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YzzazzI suppose I should wait until after the Wisconsin game to write this, but the thread about "let's not play Utah...they might BEAT us!" got me thinking that most fans, even the die-hard ones (perhaps especially the die-hard ones) are discounting what has happened over the past few weeks.
Perhaps its right to be this way. Perhaps it was just a three game lucky streak. Perhaps BYU is simply an inconsistent team destined to let us down and revert to mediocrity. Perhaps BYU can not win the big games. After all, UTAH BEAT US, right?
But if you think that way ask yourself which is easier to believe, given the evidence of the season so far.
1. This BYU team is not the same team as the one which played UVa. Play that game, even in the rain, 10 times over now, and BYU wins it EVERY time.
2. This BYU team IS the same. UVa might have been an extreme outcome, but if we played that game over we might win it 4 out of 10 times.
Which would you choose? Number 2? If so, then you really don't believe that Hill has made any personal improvement over the subsequent seven games, and that if we watch we'll likely see a mere repeat of the Utah game at best against the Badgers next week.
I happen side with #1 above. We have seen a systemic transformation of the team and its capabilities. I think what we will see ahead is that Boise wasn't a standout game of great luck. It is the new normal.
That being said, I think Gary Anderson will be shocked and the Badgers simply won't know what hit them. Here's why: the passing stat.
33% passing for two games (UVa and UofU) cannot switch to 75% passing (last game) just out of nowhere. Too many things have to happen to make that jump, and none of them are luck. Further evidence is found in the final touchdown pass Hill made. Have any of you seen a prettier thrown ball since John Beck's senior year?
I find it easier to believe that UVa was the UNlucky aberration, rather than to think that Hill got lucky to make that pass look so good, time it so well, and have the receiver not drop it or blow his route, thus driving a stake in the heart of a team that had yet to lose against any Utah squad.
The future of BYU looks bright this season, yes, but I must admit I can't shake the visions of BCS play in the next two years!
Perhaps its right to be this way. Perhaps it was just a three game lucky streak. Perhaps BYU is simply an inconsistent team destined to let us down and revert to mediocrity. Perhaps BYU can not win the big games. After all, UTAH BEAT US, right?
But if you think that way ask yourself which is easier to believe, given the evidence of the season so far.
1. This BYU team is not the same team as the one which played UVa. Play that game, even in the rain, 10 times over now, and BYU wins it EVERY time.
2. This BYU team IS the same. UVa might have been an extreme outcome, but if we played that game over we might win it 4 out of 10 times.
Which would you choose? Number 2? If so, then you really don't believe that Hill has made any personal improvement over the subsequent seven games, and that if we watch we'll likely see a mere repeat of the Utah game at best against the Badgers next week.
I happen side with #1 above. We have seen a systemic transformation of the team and its capabilities. I think what we will see ahead is that Boise wasn't a standout game of great luck. It is the new normal.
That being said, I think Gary Anderson will be shocked and the Badgers simply won't know what hit them. Here's why: the passing stat.
33% passing for two games (UVa and UofU) cannot switch to 75% passing (last game) just out of nowhere. Too many things have to happen to make that jump, and none of them are luck. Further evidence is found in the final touchdown pass Hill made. Have any of you seen a prettier thrown ball since John Beck's senior year?
I find it easier to believe that UVa was the UNlucky aberration, rather than to think that Hill got lucky to make that pass look so good, time it so well, and have the receiver not drop it or blow his route, thus driving a stake in the heart of a team that had yet to lose against any Utah squad.
The future of BYU looks bright this season, yes, but I must admit I can't shake the visions of BCS play in the next two years!