This is not news really. They've always been on the schedule for 2010. They only canceled the last two of the four game series that was agreed upon in the original contract. So we'll play UW on the 4th to open the season, then travel to FSU on the 11th, before coming back to Provo to take on the Wolfpack on the 18th. USU will be played as usual on the Friday night before General Conference. Times may not have been set yet but the dates are.
And the reason Locker will be playing is because he was railroaded into staying by his coach. There is plenty of evidence of that. How else do you explain a kid who's projected to be a top 5 pick foregoing the draft to play for a 5-7 team. And don't give me the Matt Leinart and Sam Bradford examples because they were coming back to play for a NC. UW has no chance of that. That would be a huge leap to go from 5-7 to 13-1 or better. It's very unlikely. And if the Bradford and Leinart taught QB's considering declaring early anything, it's that if you are a projected top pick you go NOW. I respect those two for their decision to not let money get into the way of a fulfilling a dream but they didn't make smart financial decisions in doing so.
Besides, I'm not really scared of Locker. I doubt that he's singled out BYU for that one penalty in a lousy (and long) '08 season. For one, it didn't cost them the game. And two, it was nothing BYU did to him like a cheapshot or anything, only the ref's enforcing the rule book. What's more, you could say that in the past it's the running QB's who have hurt us. I would argue that that is becoming less and less the case but even still, Locker is becoming less and less of a running QB. In 2007, he had 986 yards on 172 carries. In 2008, he was on pace to hit 540 yards on 168 carries (evidence that opposing teams were clearly on to his one dimensional game) before getting injured in the fourth game of the season. In 2009, Sarkesian wanted him to focus on passing knowing that without a true passing threat, they wouldn't have any success. He rushed 112 times for 388 yards his past season. The only reason he was projected to go so high in the draft is because he's changed his game. Not that he still couldn't or doesn't take off on occasion but he just won't do it with the frequency we saw his first two years.
But the greatest reason for my peace of mind this offseason concerning next year's opener will be the job that Bronco and co did against OU this year. They played that one perfect and with that much time, I suspect them to do the same thing with the UW game plan. Look at the games we know they've focused on in the offseasons: UA in 2007 (to avenge the loss from the year before), UCLA in 2008 (perceived toughest game on the schedule that year), and OU in 2009. Now if they can just manage to work two games into the offseason (UW and FSU) we'll have a great start to next year and by the time we play TCU/Yewtah, I'll be feeling pretty good about our chances due to the experience gained by the new starters in the early part of the season. Talent and athleticism/speed won't be the thing holding us back next year.
