Cougarbib wrote:
I too thought Houston would be a poor team because they haven't played anybody, but I never saw any of their games, maybe those teams they played are pretty good teams, just not good enough to win against good team yet, it's hard to say. But anybody he says Houston is a lousy team doesn't know football, or talent, or speed, or good coaching.
Must be true... I don't know football, or talent, or speed, or good coaching... ;)
I do know how to form an argument and a sentence. I also know, that no one said Houston is "lousy." However some of us believe that Houston is average at best.
Average does not mean lousy. Average means we beat a team we were supposed to beat and some of us talking heads believe we should have done it by more than 1 point.
Houstons remaining schedule will tell us what we need to know... if they're average or worse, I expect that they'll lose at least 3 more games. If not, then maybe I don't know a thing about talent... (I'll bet my former collegiate employers would be surprised to know that considering they hired me to spot and recruit talent for them. Granted it was hoops so maybe there are two different kinds of talent and speed ;) )
Craig
Actually the person who keeps posting as though you and he are 100% in agreement, Blue, said that any 2nd or 3rd string player for BYU would START for Houston. ANY. you need to be careful associating too closely with Mr. Hyperbole.
The same Blue keeps making the assinine post that because any 2nd or 3rd stringer would start for Houston, Anae, even though he scored 47 totally earned points, was outcoached by the guy he scored upon. He seems to think you agree with that and since you still have not called him out on that assumption, others think you agree.
Just in case you do, whether Houston wins all of their remaining games or loses all of them avoids the more obvious way to actually assess the level of assininity of that assertion that it was Anae who got outcoached.
The better way Craig:
Which remaining Houston opponent do you think will have its OFFENSE ring up 47 totally earned points and 700 yards on Houston. Those that think Anae was outcoached due to Hoyston having such lousy players that ANY BYU 2nd or 3rd STRINGER would start for Houston, would expect several more teams to do that to the Houston DC - actually they need to do more than that ti show Anae did not accomplish much.
Louisville might. I doubt anyone else will come close. If Anae is matched or outdone by Louisville - he still did fine. If any and all 4-2 type teams they play exceed what Anae did then maybe Anae was outcoached.
Be careful who you align with. Yoy are usually quite a bit more credible.
I do not hear much argument with your assertion that Houston is probably an 8-4 team or worse.
The argument is this:
They are not lousy
Not every 2nd or 3rd string BYU player would start for Houston
If a BYU coach got outcoached, it was not Anae.
I doubt that Houston is going to score 46, 39, or even 37 points vs Louisville.
[ Post made via Mobile Device ] 
http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">
1. It's a sports forum, doesn't affect a thing regardless of who I align with. In this case, I agree with blueisbetter that Houston is not a top 25 team and might not be a top 50 team. I think people are realizing that as they rewatch the game and tape. Houston played up to us, we played down to them and we would have ended the game in the 1st quarter if it were not for silly turnovers and special teams play. If people think that by agreeing in part with someone, that it means I agree with them as a whole then they've got issues. I don't for one second think blueisbetter thinks I agree with him 100%. I know him to be pragmatic and thoughtful and I think more than anything we have an opinion of who Houston is that isn't terribly far apart, but we're hardly 100% in agreement, nor do we need to be. I think it's others that are drawing that incorrect conclusion, not him,
2. The amount of points scored might change against other teams, style of play, number of snaps, do they huddle etc. Total points doesn't tell the entire story. It's possible to only score 21 points and for an offensive coordinator to have done his job well if there weren't turnovers, it kept the opposing defense on the field and wore them out, you dominated field position etc. 21 would have been enough against Utah and Virginia... I will judge Houston going forward based on what I see from them in totality. Not just points, not just yards, but how they look against quality teams since they will now play some quality teams. If they beat some of those teams or if they manage to lose by razor slim margins, like against us, then I might admit that Houston is better than I give them credit for. If they don't, then I will believe that BYU underperformed against Houston. At the end of the day it's a 1 point win, don't let the totals fool you. I'll take it though.... light years better than a 1 point loss.
3. I do agree that BYU has more size and talent and again the only way we'll really know is to see what Houston does going forward. They can strengthen or weaken my argument.... I guess we'll see. Like I said, I would rather be wrong and have Houston win everything else, because it looks good for BYU. I just don't see it.
4. I'm learning to be a lot more tolerant of people on these forums. As long as they can make a good argument and don't waffle back and forth, I'm willing to hear them out. Usually the best indicator if their opinion is right or wrong.... is time. People spent a lot of time (years) discussing Heaps vs Nelson. I stayed out of that one (rarely ever posted about the qb debacle back then, it just gave me headaches and it was nauseatingly never ending), simply because once we saw Heaps as a soph with the deer in the headlights games, it was abundantly clear that we had been fooled and excited by hype and with Nelson there was simply a lack of talent.
Time probably proved everyone right. Heaps was not as good as his billing. Nelson not as good AND not as bad as some people thought, but at the end of the day mediocre.
I have a feeling that Houston will turn out in time (but this year) as an average team. Not lousy, not great... average 8-4 or worse with their schedule will be average. We beat an average team by 1 point. While I may not get many people arguing with me now on what Houstons record will be going forward, I promise you that they'll come out of the woodwork if Houston wins out... (so where are those people now?)
5. The best predictor of success is past behavior. With the exception of having a VIP tell me that the Big 12 deal is done for BYU (and I bought it hook line and sinker), I'm batting close to 100%. I don't take terribly many leaps, but when I do I think my record stands on its own, particularly when it comes to assessing talent. I'm seeing something about Houston that leads me to believe their 5-0 record and the way in which they nearly beat BYU is smoke and mirrors. Nothing has changed my mind about it. Do I agree with blueisbetter in entirety? No, but I'm glad he has an opinion...and there is some truth to the argument he makes. I do believe that Anae had the benefit of talent on his side and that Houston had a better scheme. Talent and Anaes decent scheme was 1 point better than Houston and their decent scheme and undersized talent. It was close and a close game gives people on each side an ability to make an argument. Ultimately Houston will have a say in who is right as they play out the rest of their schedule... again for the 100th time, I would love to be wrong. Houston winning everything else on their schedule is good for BYU and anything that's good for BYU, is good for me.
