USU this week

It used to be, when I moved to Utah in 2001, that we debated incessantly, whether or not USU was a rival or not. The biggest argument against it that was posed was you can't call a game a rivalry if you beat your opponent year after year. The same argument that foolish Pukes like to make these days because they are arrogant and own a 9-game win streak.



That was then and now is now. We've lost 2 in a row against USU. Losing 3 is unthinkable and unacceptable if Kalani Sitake wants to have his contract extended.



I don't think anyone would argue that BYU vs. USU isn't a rivalry. We simply have 3, and they are at different levels. Tier 1 is Puekatah, Tier 2 is USU and Boise State is Tier 3. I doubt USU will ever be to the level of U of U unless we no longer have the Pukes on our schedule regularly, and USU will always be ahead of BSU because we have been playing USU just about as long as any team we've ever played. BSU is more of a millenial rivalry and based a lot on the same thing that the USU rivalry is--there are a lot of LDS in both Boise and Logan. That's what seems to make rivalries around here--the chance for LDS of one group to claim command of the LDS of another regional group (strange as that is)

Honestly, after watching the USU vs Air Force game, I don't know what to think. It's actually the only USU game I've watched in its entirety this season, although I've seen pieces of others too.



I think you can throw out what you saw in that game as it doesn't apply to this weeks game. We don't have the firepower to run an offense like Air Force ran. I can honestly say I've never watched a team get so ripped apart in my whole life. Bar those two turnovers AF had in USU's territory and it would have been a bigger route. USU didn't seem to be able to stop their rushing, but it wasn't like most 400 plus yard rushing games because there really were no huge scampers. It was all basically 15 yards and less, just over and over again. AF was quick. Their backs run north-to-south very quickly and USU could not come up with anything successful to stop the triple option.



The part that was hardest to understand though was where did the USU offense go? They have a very, very good quarterback. The kind that BYU usually does very poorly against, but I don't understand how AF was able to so easily shut them down. I'm still puzzled and my puzzler is sore.



I think we act as though it didn't happen and focus on our own strengths. I do have a bit more confidence that we will beat USU though now after watching that game because this isn't the strong team USU has had the last two seasons, but still, this isn't a bad team--at least not as bad of a team as I saw Saturday.

Two things we can count on:

1) Utah State is always tougher at home than on the road, and even tougher when they play BYU. In past years, the game against the Cougs was, essentially, their bowl game. Not so this year ... but nevertheless, they get up for this game.



2) In the last several years, USU rarely fails to rally after a loss. So they will be coming into this game with "blood in their eye" to prove that last week was a fluke ... and add to #1 above.



I believe BYU should win ... but they better play at least 3 quarters of football (like they did against BSU) or they will come home with a loss. If they ONLY play 3 quarters, they still stand a reasonably good shot at a loss. Tennessee and USC notwithstanding, this team has struggled to play a complete game. Therefore, I am concerned. I REALLY hope it is for no good reason.

My suspicion is that BYU drops this game by more than 2 touchdowns. BYU has not had two good games back to back since Hill and Williams left, and I do not see that changing this week.

Oddsmakers favor USU by 3 or so points...

USU after a loss for the past couple years:



2018:

Lost to Michigan State 38-31, next game beat NMSU 60-13 @ home

Lost to Boise State 33-24, next game beat UNT 33-24 in NM bowl



2019:

Lost to WF 38-35, next game beat Stony Brook 62-7 @ home

Lost to LSU 42-6, next game being Nevada 36-10 @ home

Lost to Air Force 31-7, now playing BYU @ home

I wouldn't really describe the BYU vs Utah as a rivalry these days. We aren't rivaling them at all.



USU is more of a rivalry for us these days. USU certainly takes it that way and we've been kind of stupid not to.



We can't lose to USU.

This one has me scratching my head. My kneejerk reaction is that USU got a thorough beatdown from Air Force, therefore BYU is capable of doing the same.



However, BYU will need to win in a different way compared to the triple option. I do think the offense is doing well enough to do it. I think we have better ath-uh-letes and a better system.



I'm a little concerned about how our special teams and defense will do with a rowdy cold night in (ahem) Ogden?



I think it will be close, but I think BYU has them this year. I'll go with 31-24. Cmon Cougs, let's come off the bye week better this time.

TulaneVandyRiceCoug wrote:
I think we have better ath-uh-letes and a better system.

If current trends continue, BYU having better athletes will, in a couple of years, be very debateable.



As for BYU having a better system, I don't think BYU has a good system at all right now unless their selected system is "schizophrenia".

My instinct is that BYU will lose this game, USU has better coaching and have been the better team for the last few years. My instinct was that they would lose to BSU last game. I have no idea what team will show up. Chances are BYU wins this game, gets full of themselves and then loses to liberty in a couple of weeks.

It's funny though, as USU beat UU in 2012 and the next two games were only 4 & 10 point wins for Puketah, they've never returned to play them again. They had played 112 games and Wikipedia calls their rivalry "The Battle of the Brothers", but it is no more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Brothers



Puketah attempts to hide behind needing to schedule all these other games to give them more exposure, and a softer schedule, but truth be known, it's nothing more than them hiding from a potential loss.



Look how they have tried to diminish the BYU rivalry--even despite having a 9 game winning streak. Granted, a P5 schedule is a tough road to hoe, but still, to not play USU at all after they had played them most of their history before they went to the PAC12 says a lot.



Also, with Puketah's shift into the PAC12, and their turning away from routinely playing USU, the Beehive Boot stopped. Puketah had it last in 2016, and that's where it stayed without USU and UU playing one another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_Boot

Activity on this site begs for more action. I guess everyone is getting their fill over on CougarBoard? :skeptic:



I wish we'd have more talk here where we don't have the wingnuts that abound at CB that jab at everyone's comment attempting to be...something that they're not.



I always worry about every game we play, especially after loses in the last few years to the likes of UMass, etc. USU is always gunning for us and I'm anxious. I don't like that Dayan Ghanwoloku made the comment this week about USU protecting their dairy farms, but I really don't think USU needs any bulletin board material to be up for this game. The element I worry most about BYU is that after watching the USU vs AF game that they get a bit too confident and think they can likewise roll over USU. As I noted in an earlier post, I'd throw the whole AF game out the window as there seems to be nothing of value in watching it. I still don't understand what happened to USU. They played hard against Wake Forest and lost a close one against a team that's proven this season to be no pushover and then later laid SDSU only loss on them. I don't know what to say about their butt whoopin from LSU other than LSU is very good, but I didn't think USU was going to get destroyed. Maybe USU is more bi-polar than BYU has been this season.

LIfe just has too much going on. I have not been very active. It will get better after the term ends. By the way go and vote for Dayan Ghanwoloku.

scott715 wrote:

LIfe just has too much going on. I have not been very active. It will get better after the term ends. By the way go and vote for Dayan Ghanwoloku.

I did. I'm OCD about this kind of stuff. I vote twice from my work computer and twice from my home computer.



I just miss some of the chatter we used to have here. It was never overwhelming, but it was much more than we're seeing these day. I just wonder if it has to do with, like you said, people just getting more busier in their lives, whereas, at the age of 61, more control of my life is at hand than before.

I'm 57 trying to get ready to retire. I'm teaching a double load, started a business. Another starts in a few days. Doing a fraud audit and I hit the road on Thursday.

I am trying to keep quiet because my gut feeling is that USU is going to destroy us again like they have the last 2 years. I really hope we see the BYU team that showed up against Boise State but history has shown that when BYU gets a big win under Sitake, they come out and play horrible the next game.

frdbtr wrote:

I am trying to keep quiet because my gut feeling is that USU is going to destroy us again like they have the last 2 years. I really hope we see the BYU team that showed up against Boise State but history has shown that when BYU gets a big win under Sitake, they come out and play horrible the next game.

Generally I would agree except I really do believe Kalani's fate is decided in this game. Any coach that loses 3 games in a row to USU is always going to be in a precarious position with the parallel lack of beating our main rival. BSU bought him some time, but I'm off his ship if he loses this game. I think he knows how much more important it is to beat USU than having beaten BSU.

EM_Puma wrote:

I am trying to keep quiet because my gut feeling is that USU is going to destroy us again like they have the last 2 years. I really hope we see the BYU team that showed up against Boise State but history has shown that when BYU gets a big win under Sitake, they come out and play horrible the next game.

Generally I would agree except I really do believe Kalani's fate is decided in this game. Any coach that loses 3 games in a row to USU is always going to be in a precarious position with the parallel lack of beating our main rival. BSU bought him some time, but I'm off his ship if he loses this game. I think he knows how much more important it is to beat USU than having beaten BSU.

I hope so, and I hope he coaches like his job is on the line from now on.

EM_Puma wrote:

The element I worry most about BYU is that after watching the USU vs AF game that they get a bit too confident and think they can likewise roll over USU. As I noted in an earlier post, I'd throw the whole AF game out the window as there seems to be nothing of value in watching it.

Potential benefit of watching the AF game: IF the DC is willing to change some things up, and IF he compares what AF did to what other teams did to successfully limit USU offense, then there is something to learn. BYU defense has been somewhat static this year (static in that I don't believe there have been many changes or wrinkles); if they were able to work in some changes for USU and adopt some plays that were effective for AF and other teams, it could come as a real shock to USU and a boost for the Cougs.



BUT, if AF is watched as a film to be indicative of USU's play ... then we are in trouble.



I'm hoping that some of the different attitude and play we saw against BSU carries forward ... otherwise we will see loses against USU and SDSU. They are both very good teams.

mtnradio wrote:



Potential benefit of watching the AF game: IF the DC is willing to change some things up, and IF he compares what AF did to what other teams did to successfully limit USU offense, then there is something to learn. BYU defense has been somewhat static this year (static in that I don't believe there have been many changes or wrinkles); if they were able to work in some changes for USU and adopt some plays that were effective for AF and other teams, it could come as a real shock to USU and a boost for the Cougs.



BUT, if AF is watched as a film to be indicative of USU's play ... then we are in trouble.



I'm hoping that some of the different attitude and play we saw against BSU carries forward ... otherwise we will see loses against USU and SDSU. They are both very good teams.

Well the talk after the BSU game was that Sitake took over play calling for the defense in that game. I've seen it mentioned around, but downplayed by BYU staff. If that is so, then I would expect the same in the USU game, but if reins have been given back to Tuiaki and there are no wrinkles and same-ol, same ol--then fire the bunch. I have to believe that KS is aware of the HIGH importance of this game. He wins we'll all be asking later what he has done for us lately, but lose this game and I would be surprised to see him survive.