I've never left a game early until last night

I've attended BYU football home games since the early 80s. I've been there from the best of LaVell's days to his waning moments. I've been there through the ugliest of the Crowton years, but I never left a game until it read 00:00 across the clock. Even when we were getting blown up by Boise St. and CSU. Even when we were getting handed our first shutout in over thirty years at the hands of the Utes. Blizzards and heat waves have never dampened my spirits.



But I left early last night. Never before had I seen a BYU Cougars football team give up entirely. But that's what I saw. The offense never played with any heart, outside of JJ DiLuigi and Cody Hoffman. Jake Heaps is more afraid of making sure he makes it to the NFL healthy than of taking a hit in a college football game. The offensive line has little cohesion as a unit. Our supposed best WR of all time flat out don't exist, don't make plays. Some will say that the Ute defense was spectacular and the best we have played so far. Not so. I was at the game. I saw the wide open receivers. I saw the defensive players find easy ways through the line. They were not better than either of the defenses we've played so far. Our offense has simply gotten worse.



The defense played their hearts out in the first half. Literally. They had nothing left to give in the 2nd half. Our all world line backers and defensive line curled up like little girls on the field and begged for Utah to stop the relentless beatings. Lets face it too guys, it's not like we were being over powered by an offensive juggernaut. This was a bad bad bad offensive team that took us behind the wood shed. We just quit, we quit at every single position and coaching staff.



I've rooted and cheered for BYU through the ugliest of years, because even when we were getting beat I saw that our guys were out there giving it their all. They were being beat, but they were playing with passion. I gave up and left the game because our guys had given up. They had no passion, they were done. I will not support a team that quits on itself.

I would have left half way through the 3rd qtr!

Yeah, I'll agree that BYU looked like they had quit. Hard to say, though, since I only get to see them on Saturdays and not in practice. I don't know what they look like otherwise.



I always stay to the end, because it's easier to find your car once everyone else has left. :)



If it's the same, even though the TV was still on I had mentally checked out of watching the game last night. Only caught a glance of the fumble for TD and White's TD runs.

I think you are too hard on Apo. He is legit, he made plays when the ball was thrown his way, and BYU used him differently last night which was nice. He had the heart to line up in the slot and run across the middle and caught some balls doing it. I thought our WRs (Hoff and Apo) had their best games by far.



As to the team quitting, it was not until it was 33-7 and the O had many chances to turn things around and failed to do so. THe offense stunk in the 2nd half, and the D was trying to hold it together, but at 33-7, they just bailed, and let Utah run all over them. The game was over them anyway, it was clear to see, and in a way, I am glad it happened. Great teams do not let that happen, so it clearly showed we are far from great. FAR FROM IT. We got exposed last night as pretenders, wannabes, who talk big, think big of themselves,them fold.



My koolaid drinking days are done. BYU Football will have to show me first. They no longer get the benefit of the doubt under Bronco. His program does not deserve it. 1-2 starts 5 out of 7 times is far too many.

I thought the WRs were spectacular in the 1st half - 1st quarter particularly. The TEs also had a good first half.



But too many turnovers in the 2nd and when we didn't turn it over we went 3-and-out did our offensive production in.

We really needed a defensive stop after the 2nd half kickoff. We ran 3 plays in the early 3rd quarter while the :utard: scored 17 points. 3 PLAYS vs 3 SCORES just kick the crud out of you.

vancouvercougar wrote:
We really needed a defensive stop after the 2nd half kickoff. We ran 3 plays in the early 3rd quarter while the :utard: scored 17 points. 3 PLAYS vs 3 SCORES just kick the crud out of you.

BYU was up 10-7. The momentum was ALL on our side. We had just intercepted Wynn. This game was OURS for the taking. Instead we went penalty, 6 yards run, incomplete, incomplete, punt. Utah scored. We then ran out the clock to halftime. We kicked, Utah scored. We went incomplete, 3 yards, incomplete, punt. Utah scored. We fumbled the kickoff. Utah scored. Game. Set. Match. In 9:45 of game clock, the score went from 10-7 BYU to 30-10 with BYU running all of six plays. And then we gave up - offensively and defensively - and the game got real ugly.

Hey at least we got 1 TD and 343 yards passing.

declocoug wrote:
Hey at least we got 1 TD and 343 yards passing.

Yeah and the offense had two fumbles recovered for TDs and a two other fumbles that gave Utah the ball at the 3 and 6.

Understandable. They looked like a high school team in the 4th quarter.



Here's one upside. AS the famous preacher Billy Sunday once said: I'd rather have one foot in hell and headed towards heaven than 100 miles from hell and headed towards it."

This team almost needed a total leveling/decimation to get rid of the bad roots, bad, inflated egos, the poison, dissension, etc, etc.

Hopefully, one of these players, calls a team meeting and they work through the underlying problems that exist. Hopefully they "see things as they really are"--really really bad. And they finally get over themselves, their NC talk, their, we're better tan this and level the whole building and rebuild. If not after this game, it will have to happen after next week's loss.

These are the times where character, good character is built. Question is, will all of us be around to witness it or are we quitting like this team did?



In the face of total devastation how will your heart respond?

I'll still be there on Friday. Bringing my boy to the game. Mainly to keep my swearing to a minimum (don't need him learning those words yet :whistle: )

dmcougar wrote:
Understandable. They looked like a high school team in the 4th quarter.



Here's one upside. AS the famous preacher Billy Sunday once said: I'd rather have one foot in hell and headed towards heaven than 100 miles from hell and headed towards it."

This team almost needed a total leveling/decimation to get rid of the bad roots, bad, inflated egos, the poison, dissension, etc, etc.

Hopefully, one of these players, calls a team meeting and they work through the underlying problems that exist. Hopefully they "see things as they really are"--really really bad. And they finally get over themselves, their NC talk, their, we're better tan this and level the whole building and rebuild. If not after this game, it will have to happen after next week's loss.

These are the times where character, good character is built. Question is, will all of us be around to witness it or are we quitting like this team did?



In the face of total devastation how will your heart respond?

Uh...I thought that happened last season? Do we have to go through another one now just because we have young and inexperience coaches? Yikes. They could've warned us.

mizzoucoug wrote:

Understandable. They looked like a high school team in the 4th quarter.



Here's one upside. AS the famous preacher Billy Sunday once said: I'd rather have one foot in hell and headed towards heaven than 100 miles from hell and headed towards it."

This team almost needed a total leveling/decimation to get rid of the bad roots, bad, inflated egos, the poison, dissension, etc, etc.

Hopefully, one of these players, calls a team meeting and they work through the underlying problems that exist. Hopefully they "see things as they really are"--really really bad. And they finally get over themselves, their NC talk, their, we're better tan this and level the whole building and rebuild. If not after this game, it will have to happen after next week's loss.

These are the times where character, good character is built. Question is, will all of us be around to witness it or are we quitting like this team did?



In the face of total devastation how will your heart respond?

Uh...I thought that happened last season? Do we have to go through another one now just because we have young and inexperience coaches? Yikes. They could've warned us.

That pride cycle is vicious.

I don't think I've ever turned off a BYU football game early either. Saturday, I turned it off the first part of the 4th quarter...

This offense still lacks a leader. As much as I want to give Heaps the benefit of the doubt, he still hasn't won over his offense. You can see it in his interactions with other players...or more specifically his lack of interactions. Just watch him on the sidelines and you will see he is usually not talking with anyone. I think this will improve as we mature as a team, but who knows. The other things is that Heaps almost appears to fear contact. When he does get hit in the back field he tends to lose the ball. And how about, for once, he tries to get an extra yard or two rather than doing a premature slide. I don't want him to get hurt, but at the same time he needs to show some toughness. Maybe Nelson could lend Heaps his cropped, middrift exposing Jersey. That would toughen him up for sure!