USU = FSU in football???

I know the spectrum is a tough place to play and that it is considered a rivalry, at least by the Ags, but I believe that was a game that was winnable and got away from the Cougars.



Granted USU started to shoot lights out in the second half and BYU started throwing up bricks. But oh man, I wish we could play that one again right now. Our only loss is to a 10-5 team that we should have beaten no matter where the game was played. Only day's later Saint Mary's waltzed into the Spectrum and stole one from the Ags.



That game was so infuriating for me watching. Miles was a beast down low in that one, and USU either couldn't stop him or was counting on the fact that we weren't going to make him part of the game plan. He was having his way down low shooting at a 56% clip. At the very least he would have kept us in the game if they had utilized him even a third as much as they should have.



I just hope that's the only game this year that we see a mental breakdown of that magnitude. There's been a few every year so far during the Rose era. And while they are frustrating, I can't complain too much given the success and improvement we see year to year. But this year, more than any other, the Cougs can't complain about a bad seed if they let those kind of games get away from them with the talent and depth on the roster.

It didn't help that Emery was hurt in that game; but we did outclass them for that 1st half; we just let a roadie get out of control in front of a sellout crowd.

JT went one for 11 in that game and Jimmer 5 of 15....



That game also began the process of inserting Hartsock at the 4; if we had never dropped a game and JT continued to start, I suggest that we would have dropped one down the line.



Hartsocks field goal attempts have doubled since the USU/USF week, his minutes have increased, while JTs three point attempts have been cut in half.



http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=41278



http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31852

That game was still early in the season. The team has improved since then and now has a game plan.

We were up by 10ish at the half, all we needed was a decent (not even average) second half and we would have won that game going away. It would not have been close. Yes we lost, yes crazy people in Logan are extremely proud of it, blah, blah, blah. It's a long season, no one expects us to go undefeated, and being a road game to an in-state "rival" I don't think it hurts us selection committee-wise and it certainly doesn't hurt us otherwise since that was the game that Rose ran out of patience with JT and benched him (which has been very good to us in the long run).



I see the USU=FSU comparison from the angle that we played some bad ball, but I don't think the USU game hurt us the way that the FSU game did.

Mars wrote:


1- Emery was playing hurt.

2- He still looked okay, BEFORE the elbow to the eye.

3- Tavernari started over Hartsock, for the last time

That is the key.

To them it's a rivalry game, to us it's just a pain we have to deal with.

Schmoe wrote:
To them it's a rivalry game, to us it's just a pain we have to deal with.

I really don't understand why they think it's such a big deal. It appears they got so high for the BYU game (word on the street is you had to stand in line outside for 3+ just to get a nosebleed seat) that they didn't have anything left in the tank for St Mary's or whover it was that beat them a couple of days later. Does USU really not have a real (reciprocal) rival to get up for?

JT off the bench is good, anything more is scary.

BerliNY wrote:

To them it's a rivalry game, to us it's just a pain we have to deal with.

I really don't understand why they think it's such a big deal. It appears they got so high for the BYU game (word on the street is you had to stand in line outside for 3+ just to get a nosebleed seat) that they didn't have anything left in the tank for St Mary's or whover it was that beat them a couple of days later. Does USU really not have a real (reciprocal) rival to get up for?

That's just the thing, who would their rival be? Weber State? It's just another classic case of the littlest brother screaming for attention and gloating the one time out of 100 that he beats you in Wii bowling. Also, they live in Logan, what else are they gonna do besides stand outside for three hours? Ha!