Thursday Thoughts, 9/15/2011

Shame on the Pac 12
It just doesn't seem right that Utah-BYU is being played already.  I just can't get my head around the fact that rivalry week is upon us so quickly.  Now, I never did put much stock into the rivalry, I never got heated or agitated or overly excited like most fans in the rivalry do.  However, there was still some build-up, enthusiasm, etc. with the game played as the last regular season game that is missing, and not because conference titles were on the line, because, frankly, they weren't really on the line all that much (TCU had the MWCwrapped up, or Utah had it wrapped up, or BYU had it wrapped up before the game was played, so it didn't really matter as much as people like to say it did).  That is all definitely gone this season.  The reason behind the game being played so early: the Pac 12 said so.  The Pac 12 told Utah that it must complete all of its non-conference games in September.  It's just sad that they have taken such a rigid stance on non-conference games.

Upon further review: Utah is really the only school having this Pac 12 policy forced on them.  USC and Stanford both have games scheduled with Notre Dame (another independent) for the next five years in October and November.  Arizona plays a non-conference game in November this season.  Arizona State has several future October non-conference games.  Oregon State recently changed their 2012 game against BYU from September to October.  Yet the Pac 12 will not allow Utah and BYU to play their game after September.  This is another one of the puzzling things the Pac 12 has done towards its own member institution, Utah.  It also adds to the not-so-puzzling puzzle about why they continue to treat to BYU with contempt.  There are some aspects of college football that are made for November: Stanford/USC-Notre Dame, Michigan-Ohio State, Florida-Florida State, and BYU-Utah.  I hope the Pac 12 will lighten their stance on this and allow the game to take place around Thanksgiving.  Given their history of treatment towards Utah and BYU, I don't see it happening, and we'll be forced into this madness until it becomes normal and we forget the good old days!

Consequently, does anybody remember the last time the BYU-Utah game was played with BOTH teams coming off of a loss?  I've gone back to 2001, so it's been at least that long.  Crazy to think about.  A lot of history around this game...

Running The Ball
A lot has been made this week about the lack of running game that BYU has had.  I have criticized it too, because BYU is supposed to be "above" it, or at least talked about being above it.  Every year, BYU has a "great" offensive line: big, physical, experienced, talented.  Every year, BYU's running attack piles up yards.  At least against MWC foes not named TCU and Utah and non-conference foes from non-BCS leagues.  The fact of the matter is: BYU has struggled running the ball against BCS conference opponents, and good non-BCS defenses since forever ago.  Just looking at the last two seasons, the statistics are a bit overwhelming.  Against BCS conference opponents and Utah/TCU, BYU averaged just 93 yards per game.  On the road or at neutral sites, that number drops to 68 yards per game.  So it shouldn't be surprising that BYU has averaged just 67 yards per game on the ground so far this season.  (BYU averages 191 yards/game against "other" teams over the same span).

I wouldn't expect the running game to turn around this week.  In fact, I wouldn't expect it to fully "turn around" until the September 30th game against Utah State ("turn around" means starts playing worse defenses).  The past two games against Utah, BYU has averaged 98 yards/game.  I would anticipate BYU to get over the century mark this Saturday (last two home games against Utah, BYU is averaging 143 yards), but BYU fans shouldn't be expecting a 200-yard effort, unless BYU gets out to an early lead and shortens the game by running the football.  And does so successfully.

BYU just doesn't run well against big, athletic front sevens.  Their running attack requires picking on someone not their own size.  It requires playing at home.  It requires a balanced offense.  Against Utah, they only one of those I see is that the game is at home.  Utah is big and fast.  Right now there is no balance to the O because there is nothing happening with the offense at all.  Heaps is playing "scared" and Doman is calling "scared" right now.  So yes, I expect BYU to have 5 or 6 200-yard rushing games, but that won't start this week.  They need to do it against the opponents that matter, but history is not on their side.

Expansion Madness
All kinds of rumors floating around surrounding expansion: Missouri could end up in the Big Ten, Big East, ACC, or the Big XII in some form.  That's quite a spectrum for just ONE team.  Who knew that the Longhorn Network would change the entire landscape of college football.  If the Big XII goes down, there is nothing left but a shift to four 16-team superconferences.  College football will lose something if that happens.

My guess is that if it goes to 16, it's only for a short while.  I cannot articulate this very well, but I shall try.  Conference championships, all-conference teams, etc. mean a lot in college football.  After this mess ensues, Division I-A will go from 11 conferences to probably 8, maybe to as few as 7.  That means each season 3 or 4 fewer teams will win conference titles.  At least 100 fewer players will make all-conference teams.  A lot of what makes college football great (or what makes it college football) will be sacrificed for a few extra bucks.

The bottom half of BCS conferences will never compete for another conference title, not even when they have a great season.  Washington State may return to early 2000's form again, and may be able to pull off an upset of Oregon or Stanford, or USC, but not Oregon, Stanford, USC, Texas, and Oklahoma, with one of those having to come in a Conference Title game.  It puts too many things too far out of reach.  It is unlikely to create long-term stability.  That cannot be achieved when success is out of reach for so many schools.  It will completely decimate non-BCS leagues as well, but that's a topic for another day, and a whole can of worms on its own.

Independence is BlYss
Bronco said something in his radio show last night that should get BYU fans excited.  If you can pull up the audio it's 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the audio.  He said "we'll try to schedule as many good [opponents] as we can in the probably most hostile settings on the biggest stage because it's BYU football and that's what I think we want to do.  How about that!"  Having been to Ole Miss and Texas, having watched the games (on DVR) on ESPN and ESPN2, I can verify that they are playing pretty good opponents in hostile environments on big stages.  The stage would be bigger if BYU were a bit better team right now.  They are working towards that.  Next year, if BYU played this year's schedule, a lot of their games would be "feature" games.  It's up to BYU to make their games matter now: they chart their own path.  Isn't that what Independence is all about?  Isn't that what makes Independence great?

Rivalry Thoughts
Anyone have anything they want to share about the rivalry?  To be honest, growing up, I didn't know I was supposed to hate Utah.  I didn't learn that until I showed up at BYU.  Now that I'm not there any more, I have reverted back to my childhood innocence.  I don't care much for the rivalry.  I don't mind if Utah is successful, especially now that BYU is Independent.  But some of you, I'm sure, have great stories to share.  Pray tell!