The Big Podcast BYU Edition Episode 33 - Record November 29, 2009

BYU Football Podcast: Dramatic Win & Max Hall's Mouth Exemplifies What Make The Holy War Great.

• A review of a nasty, dirty, grind-it-out, Holy War.
• Conservative play calling by BYU.
• The impressive play of BYU's defense.
• Wynn looks to be a very good future quarterback for Utah.
• A debate over whether or not BYU won in spite of Max Hall's performance.
• Why did BYU start the game in the Wildcat formation?
• Was it worth it to rush the field?
• Hall makes sure everyone knows he hates the University of Utah, but who is surprised by these comments?
• Was Hall right going after Utah and BYU fans?
• A quick look ahead to what BYU will look like next season.
• Where will BYU go bowling?
• Grading the 2009 BYU regular season.

Download here (Right click and save as) or listen with the player below.

Read More >>>

Max Hall Happy the Pressure Is Off BYU Football: A Good Thing For BYU?

Max Hall happy that nobody expects anything of BYU football for the rest of the year...

Max Hall has made it official. The Pressure is now off BYU, which means they can start playing their best football.

Senior quarterback Max Hall mentioned in an interview that “the pressure is now off of us.” He went on to explain you can’t let disappointing losses destroy a season.

On one hand what do you expect Hall to say at this point of the season? It would be a bigger story if he was saying something like, “We really got destroyed by TCU at home. We didn’t deserve to be on the same field as the Horned Frogs. I mean our fans probably were embarrassed when Florida State walked all over us, but that is nothing compared to they must feel now after what we let TCU do to us. This season is now a complete waste. The only game with any meaning left is playing Utah for second place in the conference, after TCU handles the Utes at home in a little over a week.”

Hall is the leader of the team, and he has to rally the troops to complete a meaningless season. Like it or not, he is now a spin doctor and that means he needs to shine light on the bright side of the season.

Yet, it is still bothersome to hear the leader of a football team happy that the pressure is now off the team. Talking about how much fun it is to just play football. As a fan of BYU what are you suppose to think about such comments?

Is Hall saying he liked beating Tulane as much as he liked beating Oklahoma?

Is he saying he likes that BYU fell off the national radar, and they can just play for fun?

As a fan don’t you want the players to be excited to even be in the national spotlight? Or to be excited to compete in big games like TCU or Florida State?

When people use the line about how ‘football is supposed to be fun’ is usually a line which losing teams use to motivate their players.

That is the logic people use when their kids are in leagues that hand out trophies to every kid, no matter what they do. These kids don’t compete, teams don’t give scores. Everyone is a winner and there are no losers.

I know college football isn’t a professional level of football, and you can’t kill college players for just competing. Yet, it is still the second highest level of competitive football. Other teams step on the field hoping to do more than simply have fun. Most of the players are receiving free schooling (SEC and USC players usually get a little pocket money) for competing and winning football games.

Max Hall is simply saying BYU plays their best when there isn’t any pressure. That might explain BYU’s terrible record in big games. Here is a look back at how BYU has played in high pressure games the last two seasons.

October 24, 2009 TCU @ BYU 38-7 loss—College Game Day comes to Provo. The national spotlight shined on LaVell Edwards Stadium and BYU wilted. BYU was never in the game, and played with little to no heart.

September 19, 2009 Florida State @ BYU 54-28 loss—National media members were talking about BYU being in the national title game. BYU crack under pressure and allows Florida State to dominate them at home. The Seminoles follow up the win with three straight losses, with two of those losses coming at home.

September 5, 2009 BYU vs. Oklahoma 14-13 win—While this was a major win for BYU, no one expected BYU to win. There was no pressure. So while this was a huge victory for BYU, was there really any pressure for BYU to win?

December 20, 2008 BYU vs. Arizona 31-21 loss—BYU trying to save face after losing to Utah, and missing a BCS bowl plays with no heart and lets Arizona control the game.

November 22, 2008 BYU @ Utah 48-24 loss—BYU was still playing for a long shot chance at a BCS birth, and a piece of the conference championship. BYU kept the score close, but was doing little to slow down Utah. Hall has worst game in college career throwing five interceptions and fumbling the ball once.

October 16, 2008 BYU @ TCU 32-7 loss—BYU fans were still wearing their “quest for perfection” T-shirts proudly and national media members were warming to the thought of BYU in a BCS bowl. TCU was the first real test of the year for BYU (UCLA and Washington were both terrible that season), and TCU destroyed the Cougars.

1-5 in high pressure games (including Oklahoma even though there was no real pressure on BYU to win) in the last two years isn’t very good.

If BYU wins the remaining games on their schedule Max Hall will have the most wins of all BYU’s quarterbacks; however, Hall will not crack the list of the top five greatest quarterbacks in school history.

Why?

Whether right or wrong BYU fans judge quarterbacks on how they play when there is something on the line. How the quarterback will play under pressure.

Hall had fun and was successful in low pressure games; great BYU quarterbacks had fun and did well when something was on the line. That is just the story about Max Hall’s college career good, but not great.

Read More >>>

BYU Football Midseason Report Card—Good, But Still a Chance to Be Great

A complete mid-season report card for BYU...

The Cougars have the exact same record through seven games this season as last year.

Looking at the two teams it appears this year’s version is a more complete team. BYU is in a much better position this season heading into their eighth game.

The 2009 Cougars are still undefeated in conference, and control their own destiny as far as winning the conference. This year’s team also has enough games left on their schedule against good teams to get back into the BCS hunt; however, they will still need many things to fall their way.

So far BYU has been impressive. Here is a mid-season report card for BYU.

Offense

Offensive Line – BYU was replacing four out of five starters from last year’s team at the beginning of the season. Then in fall camp injuries weakened the offensive line further with injuries to both Reynolds brothers and Jason Speredon looked to cripple any hope which the offense line had for the 2009 season. Yet, the offense line has proven to be one of the major strengths of BYU’s team this season.

Comparing this season’s offensive line to last season’s version through seven games; the 2009 offensive line is giving up more sacks – 1.29 sacks per game compared to 1.14 sacks per game last season. The 2009 offensive line is helping the Cougars to move better on the ground – averaging 163.54 yards per game compared to 116.57 yards per game last season through seven games.

BYU will need the offensive line to continue to progress in order to win the conference this season.

Grade: A-

Receivers and Tight Ends—The concern for BYU was to find a way to replace Austin Collie. There has been no single receiver who has equaled Collie’s production; however, the receiving core this season has provided many targets for Max Hall.

McKay Jacobson and O’Neill Chambers have proven to be the anchors of the receiving core. Jacobson emerged early as a deep threat target for Max Hall, but an injury to his Hamstring has sidelined him for a large portion of the season.

While the Cougar receivers continue to be sure-handed when catching the ball, the receiving core has been responsible for costly fumbles at key moments in games. This lack of ball control is out of sorts for a BYU receiving core.

The tight ends continue to be key targets for Max Hall. Dennis Pitta leads BYU in both receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Pitta is Hall’s go-top receiver when the Cougars need a big play. Andrew George has also proved to be a solid pass catching option for BYU.

Grade: B

Running Backs – Harvey Unga is still the best player on the roster for BYU. Unga got off to a slow start this season due to a hamstring injury, but he has raised his average to 95.83 yards per game, which ranks first in the Mountain West.

Unga doesn’t have to carry the load solo, both Bryan Kariya and J.J. DiLuigi have proven themselves to be an adequate change of pace back for BYU.

The biggest support for Unga in BYU’s offense comes from fullback Manase Tonga. Tonga is an emotional leader for BYU, and act like another lineman in the offense. Much of the running backs success this season is due to holes which Tonga opens for them. Tonga is also a sure-handed pass catcher out of the back field.

Grade: A

Quarterback – Max Hall is in the midst of his senior season, and that raises the already high expectations placed on BYU quarterbacks. BYU expects to compete for a conference title every year, but with a senior quarterback BYU demands to win a conference title. Anything but perfection in the conference schedule would be considered a failed season for Max Hall.

Hall drew large amounts of criticism in the early part of the season due to his interception numbers. While it cannot be ignored that the interceptions were unwanted, many of them couldn’t be directly blamed on Hall.

Hall’s quarterback ranking and completion percentage is improved from last season; however, it would be hard for Hall to repeat his touchdown numbers from last season.

While Hall completed a drive which will be ranked among the all-time best at BYU against Oklahoma; Hall was unable to put together a comeback against Florida State at home.

Hall’s numbers are very impressive, and it seems he has cut down on his interception numbers. The more difficult conference games are ahead of Hall and BYU, but it appears Hall is on pace to have an excellent senior season.

Grade: B+

Overall Offense – The Cougars are ranked in the top ten in total offense and in scoring offense. It appears like BYU is once again an elite offensive powerhouse in all of college football. Yet, the offense continues to have scoring droughts during games, which could lead to trouble later in the season. At the halfway point the offense looks very impressive.

Grade: A-

Defense

Defensive Line – Jan Jorgenson and Brett Denney were supposed to be the anchors of the defense, and both players started the season very slowly.

Since the Florida State game the defensive line has been very impressive. Jorgenson leads the team in tackles for loss, and is tied for second in sacks. The two sacks he has this season is incredibly small considering Jorgenson had 14 two seasons ago.

Romney Fuga has also played well this season, especially after he took on a larger role after Russell Tialavea went down due to injury. Fuga fills the middle of the line well. He has 25 tackles, 12 unassisted, three for loss, and a sack on the season.

The defensive line helps the cougars to be ranked 23^rd in rushing defense. BYU has held their opponents under a 100 yards rushing in three out of their last four games.

Grade: B-

Linebackers—The linebackers have been solid this season. Coleby Clawson has been putting some serious hits on the quarterbacks this season. He leads the team in sacks with three and quarterback hits with five.

Terrance Hooks, Shawn Doman, Matt Bauman, and Jordan Pendleton all play very fast. All have made some spectacular plays this season.

The linebackers have done a better job at being more aggressive and putting more pressure on the quarterback. The linebacker core has also been able to drop back and help in coverage better than last season.

It seems the linebackers have been making more plays this season, and really strengthened a defense which was questionable going into the season.

Yet, like the rest of the defense, the linebackers have made some major mistakes; most notably against Florida State at home. The linebackers need to be more consistent for the remainder of the season.

Grade: B

Secondary—This year’s secondary might be the best secondary BYU has had in the last ten years. Yet, in looking at the current secondary that might be saying more about the poor tradition of BYU’s secondary in the past.

Andrew Rich and Scott Johnson lead the team in tackles. Both are hard hitting members of the defense, and both are defensive leaders on the field. Johnson is a key player in calling out the defensive audibles on the field. Rich leads the team with forced fumbles with two on the season.

Brandon Bradley, Brian Logan, and Robbie Buckner are all improvements over last year’s cornerbacks. Logan leads the team in pass break-ups with nine, and has two interceptions on the year. Both Bradley and Logan are sure-tacklers, both proving they can make big unassisted tackles in the open field.

The Cougar defense is giving up more passing yardage through seven games this season—238.57 yards per game, compared to through seven games last year – 184.57 yards per game. One could argue the 2009 team has faced better passing teams through seven games, but the fact remains that BYU is ranked 89^th in pass defense.

The talent is improved, and the secondary is making plays this season; however, there are still some problems that BYU will need to address in the second half of the season to help the team succeed.

Grade: B-

Overall Defense—The defense is a big surprise this season. The secondary was supposed to be a huge weakness for this year’s team, but the secondary has proven they will be able to make plays to win games.

The real problem with the defense this season has been the lack of consistency from game to game of each defensive unit. The Oklahoma game is the only game this season it seemed all members of the defense were on the same page.

There is run for improvement for BYU’s defense which is currently ranked 48^th in total defense.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Kicking—This is a huge weakness for BYU. The kickoff defense has been a serious problem, and BYU’s opponents have ended up with great starting field position this season. BYU’s kickers have had trouble getting distance on their kicks, and haven’t shown enough control for directional kicks.

BYU currently ranks 83^rd in kickoff defense, giving up 22.59 yards a return. Those yards are added to short kickoffs. Riley Stephenson is averaging just 65 yards per kickoff, with just six touchbacks. That means teams are starting their returns on their own five yard line.

The containment by BYU defenders on kickoffs has also been suspect at times. Too often the defenders are slow to breakdown the opposing teams wedge, and fill the lanes on the coverage.

The PAT and field goals were a real concern for the team early in fall camp. Mitch Payne is 36-37 for PAT-attempts this season, and 4-5 for field goal attempts. While his numbers are solid, BYU would rather not have to rely on him hitting a big field goal.

Grade: D+

Punting – While BYU’s kickoff coverage has been poor, the coverage on punts has been excellent. BYU is ranked 7^th nationally in punt return defense, allowing a mere 2.20 yards a return. Stephenson is averaging a respectable 40.9 yards per punt, has kicked four punts over 50 yards, kicked four punts inside the 20 yard line, and hasn’t given up a blocked punt all season.

Stephenson could improve his punting distance; however, the punting game seems to be working well the few times (17) they have punted the ball this season.

Grade: B+

Kickoff and Punt Return—Chambers, Jacobson, and Di Luigi have been the return men of choice for BYU. O’Neill Chambers promised the BYU coaching staff and BYU fans that he would return a kickoff while he was at BYU. He is currently ranked 10^th in kickoff return yardage averaging 30.89 yards per game; however, he has not been able to take a kickoff to the end zone quite yet.

Punt returns have been nothing special for BYU this season. BYU is averaging 8.58 yards per return, which ranks them 65^th in the nation. After the first game this year, the Cougars haven’t had any major punt return turnovers. BYU would rather just hand the ball to their offense than try to risk getting a few more yards per punt return.

Grade: B+

Coaching—It seems as if the BYU coaching staff has really improved from last season. The play calling has improved this season, and the offense is more balanced. It also appears as if the team is better able to make adjustments during the game.

The major changes which were made in the off season seem to be paying off. Bronco Mendenhall has removed himself further from the defensive play calling, and Robert Anae has left the sideline and move to the coaching booth. Both changes have allowed the coaching staff to see the bigger picture in games, and not get so caught up in the minor battles which take place every down.

BYU was not prepared for Florida State. The blame for any team not being prepared for play falls squarely on coaching staff. Yet, the team has been able to bounce back better this season after an embarrassing loss.

Grade: B

Overall—BYU’s win over Oklahoma is being discredited by many due to Oklahoma’s 3-3 record; however, the three losses which OU suffered this season is by a combine five points. All of their losses were to ranked opponents, and even without Bradford at quarterback OU will compete in the BIG 12.

The win over Oklahoma, in the new Cowboy Stadium, is still an impressive win for BYU not only this season, but in the history of BYU.

The win over Oklahoma was great for BYU; the loss to Florida State was embarrassing. Those two games are the two extremes of the 2009 BYU season.

It is hard to think a team could play so well on the road against a top level team, only to play so poorly at home against a lesser opponent.

Before the season the consensus feeling among media members and BYU fans was: If BYU could start the season 2-1, with a win over either OU or FSU, then the season could be very special. Once BYU beat Oklahoma the expectations for the season was raised to the possibility of playing in the National Championship Game.

Overall BYU is better than most predicted before the start of the season. Even with the horrible loss to Florida State BYU is a good football team, and has shown moments of greatness. There is room for improvement, but if BYU makes the needed changes they will really have a great second half of the season.

Grade: B+

Read More >>>

Does Bronco Mendenhall Need to Apologize to BYU Fans Over Recent Comments? Nope

There is a new media created controversy regarding Bronco Mendenhall and BYU football...

I am not a great wordsmith, but there is a point where media members who are great writers seem to lower themselves to stirring the pot of controversy.

Bronco Mendenhall in his weekly press conference was asked if he is surprised about the criticism Max Hall has received for his turnovers. In response Bronco said the following:

“I would have been surprised maybe in my first year as the coach, at BYU maybe the second, but at this point the visibility of the program with the expectations I think it will always be here. For the people in the most visible positions: Head coach, quarterback, corner, offensive tackle, something like that; the positions which give up or could be criticized easily by a normal person, just by visibility, not necessarily a great fan, in terms of education and understanding the broader scheme of things, but if you're just to look out and say, where are the mistakes, the level of criticism usually matches the level of education and the fans, the people it comes from. So, I've learned not to take it personal, and I've tried to help Max do the same. And I think it will always be the case at BYU because of the visibility of the program.”

Bronco gave the quote in response to a question about why people are so critical of Max Hall. A football fan being critical of their quarterback isn’t a new topic; in fact I wrote about BYU fans being overly critical of their own quarterback this season, less than two weeks ago (“BYU Fans Need to Stop Blaming Max Hall”).

Yet, many members of the media are claiming that Bronco has insulted his own fan base. They claim he has gone too far, and he must now apologize to the BYU fans.

Salt Lake Tribune writer and 1280 The Zone radio host Gordon Monson, has gone so far as to write an article headlined, “Mendenhall owes BYU fans an apology.” He claims in his article that Bronco attacked the football intelligence of BYU fans.

While Monson makes his point in his usual way--he is just trying to stir the pot of controversy. He is just trying to make a story out of nothing.

In Bronco’s quote does he say the words, “BYU fans?” No.

Does Bronco talk about the lack of education in general among fans? Nope.

Now do some BYU fans fall under the umbrella of uneducated football fans? Absolutely, Yes!

A person attending a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium couldn’t throw a rock without it bouncing off two fans who know nothing about football. These bandwagon jumping, know-nothing fans seems to be everywhere in BYU football crowds; however, the same ratio of educated-to-non-educated fans exist in most any school’s college football crowd.

Bronco claims that the level of criticism a person gives about football is equal to the level of football education that person has. Is that true? Yes.

Bronco is simply stating a fact. It is a principle which exists in any field. A pianist could play a difficult concerto and make some minor mistakes, but a normal person often would be unable to tell. A normal person would think the performance quite outstanding, a person with little to no piano playing experience. A master pianist would have a different opinion of the performance. A master pianist would hear the mistakes, and would judge the piece by a different standard.

Now if the pianist made a major mistake, all the people listening would be able to tell that a mistake occurred. Yet, who would the pianist seek out for advice in order to fix their mistake? The novice listener or the Piano master?

Apply that same principle back to BYU football. Mistakes are occurring on the field, and the ball is being turned over. Max Hall is leading the nation in interceptions. Who is Bronco going to listen to in order to correct the problem? The average fan who has little understanding of the overall scheme of a college football offense or people with much higher football IQs?

The biggest mistake Bronco made, unknowingly or not in his statement, was insulting the bulk of media members. Bronco was not talking about just BYU fans in his statement; he was talking about all football fans. Whose job is it to throw out the most criticism about his job and Max Hall’s performance? Media members.

The bulk of media members, like me, have never played a single down of college football. The football education most media members have is quite limited. Usually the football education of an average media member is what they learned from high school football, watching football on TV, and playing football video games.

Media members will just look at numbers and try to assign meaning. Max Hall is leading the country in interceptions; therefore, Max Hall is playing poorly.

Most media members will not take a look at the bigger picture of why things occur on the field. Sadly, most media members, including myself, couldn’t explain exactly why everything occurs on the field in most college football. Why do you think media members are always asking for explanations from players and coaches?

Should I feel bad that a head football coach isn’t listening to my opinions and changing his game plan accordingly? No. I accept that a head football coach of a Division–I school knows more about football than I do.

Does this mean I don’t know anything about football or sports? No, although many seem to disagree. Fans can see things on the field and can figure out why things are occurring. There are times when fans can get to the bottom of a problem better than a coach. This is “The Emperor’s New Clothes” scenario, where the solution to a problem is really simple; however, the coaching staff is too prideful to make any changes.

Has BYU reached that point with Max Hall? Not even close.

Those football fans, whether BYU fans or not, who are calling for Hall’s benching due to interceptions are really just showing their lack of football knowledge. Not only are these fans not seeing the value of Max Hall, but they do not understand what a step down it is to Riley Nelson talent wise.

Being a head football coach requires having a tough skin to deal with all of your detractors. The same goes for being a quarterback at a university which is known for quarterbacking. Bronco and Max, do not take the criticism personally (which doesn’t necessarily mean they just ignore the criticism), and move forward trying to prove themselves on the field.

So, I must respectfully disagree with Gordon Monson. Not only do I not think Bronco should apologize for his comments in this week’s press conference, but I would think less of Coach Mendenhall if he were to even think about apologizing.

Read More >>>

BYU Fans Need to Stop Blaming Max Hall

When in doubt it seems BYU fans will always return to blaming the quarterback...

It has long been believed the most popular player on the BYU football team is the backup quarterback. This love of the backup comes from the high expectations fans put on any quarterback at BYU. The Cougars have a strong tradition of excellent field generals.

Young, McMahon, Bosco, Wilson, and Detmer are the gold standard of college quarterbacking. Even the second tier BYU quarterbacks like Beck, Doman, Sarkisian and Walsh all put up excellent numbers for college quarterbacks.

If a BYU quarterback isn't getting the job done on the field, the fan base will look to the backup to come in and continue the tradition of quarterback U.

So what is expected of Max Hall in his senior season? Perfection. Since the LaVell Edwards era, BYU has never had a senior quarterback who hasn't led the team to a conference title. When BYU has a senior quarterback the fans expect a special season.

Max Hall has been great ever since he started games for BYU. He won a conference title in his first season. He only has six losses in three years as the starting quarterback of BYU. He also beat Utah in his first season as a starter.

Yet, Max Hall seems to be the ire of many BYU fans. Hall definitely has some holes in his game. These holes were very apparent last season when BYU struggled on the road against TCU, and then Hall self-destructed against Utah by throwing five interceptions.

Even after Max Hall led BYU to a monumental victory over Oklahoma in Dallas, including converting a late drive in the fourth quarter to take the lead, fans after the game were criticizing Hall for the two interceptions he threw in the game. Now after the embarrassing home loss to Florida State fans seem ready to throw Hall under the bus for the loss.

It is obvious that Max Hall has problems, and I am not a Max Hall apologist; however, blaming Hall for the Florida State loss makes no sense.

Critics of Hall will point to the fact that Hall threw a pick-six early in the second half, and another interception which should have been a pick-six if Florida State players didn't end up tackling themselves. Surely Hall made a mistake and would like to have a chance not to throw the balls which were intercepted, but when those interceptions happened Hall was trying to make something happen.

The BYU defense proved in the first half that they could not stop Florida State. Florida State was perfect on third downs, and their offensive line were having their way with BYU's front seven. What BYU fans seem to overlook is the fact that Hall was also perfect in the first half. BYU also never failed to convert on a third down in the first half. BYU's offense was also moving the ball virtually at will against Florida State.

Hall just wasn't getting the support he needed from his supporting cast. The two fumbles in the first half were just foreshadowing the embarrassing end to the game. Hall was coming out for the second half knowing he had played great football, but BYU was down by sixteen points. Hall also knew that BYU was going to have to outscore Florida State in a shootout if they were to claim victory.

What makes Max Hall great is also what people hate about Max Hall. He is a gambler. He will try to make a big play to get his team a victory. It is obvious from the three years he has been starting for BYU, he does not believe in playing conservative to make a loss look good. If he is going to loss, he is going to loss swinging for the fences.

That is how Max Hall played in the second half of the game. He got burned by Florida State's defense which was able to sit back and expect the pass, but he was still trying to lead his team to victory. Evidence of this point comes from a mostly glossed over stat from BYU's defeat. BYU only punted the ball one time the entire game. Hall was going to let the ball fly. He did end up with a 64% completion percentage, and 306 passing yards in the game.

It was obvious some of BYU's players weren't ready to play against Florida State, with the majority of those players being on BYU's defense. Max Hall seemed to be the exception. He was ready to play against Florida State, and he proved that in the first half.

There are many things which went wrong for BYU against Florida State, but fans who blame Max Hall for the loss simply do not understand college football.

His critics will now question if Max Hall is able to rebound from poor performances. It seems as if once Hall faces adversity he will slowly snowball into self-destruct mode. Minus the Utah game last season, Hall was able to recover and lead the Cougars back in many games. Fans seem to forget Hall leading BYU past UNLV at home when the defense disappeared. Also, Hall needing to score a touchdown with twenty-two seconds left against Colorado State last season to beat the Rams on the road.

Simply put Max Hall has a lot left to prove this season, and he still has a great chance to etch his name into BYU lore. An 11-1 record this season would still be quite a feat for BYU.

Hall by beating Oklahoma put himself in the same sentence as Ty Detmer for greatest victory in school history. He also still has a chance this season to lead BYU to another conference title. He will also have a chance to prove all of his critics wrong if he can rebound and help his team recover from an embarrassing loss this Saturday.

Yet, Max Hall has often said he understands the pressures of being quarterback at BYU. Love him or hate him, he doesn't mind if the buck stops with Max Hall starting quarterback.

Read More >>>