Game Day!

I'm up and getting ready to go. I have about a 5-hour drive, which should put us at the stadium with enough cushion to account for game day traffic.



It looks like Camp Randall should be a fun atmosphere. I hope the game is as much fun.



Go Cougars! 8)

I'm jealous. Almost bought tickets on Monday. I feel great about a good showing. If Wisc is up and on, we prob lose. But I predicted a win. GO COUGS.

David Crosby Almost Cut His Hair



Almost Cut My Hair - worst song ever

I have arrived!! I'm in the Cougar Club party now, surprised at how many people I've already seen that I know. I am stoked. I'm actually wearing my letter jacket from 1974. It is a little snug. :whistle:



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Been putting on the muscle, eh!

Tough start.



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I didn't post any more from the stadium because my fingers were to frozen to use my phone!

Now that I’m back from the game, and mostly thawed out – I thought I’d share some thoughts and questions that came up from my visit to Madison.

Please understand that I have not heard any coverage, live or recorded. Nor have I read any comments on this site. I thought it might be good to leave my impressions completely untainted from others. If they seem redundant, you now know why.



• University of Wisconsin Fans:

o We were welcomed very warmly by the fans in Madison. We attended the pre-game rally, and the mix of fans from both schools surprised me. They even played our fight song for us. No one I met had anything negative to say about BYU or us before, during, or after the game. Class act.

o The students might have been a different matter. The UW fans we were sitting next to said they try to keep as far away from the student section as they can, as there is way too much drinking going on. They arrived late and left early.

• Game atmosphere:

o Other than the questionable student section at time, the atmosphere was great – the crowd was loud and supportive of their team without being obnoxious.

o They had a lot of fun despite the cold – and they were much more prepared for the cold than most of the BYU fans – including me.

o I carried on a conversation with a Wisconsin fan throughout the game, and we found that we agreed on just about everything – even the missed calls by the refs. He was quite objective.

• Key events in the game (here’s where things may differ somewhat from what everyone else may have seen because of my perspective in the stands):

o Vanilla defense on first Wisconsin drive – although adjustments seem to have been made in subsequent series, Wisconsin totally dominated the line of scrimmage in their opening drive. For most of the rest of the game, BYU held their own defensively.

o Allowing the touchdown drive at the end of the first half. This drive was helped immensely by at least two missed calls on blatant holds by the offensive line – even the Wisconsin fans were wondering where the flags were.

o Twice being called for illegal substitution coming out of time-outs. One of those was on 4th and two at a critical time at the end of the game. How does that happen?

o One referee deciding that any critical call against Wisconsin should be overturned. He talked the others out of a face-mask penalty, and out of pass-interference. The first time the pass-interference call was overturned, I agreed (incidental contact after the ball was over the receiver’s head). But the second time, the defender had been holding on and grabbing from the line-of-scrimmage on. Where in the rules does it say that it’s OK to hold the receiver so that the ball will be uncatchable?

o I’m sure there has been plenty of discussion on this one, but I couldn’t believe that with 30 seconds left in a game in which BYU was desperately trying to find a miracle finish, with no time-outs, the call was a run up the middle? I’ve tried to avoid criticism of the coaches, but that had to be the most asinine play I’ve ever seen.

• Overall impression of the two teams:

o There really isn’t a big talent gap between the teams. The line play by Wisconsin, combined with some poor decision making on the part of BYU, made the difference in the game.

o I think BYU will continue to improve and develop as a team, and I’m looking forward to the remainder of this year and next year.

• Other:

o I went to church in Madison yesterday. They had a lot of visitors in the ward I attended. Although I wasn’t there Friday night, they had held the team fireside in that building. The members of the ward couldn’t have been happier with the team and the spirit they brought to that meeting. It sounded like it was a great event where they were able to bring many non-members as well as many less-active members. This independent schedule is reaping rewards in areas outside of football.