Photo by Jason Olson/Deseret News

I was blessed -or cursed- to be apart of two different Coaching regimes. One that went to consecutive bowl games and one that went home for consecutive bowl season. While seeing your family for an extra week during Christmas break is nice, the bowl games are more beneficial to individual players and teams.

When a team reaches the all important sixth win it sets its self up for an additional couple weeks of football practices that losing programs don’t get to participate in. I was never the kind of player that loved practice, but I appreciated the extra time on the field while other teams were at home sucking down egg nogg.

Those couple of weeks help build and establish a program for the next year. Coaches are able to evaluate young talent in short scrimmages and contact drills. Starter are  able to rebuild the strength lost during the long season, which can catapult players towards spring and summer conditioning. Those practices also give player additional time on the field with Coaches to learn technique, schemes and position mastery.

The learning aspect of bowl preparation is what contributed the most to my individual growth as a player. Being able to assess my performances on film and then have the opportunity to get out on the field, enabled me to fix bad habits and restore proper technique before the introduction of a new season.

When I think of the springs after bowl games I can defiantly say I came into the next season more prepared and ready to contribute after participating in a bowl game. Missing out on the bowl games early in my career slowed my progress and made the beginning of the winter semester the absolute worst -conditioning, lifting and position drills.

P.S- I also need to mention the fact that consistent attendance in bowl games in crucial to recruiting. 18 year old kids love to hear about bowl game experiences and the cool gift and such. Also the national exposure helps bring BYU’s accomplishment to a wider audience. Gotta love the MWC’s television contract, but I would like to thank the Mtn. for updating the HD cameras. I’m glad Cougar nation didn’t experience The Gooch in HD, that would of been U-G-L-Y and I would of never lived it down.

5 WORST THINGS:

5.   Not Dominating Washington.  At the beginning of the year perception can be detrimental to the psyche of the team.  We went into that game thinking Washington was supposed to be a good team.  They had a lot of hype around them this year coming in.  We were content with playing them tough and being ahead by a score.  Hindsight is 20/20 right?  Reference No.2 for this, but it would have been great to come out and stomp them like we did the UCLA and Wyoming.

4.   Collie not going to New York.  It was just announced that Collie is not one of the 3 Finalists for the Bilitnikoff Award.  He has dominated every opponent and posted 10 consecutive 100+ receiving games and is still not thought of as a top 3 receiver in the country.  For more on this see my article “Someone Stole Austin Collie’s Post Season Award.”

3.   Dave Nixon Being Hurt.  This did not “hurt” the team but I was just disappointed that I could not watch Dave at full strength one last time.  And I felt bad for him because I know what it’s like to play your senior year not at 100%.  Dave is an amazing athlete and an outstanding football player.  His shoes will be hard to fill at BYU.

2.   Inconsistent.  We never really played consistent on both sides of the ball all year.  One thing about the 06 and 07 teams that made them great were that aside from 1 game on O and 1 game on D you always knew what you were going to get from both sides of the ball.  For some reason that was not there this year.  That being said, I almost give them more credit for putting up 10 wins when they were not sure what was going to happen.  I got the feeling the team waited until the 2^nd quarter to decide what kind of game it was going to be. 

1. No Conference Championship. More than anything that had to be the No.1 Goal this year. Contrary to popular belief I think the MWC was the strongest it has been in a while this year. We had 4 great teams at the top and the middle teams (UNLV, UNM, CSU) were better than the also-rans the last couple years. Every Conference has their SDSU and Wyoming, you can’t change that. What makes this go from disappointing to #1 Worst is that in the two biggest games of the year we just flat out fell on our face. We were never in the TCU game and at Utah, well, enough said.

 5 BEST THINGS:

5.   Harvey Unga.  Another 1,000 yard season for Unga.  Harvey continues to be the workhorse on the offense.  I hope he comes back next year Healthy and in even better shape. 

4.  4^th Straight Bowl Game.  This will get even better when we win our 3^rd straight.  This is a great game to reward our seniors and prepare the underclassmen for next year.  How we play this game will determine what opportunities for greatness we will have next year.

3.  Speaking of Hype… This year there was and continues to be a lot of attention on our conference.  As we continue to get better and stronger as a conference we will help open doors to great things in the future.  In ‘06 we went to Vegas 10-2 and ranked #21, last year we were 10-2 and ranked #19, this year we are 10-2 ranked #18.  It takes a lot to move up a notch and we are moving.  This sets the stage even better for next year with a win.

2.  Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta.  Both of these guys spent their fair share of time at the top of the country and Collie had a carreer season.  He should be in New York making one more reception at the end of the year, but we all know he was the best out there.

1.  Another Undefeated Season at LES!  We are 2^nd in the country in consecutive home wins.  LES is becoming a tougher place to play and we are taking care of business at home.  More than anything else I want this to get even better.  I want to walk out of that stadium with a headache every home game because of how loud it was.

 By: Markell Staffieri

 1. A Week-Long Vacation, all expenses paid* (All travel costs are covered to and from the Bowl Game site, plus a per diem for food, gifts, etc.) The real bonus here is that if you are married the school pays for your wife (and kids) too. I got married 4 days after the Utah to make sure that my wife would be with me in Vegas.

2. Goodie Bags from the school and Gifts from the Bowl. When I went as a Freshman in 2001 to the Liberty our gifts were about 95% clothing, with a nice commemorative watch being the highlight. At the three Vegas Bowls things were much better. Coach Mendenhall believed that we earned the right to choose our gifts. So we were given a $ amount to spend on each player and were presented with a bunch of options from Nike, Ogio, Skullcandy, and then any ideas from DVD players to Xbox to whatever would fit in the budget. The leadership council voted on how the money would be spent on what gifts. From the Bowl we got 1^st year – iPod Nano; 2^nd year – GPS Device; 3^rd year – iTouch.

3. Entertainment in the city of the Game Site. In Vegas this was 2 trips to the Blue Man Group and one trip to KA – Cirque du Soleil. This is sponsored by the Bowl. We have a night at the ESPN Zone playing video games and eating dinner. We have the Battle of the Bands and Outback Dinner and then the day before the game we have a Luncheon with both teams. 1 out of 3 times this was awesome. The first year we had Lee Corso as our Guest Speaker and he was a total jerk. He just kept building up Cal and ripping on BYU. The second year it was Lou Holtz and he was AMAZING! If you didn’t like Lou before then, you would have after, even with that lisp. Last year it was The Schmuck from Monday Night Football who does sideline stuff (Just saw him last week and it gave me chills) and he was the most offensive person I have ever heard speak. I remember talking to President Samuelson afterwards at him saying he had to put his hand on Coach’s leg to make sure Coach didn’t end up on Sportscenter for the wrong reason.

4. Service opportunities. We have had great service opportunities set up by members in the area the last two years. From painting homes to playing with kids at the Boys and Girls Club, the most memorable part of the bowl for a lot of players is the service activities.

By Markell Staffieri

The first factor is Max Hall’s pocket time.  If our Offensive line can give Max at least 3 seconds in the pocket our passing offense will move the ball down the field.  3 seconds will afford our receivers enough time to shake loose in man coverage and find a soft spots in Utah’s zones.

The second is our ability to stop the Ute Run Game.  Utah is averaging 4.34yds/rush so far this year and BYU gives up an average of 3.96yds/rush so far.  That means that anyway you slice it the Utes could run the ball on every down and never see 4th down.  We need to cut the yds/play in half this game.  I think we can do it.  The extra emotion of the day will give our D the tenacity it needs to make it happen.

The final key to the game is the physicality.  Last year I was so fired up when on like the 2nd or 3rd play of the game Mike Reed just absolutely destroyed the Ute safety on a block.  It set the tempo for the day.  We were punishing them all day!  Whoever comes out and plays more physical on Saturday will win in the end.  Sometimes you just have to beat your opponent into submission.

Photo by Ravell Call

At this point of the season there really isn’t a person on the field that is 100%. If you have endured 11 games without some sort of injury, you’re a stronger man then I ever was. That being said there are different levels of injury. Harvey is probably the most banged up player on the team, but that’s because of the style. Add in the fact that he touches the ball the most and you have a recipe for some sore Sunday mornings.

Most of Harvey’s injuries will only heal with time. Sorry folks, one week isn’t enough time for an aggravated nerve to settle down and go away. But his injury can be managed with some R and R during the week, physical therapy, and lots and lots of treatment, daily I vitamin, and massage therapy. I think he’ll still be very effective on Saturday and what he isn’t able to do, Fui will pick-up the slack.

Dennis’s knee is another story. A sprained MCL is no picnic to play with. Every time your leg turns a certain way your knee “gaps”. Basically it feels like you injured your knee every time you turn quickly or move to fast. With the right amount of physical therapy the knee can return relatively quickly, depending on the severity of the sprain. He’ll be doing sets of leg press from Monday until Friday in hopes that the knee will tighten up and feel alright. Early in the week, Dennis will be fitted for a brace and what the brace and physical therapy doesn’t fix adrenaline will control.

Aaron Fransico played with the Dennis’ exact injury in 2004. Actually I think it was an MCL tear, and he strapped it up and played the whole game.

Injuries are a part of football -as any football player will tell you. If your playing football and your not banged up, your not playing the game right. I don’t know if that’s smart or not, but it’s the truth. I would expect both Harvey and Dennis to be in the game on Saturday and if they aren’t Fui and A. George will have to pick-up the slack.

Both Fui and Andrew are capable of playing the primary role. Kariyea and Latu could also help the work load and Anae could possible put another receiver in the game. There are a lot of ways to compensate, but I don’t think BYU will need to.

I am more concerned about Rey Fienga being out of last week’s game with back spasms. Without Rey our line plays significantly different. RJ will be a great player, but I don’t think he is quite ready to step into the prime time and perform like Rey.

The all important factor is adrenaline. When the crowd starts yelling and the intensity of the game picks up all the bruises, strains and damage can’t be felt. Your mind finds other things to focus on and your body reacts like nothing is wrong. Sunday is when everything is 100x worse.

Gett’er done.

 So does this game carry the same weight and implication as the previously anticipated, undefeated BYU vs Utah game?

 I believe this game has identical implication as an undefeated Holy War match-up. BYU’s loss to TCU -while frustrating- possible put BYU in an overall better situation coming into the Utah game. Of course the negatives are obvious, we no longer can be a definite BCS buster team, we can’t win an out-right MWC Championship, and we can only fulfill the spiritual side of the Quest for Perfection -BOOO…..JK. I hope I don’t get struck for that one.

 The good that came out of that TCU loss are also numerous, 1.) Our team was brought back to reality and redirected their energy towards getting better each week. 2.) Our coaching staff realized that they needed to find new ways to get their play makers the ball. 3.) BYU was rid of the pressure that accompanied the title of BCS prince. That pressure -while sought after and wanted- has shifted north and sits squarely on the Ute’s shoulders. 4.) BYU is still in a position to fulfill all their goals as a MWC Champion and if their living right beat the Utes -wink wink.

 This game still has all the same implication as the zero loss BYU team against a zero loss Utah team. The pressure and media attention has simply driven 40 minutes north. Do I care that we have lost our BCS darling billing…..kind of, but each week has become increasingly more meaningful since the loss to TCU. BYU has kept their hopes of a third championship in tact and while it would have been great to go somewhere other then Las Vegas, should it really matter?

I am asking, because I want someone else to tell me if it should….

 I think BYU fans are feeling somewhat disappointed in this season because of our team long history as a top program, yet Utah and Boise St. have been the only BCS busting teams. Should BYU base their programs success on an appearance in a BCS game? Should our main goal every year be busting into a system that is designed and run to keep us out? Is a 10-1 season disappointing?

 Does Utah’s current success say they’re a better program or team?

 My two MWC Championship rings say differently. It would have been amazing to enter into this game undefeated and that TCU game is hard to swallow because of how bad BYU played -and how good TCU played. Regardless I am proud to have been a part of BYU climb back to national prominence. I am proud to wear my blue shirt and shun the color red -to this day I don’t own a single red article of clothing. I am encouraged at how BYU is playing and I am hoping there is an ace up Bronco’s sleeve.

 Go Cougars.

Scout team players tend to pick-up the tempo as they sense the Coaching staffs urgency throughout the week. Gone are the Wednesday’s with little contact and less running. Helmet practices turn into full speed practices without the contact and walk-throughs turn into track meets as everyone’s expectations expand in anticipation of playing Air Force.

It’s not that the team feels inadequate or less prepared, but instead the practices and urgency demands a heightened sense of concentration. Assignment concentration for 75 plays is going to be key to winning in Colorado Springs. The cadet’s work ethic is comparable to BYU’s. The cadet’s heart and determination is also similar to BYU’s. So what sets us apart? In the past few years it has been our team ability to concentrate throughout every series and down until the final horn sounds.

The Air Force weeks practice schedules are designed to test a player’s concentration throughout practice. Practices normally get shorter as the week goes on, but during the Air Force week the intensity from practice will linger until Sorenson sends the ball through the thin air and out of the endzone.

I remember my first AFA practices when Coach Mendenhall had the defense practicing against two scout team offenses -in order to double the amount of reps during practice. It was a wild week of practice, but it paid off. BYU went into Colorado Springs and dropped the hammer -and I didn’t even play that year.

I wouldn’t expect any changes in AF preparations. This game means everything to Air Force and we can’t afford to travel north into red country coming off a loss. BYU has two games left to define their season and one game -this week- to set them up for the biggest game in the Holy Wars history.

This game is a whole lot more important then some might think.

BYU fans are left to question what team will show up in Colorado Springs on Saturday? Will the team that pummeled UCLA and Wyoming show up or will the team from the TCU and Washington -both road games- show up. Each day the season draws closer, I am astounded at what the coaching staff has accomplished with this years team after two dominate Mountain West Conference championships. It isn’t easy to win back-to-back championships. Let alone be in a championship position in the third year with an inexperienced, young defense -that honestly has been over achieving.

Ten and eleven win seasons are hard to come by and this year could be BYU’s third straight! Cougar fans have cause to be thankful. It could be worse, you could live in or cheer for Tennessee, Arizona, and Miami, anywhere in the ACC or Big East or Washington/Washington St. -oh baby that would suck.

I don’t know where this post came from because I want to write about this weeks practice schedule and how it differs from a normal week. Yet, as I think about how the BYU football program has improved, I can only look forward to this years bowl game and what needs to transpire during the summer in order to improve upon the past 3 years of success. TCU and Utah will have hosts of player returning next year and the conference is shaping up to improve upon this years non-conference successes. BYU will have its work cut out for them in order to four-peat and become that BCS buster I think they should be.

Go Cougars.

Over the last two weeks we have mentioned a lot about preparation for games and knowledge of assignments.  I figured it would be a good idea to go through the week and show exactly how we prepare for a game.

Saturday:

Immediately after the games players are handed their scout DVDs.  These DVDs have four games of our next opponent on them.  These games are selected by the coaches by how closely they match what we expect to see in our own game.  For example, this week’s DVDs for the defense will show SDSU’s offense against teams this year that also play a 3-4, most recent game and any other game the coaches feel will most closely resemble what we expect.

Sunday:

The great thing about BYU is that we do not have any obligations on Sunday.  I always took this day off, some guys would put in their DVDs to get familiar with the next opponent.

Monday

This is always the longest day of the week.  The first position meeting Monday afternoon is to watch the previous game and learn from how we played.  After team meeting and defense/offense meeting it is back to the position rooms for an introduction to the new opponent’s top plays and top personnel.  In the position meeting there will usually be a couple new blitzes or adjustments specific to that week that the coaches will go over also.

Out on the practice field, Monday is a little more laid back.  There are no pads and most of the practice is spent walking through formations and introducing the bread and butter plays of the new team, along with discussing the general scheme of the offense.

Tuesday

Tuesday is the day that the rubber really hits the road.  Players are given a binder that has every game, every play, every statistic broken down for the opponent’s season.  It shows what the team’s favorite plays are by formation, situation (down and distance).  It breaks down the percentage of run/pass in every situation and formation too.  This was my Bible and what I spent the most time studying.  If there were tendencies for the team, they would show up in there.

Out on the field things picked up too.  When I was at BYU this was our full-pad day, or at the very least shoulder pads.  This was a big hitting day to get us ready to be physical.  In pre-practice we had a period called “adjustments.”  Here we would react to all the different motions of the team.  If they had an option component to their game this is the period we would go over option assignments.  The rest of the team periods were personnel specific, meaning: 12,21,22 personnel usually go together; 11, 10 personnel usually go together.  The goal on Tuesday for the coaches is to use different blitzes and coverages against different plays and then watch the film to see what will work best to defend a certain play.

Wednesday

Any blitzes or coverage adjustments that were installed on Monday did not look good on Tuesday they are thrown out.  The players begin to get a better idea of what the game plan (meaning which fronts, blitzes and coverages we will be using) for the game will be.  Practice and meetings closely resemble Tuesday.

Thursday

Thursday practice is more mental that anything and it all starts with the defensive test.  Remember that binder we got on Tuesday?  Well first thing after team meeting on Thursday the defense runs into the defensive room and Coach Mendenhall already has the clock started.  We have a timed test on the material in that binder.  We will be given sheets of paper that have different formations on them.  We are supposed to write down the percentage of run/pass out of that formation and then the top 3 run and top 3 pass plays out of that formation.

Out on the practice field Coach looks for crisp execution and a lot of communication, especially on plays where the offense gives away a pre-snap read.  There are no pads, but you better be running everywhere you go.  There is no room for error on Thursday.  Everyone is expected to know exactly where to be and what to do.

Friday Morning

At some point in the morning (the time changes depending on home/away and when the plane leaves) we will all meet for a team meeting.  Coach goes over the agenda and we all head to the Indoor Facility for our walk-through.  At the walk through we are just in shorts and tees with no helmets.  We have been wearing cleats lately because Coach wants it more of a “run” through.  If there were any plays we messed up on the day before you better have them down pat today.  WE start the run through with goal line plays then go to the normal offense.  At the end the coaches can hand pick any certain plays they want to see one last time.

To end the run through we have “Special Teams Call-Outs.”  All the players are on the sideline and the Coach Higgins calls out each special team, 1^st and 2^nd string and nobody better be missing, or we start all over.

Friday Night

Just before the fireside on Friday night we have a film test.  At the film test coach will put up a play on the screen with the formation paused.  He expects us to say anything that we may know about the play by the formation.  ie: check for screen, or QB draw, etc.  Then he will give us a play call, “Tiger Flex Tornado Auto” (something from the old 3-3-5 days).   We are sitting in rows with 1^st string in front 2^nd behind and so on.  From L-R we are seated DE, N, DE, SOLB, SILB, WILB, WOLB, FS, SS, FC, BC.  After we get the play call we go down the line from L-R and everyone has to say their responsibilities.  You don’t leave that room until there are no mistakes.

After the fireside we have another walk through just like in the IPF.

Saturday Morning

Another walk through first thing in the morning just like the night before.  Then for the rest of the day, until the busses leave there are film rooms set up where you can go watch some last minute film of the opponent.

And that’s it in a nut shell.

Written by: Markell Staffieri

Florida State is down late to GT and probably won’t be able to come back.

Minnesota fell to the Northwestern Wildcats on the final play of the game. Minnesota’s quarterback threw an interception, which was returned for a touchdown. This heartbreaking play put the Wildcats up as time ran out.

Florida and Alabama rolled, which means Florida still controls their fate in the SEC. If Alabama can escape next weeks LSU game unscathed they might be able to punch their ticked to the National Championship game.

It is looking like the BCS might have to make some tough decisons. Penn State could be undefeated, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Florida could all be teams with one or two losses to some very highly ranked teams. I’ll tell you what I wouldn’t want to be the BCS computer in the next few weeks.

G isn’t going to SDSU or any other MWC team. He is tranfering to Washington State. He will remain a Cougar, but with a few less wins. G’s family has been in contact with the WSU coaching staff and G feels like it will be a good transition for him personally.

G has struggled academically, but not much more than any other freshmen player. He said, “it will be a better fit for me.” G knows some players on the WSU football team who played at rival high schools and I am sure they have been influencial in helping him make up his mind.

To say the trasition for a non-LDS, African-American players who came from outside the state is easy; isn’t paying attention. No matter what G or any other player that came from similar backgrounds says it’s hard and it would take some getting used to. G gave it a year and it didn’t develop the way he thought it would, so in December he will be on the first thing smoking out of Provo.

Personally I wish him the best and hope he achieves the personal success that he envisioned when he came to BYU. He is a good player that will be missed.

Guys transfer for lots of different reasons, but all the reasons boil down to the same problem, playing time. When you come to a school you expect to be playing. Yeah there are other players and personalities, but you always think your better then the person in front of you. Recruits now a days want a quick fix. They expect to come in and play right away. BYU has recruited well enough in the past couple of years where young players can know come in learn the system and prepare their bodies so they will be ready when their cleats hit the grass at LES.

A word to the next wave of recruits. Your time will come…..be patient. You have a lot to learn, contribute on special teams and if you get an opportunity early in your career, take advantage of it. It might be the last chance you get to play before your a JR.

The “Mike” and the “Backer” are the two players on the team that should be counted on to make the most plays –more specifically the Mick. The defense is schemed around the Mick linebacker. He has the most opportunities to blitz and also has D-linemen in front of him so he is free to make plays in the running game.

In recent years that Mick spot has been filled with an experienced player with proven play making abilities. This year Bauman has been shouldering the responsibility of replacing two very visible past players –Cameron Jensen and Kelly Poppinga. All three players played different and where good for different reasons. Matt Bauman hasn’t developed his own identity quite yet. Matt plays exceptionally hard and puts himself in good positions to make plays, but he hasn’t proven himself as someone who is going to make the “big play.”

Matt Ahyou and Doman are in the same boat. They are learning and developing, but we are all becoming impatient.

Hooks was the most physical out of the bunch and I have high hopes for Pritchard. The simple fact is our defense is still inexperienced. They aren’t paying attention to the finer points of the game. They haven’t developed into the players they can be. It’s a problem of understanding the X’s and O’x well enough so they can than focus on formations, personal and tendency. Carmeron, Kelly, Markell and Wagner all had a deep enough understand of the defense, which freed their mind up to concentrate of other aspects of playing their postion. In short they mastered their positions, but it didn’t happen over night. They had time.

For me the jury is still out. I have seem both Matt Bauman, Shawn Doman, Matt Ahyou and Hooks play well. But when was the last time you saw a huge hit or a crucial sack from these guys? I can’t remember. Are they turning into solid players that can stop the run and be counted on in coverage? Or should we abandon players that are in their first real year as starters and need more chances to prove themselves?

This group has only lost one game. That means they are doing something right. I would say we need to trust the coaching staff that they are going to put the best players on the field.

Matt Bauman is #35 and we sometimes called him “Little General”. Let’s hope he can continue to develop into another good BYU linebacker.

The defensive back post is coming next, I am putting the final touches on it!!!