BYU Quarterback: "We should beat (UCLA) again"

by bluestreet on Sep 8, 2008 12:26 PM PDT

BYU fans are feeling cocky about Cougars being up on UCLA.

Now their QB has jumped into the smack fest:

"We've got to prepare like crazy. UCLA's a team that we've beaten before and should beat again," said BYU quarterback Max Hall, who completed 30 of 41 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns against the Huskies.

Hall forgot to mention how his team needed a blocked FG to beat a UCLA team playing with an interim coach and a guy named McLeod Bethel-Thompson playing QB.

Hall did qualify his statement by saying how the game is going to be another “dogfight” but the cockiness coming out of Provo is unmistakable.

One would think a program which is 2-7 against UCLA with a recent win coming at neutral site would show a little more humility.

I just hope Neuheisel and his coaches are gathering all these quotes and pining them up in our locker room. I don’t know if we have the personnel to beat those guys on their home turf with all of our injuries on offense, but after all the smack coming out of Provo our players should have no problem getting fired up.

Go Bruins!!!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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I have no problem with the statement

Just a rah-rah BYU player expressing optimism. It’s OK, the UCLA/BYU landscape will soon return to the former days when BYU’s only concern was to make the final score respectable instead of some embarrassing UCLA blow-out. BYU’s bragging clock is ticking away.

by bluegold on Sep 8, 2008 12:50 PM PDT 0 recs

I agree with Blue

I don’t think I’ve ever heard any player say the opposite – “Hey, we probably are going to get beat this weekend.” I’m pretty sure that all our guys they they can win every time they walk on the field. I think he might have phrased things a little differently, but I’m not too upset with the guy. We’ve beaten these guys pretty regularly, and now they have a chance to beat us. If they can do it, then as Dizzy Dean said, it ain’t bragging.

by Fox 71 on Sep 8, 2008 1:12 PM PDT 0 recs

I disagree

I don’t hear Howland’s players mouth off like this even when they are excited and confident about their upcoming opponent.

by bluestreet on Sep 8, 2008 1:15 PM PDT up 0 recs

You're both right

His first sentence is, “We need to prepare like crazy.” To me, that doesn’t sound like he thinks they are going to win just by showing up.

But Blue is also right when he says that the Ben Ball warriors never mouth off before a game.

As for CRN and crew properly motivating the team, I have no worries.

by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 8, 2008 1:26 PM PDT up 0 recs

I think his first sentence about having

“to prepare like crazy” put the statement in proper context. I don’t have a problem with it (though if it helps get us fired up, great).

Besides, BYU did beat us last year, and they have a nationally ranked program with a top qb. Given our running game, qb situation, loss of so many players, and our new coaching—BYU should beat us in Provo.

by rfirpo on Sep 8, 2008 1:26 PM PDT 0 recs

I am not disputing that BYU "should" beat us

All I am saying is its a little too cocky for a QB from a program that got lucky against us last season and has always gotten its ass kicked by UCLA to mouth off about how they “should beat” us.

Programs that are secure about their places in their respective sports don’t mouth off like this. I have neard heard Afflalo, Farmar or Love about how they “should beat” their next opponents. They always expect to win every game but they don’t ever call out their opponent like this.

by bluestreet on Sep 8, 2008 1:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

Afflalo, Farmar, Love

and Collison, Westbrook, Mata-Real, Mbah a Moute, Shipp….(the list goes on)…

…are in a class of student athletes so far above this young man’s that he cannot see the bottoms of their hardworking shoes with a telescope.

It is a part of the Coach John Wooden legacy, as resurrected and respectfully carried forward by Coach Ben Howland.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Sep 8, 2008 2:22 PM PDT up 0 recs

...

The title of the post got me to click on this. But after reading the actual quote it comes across as a much different statement.

This is just him saying that they beat us last year, and that the expectations of them are for them to beat us. Their fans have expectations, too… And they have enough pride in their own program to know what they can and should do. All he’s saying is: We beat them last year, and are expected to beat them again. We’ve got to prepare like crazy and make sure we don’t let our fans and our school down.

Actually quite a normal and respectful statement.
If anything, this is pretty bad journalism on your part, inaccurately representing him by removing the (context defining) first sentence of his quote in the title of the post.

by jatteratious on Sep 8, 2008 2:56 PM PDT 0 recs

I disagree

The first sentence, “We’ve got to prepare like crazy,” is completely fine with me. The beginning of his next sentence is simply fact: “UCLA is a team that we’ve beaten before…”, thus I have no problem with this comment. HOWEVER, interjecting “…and should beat again,” is not acceptable to me. Should BYU be confident? Yes. Should they expect to win? Sure, all good teams should. These comments are fine for the locker room and between players, but are completely disrespectful to your opponent when you make them publicly. I would NEVER want to hear from a UCLA player that we “should beat” another team. It infers that we believe the other team has no chance of winning the game and that our players do not respect their opponent. And who really needs to add bulletin board material for an underdog with nothing to lose? Knowing Coach Neuheisel, I’m sure that this comment will be prominently displayed throughout the UCLA locker room. Just a little more incentive to play our best on Saturday. I’m looking forward to what hopefully will be a season-spoiling loss for BYU on their home field.

GO BRUINS!

by rgalloucla on Sep 8, 2008 3:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

Let it be

I prefer an overconfident opponent. Hopefully Price or Harwell pancakes him, gets him dizzy and he throws a couple of pick 6’s. But man, are their fans obnoxious. Never knew this about BYU fans until last year. The ones who came to mouth off on here, at least, are perfect jerks…

by tasser10 on Sep 8, 2008 3:35 PM PDT up 0 recs

Who would have thought...

that Mormons would be jerks?!?!?!? Haha, I dunno. Most of the ones I came across were pretty respectful. Although one couple did ask me to quite down once and berated me another time for calling a ref call “fucking bullshit”…

by impaulv on Sep 9, 2008 2:50 AM PDT up 0 recs

lol

bad “journalism” on my part? Are you calling all posters on BN as “journalists”? That is a laughable claim on your part.

You may disagree but I believe I quoted him accurately based on the news story. It is all right with a team to have expectations to win every game but I happen to think the way that statement came across was a little too cocky for a team with a 2-7 record against UCLA. You may disagree and that is fine. But calling this post “bad journalism” is just silly on your part.

by bluestreet on Sep 8, 2008 3:52 PM PDT up 0 recs

I have no issue with this

coming into ever game, both teams better believe they’re going to win. He doesn’t think BYU can throw their helmets out there and win, but that if they prepare, execute and do all their capable that they’ll win. That’s the attitude of every player coming into every game. I hope our players think they should beat BYU if they prepare, execute and go 100% on every play.

by ryebreadraz on Sep 8, 2008 3:55 PM PDT 0 recs

I hope our players believe they should beat BYU

I just wouldn’t want them mouthing off about it in the press.

by bluestreet on Sep 8, 2008 3:59 PM PDT up 0 recs

And I guess that's the point.

by Fox 71 on Sep 8, 2008 9:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

I did some research...

I am a BYU fan, so I’m getting that out right up front. I love that this is a place where fans can post their thoughts in a way that is respectful and gives equality to both sides, so this is a great discussion! Thanks for all the comments so far.

I was really turned off (even as a BYU fan) by Hall’s statement. It came across to me as a little bit of a misspeak. So I did a little research that I think sheds some light on this comment:

First, I think what this comes down to is intent. He PLANS on beating UCLA. The Vegas odds put BYU at a 9 point favorite right now. We won in the last meeting. We had better statistics even in our loss against UCLA in last year’s regular-season game. Hall HOPES to beat UCLA. We have the Nation’s longest winning streak (OK, so it’s not against all PAC-10 opponents…still…) and we’ve won 24 of the last 28 games. We haven’t lost in Provo in 34 months, since November 19, 2005. We have the Nation’s second passer and the first receiver. All of these things can add up to “we should beat UCLA” not meaning we’re calling the Bruins out, just that things are looking optimistic for us.

Here’s my second contention: Last year, UCLA’s Davis said (regarding the regular season BYU game) “There’s no way we’re losing this game.” and Brown said, “There’s no way these guys are going to come in here and beat us.” So if you’re a punk for calling out the other team, the finger points both ways.

I don’t think you can take a blatantly complimentary remark like “We’ve got to prepare like crazy.” which obviously shows respect to the Bruins team, and then turn it around and try to rile everyone up by saying, “I can’t believe he said ‘We shoudl win this game!’ What a disrespectful thing to say!”

Here are some examples of how the BYU team (including Max Hall) REALLY feels about playing UCLA this weekend: “It’s going to be another dogfight”; “Craft Played against us a few years ago and I was impressed.”; “Obviously, coach Chow on offense is an excellent coach. We already know about coach Walker on defense. He’s an excellent coach.” “We’ve got to get focused on UCLA. They’re a good team. We watched them play last week. They have a great defense. Craft showed some really good things in the second half. We’re going to have to play a team that has some momentum. We’re going to have to get after them.” All of these are direct quotes out of the SAME article that was cited here…it’s a shame that both sides weren’t reported equally.

Finally, comparing the strengths of past programs to the current situation is not comparing apples to apples. Different years, different teams, different coaches, different times. That’s like saying that just because USC has beat UCLA in the recent past, they should continue to do so indefinitely. A statement that we all know to be untrue.

Anyway, I appreciate most of the level-headed remarks that were shared on here. I can’t believe this was even an issue. There is obvious respect there from the BYU team, and from the fans, including myself. Wanna know what the BYU fans think of the upcoming game? Here are some quotes from the BYU fans on the BYU posts: “BYU has got to get serious on defense! Norm Chow knows how to make good quarterbacks much, much better.” “I think this Craft kid is going to have big numbers on our secondary. He is a pocket passer and could have a career day.” “This game scares me, our defense is pathetic.” “UCLA has a stout defense (the best that we’ll see this year) so our defense better step it up if we are to win Saturday!” “They’ll have to be at peak performance for BYU to beat the Bruins.” “To UCLA, BYU is the equivalent of a high school team.”

No see? No disrespect intended. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to post and share this research! Hopefully it doesn’t come across as too biased. If it did, sorry…I can’t help it. I’m a BYU fan, remember?

by byujim on Sep 9, 2008 3:18 PM PDT 0 recs

Jim, you've passed my test, for what that's worth.

One of the things we pride ourselves on here is to separate statements of fact from statements of opinion, and I think your post here (and the other one I just looked at) are fine. I have neither facts nor opinions about the game that I care to post. I also have no problem with either school showing confidence in a positive way (as in a player saying “we have to prepare like crazy” and then saying that he thinks they’ll win. If you guys win, it won’t be like the bowl game last year, where we had no coach. (As an aside, many Bruins were heavily lobbying to try to lure your coach to Westwood.) This time, if you win (and the smart people in Las Vegas say you’ll win fairly handily), I think you’ll have to earn it. That’s not to say you won’t earn it, but this time we do have a coach and an OC and a DC. I think they’ll have our team ready to play, and I doubt another egg will be laid in Utah like last year.

Anyway, I enjoy having fans of the opposition come in and give their take on things. Nobody neads the drive-by shooting like some people do, but yours was well thought out and obviously written by an adult. My hope is that we win, of course, but I also hope that it’s well played and that no one gets hurt. I might be willing to fudge a liitle on the last two if it increases the likelihood of the first one.

by Fox 71 on Sep 9, 2008 5:21 PM PDT up 0 recs

Not my most well written post, but you get the point.

by Fox 71 on Sep 9, 2008 5:22 PM PDT up 0 recs

UCLA should have won both games last year

Thanks for the comments. I have to say also that I don’t think the cougars deserve to win this game. That hurts me to say as a BYU fan, but let’s face it, last year the Cougars basically stole the bowl game, but I don’t think they earned it. It was pure luck to upset a UCLA team that was missing a coach and some key players. In the regulat season game, we had some impressive stats, but stats don’t win games, and when it came down to it, Davis and Brown were able to back up their talk. I think if we lose this weekend, we will have deserved it (again). I’m not one of those fans that thinks the mountain west can compete with the Pac-10. A game or two here and there is great, but we have to really prove that we deserve the win. If we can’t do that this weekend, or if we lose on a blocked field goal or some ridiculous officiating, then I’d rather lose the game…it would be more accurate of where we stand as a team. Anyway, thanks for this great site! I’ve only found one or two instances where people posting on here were childish or unfair. I have a lot of respect for UCLA, and I think a lot of BYU fans feel the same way about the Bruins. It’s refreshing to find a post where the fans aren’t saying stupid things or just trying to be haters. Good luck this weekend!

by byujim on Sep 10, 2008 8:58 AM PDT up 0 recs

I think BYU fans have good reason to think they should win

If for no other reason than for their opponent, this is the first road test for a very young team. For better or worse, we had quite a bit of experience last year. What kind of experience we had is up for debate, but it was certainly more than what we have currently. Frankly, if we see a repeat performance of the first half from the Tennessee game, that will likely be game over, and there’s no doubt that our defense will be called upon to shoulder more than its share of the burden, as will probably be the case the rest of the season. The UW game showed that BYU knows how to execute. They are the known quantity. What will the Bruins bring to the table? I think that’s the real question, and I don’t think anyone has the answer to it.

by Tydides on Sep 10, 2008 9:36 AM PDT up 0 recs

I'm going to have to take issue with Bruingirl 83

What you said about Max Hall was uncalled for and unfair, That fact is you don’t know
a thing about him or any other BYU player for that matter. I will have you know that every
friday night before each game Coach Mendenhall and the team put on a presentation
that lasts about an hour. Its a very uplifting program and if saw it you would never look at
BYU football the same way again. Every player voluntarily takes part in this program
and many other types of service work . Max Hall is one of the leaders of this team and
is fully committed to making this team something the community will continue to be proud of. I would strongly suggest that you get a copy of the DVD titled Tradition,Spirit,Honor.
If nothing else you will have a better understanding of what the BYU football program is
about and what Max Hall really represents.

by pspack on Sep 9, 2008 11:21 PM PDT 0 recs

Read Bluestreet's Comment, To Which I Was Replying

Your Mr. Hall made the comments discussed in this post. He is discussing a game he has not yet played, against an opponent he has yet to meet on the field. He can watch and create all the “uplifting” DVD’s and programs on the planet, that is irrelevant. He defines his own character the moment he speaks out in public.

Coach Ben Howland’s players simply never pop off before—or even after—a game, no matter who the opponent, no matter what the score. As I said, it is part of the legacy of pure sportsmanship built by Coach John Wooden. Those young athletes are in a class by themselves, and if you don’t know that about them, it is you who is uninformed. I stand by what I said.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Sep 10, 2008 7:30 AM PDT up 0 recs

Agree

It’s not so much that Hall is being castigated here, but simply that the subject he has chosen and the wording he has used is something that has never in my memory been attributed to any player in Ben Howland’s program.

Howland’s players talk about themselves and what they are doing right or wrong, and only about their opponent in complimentary terms. They speak of their desire to beat an opponent, not of their ability to do so. I read your post as being primarily a well earned expression of admiration for our basketball team.

DVDs and presentations do not a good sportsman make. Not saying that Hall isn’t one, but he entered a gray area here that Coach Howland and his players do not. It’s certainly not the most egregious quote I’ve ever heard, but the question becomes: Why even go there in the first place?

by Tydides on Sep 10, 2008 8:09 AM PDT up 0 recs

So you didn't like what Max Hall had to say

First of all I have said nothing about Coach Howland or the Players you mentioned.
I don’t know them or a thing about them,therefore it would be stupid for me to judge them
or there character, Max Hall makes one statement about beating UCLA and you think you
know all about his character. That being the case your a much better judge of human
nature than I or anyone else for the matter. Good for you.

by pspack on Sep 10, 2008 11:33 AM PDT 0 recs

Too bad you didn't mention it

Because that was the crux of the argument, and by selectively ignoring it, your post turned into a rant against an individual poster. Her comment was in response to a poster that brought our Basketball team into the discussion, so to ignore it makes your complaint baseless or at best misdirected.

You have a problem with people criticizing Hall based on his quote saying that they “don’t know (him)”. Then you turn around and sarcastically cast someone else as judgmental based on a comment they made, and only that comment. In essence, you “don’t know” the poster you are criticizing either except for a comment. Congratulations. You’re a hypocrite. “Good for you”

P.S. Outsiders will be careful not to call established members of this community “stupid” or they will not post.

by Tydides on Sep 10, 2008 12:49 PM PDT up 0 recs

She's also a better speller

But that’s another issue.

Coach Howland and his players were brought up because they are the standard to which we hold the rest of the student athletes at UCLA. I don’t think anyone is judging Max Hall’s character as a whole, but only in this specific instance in which he displays some poor sportsmanship. Now I don’t think it’s a huge deal, just a poor choice of words at the wrong time. Regardless, judging someone for passing judgment on someone else is the epitome of hypocrisy.

by tasser10 on Sep 10, 2008 1:32 PM PDT up 0 recs

It's Not About

what I “like” or don’t “like.”

Because he made the comments in the first place, he suffers in comparison to Coach Howland’s players—a comparison that I did not draw, but to which I replied.

That reply, in my opinion, is neither unclear nor obtuse, and again, I stand by it. It offended you personally, because you apparently know all about Max Hall and his character and choose to believe I have “attacked” his character for what he has to say, rather than what I did do: I pointed out that the athletes named, and others who play basketball for our Coach Howland, are a significant cut above such behavior—they do not participate in it, period. That fact is the basis for my opinion that they are, indeed, in a class of athlete far above that of Mr. Hall.

I understand that you do not like this set of facts and conditions, but they exist. You are unable acknowledge the context of the communication and to simply disgree with me—you are compelled to become snide and sarcastic, and attempt to attack me—for statements I never made in the first place, no less—instead.

Frankly, if your conduct is an example of the “Tradition, Spirit & Honor” program you mentioned, it has been counterproductive.

I can assure you of two things: You cannot possibly change my opinion of your Mr. Hall’s actions by using this method; and, I am not stupid.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Sep 10, 2008 1:39 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well said, BG

Isn’t it easy to identify the children when they grab mommy and daddy’s computer and try to take on the grown-ups? We haven’t had anything like that for a long time. It sort of makes my look back on the visits from Bill and Ted with a little nostalgic tear.

As soon as that guy is allowed to have more computer time, he’ll probably be back to argue. Heck, maybe he’s saving from his lawn mowing job to buy his own computer.

by Fox 71 on Sep 10, 2008 9:57 PM PDT up 0 recs