UCLA Should Roll BYU

I gotta tell you the play that has stuck with me most since Saturday is the flea flicker.  That play means more to me than the 5 passing TDs or Bell's great game.  It shows that maybe we are going to have a fun offense this year.  The fact that it looked great and worked great is a bonus; just the fact that they called is was huge.

So, I am going to be real pumped on Saturday.  I am going to be loud on defense, especially on third downs.  Believe me, I have a voice that carries.  I expect a good crowd, not Cal or ND size, but this is a good year so far.  Albeit, very early we are ranked, won our opener in good style and put up good offensive numbers in our opener.  Now, I know that it was against Stanford; but people will be excited.

I expect the Rose Bowl to be real loud for BYU third downs.  I expect our defense to want to show that they are better than they showed last week.  I expect Olsen to be more on the mark this week.  I expect Bell to have another great game.  I expect Markey to still get caught early and go down on first contact.

I will be optimistic, but cautious.  That is why I voted for the 15-20 point win in the poll.  I hope for a bigger victory, but 17 points sound about right to me.  Believe me, I would like a BIG blowout, like 49-10 or something like that.  But I don't see it.  Let's say a 17 point win where it felt like more, maybe because BYU points came late in the game.  I don't know.

BTW, I think it's going to be around 90 degrees out there so if your going bring plenty of water and something to cool off with.

Bottom line, as Ajax put it, this guy is delusional.  They might beat us - who knows.  There is that other factor that has been mentioned from time to time, but which we will let pass in light of a good win over a bad Stanfurd team.  That particular factor is the only one that might get them a victory.  But in my opinion, the likelihood that they will beat us is quite remote because our team is more talented than their team.  

And in a one on one fight between the quarterbacks, I'll take ours.

I can't make it to the game on Saturday (it's too long a commute.)  But I hope there is a sea of Bruin Blue and noise like never before.  We've been saying it about the team, but there has to be a challenge to all Bruin fans.  If you think you're a fan, then get to the Rose Bowl.  Why not you, and why not now to anyone who considers staying home.  How about 80,000 plus, and LOTS of noise.

  Here's to getting to hear the victory bell again after Bruin touchdowns.

If "destroy" is a 20+ win with the outcome not in doubt after 3 quarters -- then if we destroy BYU, I'll be surprised.  That team is confident, has older players, and a good O-line.  They have WR & RB with some real talent, and a good linebacking corp.  

UCLA doesn't have the pure team speed to make blowing a team like this out a guarantee.  UCLA has better athletes for sure, but our gap is that we need pure burners at the skill positions via recruiting.

I really hope I'm wrong -- I was at the Freedom Bowl where Gaston Green ran all over the Cougars.  And I was there when Wayne Cook & team really humiliated them.  I'd love to see a strong, confident win led by good execution on O and a strong, stout defense marked by solid tackling.

But I'll be happy with just the W and leave the style points based purely on the scoreboard for some other day.  Speaking of which, I'm pleasantly surprised people aren't ripping the coaches for the run-heavy attack Saturday -- if its working, stick with it.  

But Sports can be surprising.  Our fine basketball program doesn't always destroy inferior opponents.  So lets go 2-0 and the polls will follow if the Bruins keep winning.

Hey, this isn't meant to be an antagonistic comment, but I was noticing that both the Vegas oddsmakers and the Offshore bookies are both pitting UCLA as only a 7 point favorite.  I think it's funny that all of us UCLA fan posts are predicting a huge win, a blowout of "at LEAST 2 touchdowns" as one person has said here.  And yet, if you want to REALLY see what the statistics show about the upcoming game, check the odds.  UCLA will probably win, but neutral parties are really predicting a close game.  

Now for another soapbox moment.  To point out that BYU is 1-6 against UCLA is ridiculous.  Those were different teams, different times, different players, different coaches.  There's no comparison.  Saying BYU is 1-12 in road games against ranked opponents since '99 is a much more telling statement.  Still, their coaching staff has only been around for the last 2 years (this being the third), so even those stats aren't as important as current trends.  Last year, BYU was 1-1 against ranked teams on the road.  

Finally, to say that BYU has to have a "dominating" win, or to have more "plays over 20 yards" is ridiculous.  A win is a win, a first down is a first down, and UCLA would be stupid to overlook that.  

UCLA will probably win this one, but the game is going to be a lot closer than the embarassing arrogance of this article supposes.  

What would be truly embarrassing is to merely eek out a win this Saturday.

1. On paper UCLA should win but sometimes the better team on paper doesn't win (last year you beat USC and as a good friend said who lives in Camarillo at the BYU game last Saturday...UCLA has the 2nd best athletes in LA; USC gets whoever they want); by the way USC came to Utah and stole Havili from us but that is OK because it's great when LDS athletes go to other great programs
   
2. We are ranked #10 in the ESPN top 10 defenses in the country (you are #8); wow, that is pretty amazing in itself; so our defenses are close; but if that is the case, our offense should be in the top 10 also because even though we lost Beck (Dolphins), Brown, Harline & Coats (Bengals), our OL is better and according to Coach Weber who is our OL coach and used to be the same with you, is one of the best in the country and our RB's, TE's & WR's are comparable to last year; so that leaves the QB - Hall is not at Beck's level yet but is playing within himself and does not have to be the game winner
   
3. Even though someone said you are a 7 point favorite there are other odds makers who have you at 4.5; take away 3 for home field advantage and we are somewhere between 4 - 1.5 depending on whose odds we're using and that means a close game
   
4. Even though this game does not ruin our season if we lose, if we win, we have a good chance of running the table and could go to a BCS bowl which would be huge
   
5. I make no prediction because I do not know how it will go but I expect it to be close either way

GO COUGS!

That's fine, you all can run your mouths about how "superior" you are. That's all well and good. Just don't whine and cry when you realize on Saturday that BYU is not the pushover you think they are. I guarantee you UCLA will have to play a GREAT game to get past us. UCLA is a paper team, and paper teams don't always win.

I don't want to cast a negative image on BYU fans. Though admittedly there are some that are ridiculously myopic in their opinions. But when we see BCS teams casting names on us such as "inferior" we take exception to it. We (BYU) are unfortunately part of the MWC which has a reputation of being weak. But that doesn't mean BYU is therefore weak. It's baggage we have to deal with every year. Teams like San Diego State, UNLV, Colorado State and Air Force (they compete hard but are physical disadvantages) rarely do anything good so it brings the conference down. New Mexico gets there but never turns the corner. But to just assume that BYU is inferior and UCLA will "roll" is a bit unfounded. Wait, and you'll see what I mean.

1.  Most BYU fans don't hate Ben Olsen.  Contrary to some posts and newspaper articles, most Cougar fans think Ben did what he thought was best for his situation and would probably have done the same thing if they were in his shoes.  BYU's program was crumbling and he made a decision to go where his future looked brighter.  Some passionate fans would hate any player who left their school for any reason, whether justified or not -- I'm sure you guys can think of some examples at UCLA -- and the media loves to play up the revenge factor because its more interesting than writing stories about how everyone loves each other.  But most BYU fans would love to have had him stay in Provo, particularly after seeing him last week (I was also a huge BO fan in last year's opener when UCLA downed the Utah Utes), and hope he does well every week except when playing BYU.
2.  We know UCLA's program is stronger and has more tradition than BYU's.  Facts are facts.  UCLA's football program has a bigger budget, gets better athletes, plays on national TV more often, has better weather, plays in a more historic conference and generally attracts more attention than BYU does.  UCLA leads by far in the head-to-head matchup between the schools, has sent more players to the NFL, etc.  But stats aside, there's a reason that you play the game rather than simply letting a computer tell you the statistically likely outcome -- sometimes the underdog wins, and sometimes when that happens it's not a fluke.  So please forgive us for having a bit of the little brother syndrome: when the national media invented the term "mid-major" to impose second class status of any team not playing in a BCS conference, it perpetuated the idea that teams from certain conferences are always inferior to teams from certain other conferences.  When our program is going in the right direction, we've recruited some good athletes, have a system we believe in and coaches who know what they're doing, we (like anyone) aim as high as we can.  So, Fox 71, please save your "superior" and "inferior" labels and your patronizing attitude about our "nice little school" and "nice little conference" until after the game.  If our guys get humbled by your guys on Saturday, we'll acknowledge that we got schooled by a great team.  I only hope there are Bruin fans that would do the same if BYU plays a great game and comes out with the win.  
3.  The game will say a lot to both teams about what to expect the rest of their seasons.  Last week's win over Stanford was a solid victory for UCLA, but BYU is better than Stanford and will be a good test.  Similarly, while I was glad BYU beat Arizona last week and was encouraged with what I saw from our defense, AZ's offense wasn't really clicking; our offense, while it had its moments, showed that its not yet the well-oiled machine of last year.  A win on Saturday would be HUGE for us.

We played USC in 2003 & 2004 and lost 35-18 (National Champs) & 42-10 (not sure how they ranked) respectively and that was when Coach Mendenhall was playing the 3-3-5. We stayed with them both years for about a half and then they wore us down. But we are much better prepared now so I would be surprised if you roll over us. Some one asked us to put our money where our mouth is...most LDS members do not bet but if I did I would tzke BYU if the point spread was 7.5 or higher and UCLA if the points spread was lower than 4.5.

• It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge. * You cannot unsay a cruel word.
  
• Every path has a few puddles. * When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. * The best sermons are lived, not preached. * Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway. * Don't judge folks by their relatives.
  
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. * Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time. * Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none. * Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. * If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'. * Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. * The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'. * Always drink upstream from the herd. * Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. * Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back  in.
  
• If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around. * Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to fate!"
  

Back to the topic of football, an honest question to the Bruin faithful: how is UCLA's D-line and run defense in general this year?  BYU is not a running powerhouse, but our RBs are a bit bigger and stronger than in years past, so I'm wondering what they're up against tomorrow.  I didn't watch the UCLA-Stanford game: how did your D-line and 'backers look, and where do you rank your run defense in terms of team strengths and weaknesses?  The BYU coaches keep talking about how this year's o-line is very good (I wish we could have kept our o-line coach from last season who took a job this year on the U of Colorado staff), but I think our pass protection was been better against Arizona than our run blocking.  We got stonewalled on a couple of goal line plays where I thought our line had no up front surge.  I'm hoping the O-line remedies this tomorrow.

Looking forward to an exciting game tomorrow.  

There you have it and if we win on Saturday, I said "if", it will be because of these things and these things only.  Good luck and may the best team on Saturday win.

You won fair & square; congratulations. And, Coach Mendenhall was correct, you are well-coached and it showed today. You have better athletes and we just couldn't get it done when we had to and you did. I am proud of our team for the way they fought back and our fans who showed up in great force.  I am also thankful that we have Max Hall and you have Ben Hall.

Good luck for the rest of the season. Beat SC!

Thanks BN. you are the NCAA FBCS Champions (Fans Bowl Championship Series).