The Unholy War

Yes people, I know that everyone around here calls this weekends rivalry game the Holy War, but that is not accurate. The Holy War has long been the game played between BYU and Notre Dame (before Notre Dame backed out of playing BYU because they were scared). So the BYU/Utah game is the Unholy War, and there is nothing holy about it. Fans are brutal, players are dirty and the history of this game is marred with despicable acts. So here on this blog we call it The Unholy War.

Folks we need to understand first and foremost how lucky we are as either BYU of Utah fans. We are experiencing the best that this rivalry has ever offered. Both teams have been good to great for the past few years and the games have all either been fantastic or monumental on the BCS level. Both coaches at both schools are doing a marvellous job with the resources they are given. All of that being said makes these games even more important. If BYU wins this weekend they will have won 3 out of 4 meetings and maintain their "Big Brother" status in the state. However if Utah wins this weekend then Utah does the unthinkable in a down year. Coming into the year no one really expected the Utes to win on Saturday and if they do they show that in a down year they can beat BYU in an up year. The ramifications of either outcome are sure to be crushing to the losing teams fans resulting in a humiliation that can only be cured by a win the following year.

As for this years game this is how I see it... When breaking down these two teams you find some interesting differences. BYU scores 35.5 pts/game passing for 300+ yds/game and is first in the country in 3rd down conversion rate. Utah on the other hand scores 29.8 pts/game and rushes for 176 yds/game. What is strange about this is that BYU's offensive strength is going against the weaker aspect of the Ute defense their pass defense. Conversely, the Utah offensive strength of running the ball goes against BYU's better defensive aspect. Looking at the QB's, Max Hall is setting all sorts of records down at BYU but with that said he has struggled against teams with speed turning the ball over like crazy. This year however has been somewhat different. Against TCU Max wasn't responsible for the turnovers his receivers and offensive line were (bobbled ball and blow protection) against FSU the defense let BYU down and forced him into some terrible situations, when you are down by 30 all you can do is throw the ball and the defense then sits on it. The lackluster corners at Utah will have difficulty stopping Max the way that Sean Smith and Bryce McCain did last year. Conversely, Jordan Wynn has looked pretty good in his limited experience with exception of the TCU game. his inexperience could prove to be an issue in the big atmosphere of the rivalry game but he should be able to take advantage of the speed advantages of the WR's versus BYU's corners. Utah's defense is clearly more aggressive and has looked better throughout the year, but that defense has tripped up plenty of times. BYU's defense is better than they were last year and should show better than they did a year ago. Lastly, lets look at the last time this game was played in Provo. Max was a first year starter and that team did not have the seasoned weapons they have now, Utah had Brian Johnson, Sean Smith, Paul Kruger and Bryce McCain. The game went down to the final drive and was won on a drive that included the infamous "4th and 18" play by Austin Collie. BYU won by 7. I think this year will mimic that year in a lot of ways. It will be a close game and it will not disappoint. But my official prediction for the game this weekend is.....

BYU 27 - Utah 21

Feel free to argue with me all you want (if you can) and post your own prediction. Enjoy Turkey Day. And Go Cougs.

Monday Morning Thoughts

Here we are on a Monday, but not just any Monday, the greatest Monday of the entire year (this claim is void if my wife's birthday or our anniversary is on a Monday)!! The best holiday of the year is this week, and the greatest rivalry in college football that the national chumps don't really care about is going to be played this Saturday in Provo. That makes today the beginning of rivalry week! On sports radio all you hear is former players telling great stories and ripping the other school, fans being belligerent and bold predictions that are sure to go wrong once they actually step on the field and knock heads. With that in mind lets get into what happened this weekend.

The NBA:
This weekend was a pretty good weekend to be a Jazz fan, the Jazz had a nice run of 3 straight wins, which included a win in San Antonio on Thursday for the first time in over a decade!! (Never mind the fact that Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli didn't play for the Spurs) The Jazz are looking a little bit more like a team that might be able to hold their own in the west. Don't get me wrong I am not saying they can compete with the Lakers or Nuggets, there are still a bunch of problems with this team. Paul Millsap is virtually worthless in about 4/5 games he has only played well maybe 3 times this year and sometimes the Jazz look like they were out partying until 5 in the morning and woke up just 1 hour before game time and dragged themselves down to the arena. With that said I really like what AK is doing out there and I still love the rookies, Wes Matthews and Eric Maynor are playing well and contributing on a team that desperately needs them.

The NFL:
Some good football in the NFL this weekend. The Colts barely hung on in Baltimore, which is a good win, despite them not going to my boy Austin Collie very often (1 time in fact). The Saints blew the doors off the Bucs, which is no surprise. Both the Colts and Saints are 10-0. I can't believe that either team goes undefeated but just if they could, imagine the hype going into the super bowl if 2 teams faced off, both unbeaten! That would be great. Elsewhere in the NFL, the Vikings look awfully good, with the exception of not giving the ball to Adrian Peterson enough because Brett Favre is hogging all the glory. The Steelers and Bengals both suffered humiliating losses to the Chiefs and Raiders respectably. My fantasy team however continues to dominate moving to a 10-1 record with a close win this weekend.

MLS:
I know I know, everyone I have no intention of getting into soccer very often if ever, but Real Salt Lake won the MLS cup on penalty kicks last night. They were huge underdogs and beat a team that has Landon Donovan and David Beckham on it, so that is pretty cool. Good for them. (That is probably the last time we will ever mention soccer on this blog).

College Football:
There were some exciting games this past weekend, but as for the ones we care about, there were 4. TCU blew the doors off Wyoming despite playing awful. Good for the Mountain West, TCU now just needs 1 win to be guaranteed a BCS bowl berth and if by chance Texas slips up a shot at the national championship. Boise St blew out Utah St, this game was tied at 14 with 5 minutes left in the first half, and at half time it was 35-14 Boise St. Ridiculous outburst there, BSU looks good, but how about they play someone at least kind of good maybe. Utah slaughter-housed San Diego St, defense looked good, offense looked good, they are playing well. BYU meanwhile dominated Air Force. Max Hall looked good, Pitta looked better, bottom line here is that BYU's running backs are bigger than Air Force's defensive lineman, there is no way that a scenario like that ends well. Both teams are ranked in every poll, BYU is about 3 or 4 spots better in every poll. But throw it all our this weekend, this game will be a good one, I am not sure of the last time these two teams were more evenly matched. Should prove to provide some great fireworks this weekend. More will be coming over the coming days about the "Unholy War".

That's the View from the Upper Bowl for now.