The NFL:
So this NFL season has been pretty nuts. No one is still undefeated. No one looks dominant. The best team is.... I have no idea. I would like to say the Colts but they have lost 2 times on the road in the division. I definitely don't want to say the Patriots, but they are 4-1. However, they are trading away players like they are rebuilding. I certainly can't say the Steelers their starting QB just played in his first game of the year, and I definitely believe that we will see them fall apart with Big Creepy Ben at the helm. Is it the Ravens, maybe, but they just lost to the Patriots and haven't been consistent. It might be the Jets, but they are like a walking frat party and I still don't trust the offense. So that leaves us at a loss. Looks like we have a few more weeks to go before we find out who really is elite in this league.
On a side note, how about our local guys?!? Their have been a lot of them playing big roles in the league thus far. Most notably - my boy Austin Collie is killing hit. He is on pace for 117 catches 6 TD's and 1300 yards receiving, pretty good for a "slow" white WR from BYU. Also, Max Hall went from Ute Hater to undrafted rookie to starting QB in less than 10 months. I don't know that it will go well for him unfortunately but I am happy for him.
College Football:
So college football has been crazy yet very familiar. There have been a lot of fun upsets, good game nearly every weekend. There are a bunch of the small schools that are highly ranked, Boise St., TCU and Utah all in the top 10. Other schools like Air Force and Nevada are having up years. But as much as these changes are nice to see, the old themes of College Football are familiar. The initial BCS rankings are a joke. Does strength of schedule matter? If so, why is Boise 3, and TCU 5? TCU has played a tougher schedule to date. Does schedule not matter? If soWhy is Auburn not in the top 3. Why is Boise not number 1 as the pundits predicted? It is all a joke. Hopefully the IRS brings down the BCS sooner rather than later and something happens to cause change.
Now on the the College teams that matter to us. Namely, BYU and Utah. First, Utah is having a very good year. But what do we know about Utah? We know that they are very good at beating bad teams. We know that Jordan Wynn has been good but inconsistent. We know that they have 2 good running backs and some playmakers on offense. We know that they have a typical Kyle Whittingham defense. I think that they are really good. I think that they have benefited tremendously from having the schedule that they have had to this point. The real tests start in a couple weeks. This week is a walk in the park, next week Air Force will be the real first test of the year. Now on to BYU, it has been rough. They have played a difficult schedule, but that is not a pass for being 2-5. They knocked off a decent Washington team, then get embarrassed at the Air Force Academy. Air Force is up so losing is not a huge problem but losing the way they did was a joke. The Florida State loss was acceptable, they are a good team. The Nevada loss actually brought some hope. The team fought hard and just didn't have the weapons on offense to keep up with the Nevada pistol. The Utah State game was a joke. Losing the way they did was inconceivable to me before the game and still hard to believe. Jaime Hill deserved to lose his job and so did Robert Anae after that display. Luckily for Anae, Bronco knows nothing about offense so Hill was the only one fired. And that move has proven to be a good one so far, the defense has been far superior to its former self. Against San Diego St. we saw a lot of good things, the o-line showed it knows how to lean on people and move forward, the defense showed real fight and determination. Against TCU, the defense played it's heart out. It just wasn't enough and the offense was really bad. Now this week BYU fan has jumped off the proverbial cliff. Just take a deep breath people, it is going to be okay. Here is why...the next 4 games for BYU are going to be wins for BYU. They play awful teams (all of the ones Utah has beat) and they are headed in the right direction despite the 31-3 loss at TCU. That loss by the way is simply on par with their losses the past 2 years to TCU. Last year the Cougars lost by 31 in Provo with Max Hall, Dennis Pitta, Harvey Unga, and Andrew George. Two years ago they lost by 25 in Texas with all of those players plus Austin Freakin' Collie! So this loss was the same as the others. They will bounce back this weekend and will do so impressively, my prediction is a 31-14 win over Wyoming. Now, one last BYU issue. Jake Heaps. For crying out loud people be patient. He is 19 years old. He is a true freshman, as David Locke showed in a research project he did, even the very best QB's that started as true freshman haven't been good. Granted Jake has been bad, 1 TD to 6 INT's is bad. But give him some help. Mackay Jacobsen where are you? Cody Hoffmanc catch the dang ball! Luke Ashworth either start catching the ball or give back your scholarship money, honestly I have never seen such an inept WR. And lastly Robert Anae, do you even realize that you are starting a freshman? Do you know that the strength of your offense is the offensive line and your running backs? Please Bronco if you have any sense, take play calling away from Anae and give it to someone who understands the personnel they are dealing with.
NBA and College Basketball previews will come by next week. But for now enjoy the view of the NFL and college football from the Upper Bowl
