The last Holy War between BYU and Utah (until 2016) played out last night and it did not disappoint (unless you were a BYU fan...like me). It makes 7 of the last 9 contests that have come down to the final play.
Rivalry games are about passion. The players' passion overshadows all the build up, the line, the talent, the experience, the series record, and the coaching staff. The players with passion win - and Utah has had that 14 of the last 20 years. Good local comments from Brad Rock.
BYU was favored, I thought they had their best chance in years, and yet they came up short. They made the Texas game look like a fluke. They were back to their 2012 habits of being predictive and not making adjustments. It's been a few tough years as a Cougar fan...and I don't see changes coming.
Whittingham has Mendenhall's number. It doesn't matter who has the best players or best record or best ranking, Kyle just knows how to win against BYU (he's 6 - 3 against Bronco). BYU executed a great game plan against Texas, they had two weeks to prepare for this one, yet they still came out and stuck to a non-working game plan. No one to blame but themselves (and Anae). And don't blame the refs, either...
Granted - the officiating was odd. As a spectator from the stands I'll not second guess what they are seeing because they have to make split-second calls in real-time. However, I was aghast at what I saw from the stands on this play (there is a reason it is already on YouTube). Two TDs called back, missed interference calls and late whistles were all curious indeed, but heaven forbid that be used as an excuse for losing. Every team, probably every year, faces some officiating fiasco. I don't believe any team really loses a game over poor officiating (OK...well maybe...like the infamous 5th down given to Colorado in 1990). Officiators, good or bad, are part of the game and good teams deal with it ... the not so good teams whine and use it as an excuse for years to come. No doubt the officiating from this game will be coffee break (or water-cooler) fodder for years to come in Provo.
E N D - Z O N E
Don't give me that crap about playing bad teams and and no other choice what not (see HERE). Ohio State and others ran up the score Saturday on a few teams for no good reason. Urban "Whiner" Meyer was back to his old ways of making teams look bad while thinking it makes his team look good. Call it "practice" or "warm up" or "testing out the 3rd string" or whatever you want. But up 55 - 0 at half (due to six TD passes) and you pour on another 22 the 2nd half? All the while padding stats and setting new school records? That's just wrong.
I do give kudos to a few (see HERE) who stepped up and did the right thing and eased the pain a bit. And I give kudos to FBS schools who do play FCS teams (unlike USC and ND) because it provides those programs some much needed cash.
Rivalry games are about passion. The players' passion overshadows all the build up, the line, the talent, the experience, the series record, and the coaching staff. The players with passion win - and Utah has had that 14 of the last 20 years. Good local comments from Brad Rock.BYU was favored, I thought they had their best chance in years, and yet they came up short. They made the Texas game look like a fluke. They were back to their 2012 habits of being predictive and not making adjustments. It's been a few tough years as a Cougar fan...and I don't see changes coming.
Whittingham has Mendenhall's number. It doesn't matter who has the best players or best record or best ranking, Kyle just knows how to win against BYU (he's 6 - 3 against Bronco). BYU executed a great game plan against Texas, they had two weeks to prepare for this one, yet they still came out and stuck to a non-working game plan. No one to blame but themselves (and Anae). And don't blame the refs, either...
Granted - the officiating was odd. As a spectator from the stands I'll not second guess what they are seeing because they have to make split-second calls in real-time. However, I was aghast at what I saw from the stands on this play (there is a reason it is already on YouTube). Two TDs called back, missed interference calls and late whistles were all curious indeed, but heaven forbid that be used as an excuse for losing. Every team, probably every year, faces some officiating fiasco. I don't believe any team really loses a game over poor officiating (OK...well maybe...like the infamous 5th down given to Colorado in 1990). Officiators, good or bad, are part of the game and good teams deal with it ... the not so good teams whine and use it as an excuse for years to come. No doubt the officiating from this game will be coffee break (or water-cooler) fodder for years to come in Provo.E N D - Z O N E
Don't give me that crap about playing bad teams and and no other choice what not (see HERE). Ohio State and others ran up the score Saturday on a few teams for no good reason. Urban "Whiner" Meyer was back to his old ways of making teams look bad while thinking it makes his team look good. Call it "practice" or "warm up" or "testing out the 3rd string" or whatever you want. But up 55 - 0 at half (due to six TD passes) and you pour on another 22 the 2nd half? All the while padding stats and setting new school records? That's just wrong.
I do give kudos to a few (see HERE) who stepped up and did the right thing and eased the pain a bit. And I give kudos to FBS schools who do play FCS teams (unlike USC and ND) because it provides those programs some much needed cash.