Good news for BYU fans:
Basketball season is just around the corner.
Now, let's talk football. BYU fans are left with a similar bad taste in their mouth again this season. BYU has lost multiple games where it could easily be argued that they were the better team. Again. Some years, it's argued that the inability of the D to get a crucial 3rd down stop or a big play given up by the D cost them games in which they outplayed their opponent. This year, the blame rests mostly on a non-throwing QB and a young and learning offensive coordinator. And Bronco because he went for two...but seriously, BYU outplayed Utah for most of the game, other than a 2-minute stretch in the 3rd quarter. BYU's D was absolutely dominant against Boise State but Riley Nelson held the O back for 2.5 quarters and it took Taysom Hill too long to get acclimated to game speed. Oregon State, well, I'm not going to go there. That's a good team. BYU was not the better team that day or any day, yet, they still had a chance to win. BYU played well against ND until the 4th quarter really, and even then, they were one errant throw away from winning that game.
BUT...Utah is clearly not good, and BYU still lost to them. Boise State is certainly in rebuilding mode and BYU lost to them. Notre Dame (and the entire nation) is about to get a reality check about how "good" the Irish really are. [Hint, they are not a top 5 team.] And BYU lost to them too after controlling play for 45 minutes. A great team wins 2 of those games, if not all three. A truly good team pulls one of them out. So, BYU, which isn't any worse than any of the teams they lost to, isn't good either. Where does BYU go from here? Nowhere. They go 7-5 and play in the Poinsettia Bowl where they'll get an MWC team itching to get some revenge on the Cougars for leaving them high and dry...BYU clearly has good enough talent to compete, so what is the issue? This season, well, there was no playmaker to go out and get it done in the 4th quarter when it needed to get done. Not at QB, not at FS, not at RB. Is that coaching or the honor code and its recruiting restrictions? Meh...I'm too tired to get into that debate!
Basketball Expectations
I had very high expectations coming into August for BYU's hoopsters. Now they have lost two significant contributors for their careers, with Chris Collinsworth and Stephen Rogers "retiring" due to injury. (BYU will also need to get out and recruit more players for next year's team as Coach Rose clearly had plans, roster spots, and scholarships for the two guys.)
This is still a very good team, no doubt. But even very good teams will struggle in February and March without depth. I have no worries that the top 7 will be about as good as any of their opponents' top 7. But the dropoff at 8, 9, and 10 is too big. With that said, BYU is very guard-oriented with a great, but foul-prone, big man. That could be a recipe for a few wins in the NCAA Tournament. The question is: can they have the February they need to get invited? One injury or one "big" in foul trouble can put them behind the 8-ball in a lot of games.
We shall see what the future holds for BYU hoops, but I think they'll start strong before a late January and February swoon. It's just a numbers game, and they are stacked against the Cougars this season. 12-3 is about as bad as I think the Cougars do in the non-conference schedule, and I could see a lot of scenarios where they do even better than that. I have no idea what to expect in conference play though, but I think it's probably closer to 10-6 than it is to 13-3. Make no mistake, those injuries will loom large as BYU otherwise was positioned quite well in the WCC. I think they even had a chance for a serious run in the NCAA's. Now, any serious run would have to come in the NIT, and even that's a stretch if they don't get a high seed and home games.
So what do BYU fans really have to look forward to at this point (since I've played the role of Debbie Downer tonight)? Well, November will be a good month for both BYU teams. A much better month than it will be for Utah, that's for dang sure...
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