A "Conference" Game: Utah St. and BYU Duke It Out

I hate the games where everything goes as expected. I picked BYU to win 40-20, with Max Hall throwing three touchdowns and at least two interceptions. This isn't going out on the limb, just playing the averages. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic with the win against an improving Aggie team.

So, thoughts on last night: Harvey Unga is phenomenal and we as fans should be savoring his time at BYU; Max Hall is bar-none the most frustrating player in a very long time--so much potential, loaded with weapons, good plays here and there, yet consistently makes stupid mistakes; we were finally able to see JJ DiLuigi on kickoff returns, and his 55-yard skat was very nice to see; Robbie Buckner did a fantastic job filling in for an absent-for-walk through-and-not playing-is-your-punishment Brian Logan. Buckner is a bit taller and faster, but certainly not the tackler Logan is.

Speaking of Logan, I spoke with him Friday (frequents my work often) and he told me he thought this would be a much more anticipated game than it is. He didn't know the history, but he was thinking it would be a great in-state rivalry. I laughed and told him to wait for Utah--then he'll know what a rivalry is. I told him it's hard to have a rivalry, and for fans to get really excited, when BYU consistently beats USU by three touchdowns.

For game grades and more, continuing reading...

Photo by Stuart Johnson, Deseret News

So, after last nights win BYU should either stay where they are in the polls or move up one spot, two at most. That's the reward for playing a 1-3 team, though they're better than their record shows.

Grades:

BYU offense: B: The Cougars were able to move the ball and put points on the board. Yet, somehow, I'm feeling underwhelmed by their season performance so far. Is that crazy? I don't know, but it seems like they're great for 2-3 drives during the game and then pretty average at other points.

BYU defense: A-: The defense did a great job containing a very mobile and quick Aggie quarterback. They stuffed the run and came up big on a couple critical plays--including a fourth down stop when the game was still a bit in doubt. It was nice to see Clawson hit a QB again (what a hit!), and Jan Jorgensen had his breakthrough game of the season.

I'm really liking the defense this year.

On to UNLV--and another foe being vanquished.