Balanced offense.  Balanced diet.  Balanced predictions.  Once again I follow up Josh’s predictions with my own tempered thoughts.  I’ll follow his lead and first own up to my predictions, perhaps gaining (or losing) some credibility in the process.

1. No BYU running back gets over 1,000 yards. Okay, maybe owning up wasn’t a good idea.  However, to my defense, at the time Fui Vakapuna was the slated starting HB and Harvey Unga was a practice phenom, but little more.  Unga ended up blowing up my expectations by rushing for 1,227 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.  I stand (happily) corrected.

2. Hall throws for more than 3,000 yards, but barely. I was just tempted to leave off that last part, but I’ll own up to it.  Hall exceeded all expectations by throwing for 3,848 yards yards and 26 touchdowns.  So I was right.  Technically.

3. BYU will continue its winning streak at home. Cha-ching.

4. BYU will finish regular season with a 9-3 record. Glad I could get this wrong.  I predicted a UCLA loss and Wyoming or New Mexico.  Ouch.  Never saw Tulsa coming.  Off by one game, not bad.

5. Breakout players of the year: Kelly Poppinga on defense and Dennis Pitta on offense.  I could argue that I was right, Poppinga led the team in tackles and Pitta led the team in receptions.  If you wanted to argue Unga/Collie or Hall on offense, I’d probably let you win though. Continue Reading »

This is by far my favorite article of the season to write. We’re about a week away from the start of fall camp and rivalry banter is already coming out at the office. I’m geeked, you’re geeked, August can’t go fast enough.

Before I get to my predictions for this year, it’s time to own up to my predictions for last year.
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BYU has more stringent criteria when it comes to what players are offered a football scholarship. Players are expected to be upstanding citizens, academically applied, Division 1 athletes, willing to live by the honor code, willing to represent the LDS church and many other unique traits. This offseason has been another interesting one in recruiting as the crop of LDS talent is better than ever, led by Manti Te’o.

As we did with the general updates, to some peoples chagrin, we’ll do a recruiting general overview today and we can get in to more details in the near future. Continue Reading »

Hey everybody!  It feels pretty good to get back in the saddle, so let’s ride!

Despite the fact that Cougar Legion has been in hibernation, this summer has heard much more buzz surrounding BYU football than just about any in the program’s history. Let’s just get it out in the open: BYU fans expect the team to go undefeated this year. Will they? Let’s examine:

Yes: Even with the loss of Manase Tonga to academic ineligibility, BYU’s offense is as stacked as it’s ever been. I don’t even dare to guess how many passing yards Max Hall will put up this year, how many touchdown passes. Unga should crack 1,000 on the ground for the second straight year (remember that he didn’t even get significant carries until the third game of the season at Tulsa). The receiving corp stands shoulder-to-shoulder with just about any other in BYU’s history. Even if the defense turns out to be mediocre this season (probably not going to be the case), who’s going to outscore this Cougar offense, hm?

No: I won’t say the word and put a hex on the whole season, but we all know that there are certain positions where BYU lacks the depth to absorb losses and keep on chugging. Please knock on wood right now.

Yes: The schedule. Some may disagree with me about this, but there aren’t many tests for a full-strength BYU squad on the schedule. I’ve got UCLA and Utah as the only meaningful tests of BYU’s quality, with Utah being the tougher of the two games.

The only potentially potent offense on the schedule is Utah. BYU’s young defense might have had an early test with UCLA, but the Bruins were decimated by injuries in spring practice (two quarterbacks, three offensive linemen). The back seven has plenty of time to grow up in time for a winner-take-all showdown with the Utes in November.

It’s certainly a tougher schedule than Hawaii’s from last year (gratefully), but a team as good as BYU going undefeated with that schedule will not be a shocker.

No: That word again. Knock.

Yes: I think something happened to the BYU football program after the Las Vegas Bowl last December. BYU played awful in that game. They had no business winning it. Yet, they made a play at the end and won. This was a great blessing for the Cougars for two reasons:

1. It signaled, in my opinion, the official return of BYU as a national football presence. Really good football programs win games that they don’t deserve to win.
2. It left the players humble and hungry. A lot of guys knew they stunk out the joint. They still have a lot to prove, and that’s good. They’ll need to remember that feeling if they get to 8-0 or 9-0 and the media starts showering them with praise.

No: Every game the Cougars win will only add to the already growing BCS talk. Can the players shut it out and stay focused as the season goes on? Let’s face it–Cougar fans are already working themselves into a lather over the possibility of a trip to the Fiesta Bowl. It’s going to be tough on the team.

Do I think BYU will go undefeated in 2008? I’ll go along with ESPN’s Mark Schlabach on this one and say yes.

57 days and counting…

Coach Bronco Mendenhall has asked the team to strive for perfection this year.  Perfection in their assignments, perfection in their effort, perfection in their focus.  The national media has taken this quest and imposed a destination, a BCS bowl game.

Taking a few weeks (months) off to regroup, Cougar Legion is putting its best foot forward to cover what could be a special year and what is already a unique program.  Anyone mentioning the Cruiser episode gets slapped with a wet tuna.  End of story.

Since there is no easy way to catch up, I’ll hit on some things I’ve found interesting in the off-season thus far and we’ll take it a bit at a time, because..well..who are we kidding, we still have about 60 days of summer doldrums until LES rocks again (no… Stadium of Fire doesn’t count.) Let’s get going.

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