In my opinion
 

that was a statement game. UNM might be the 2nd best team in the MWC, perhaps they are a bit lower but it is difficult to argue that they were not playing like a top tier team coming into that game.

They had marked their calendars for that game ever since last year. They were taken to the woodshed in Provo and it was their chance to make a statement game. Rocky commented on how excited he was to get BYU in his house this year and they made the game homecoming. This was their game of the year.

UNM, as one of the top tier MWC teams, also was returning their entire team that left Provo last year wearing diapers dripping fecal matter out of a sorely stretched out anal sphincter. With all these returning players and all that emotion they got an early matchup with a rebuilding BYU team.

BYU lost pretty much every skill player from last year's good squad. Relying upon offensive skill players that include 3 sophmores and one freshman, none of whom had played the past two years presents a BYU squad that is ripe for a MWC top tier UNM team to beat at home.

Further, on the road BYU didn't play exactly crisp, though I think a great deal of this was due to UNM. Specifically, I think they got in Max Hall's head. It is huge advantage to run that defense against teams with innexperienced qbs. The scheming advantage bolstered UNM as BYU's solid pass offense was consistently struggling.

In the end, BYU won the game. It won the game because it made the key plays at the key times. Key defensive stops, it made fewer mistakes and it connected on a long bomb that the high risk-high reward blitzing defensive scheme exposes itself to. I watched the game and I concluded that BYU is better coached. They are more consistent. I agree with Rocky's sentiment that his team is just as good as BYU- this year. The - this year is my own caveat. I think UNM has the same potential to be as good as BYU this year. However, because BYU has a superior coaching staff they will win more games this season because they are more consistent. I don't buy the argument that UNM is as talented as BYU.

BYU's talent is innexperienced. That is why UNM can be as good as BYU this year. Next year when Max Hall has seen that defense once and if Austin Collie is 100% you will witness another trip to the woodshed for the Lobos complete with the requisite diapers to wear home to catch the dripping fecal matter when the Lobos learn that "my little Pony" is hung like a horse.

What does all of this mean and why the hell did I steal 15 minutes from my employer to play cheerleader? I think that if such a rebuilding BYU team can beat a top tier MWC team who considers the game to be their game of the year, and the comforting argument around the conference is to use what I might refer to as "zoob logic" to justify that UNM is just as good a team as BYU, is not a good omen to MWC foes. This is the year to get a shot in on BYU and it might not appear many of them have the talent and ability to take it.

I think we are beginning to see credible evidence that Coach Mendenhall is indeed returning BYU back to being a consistent program. It takes years to accomplish that, but in those years is included many games just as was witnessed on Saturday.

The fact that it is a struggle to beat these teams that struggle to get 30k at games is disappointing.

Raise the bar. Conference should be a clean sweep every year.

LOL!

Good to have you around Mike.

We are a BCS-calibre program in a non-BCS conference. We should dominate.

If you look at the Sears Cup standings we are at 26th, the only non-BCS school in the top 50.

Welcome aboard.

http://www.cougarboard.com/noframes/...tml?id=2700766

I made many statements to back up that prediction too. The defense wasn't young. We wouldn't need as good an offense as last year to win. Favorable schedule against a weak conference.

I reserve the right to change my mind, but next year might be more difficult than this one. I don't know how good next years defense will be.

Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Arizona wouldnt' dominate the MWC in football.

I doubt Duke would either.

BYU is what it is and I think Mendenahall is leveraging its advantages against its many weaknesses about as good as it can be done.

Still good to have you around.

Agreed and here is what I believe to be the truth. As long as Bronco is winning he can survive. He knows that. For all the talk by others about truth, integrity, honor and the American way, the bottom line at BYU is bring in the money.

Most of those BYU fans who mouth their love for integrity or honor won't pay the bills. They don't when we are winning and they certainly won't when we are losing.

Come on. Who cares about the Sears Cup? We are talking football.

Perhaps if we really were a BCS-caliber team, we would win more OOC games and always go undefeated in such a crappy conference.

Neither would Baylor. What's your point?

BYU is in a really weak, bad conference. The fact that there are heated arguments on CB about which conference is stronger WAC vs. MWC, should tell you something.

If Elder Mendenhall offers a hand of fellowship and support to Mantangi Tonga, it is likely to be better than it would be without such a charitable and forgiving head coach.

I don't really know we will know about the defense until we see how Doman and Hooks develop through the year. I also have no idea about the defensive backfield. Brandon Howard will be the only player returning at CB with any significant reps. Word is Brooks and G are really good, but that was once the word on Brandon Bradley and that word is no longer word up.

I think the Y needs at least one JC CB. The safeties should be adequate with Fowler and Tafuna. I would say no worse than this year. DL should be better, especially if Mantangi accepts Elder Mendenhall's hand of fellowship and support. LBs will be worse..alot worse. The question is if the sum of the parts will make the whole good enough. The offense should be absolutely dynamite so the defense will only have to hold teams to about 24 ppg for BYU to make a good run.