Hate it or love it BYU is on top, in Utah.
Class or no class the game was great. It had everything I expected, a tight score, penalties, trash talking, outbursts, and cover-ups. Enjoy it BYU you’ve earned it.
At least our rivalry hasn’t stooped to this level, yet….
Anyway, I don’t have much to say about Max. He’s a passionate guy who spoke his mind. I just hope he has a better game against whom ever BYU plays in the Las Vegas Bowl. Yeah, I said it Las Vegas Bowl -new sponsor who doesn’t care who comes just as long as seats are sold out. (At least I heard the Bowl has a new sponsor, but I could be wrong.)
All I know is that Mr. Nelson better have a tough banker because Max wrote a big check that Riley is going to have to cash.
To: Utah University
You played a great game, it was fun to watch.
It is no secret that BYU fans and players don’t like Utah fans and players, if anything Max has made next years game that much more intriguing. You will get to wear your black uniforms and the Muss will get creative with the signage -I’m sure it will be very classy- and then the fans will get to watch young men from various states in the USA decide which way of life is better: the Happy Valley or Salt Lake Valley way of life. Until then, get that basketball program back in shape.
Quinn, (great name by the way, I chose to go with it for my son), the Vegas Bowl is still the Vegas Bowl, just like the Rose Bowl is still the Rose Bowl, despite their new and various sponsors. You’ll never get called on getting the name of the bowl wrong by saying where it’s at, anyway.
Good point about the LV bowl. Maaco is the title sponsor this year, after pioneer pulled out. The bowl committee essentially stated they would prefer a different MWC team to be represented this year in the bowl, but later “re-evaluated” (which I’m sure the sponsors had something to do with) and agreed that a sell out is still the way to go. After all, that kind of thinking seems to work for the BCS bowl selection committees. Personally, I’d rather see BYU in the Poinsettia bowl. A change of locale might spark this program, not to mention help out the recruiting in the area. I believe the payout is the same for the Poinsettia as it is for the Las Vegas.
With regards to Hall’s “colorful” and honest comments, next year Utah will only validate his claim and make the game miserable for anyone in BYU blue. Their class will certainly be shown, and they’ll all say it was simply in retaliation to what Hall said. I see a pattern forming.
Payout for the LV bowl is $1m. Payout for Poinsetta is $500k. BYU may prefer to go somewhere different, but the money is better where they’ve been.
@tekape
The payout gets split to the conference, so I don’t think $$$ is a big deal.
I’m glad the Y won the game but it didn’t have the excitement it should have had. I felt like Utah lost that game more than we won it and that we won despite Max. I’m not a Max hater.
After Max’s comments any rally to relish the game after my initial response was taken away.
I sensed we played and coached that game around Max and trying to not put him in a position to lose it for us. When he missed open receivers you could almost see it in their eyes that they had this worry that Max wasn’t going to get it done.
When Max can relax and feel confident he is as good as anyone we have had but when pressured he struggles. His revealing comments spoke more about his mental toughness than his hatred of the U. He lets things get into his head and bother him too easily. I know, I know that is easy for me to say and I know I would be the same as Max and probably worse but that is why I never stood a chance to play QB for the Y.
Bronco’s statement mid season that Gordon Monsen ripped him for now has a new perspective. Bronco complained about fans who criticize Max and that those were fans that weren’t knowledgeable. I am sure that Bronco was not intending to insult fans only to prop up and defend a very fragile mental pysce of his quarterback.
With all the great things Max has done I sense there is a sigh of relief in the program that he is a senior and they won’t have to manage his mental focus anymore.
I’m grateful he apologized and wish the rivalry could get rid of the hate. I don’t sense any of that with my friends who are U fans but then again I have never been to RES for a game.
I hope the next few days I can feel a sense of accomplishment for the rest of the players on the team who played great and deserved to have the focus on what they did and not on Max, his play and his comments.
Gary,
I really feel sorry for you man! You seem to be a depressed person who can only dwell on the negaitve things in life. BYU won the game that is all that matters, who cares if it was close. BYU dominated most of the game and won the game, utah did not give it to them. Anyway you really need to find yourself and look for the good and positive things about life and BYU.
@Gary
While I agree they tailored the game plan to help Max get comfortable, you can’t deny that he made quite a few plays to keep drives alive. The receivers weren’t doing a fabulous job catching the ball, the O-line wasn’t giving Max much time and so he ran a little more often than we’re used to.
It was those runs and taking the team and putting on his back and showing them he was not backing down that kept BYU in it after going down early.
It was that leadership that pushed other players to step up and make plays. It was that scrappy play that caused Utah to back off on the rush and allow the O-line to open up some huge holes for Harvey that led to scores.
It may not have been a great passing game for Max but I think it was one of the best games he’s had in terms of leadership and taking what the defense gave him.
Regarding missing open recievers, how many of those guys dropped passes that were thrown right at their hands? The entire offense struggled this game and I believe Max’s leadership is what put us in position to win it.
Gary: “I’m glad the Y won the game but it didn’t have the excitement it should have had. I felt like Utah lost that game more than we won it and that we won despite Max. I’m not a Max hater.”
Gary, you may not be a Max Hater, but you are an idiot. Or, perhaps I should be more precise and say that your opinion is idiotic.
Why do BYU fans insist on forgetting that there is another team on the other side of the field trying to win, too? Sometimes that opponent is better than at other times, and sometimes the opponent is even able to win individual battles during the course of the game. That is why the final arbiter is the score at the end of the game. BYU fans are only satisfied if the style points from the game are as high as the style points for the outfit they wore to the game.
Gary, read this, remember it, and use it as a mantra every time BYU plays a good team: “Not every opponent BYU plays is Wyoming”.
Utah has a talented defense and had a great scheme (and a whole lot of holding of receivers, but that is a different topic) that made the BYU offense sputter, but BYU rose above it and scored 20 points in regulation. BYU’s offense finished with ZERO turnovers. Max Hall made a manly throw in overtime to rip utahs’ hearts out…again.
Oh, and Gary, I bet if you told a BYU defensive player that “Utah lost instead of BYU won”, they’d want to show you how they treat utes at the bottom of the pile. BYU’s defense shut down the utah offense and made them settle for field goals the entire game. They were money.
This was a great defensive battle, yet idiotic BYU fans only are aware of offense. BYU was better on offense in the red zone, better on defense in the red zone, and was better prepared and ready to seize the moment.
This type of game isn’t what BYU is designed to play, but they were still good enough to beat Utah playing Utah’s game. So, to all the Garys and ute fans out there, stick this in your smuggled stadium beer and chug it: 3 out of 4; 26-23; three heart-wrenching victories over the utes; BYU won even while playing utah’s game; and Max Hall still hates you.
hmmmm… Las Vegas or San Diego? I’d take San Diego ANY day over Vegas for a vacation.
Hey, the “Hall” effect will only be a factor the first quarter of next years game. It would also be an issue if BYU wasn’t looking at this game as a rivalry game as well. I’m confident that we’ll be ready for next years showdown.
I don’t think this team will come out flat for the bowl game, even if it is Las Vegas. Especially if they end up playing a team like Cal or USC. That will be all the motivation they need. If it ends up being Arizona, maybe they won’t be quite as excited to go back to Vegas but in the end, I think they learned from last year.
@Jonas
“Gary, you may not be a Max Hater, but you are an idiot. Or, perhaps I should be more precise and say that your opinion is idiotic.”
Take a couple of deep breathes and relax. One thing I like about this blog is that people can share insightful, well reasoned opinions, even if they disagree. Once a discussion recedes into name calling and ad hominem attacks the utility of the discussion significantly decreases. Those types of attacks belong on the deseret news comments section, not here.
Is it inappropriate for a fan to critique a game and discuss the items that should be improved? Not in my book. I think some of Gary’s points are well reasoned and a case can be made for most of the his points. Please rebut him with facts and well reasoned arguements, not name calling.
I’m a diehard BYU fan and was ecstatic to get a big win on Saturday. My celebration included plenty of screaming, yelling, and high fives. It’s fantastic to have won 3 of the last 4. I’m a true fan, but there are multiple areas of concern from the game. Expressing these critiques does not decrease my commitment to the team or desire to see them succeed.
1) Coaching / game management: it was extremely conservative to punt from the opponents 35 mid way through the 3rd qtr while winning 20-6. They should have called two plays in the huddle and gone for it on fourth. They had a chance to put a nail in the coffin and they started to play not to lose. Also, what’s with not calling a time out with 1 minute to play in the game? It was a vote of no confidence in offense.
2) DBs: multiple times the Ute WRs were open (by a couple of yards). The fact is that Wynn missed open receivers. Most Div I QBs would not have missed that many throws.
3) QB: Max had multiple open receivers that he flat out missed. He played with heart and was a good leader, but like most games against athletic teams, he regressed. BYUs biggest advantage was supposed to be a SR. QB against a Freshman QB, but the difference was less than it should have been.
There were also a handful of things to really liked about BYU’s performance:
1) Energy level – both sides of the ball
2) Pendleton – he was a stud
3) Chambers – nice punt return (and no fumbles)
4) BYU got some pressure on the QB and did a better job closing on short and medium routes (after the first two drives).
As always, love DSOB!
And in no way is this spam, but we do hard work at The Upset blog. Just put up a piece about how the hate for Max Hall is misdirected. Please click on my name to access the blog! We support DSOB and hope DSOB readers will support us! Thank you.
OK. Denton I repent for being too negative. I honestly hope the memory of this game becomes a positive rather than how it feels right now.
Gifford I agree that Max did good things in this game – no turnovers was the best thing he did and I can’t fault his effort especially what he did with his legs and taking hits. Still I think the coaching staff had to go to extra lengths tailoring the game plan so he wouldn’t make mistakes. That is something you expected Utah to do with a freshman QB but Hall is a SR.
Jonas I realize Utah is not Wyoming and I give credit to Utah as a team. With over thrown balls and the mistakes they made with penalties it did seem that if they had played to their ability we may not have been so fortunate.
Brett I read your blog. I applaud your enthusiasm but I am not a Max Hall hater. I hated all the negative talk all week about where Max Hall will stand in comparison to other great quarterbacks and I was so anxious to see him come out and be in control and win that game in a way that convinced all the Hall doubters. I’m sorry but he didn’t do that in my view and I feel bad for him. His post game comments not only were inappropriate they forever gave him a label he will never live down. Rather than going out with a bang by beating Utah he will be remembered for one thing and one thing only. That is sad. I feel bad for Max.
I’m glad the Y won. I thought the team played great. The defense was terrific and several players on both sides of the ball gave us something to cheer about.
I guess my overall reaction stems from wanting so bad to see Hall use this opportunity to beat a good Utah team and leave no doubts where he should stand amongst the great QB’s of the past. It hurts to now realize he did just the opposite – he deserves better, now only us die hard Y fans will really ever give him any credit. I guess that is why I am struggling with this game.
It is hard to put up any passing yards against Utah. TCU had 207 passing yards. They also had 2 turnovers. Oregon had 95 passing yards and 4 turnovers.
We had 134 passing yards and 0 turnovers. This was a game of field position and blue zone effectiveness. Bronco correctly stated that field goals were “not going to get it done” in this type of game.
As Cougar fans we have to appreciate every game – blowouts or close wins, offensive or defensive battles, passing or running.
Great analogy with the check cashing.
Ki
Jonas!
You are right on! Hey, there are knowledgable Cougar fans out there! More Jonas fans and less Gary fans!
Great game! I was hoping it wouldn’t be as close, but deep down I knew it would stay tight to the end. This was a classic BYU-Utah game. I’m excited for some bowling. This is a much better place than where we were four or five years ago.
I think it is important to keep in mind that although this game wasn’t a blowout, last year’s game really wasn’t either until the 4th quarter and it only became a blowout because Max forced the ball too much and BYU stopped running the ball. I am coming to the realization that BYU vs Utah will probably always be close (although I can always dream of the day that we win big). I think that is a sign of the rivalry and a sign of the conference. The MWC has really put itself on the map this year. We just need to finish strong and win our bowl games.
I think that most fans will remember Hall well, comments or not. This will be especially true if we win our bowl game and thus, likely, have a top ten finish. Who would have guessed that possibility after we lost to TCU?
Gary,
I am a long time BYU fan and feel the same way. My brother called me after the game and we both felt that had Jordan Wynn been able to hit some wide open receivers it would have been a very long night for BYU. There simply was not the feeling that we had won a quality football game.
To his credit Hall did not throw any interceptions, but to credit him for winning this game is a little far fetched. 4 out of 5 of the last 5 possessions in regulation were 3 and out. We did not score in the last quarter and 1/2 of regulation. It was obvious to everyone that Max was so afraid of making a mistake that he simply became ineffective. And probably nothing is more indicative of that than the fact that Bronco was so afraid of the offense making a mistake that he simply allowed the time in regulation to run out for fear of throwing an interception. Instead of taking a few shots with what could have been around 55 seconds remaining. The O-line DID do a decent job of protecting him and he often ran before it was necessary. (Of course I realize some of those were called plays). The line also created some nice holes for Unga through out the game.
And I don’t remember seeing the dropped passes that were mentioned by others.
The defensive line was awesome putting pressure on Wynn and shutting down their run game. But he also simply missed wide open receivers, some of which would have gone for touchdowns.
Yes, we won, and it’s always nice to send the yewts home bawling. But we were also fortunate that their freshman QB was as ineffective as our senior QB. I don’t think most people would call 11 of 32 passing even an average performance no matter how much time you got in the pocket. Max struggled all 3 years with Utah and we were very fortunate to come out with 2 wins.
Carl,
Go back, watch the game again. You’ll see the dropped passes and you’ll also see that the Oline really came together after Max managed to scramble a few times and put the team on his back. That’s when the holes opened up and that’s when people were catching the balls thrown to them.
Being a SR QB means you also have to find other ways to win when for whatever reason you can’t find your rhythm in the passing game and Max did just enough of that to win on Saturday.
I think we are fortunate to have come away with 2 wins in the 3 years Max was here, but if you look at all the close games during his and Bronco’s tenure, BYU typically has come out on top. If the game is close, I’m giving Max the ball. If he gets down 2 TDs early, I’m hiding my eyes and listening to the blowout.
I think even max would agree he had a bad game (and a bad press conference). But victory is sweet wether you play well individually or not. Great team win! Great that the defense and special teams stepped up. Chambers played huge and utah really shot themselves in the foot with missed passes and penalties. If hall did anything right it was to realize he does not have to win the game by himself.
Carl,
Get lost! We don’t need fans like you that complain after every single win becaue it wasn’t 52-0 every week. A win is a win and that is all that matters. If you can’t be happy when your team wins a game vs it’s bitter rival then go away and find another team to cheer for and take your brother with you! Seriously we don’t need crying negative fans like you. For crying out loud we just beat the utes and you still have to find things to be unhappy about. GO AWAY!!
@J
This game was a risk-reward game. It was painfully obvious that Hall and the offensive staff were going to err on the side of caution, lean on our defense against a frosh QB, and dare Wynn to beat us over the top (Bronco actually mentioned that in the post game that they wanted to dare Wynn to throw long).
The results speak for themselves: the gameplan worked perfectly.
I would have loved to have scored 35 and had Hall kneeling to end the game, but that wasn’t in the cards with the utes clutching and grabbing, and Hall being determined to not throw any picks. I can live with that, becaue when Hall absolutely HAD to take a chance and make a play, he did it and we won.
As far as the game goes, game ball to Coach Hill. Forget how our offense looked, and focus on our defense. That was a thing of beauty. Doing that is foreign to almost all BYU fans, but this is a great primer to learn.
And one more thing Carl!! WHO GIVES A CRAP IF MAX HALL STRUGGLED he WON THE GAME!! I don’t care if he goes 1 for 67 passing as long as they win the game! Also if that 1 completion is for the game winning TD then great they WON THE GAME!! Who cares if he struggled if they won the the game?? Utah was a good team a ranked team and Max found a way to lead his team to a victory in OT on the last play of the game. And you want to talk about his completion %! GIVE ME A BREAK! IDIOT!!
@ Gary
Sorry if I got personal.
Your viewpoint is one I have heard all too often from BYU fans, and I came unglued.
it is time that our fanbase grew accustomed to this type of game. As the conference improves, or if we go to another conference, we need to learn to appreciate all of our wins, and not just our wins that meet some arbitrary definition of offensive beauty. The better the opponent, the more hard fought our wins, and the rivalry game will always come under that definition.
To me, the more hard fought, the more satisfying the wins.
As far as Saturday, Hall didn’t wow anybody, but after watching a lot of college football this year, I can say that we have a LOT to be thankful for about our QB play. There is an awful lot of terrible QBs out there, and I’ll take Max Hall any day and any season.
I wish that the CBS/MTN whatever camera angles were better. Can these guys pay for a couple extra cameramen or what?
From watching the game again, there were a few throws Max could have made better: 1) hitting Ashworth in the endzone, 2) hitting Chambers in the end zone (was that a great move or what???), 3) he had spencer hafoka in the flat once and just overthrew him I think to stop the clock. These balls were just a bit off, however, and they were thrown in areas that if our receivers don’t catch them, no one does (did). For those who think we ONLY had conservative play calling in the 4th quarter, Max had a throw on our last series in regulation over the middle on a 3rd and long and missed both Pitta and Jacobsen; Max was hurried on that throw.
Sometimes a punt isn’t a bad thing (especially compared to a turnover).
I do think the replays were able to demonstrate the correct outcome of several controversial calls and the officals got them right.
AGREE WITH THE DEFENSIVE COMMENTS ABOVE. Wow, Logan broke up a corner route to David Reed that would’ve been a TD on the Utes last regulation possession and Bradley also had a stop in the end zone on their overtime possession. Remember when these plays against TCU would’ve been called PI??? Those cornerbacks were nothing short of fantastic and BOTH ARE BACK NEXT YEAR!!! Aguirre came in for Logan and made a few plays as well, so we are OK at CB next year. Yes, Wynn missed his receivers, but our defense was disrupting timing and Pendleton was hounding him the whole game.
Utah is going to be good for years to come because of… COACHING. Whitt has surrounded himself with a talented staff and he himself isn’t a bad football mind. He recruits players who can perform – the crew mentioned all of the walk-ons they have playing defense. He is a good motivator. The three-headed monster of TCU/Utah/BYU is where it is because of their respective head coaches.
Provocative call to let the clock run out at the end. Obviously the majority of fans in the stadium did not want that – the Bates/Christensen tandem commented that the former BYU now NFL players were yelling to call time out. As it turns out, it was a gutsy coaching move and the players responded with increased intensity. I would have predicted that our momentum would be down had the coaches “given up” like they did. However, the first time I realized it was a great call was when Todd Christensen said that we had made some “egregious” mistakes at the end of the game. These types of calls are unpopular but demonstrate an understanding of the flow of the game and the ability to put our team in the best possible situation to win. Do we want Max under 2 minutes from our own 20 when we have thrown for 130 yards in the entire game? Are we going to double our passing output on the last series of the 4th quarter? Or, do we think our defense can hold them to a field goal (like they had been doing all game) and like our offense’s chances from the 25? I congratulate the coaching staff for improving and learning from past errors in managing the game clock and play-calling as the game winded down.
Loved the game, can you tell?
It’s been three full days since the game. Shawn said, and I quote:
“So I hope your opinions are right and mine are wrong and I will be the first to be on here to man up to it.”
No sign of him whatsoever. Now you decide, fan, or troll? I rest my case.
I’m sorry, it was Eason #25 who came in for Logan, right?
“Nielson”? Come on Goosh. That’s just pitiful.
Quinn / Markell / Ben -
Any insight on if Harvey will be back next year? I saw him go through the Senior blanket line with Manase, no other Juniors did that. I also have heard, but obviously can’t substantiate, that his grades aren’t great.
I understand that he likely doesn’t have the speed to get drafted, but staying at BYU doesn’t improve his NFL stock as he’s not going to get faster. Rather, he has a chance to get hurt.
Any insight on Harvey? Thought it was weird he went through the line and got a Senior blanket……
Tell Max,
I will personally throw diet coke (caffine free). At the qb’s mom and family next year. I will quote out loud scripture an d insult the lineage of all Ute Fans who sit by me at the “game”…….
Blue thru and thru ….
It’s ok to be right and silent…. Give it a bit of a rest…. Maybe some one has to work for a living ? Or they forgot to pay thier Internet bill.
Great post. I honestly think this rivalry is going to get closer and closer to that USC/UCLA moment, to be honest…..let’s face it: Bronco and Kyle aren’t the best of buddies, and if the Utes get an opportunity, they’re not going to mind running a similar play.
I’m tired of the Max Hall dead horse thing. Enough already. Plus as a fan, I don’t need to feel like I need to answer for him or anything.
All I care about is one thing: SCOREBOARD! 26-23, BYU WINS, end of story. I’m still hoarse from the game. Really. I hardly have a voice this week.
I thought the BYU D was sensational last Saturday. I’m very hyped up on Jordan Pendleton. Gooch: what’s your thoughts on his long-term prospects as far as overall contribution to the level of BYU’s defense in the coming years? He’s only a freshman right?
Ben: Pendleton is a sophomore. From our DBs “only” Scott Johnson is a senior. LBs Bauman, Clawson, Doman and Hooks are seniors. DL Brett Denney, RT, Tevita Hola, Jan are all seniors. So we’ll be breaking in a new Front 7 next year, essentially (apologies to Matt Putnam and Pendleton).
Thanks for DSOB. I will try to restrain myself to reading instead of writing. Idiots and fans like me that BYU apparently needs less of have no place to comment here.
Jonas I appreciate and understand your comments and agree with them too. But no where did I ever say I felt bad because we didn’t win by 50 points.
When Beck hit Harline I was on cloud nine for weeks. When we beat TCU that year at TCU it was a great game. Beating Washington at Washington even with the controversy at the end was a great game. Beating OK this year was a great game. I don’t need to win by more than one point.
I’m glad we won. I’m especially glad for the team. To say that I was on could nine would have been dishonest and to express that is apparently idiotic and not wanted here.
There are many great points being made and that is what brings me to this sight. The bickering and name calling of the other sites is hard to take.
Thanks Ben and Co. for providing this and here’s to a great bowl victory.
Carl I couldn’t agree with you more.
Gary,
Don’t listen to morons like Denton. You do have a say even if many don’t agree with it. Unfortunately some don’t know how to allow others their say and prefer to yell and scream and call them bad fans because you don’t see it exactly as they do.
Giff
Gary and Carl,
Both of your posts are well taken and keep them coming. Gary, an interesting perspective that the program may be “breathing a sigh of relief” now that Max is a senior. Certainly the QB battle next year should be wonderful to follow and if Heaps playing ability is anywhere near his press conference skills he may give Riley a run for his money and the program won’t have to worry about him going down in Gomes/Hall infamy. One of them still needs a banker, as posted by the moderator.
I really don’t know about both QBs missing throws. It wasn’t like the deep ball was wide open and they grossly under or overthrew the players. They would have had to make great throws to get those completions. Looking at the coverages, they played us man press and had RJ and Dale over the top. That’s tough to find a ROYAL BLUE jersey out there in the sea of red. We basically did the same with our Cover 2. Yes, Reed & Co may have had a step or two on our DBs but that’s because they met them with a bump at the 10 yard point and disrupted the timing. Ashworth and Chambers also had their defenders by a step on their incompletions in the end zone. My point is just that both defenses contributed to the QBs missing their receivers, more than the QBs missing throws.
To beat those defenses you basically have to run the ball down their throats and so that is why both Harvey and Wide had over 100 yards each. It turns the game into a game of field position. TCU plays a similar defense against us and we have struggled against it for 2 straight years. Beck did well against it by having Mike Reed make a great no-call offensive PI and Harline having a one-handed grab in the end zone in that 2006 TCU game. We also had the David Nixon hit on Dalton to fumble just as the Frogs were threatening to score. So, turnovers helped at that game at Amon Carter and it was a field position battle as well.
Agree with your point about letting time run out in regulation tells a lot about the coaches gameplan. Certainly if Detmer or McMahon are QB we are liking our chances with them and would likely go for it in regulation. But, that was a different era with different defenses. Did you see the offense when we held them to a FG? They were pumped because they knew they could score from the 25. There are differences in play calling and pressure when the clock is not a factor and you know that a field goal still keeps you alive. I see this call as SUPERB coaching, rather than a lack of faith in the offense or Max.
It’s not going to get any easier against TCU and Utah and it’s like G Pat says, “The team who is the most physical usually wins.”
I’ve been on cloud 9 for the seniors (Max, Pitta, Jan, Manase, SJ, etc), for the home win, for 3 out of 4, for the first OT win against the Utes at LES, just because a win against Utah is extremely satisfying. I remember the 4 straight losses like they were yesterday and so that probably factors in as well.
Ki
Thanks Giff and Ki.
One other observation – when Bronco was letting the clock run at the end of the game I initially wasn’t sure what to think. Everyone in our room was going nuts wondering why he was wasting well over a minute of time.
At the time I thought that was going to be the topic of conversation that wouldn’t die in the media and/or these chat boards but Max took care of that in the media room.
I was very concerned at the time but now in hindsight I can see that was a brilliant move by Bronco to manage that situation in those circumstances. It was the right call that I think most coaches might not have had the guts to make. Kudos to the coaching staff for how they managed the end of that game.
It was a great win and it is great to be a Y fan. I was very pleased to see George make the last catch – he and Pitta are certainly 2 of the best in the country if not the best.
I was thrilled to see Andrew George get 2nd Team All-MWC!!!! Congrats to him and Pitta (1st Team). Both are well deserved honors!
In reviewing the game I have to say what a good game I think that it was. While I am the type of fan that prefers a blowout (so I’m not so uptight during the game) this last game was a hard fought, smash mouth, leave-it-all-on-the-field game. Both offenses struggled, not so much because they played poorly, but really due to the opposing defense. Utah always has a good defense (although I think that they hold our receivers like crazy, which the don’t get called for and which drives me crazy. While I do think that BYU got conservative in the second half, I think that the point was to win the game, which we did. In this rivalry game momentum can shift rather quickly and dominantly (like in the 4th quarter last year). BYU was playing to not let that happen, given the emotional stakes. In the end, as many here have stated, it came out as a WIN for us. At this point that is all that I care about. A great win against our ranked rival. In this game it really did come down to what Bronco would call “one more play” and BYU had that play. What a beautiful play it was.
Max didn’t play a good game plain and simple.
Unfortunately Max didn’t think of the team when he made those comments. As a result, instead of enjoying a hard fought win, we find ourselves focusing on Max Hall and not on the team’s efforts. Utah fans get to focus on Max too instead of being forced 100% to face the fact that they lost.
Max is a team player. I won’t fault him for his comments as he’s been through a lot during the past year. I’m sure my comments would have slipped out much sooner than his. My only hope is that he refocuses on the bowl game and leads the team to one more win. Then we’ll have plenty of excitement for next year.
Thanks to all of the seniors on this year’s team. We’ll miss you and the sacrifices you have made. It’s been great watching you put your heart and soul into the game that we all love. Looking forward to a bowl game win…
I actually like Riley Nelson’s chances at RES next year assuming he’s our QB. He’s arguably the most mobile QB we’ve had since Doman. His arm strength is probably in the same ballpark as the Domanator’s as well. Utah will try to use Hall’s comments as locker room material but it was said by Max who will not be on the team and it’ll be a year later. We might very well lose in next year’s game but Max said what needed to be said about the behavior of fans in this rivalry. The problem with the Utes using his quotes for next year is that beating BYU will not vindicate them. They will have to show that they are gracious hosts and not the scum that Hall accused them of being otherwise Max is still right.
Seasider,
I totally agree. I think that Riley will give Utah trouble if he is the starting quarterback. And if he isn’t, then we will have an even better starting quarterback. The future looks very bright…
I’m amazed at the tone of these comments. I came to DSOB to get away from Cougarboarders. Now you come and bring your name calling and hate here. It doesn’t belong. There is nothing wrong with what has been said in critiquing BYU’s game last weekend. It was not stellar by any means. Quite frankly, it should have been a blowout. We got extremely sloppy in the second half, there was some questionable decisions made, such as the aforementioned unnecessary punt, and Max flat out missed a bunch of open targets. You don’t have to make excuses for Max just because you are a BYU fan. I love the cougs. I’m true blue through and through. But we did not play to our capabilities and I’m not proud of that game. I’ve never seen a Holy War where our guys, not just the ones in red, were taking so many cheap shots in the the first quarter. And the utes had three terrible calls against them which prevented them from kicking our can. I don’t care any more, because we still got the W. But I’m not proud of it, and if we don’t get it together before the bowl game, then I believe we will our trash kicked!
What I meant above was that BYU should have had a blowout and rolled over utah. Not the other way around.
Trey,
I don’t see it as making excuses for Max except to say not every QB will have a good game every game. It’s inevitable that bad games will come. What Max did against Utah was recognize that early and adjust to play a ‘different’ game than he was used to or than we expected and while it was not great statitically, I saw it as great leadership.
“I came to DSOB to get away from Cougarboarders.”
I love the reality that DSOB offers. The fanaticism isn’t over the top while still being supportive and it’s not all doom and gloom either. They provide us with a great balance.
Couldn’t agree more, although I continue to lurk over there for some reason…
Thanks Giff,
I did forget to mention that aspect. I was loving the running Max was putting on the utes. He kept a couple drives alive that I believe won the game for us. I don’t mean to discredit Max, I am still a big fan of his. He just seemed a little off in the second half, and maybe it was because of the positioning of our receivers or the ute defense throwing off the timing like we did to them. I did however notice the missed catches that happened early on too. So it wasn’t just him. I just hope we get back on rythm and stay pumped up for the bowl game.
Quinn,Markell,Ben and readers.
What is everybody thinking about the QB situation for next year? WE have Jake Heaps, Jason Munns, and Riley Nelsen. Jake everyone knows about him, Jason I believe had about as much pub about him as well, and he has great size for a QB, and Riley wasn’t even offered a scholarship out of high school by BYU. He doesn’t fit the BYU QB profile. Anyway what are your thoughts?
Pizzaman: Fair enough. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he somehow lost internet access.
In the mean time, I guess we’ll have to wait with baited breath to hear him man up.
I also agree that it’s ok to be right and silent, but it can also be very satisfying to be right and outspoken about it, especially when one is dealing with a sycophantic, ute-loving blowhard like the one in this instance.
@ Rick: My take is that the most likely order of starters is Nelson, Heaps, Lark, and Munns.
Nelson has a year in BYU’s system and has played in and started at the D1 level, so I have to think he has the advantage going in. Heaps is joining the team next semester, so he’ll be here for spring ball. I think if he is demonstrably better than Nelson in practice, he’ll win the job as a true freshman.
Lark will be back in time from his mission to play in spring ball, but I have to think that it would be hard for him to shake the rust and claim the starting job.
Munns doesn’t get back until May, so it is likely he will miss spring ball and only have the summer to get ready for fall camp. So, I think it’s unlikely that he will win the starting job, personally, but who knows.
At least one of them is going to be an odd man out and probably transfer, and more likely two of them will bail. Nelson has 3 to play 2; Lark 3 to play 3, Munns 4 to play 4, and Heaps 5 to play 4. If Heaps doesn’t go on a mission, it is quite a logjam.
Did anyone see the link for an article from ESPN, an interview with Alex Smith, he says in the interview that he really hates BYU and they are arrogant, and its a church and state thing. Its a long article. but heres the link. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=1927159
That quote was in a calm setting, not a post game situation. Not making excusses, but there are differnt standards, BYU and their fans should be proud that our standard are set much higher. I do hate the U. I have never cheered for them in any situation. Oh, maybe to loose
Bowl Bound, Go COUGS
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