Would Harvey have made a difference?

Do you think the outcome of the AFA game been different if Harvey Unga were playing? I love JJ, but he is a different kind of runner than Unga.

short answer= no. BYU as a team got beat down. May have changed the final score, but not enough to get the win. And besides that AFA was great against the run.

An emphatic YES. No fumble at the 5 yard line. No fumbles at all from Unga, he knew how to protect the ball and get tough yards. BYU would have been up 21-7 in the 2d quarter, changing how AFA played. Also, it would have freed up the secondary more for better passing.



I really think that had Unga played this season, Heaps would be the starter because Harvey was that important and reliable.



It's also a shame that George didn't have an extra year to play. He would have been greatly valued this season.

CougarPeasant wrote:
An emphatic YES. No fumble at the 5 yard line. No fumbles at all from Unga, he knew how to protect the ball and get tough yards. BYU would have been up 21-7 in the 2d quarter, changing how AFA played. Also, it would have freed up the secondary more for better passing.



I really think that had Unga played this season, Heaps would be the starter because Harvey was that important and reliable.



It's also a shame that George didn't have an extra year to play. He would have been greatly valued this season.

I remember a fumble from Unga @ UW on BYU's 5 yard line. So I don't think we can just assume Unga would have had no fumbles or changed the game all that much.

Yeah, I think that the momentum play was the fumble by JJ. I think Harvey is a huge difference maker in any game. I don't know that we win with Harvey, but I think we keep the momentum and it gives us a much better shot. Harvey fumbles a lot less than JJ.

does mars type with blue font?

declocoug wrote:

An emphatic YES. No fumble at the 5 yard line. No fumbles at all from Unga, he knew how to protect the ball and get tough yards. BYU would have been up 21-7 in the 2d quarter, changing how AFA played. Also, it would have freed up the secondary more for better passing.



I really think that had Unga played this season, Heaps would be the starter because Harvey was that important and reliable.



It's also a shame that George didn't have an extra year to play. He would have been greatly valued this season.

I remember a fumble from Unga @ UW on BYU's 5 yard line. So I don't think we can just assume Unga would have had no fumbles or changed the game all that much.

Harvey rarely ever fumbled. He was solid with the football. He also carries the ball much closer to his body than does JJ. No, Unga does not fumble on the 5 yard line like JJ did. And he carries the AFA players into the endzone for the TD. Yes, Unga would have made a difference Saturday.

unga was a beast who unfortunately couldn't tame the beast

Unga's three games against AF:

2009: 11 carries, 67 yards, 0 TDs, 3 catches, 12 yards, 0 TDs. BYU 38 AF 21

2008: 19 carries, 88 yards, 2 TDs, 4 catches 18 yards, 0 TDs. BYU 38 AF 24

2007: 22 carries, 111 yards, 0 TDs, 4 catches 49 yards, 1 TD. BYU 31 AF 6

kitic77 wrote:
Unga's three games against AF:

2009: 11 carries, 67 yards, 0 TDs, 3 catches, 12 yards, 0 TDs. BYU 38 AF 21

2008: 19 carries, 88 yards, 2 TDs, 4 catches 18 yards, 0 TDs. BYU 38 AF 24

2007: 22 carries, 111 yards, 0 TDs, 4 catches 49 yards, 1 TD. BYU 31 AF 6

so he averaged 4.5-6 ypc against AFA. Impressive.

Yes. His presence would have given AFA an honest reason to respect our ground run. I honestly think if Unga were on the field this season Heaps would have been named the starter. Unga brings the leadership and respect of defenses, allowing the pass to open up a bit. As it stands, especially with Nelson at the helm, defenses can stack the line, play man defense on our receivers and cross their fingers that Nelson will beat them.

Unga fumbled on the half yard line, just before breaking the plane of the end zone, against Washington last year. It would have put BYU up 14 and sealed the game. I believe a defender got a helmet on the ball. Nobody can hang onto the ball if it gets hit by a helmet just right.



Nobody is immune to fumbles, but DiLuigi does seem to have some ball security issues.

Unga fumbled on the half yard line, just before breaking the plane of the end zone, against Washington last year.

That was 2 years ago brother.



I do think Unga would have made a difference in the game. We more than likely would have still lost considering we couldn't stop them on D.

Welcome myself to posting on this board. I won't post a lot, but I read a lot.



I love Harvey, of course he would have made a difference in this game. I believe Heaps would be the starter if he were around because of his running and blocking reliability. However, Unga owed a lot of his greatness to Tonga.



That said, I don't think JJ gets the respect he deserves. Would Harvey have fumbled on the 5 yard line? Probably not. Would Harvey have had that awesome juking 53 yard run to get to the 5 yard line? Probably not. Only JJ could do that.



JJ has speed and moves that rarely come to BYU. Of course, if he can't hang to the ball, it's all for naught. I'm hoping he can prove reliable because JJ is one of the most exciting players on the field this year and I'm glad he's out of Harvey's shadow.

vancouvercougar wrote:
Do you think the outcome of the AFA game been different if Harvey Unga were playing? I love JJ, but he is a different kind of runner than Unga.

I don't know about changing the outcome, I doubt he would have coughed the ball up. I miss is patience and he was a great cut back runner with size.



On a side note - where in Vancouver, I too live in the couv

Yes. Another one of those threads that should be in the "Duh" category.