Matt's Brain Stowell'n Questions

BYU game, BYU ticket office student ticket policy, BYU memories, and a little more...

After the novel I wrote answering the first set of questions, the decision was made to cut the number of questions back to five. That may change in the future, because really it isn't like people are regulating us. Yet, for now it will remain at five questions a week.

Mark, It took a while for these five questions to mosey their way out of the corners of my brain this week but with school starting and a hike up Mount Timpanogos, (Something that is on my list of things to do, but have never gotten around to doing)that seemed to take a month to complete, my mind has been elsewhere. So that leads me into my first question.

1. Prediction time. Who is going to win this week's BYU game, what’s the score, and who is the offensive mvp/defensive mvp?

I stand by my prediction: BYU 35 Northern Iowa 17. I think this game isn't going to be a huge blow out from the start. I think it will be a two score game at half time, and during the third quarter is when BYU will extend the lead.

Offensive MVP: Harvey Unga - He will have 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the game

Defensive MVP: David Nixon - I was going to go with one of the studs BYU has a D-line, but I think Nixon will really be trying to make a statement in this game. He will try to be making all kinds of plays, and I think he is good enough to get the job done.

Special Teams: O'Neil Chambers - (see question #4)

2. If you had to pin point one area in the Candy Cafe(a business that I helped start/run out of the Stowell household during a summer vacation growing up)downfall what would it be?

That we didn't stop after that first weekend. We made a killing on that first weekend. I think we each put twenty dollars into Candy Cafe, and if we stopped after that first weekend we would have end up each making about $100.00.

Although looking back on that business, we were really coming up with some great ideas for the age we were. We produced our own advertisement that we would call people and play, and copy might still be on the Colyar's answering machine. We out sourced our deliveries, and hired a cheap work force to perform them for us. We also had strict inventory control. Not bad considering how old we were. We just didn't know when to cut and run, when we were sitting on a small pile of money.

3. With the BYU ticket office making it more difficult for us to get in the stadium than it is for Craig Madsen to have a clean thought enter his head. What would you do differently if you were the head of the BYU ticket department?

I have really tried to keep my cool in regards to the terrible ticket policy that BYU used to assign student tickets this year; however, this week I hit my tipping point. The BYU ticket office has moved below the Mountain Television Network as the worst run organization I have ever seen. They now stand alone at number one.

The Five Worst Run Organizations I Have Ever Seen:
1) BYU ticket office
2) The Mtn.
3) Whoever does the drug testing for the MLB/the MLBPA (Major League Baseball Player Union)
4) The Brasilian Post Office/Police Department
5) The DMV/the U of U financial aid office (the college equivalent of the DMV)

The BYU ticket office just made far too many mistakes to list them in one post. Yet, the major mistakes I will include in the post are: not having the rotating seats for the students, not having the program properly tested before use, and over promising and under delivering. The last issue is the biggest. That is a cardinal sin of business. Anytime you over promise what you are going to do you are in a bad situation. If the ticket office would have communicated better with the students, prior to implementing the system(Until the end of July they gave NO information about what the new ticket policy would be), I think everyone would have been okay with the current system. They chose not to do this, and like The Mtn, oversold how great the new system will be. Now even if the new system is the greatest ticket system of all time it doesn't matter. Everyone has a bad taste in their mouth from being burned by the ticket office, and they will have to make some changes now to appease the fans.

If I were in charge of the BYU ticket office I would do something amazing, I would have used the system that has been working for many years. That is the same system they used last year. It wasn't perfect; however, it resulted in far fewer headaches than the current system. The old system was also very easy to understand. You get your tickets, and that is where you are going to sit. Problem solved! The problem with BYU is they are too proud to admit when they are wrong. That is why I like Bronco, maybe he isn't the most energetic guy to listen to do an interview; however, he takes responsibility for mistakes the team makes and corrects them in the future.

4. With O’Neil Chambers coming out and saying that he guarantees a kick return this season, some say that’s less likely than Austin collie throwing a pass to himself. Do you think Chambers should have said that not even having any college experience? But after watching Chamber’s highlight video on youtube

(turn the volume down on that video by the way, I’m sure Bronco wouldn’t approve of Chambers listening to that in Provo!!!!)
I’ve become a believer myself. What are you’re thoughts on this Mark?

I REALLY like O'Neil Chambers. He isn't afraid to speak his mind, and he isn't afraid to be a little cocky. Not only do I think he will return a kick this season, I think he will do it in the opening game. If Northern Iowa kicks to him. White, the other returner for BYU, is much slower and doesn't have big play potential. I have no idea why other teams wouldn't kick it to White every time. If he stays out of trouble, I think O'Neil Chambers will be a huge part of this year's team.

Collie playing QB is a bigger question for me. I don't get why they are moving him to QB. Unless he is going to be used like Weddell was used at Utah, then I don't see any reason for BYU to move him to QB. You can't tell me that Collie, and his little arm is better than either Gaskins or McEuen. If they do use Collie at QB and implement a spread option formation, then I am all for the move to QB

5. The last time I watched a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium it was also the last time someone else did and his name is Gary Crowton. The last time I watched a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium O'Neil Chambers was a Freshman just dreaming about playing at BYU, and the cougars uniforms looked like this. The last time I was there BYU lost to New Mexico 21-14, a really ugly game. So Mark, what have been your favorite moments at LaVell Edwards Stadium since I left?

Here are the top two moments while you were gone, Matt:
The best has to be last year's BYU vs Utah game. That game had everything! It was a great game from start to finish. It also had moments of complete dread, and of pure sports happiness. Sitting next to a pair of mouthy Utah fans was the best part. After Utah went up late in the game they started to really run their mouths. They instantly shutup after Collie pulled in the magic 4th and 18 pass. Storming the field after the game was great.

Before Bronco's first game was against Boston College was really cool. The stadium was packed, and it was loud. Everyone was really excited to see what Bronco was going to be able to do as head coach of BYU. When the players ran onto the field carrying the BYU Title of Liberty flag...AWESOME. It was the loudest I have heard the stadium since the early 90's.

All-Time Greatest LaVell Eadwards Stadium Moment:
BYU beats Miami during the 1990 season. That was great to watch. I was quite old enough to really understand how big of a deal it was that BYU won that game, but I was just old enough to really enjoy the atmosphere. Everyone was excited to be playing Miami. Detmer made a few out of this world plays, and storming the field after the game really molded me as a fan. I don't think I would be such a huge sports fan, if it wasn't for that 1990 BYU season.

My other opinion that has really changed since the last time you watched a game at LES, is my opinion of Gary Crowton. I have a much higher opinion of him now then I did then. He is a really classy guy, and has a good football head on his shoulders. He just wasn't good at the administrative responsibilities that came along with being the head coach of BYU. I also think he got snack bit by some people within BYU's administration, and by some bad recruits. I also think that he got an unfair shake from the media. Yet, those things are part of the being a head coach, and I think he knew that when they hired him. I think everything worked out well, Bronco is much better suited for the BYU head coaching position, and Crowton really landed on his feet.