board first. (Photo Credit goes to Scott G Winterton)

On the day Hall had an efficient day "at the office". Max threw for 4 TDs with no INTs on 30 attempts with 24 receptions putting him at a 186.4 efficiency rating (per Wrubell). It was definately gratifying to see Hall spread the wealth around (9 different receivers) while making the most of the Cougars opportunities. BYU was perfect 6 of 6 in the "blue" zone.

After the dust had finally settled from the matchup the receiving corps had amassed 247 yards. Collie had yet another phenomenal game dissecting the rebel secondary in his 6th straight 100 yard receiving contest (113 for the record). Late in the 1st quarter O'neill Chambers caught his first TD (I'd assume/hope there will be MANY more to come as well) as a Cougar on 20 yd pass from Hall. Reed caught 5 for 71 yards even blocking for a Max Hall 31 yard scamper in the second quarter. Although, Pitta seemed to be AWOL until the forth quarter when he grabbed a 6 yard TD pass. Kudos to the coaching staff for opening the playbook (reverse, Collie pass to Reed, etc) even just a little bit more than usual. Always nice to keep defenses honest on their heels not knowing what to expect. (Photo Credit goes to Scott G Winterton)

While the road graters in the offensive trenches were busy clearing the paths the ground game was a beautiful site to see. Di Luigi was able to add a phenomenal block. Harvey bruised for 82 yards with solo TD. It seemed like the spotlight though was on Fui. Concerning his OL Fui mentioned "They just exploded and the holes were just right there. You could fit an elephant through that". Vakapuna on the ground bulldozed for 71 yards on the day including a TD reception.

For the day the special teams were more than adequate although there is always room for improvement. Freshman Bryan Kariya was able to block a punt allowing the Cougars to capitalize. Santiago had a beautiful punt pinning UNLV deep in its own territory. Payne drilled 2 field goals while his PATs were 4 of 4 perfect. On the other hand there were too many short field's for the rebels from kickoffs heading out of bounds.

Between the 20s the defensive clamps came down on Frank "The Tank" only allowing 32 yards on the day. However, in its place Omar Clayton threw for over 350 yards up and down the field on the "bend don't break" defense. It took a sack by Matt "The Stork" Putnam on Clayton and a desperation heave INT by Andrew Rich in the south endzone as the final seconds ticked off the clock to stop the bleeding. Afterwards Coach Sanford acknowledged "We just didn't make enough plays. Unfortunately, that's been a recurring theme" his rebels shortcoming giving them their 4th straight loss.

Next week the Cougs travel to the rocky mountain state and will take on pesky Colorado State and new coach Steve Fairchild at 4 pm in a matchup that will be televised on "The Mountain". Fairchild served as the OC for the Buffalo Bills the last two years. BYU is 36 and 27 overall against the rams in a series that began back in 1922.

Asleep At The Wheel

It has been said everything is bigger and better in the state of Texas. Much like the movie "The Fast And The Furious" so were the TCU horned frogs. You can teach fundamentals but you can't teach speed. The Cougars experienced those things first hand in an absolute thrashing 32-7 at the hands of TCU. No matter where the Cougs turned there were purple jerseys to the right and to the left. It was like BYU was asleep at the wheel. TCU pressed hard, they pressed fast and they were furious. The frogs were relentless continually coming from all directions. The purple jerseys scored on their first three drives (twice after turnovers)and never let up on the throttle. There's no way around it. It was just plain ugly. With the loss to TCU is decimates any cougar BCS dreams whatsoever and ends a 16 game win streak. In fact, BYU may not even win the conference now. It was the worst loss since the 2005 Irish smack down at the hands of Notre Dame (49-23) in South Bend.

In the center of all the mayhem for the Cougs performance was Max Hall. Of which he said "The bottom line is they were strong and they forced me into some bad situations.....anytime you lose a game like that its tough and I take a lot of responsibility for this game". It was definately not Hall's "max"-imum performance. BYU had 4 turnovers all of which went through Max's hands at one point or another (2 INTs and 2 sacks resulting in fumbles). On the season it was also Halls worst QB rating (97.6) thus far. One can't completely place the blame on Hall shoulders. In the contest the OL allowed an obscene amount of 6 sacks. It was like the TCU gift that kept on giving. Had heard there were a number of pro scouts present taking notes. That's not exactly a way to make a great impression. Anytime a team has 4 TOs and 6 sacks there's no question it will always be an extreme uphill battle. Credit the frogs for their dominating smothering performance. Former high school QB Jeremy Kerley mentioned "You want to come with a surprise against a team like that. We were more explosive, caught them off guard". That's exactly what was accomplished. Much of the night it seemed the jerseys in blue were like deer in headlights. According to TCU coach Gary Patterson "Nobody has been able to do that to BYU for a couple of years". The purple jerseys were even able to hold the Cougs to 23 rushing yards total.

Of the Cougar big guns Unga had 4 catches out of the backfield for 40 yards with 14 carries for 53 yards (WELL under his average) Collie continued making magic eluding his defenders with his 5th consecutive 100 yard receiving game (116 to be exact). Pitta added 8 more catches for 84 yards. TCU rushed for an insane 240 yards and the purple jerseys even made Andy Dalton look like a efficient stellar QB (2 TDs 0 INTs throwing 12 of 19 for 170 yards) abusing Brandon Howard the entire night.

Before the dust even begins to settle the jerseys in blue must go back to the drawing board, take inventory, learn from the past and start preparing for the future when UNLV when heads into town on the 25th. Even though the BCS hopes might be dashed the season certainly isn't over. With 5 games on the schedule and 1 bowl game there is plenty of football left to be played. The days might seem dark to us now but what lies in the future is still definately bright.

Fan-tastic Football

With 64,105 fantastic fans in attendance at Lavell Edwards stadium saturday the Cougars fought and scrapped its way in a shortened game (2 HR 36 MIN) to a 21-3 victory. It was the 57th meeting between the two schools and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 16 straight games. The series began in 1951 and since 1965 the Cougs have won 37 of 43. Saturdays matchup with New Mexico was BYUs 10 straight sellout and gave the Cougs bowl eligibility. (Photo credit goes to Brian Nicholson from the Deseret News)

Alumni Chris Hoke (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and current player junior linebacker Matt Bauman led the team onto the field as flag bearers. The Cougs were able to win the coin toss and elected to defer. With New Mexico taking the field first the Lobos were able to score first on a James Aho 27 yard FG. The Lobos were also able to hold the jerseys in blue scoreless in the opening quarter. New Mexico ran the ball much of the game for 144 bruising yards keeping the Cougar offensive machine off the field much of the day. Thus the Lobo gameplan worked rather efficiently running clock (32:32 for Lobo time of possession) and limiting opponent offensive opportunities.

When given the chance on the field to take care of business Max Hall began working the defense ultimately distributing to five different receivers one of which included 3 receptions to junior tight end Andrew George (2 of which went for TDs). Amazingly through 6 games while providing more than ample protection for Hall the OL has still yet to have a single holding penalty. Hall finished with only 258 yards but threw efficiently for 3 TDs en route to another Cougar hard fought victory while posting a 159.3 QB rating (per Greg Wrubell). Austin continued to make his magic happen dissecting the Lobo defense with 9 catches on the day for 155 yards and 1 TD. Collie's 155 receiving yards was his fourth straight 100 yard game.

Harvey was able to bruise his way to nearly yet another 100 yard game. The cougars ground game collectively finished with 122 yards and was the 14th consecutive win when rushing for over 100 yards.

With the Cougars lowest offensive output of the season it was more of a defensive struggle. Lobo coach Rocky Long mentioned "We came here to win, we didn't come to keep it close". It was exactly as Bronco described it "It's a great win for our football team because of the way it came, hard fought inch by inch foot by foot". The defensive jerseys in blue came up big in many ways as the tackles piled up. Both David Nixon, Jan Jorgensen had 11 tackles. Nixon, the stellar senior linebacker from College Station had 2 of those for losses. Kellen Fowler and Scott Johnson both accumulated 10 tackles each. The Cougars held Rodney Ferguson (the conference's 2nd leading rusher) to only 90 yards. Jan Jorgensen said it well "We're definately happy with that defense. To hold them to three points that's what most important". The jerseys in blue created two turnovers and opportunities. David Tafuna was the recipient of a tipped pass INT and Jorgensen snagged up a fumble.

Overall the Cougs took the Lobos best shot while defending its home turf. Postgame Rocky was rather bitter complaining about officiating rather than giving credit where it was due. With another Cougars victory they took another step forward towards the BCS quest stating their case. Now whether the BCS pollsters stand by them could be another story.

Cache-ing In

Friday evening the Cougars didn't waste any time pouncing all over the Aggies "cache-ing in" on running up to an early 24-0 lead. After that it got ugly with Utah State outscoring the #7 team in the nation 14-10 in the remaining three quarters of play. The Cougars (as much as it pains me to say this) simply played uninspired football. Poor tackling, penalties (13, most penalties since Tulsa last year), turnovers, sloppy execution, and out of sync (Cougs simply lost their focus and composure after the first quarter) were all attributes that were so painfully present coming back from their bye week. Somehow as odd as it sounds through it all the jerseys in blue from "Happy Valley" found a way to hang on to win by 20.

Prior to friday night Max Hall looked unstoppable like a Heisman Candidate machine reading defenses, making audibles then picking them apart with the weapons at his disposal. Friday's performance definately didn't contribute to Max's resume in likely his worst outing of the year maybe even since the passing of the torch from Beck to Hall. With Pitta often double teamed Max often locked onto his security "Austin" blanket who was able to shred the Aggie secondary for 8 receptions 132 yards and 2 TDs. Collie has been padding his stats now for the year with 7 TDs in 5 games. It was painfully obvious how much a prime secondary target like Reed has been sorely missed. Locking onto receivers and forcing into coverage Hall was only able to muster barely 300 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs against a team what could have been ranked in ESPNs "the bottom 10".

The ground game just simply wasn't there friday. Unga was able to punch one in from the 11 yard line but finished with only 86 yards. Slated against the Aggies who were 2-10 last year I would have expected more from Fui and Harvey.

Ashworth, Chambers, and Kozlowski all had solo receptions. It would have been nice to spread the rock around more but Max rarely looked their way for whatever reasons (timing? confidence?). Pitta was rather productive despite the low numbers (6 catches for 70 yards) but seemed to absolutely disappear after half. Collie, Ashworth, and Pitta all had dropped passes. Not sure what the issue what (concentration, trust, mindset or what).

The hogs in the trenches provided somewhat decent protection against last year's worst WAC defense. Although the pass blocking seemed shaky at times giving up the second sack of the year with NFL scouts present.

The line for the Cougars defense stood strong all night beginning with Brett Denney and Jan Jorgensen. As a defense the Cougs collectively had 13 tackles for losses providing 5 sacks and 3 fumbles. David Nixon said it best "That's our main goal to create turnovers and give our offense a short field". The linebacking corps forced turnovers early but as the game wore on missed too many tackles. Hopefully the re-emergence of Hooks into the linebacking crew will breath some more life and consistency. In the secondary Brandon Bradley continues to get better every game. On special team Santiago was only able to average 42 yards per punt while Mitch was simply a "Payne" to watch missing 2 of 4 FGs. After the game Jan Jorgensen mentioned "A win is great but it was ugly. We've got a lot of things to work on". Aggie coach Brent Guy gave the Cougs some love "They capitalized like a top 10 will do".

Both Scott Johnson and David Nixon left the game nursing injuries. Scott had a thigh contusion while Nixon's looked worse with a helmet to the shin. Nixon and Johnson will be closely monitored day by day but probably will be available. Monday should be able to provide a better indication on their status. Shout out to ESPN and the other sports media outlets for the national press that was only able to see how the Cougs dominated early and often in a positive reporting spin. Hopefully this won't affect our national ranking that much. With a weaker ranked strength of schedule the Cougs gotta take care of business in a major way. Luckily there is a big difference between a humbling win than a humbling loss. Still on track undefeated marching to the BCS goal. Look for Bronco to pull the Cougars together in the den and begin focus back to the fundamentals and the Lobos.

Crum-y Rodeo

Saturday's defensive display by the Cougars began on Wyoming's first drive when they quickly found the scoreboard. For the lasso'd cowboys it was all downhill from there. Sophomore quarterback Dax Crum began methodically directing his offense down the field. When he threw to his receiver Greg Bolling it was tipped and with Scott Johnson's heads up play who snagged the football like a cookie and ran in the lateral 58 yards putting the Cougars in the scoring column. At that point the defensive shutout and show was on. It began the Cougar's first back to back shutouts in 23 years. The only remaining question would be at what point would Bronco eventually pull the starters (I think I recall hearing Max ordering a large pepperoni, olives and mushrooms late in the third quarter). That afternoon the Cougars feasted on turnovers. When the Cowboys (or any opponent) gives up a cookie six times (3 INTs and 3 fumbles) it pretty much will cement that kind of defensive success. It was also the eighth straight sellout at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

With a slow start it wasn't until midway through the second quarter that Max Hall and his compadres finally began adding their ingredients onto the scoreboard when Unga capped off a 13 play drive covering 86 yards. Harvey bruised his way to another 100+ yards on the ground (103) good for a 5.2 average with cover provided by his personal assistant Vakapuna paving the way (man its great to have Fui back!). Hall continue to pad his efficent numbers to his stats with 3 more TDs on only 26 attempts. Through four games, much like the 7/11 convenient store, the phenomenal offensive line have protected Max not allowing one sack allowing time for his receivers to be open all day. Hall's highlight was completely in sync with a pass completion to Austin Collie covering 62 yards stride for stride. Giving credit to his defense Austin said "The defense is unbelievable. It's the reason why we are winning games".

Obviously the Cougar "D" was the highlight of "The Rodeo" saturday afternoon in protecting their home turf in their fourteenth consecutive win. The blue jerseys held the cowboy dynamic senior duo of Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon to an unheard of 1.2 average yards per carry while forcing the 6 turnovers. David Nixon grabbed himself a 19 yard INT returned for a TD late in the third quarter and added his thoughts "Anytime you get that momentum and emotion on your side it's going to be a good day. College football is all about emotion". Reserve defensive back Jordan Pendleton got hooked up with an INT as well. Snow College transfer Andrew Rich got into the action with a slobber knocker hit on Devin Moore taking him out of the contest midway through the fourth quarter. Linebacker Matt Bauman reiterated the same thoughts as Nixon in "We got the momentum and so much of the game is about momentum". The cowboys last two trecks westward along the trail to LES have been an absolute nightmare in a combined 99 to 7 shellacking.

After the game Coach Glenn said of the turnovers and defense "That's pathetic. We can't do that to ourselves. They're a real good football team and took advantage of all our mistakes. I appreciate the coaching calling off the dogs". Definately classy words from a coach who has a good chance of being unemployed two months from now. Cowboy receiver Greg Bolling added his two cents "That's a good defense that we went against today. If you shoot yourself in the foot BYU will get to you." At 44 to nothing (and back to back shutouts) one might say that defensive coach Jaime has done a "Hill" of a job. The shutout gave the Cougars a perfect 4-0 record and they will now have a bye week to rest before heading to Logan to grab some aggie ice cream and take on Utah State.