BYU vs. USC

[MikeWaters]

I couldn’t help but think of Statman during this game. The last time (and only time before) that USC played in Provo was the game that I attended with Statman. May he Rest In Peace, and may his family be blessed.

I missed the first half of the first quarter, because that is where my DVR started (I was a bit time shifted). So I didn’t see that first USC drive.

1. Very nice game for the QB. Who totally reminds me of Naruto, the anime character. His face, the hair, the headband. Anyway, a long-time friend of mine texted me at the end of the game that he was impressed with Wilson and figured he would try to watch more BYU this year just to see him play. My friend has no connection to BYU other than me.

2. Probably like many of you I was having my doubts about the “bend but do not break” defense that invited the run. We have been subject to this kind of defense for so long, and have seen it go wrong so many times. This was Bronco’s entire philosophy. Why not force the mistake-prone QB to throw more? Well, I guess that’s why we aren’t coaches. I would guess that they decided that if USC was going to throw, they would make the reads difficult by dropping so many in zone. And that they would try and take away the USC wide receivers. It worked. I didn’t see the USC vs. Stanford game, where apparently Slovis was so impressive.

3. I made a comment on CB during the game that I am not so impressed with Williams. I called him a tweener. He can do lots of things well, but not any particular thing at an elite level. He’s not a speed back. He’s not a power back. And he’s not shifty. Doesn’t make people miss. He made me eat my words in the 2nd half. He made some people miss, he broke some tackles. That was good to see.

4. While it was not really discussed. It does seem like BYU has a conditioning advantage. Our guys seem to be better conditioned and it is paying off late.

5. I love seeing this mistake-free special teams play. Not giving up big returns. Pretty consistent in the short FG game. And the punting game has been decent to good.

6. For those of us of a certain age, all we really want is a little BYU “magic.” The ability to be in the game, and maybe even win the game. We’ve gotten that the last two games. So it’s reminding us of the old days.

[ChinoCoug]

4. Kalani eems to emphasize conditioning a lot, but it's usually in terms of getting stronger and not endurance.