This is what worries me about the BYU game

[Stoopstrooper]

Four years ago Utah had an undefeated season. We played Utah at home that year and actually gave them the toughest game they had that year. We basically gift wrapped a couple of TDs for them and also shot ourselves in the foot a couple more times when going in for potential scores. In the end I think Utah mounted one decent drive on our defense the whole game.

So then the next season we go to Utah to open things up. Utah has lost a lot of players, including their #1 draft pick QB, yet Utah fans still think they are going to roll because, you know, they have a 'Program' and we don't (sounds familiar?) We know we are a better team. We know our defense will be better than the year before and that Utah will be breaking in a new QB. But what happens? We come out flying all over the place, make a few big hits which is great, but also over pursue and give up several big plays. It was our returning QB, not their new QB, who makes the big mistake and in the end we lose a game we had no business losing. Utah was not very good.

So last year BYU had a great season. In fact the toughest game anyone gave their offense was Arizona. Now here we go again. Our defense will be as good or better assuming that the d-line improves. BYU lost a lot on offense including a QB that was drafted to the NFL. This is Utah all over again. I believe we should have the better team. Have we learned our lesson? Can we prove it on game day? Or are we going to come out acting like we have a big chip on our shoulder and self destruct as we have in the past?

[baalforhire]

I vote for self destruct.
:lol2:

anyways--if you think about it ASU provided a pretty good template on how to defeat your defense.

[baalforhire]

You guys do have an easy excuse if you lose the game--provo is about 2000' higher than Tucson---that damn thin air!

[BigO]

I'm on your level here Stoopstrooper. This game worries me considerably more than it appears to worry most other posters on the board. Also, like you, I keep going back to the Utah game. The similarities between the two games are eerie.

I don't think this game will be a make or break for us but the key is the Cats playing within themselves and not trying to make the big play, every play.

[biz cat]

Arizona 2007 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arizona 2005

Willie Tuitama >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Richard Kovalcheck

[akhem]

I know everyone is talking about the Defense and the Offense, but I'm more worried about our Special teams. I really hope our new kickers and returners can keep their cool.

thanks to devilswin99 for spelling correction :-). Sorry I was in a hurry and didn't really read what I wrote or maybe I just preferr the British spelling of Offence and Defence :-)

[devilswin99]

Do you mean defense and offense?

Sincerely,

Devilswin99

[UofAlum05]

I would say there is a difference coming off a 6-6 campaign and a 3-8 team. Also we lost to Utah at home in 2004 and we beat BYU in 2006.

Cmon guys we are a Pac-10 school with Pac-10 talent (now) we don't get all frightened of teams from lower tier conferences. I think we should take this game very seriously and we need to play well to win. But I don't think we should be raising the white flag up because of a close game last year and a few flamer posters from boring Utah stir things up.

[UofAlum05]

anyways--if you think about it ASU provided a pretty good template on how to defeat your defense.

So whats your plan? Put a cheap shot out on our QB? If you actually watched the game the UofA defense (when it got its head on straight) pretty much held the ASU offense in check in the second half. The problem for UofA in that game was that Adam Austin couldn't complete a pass to save his life.

[bigazcat]

As I recall, there was a fumble that was overturned by a coaches challenge that i think turned the game around even though it was still early.

[bcrisp]

It was the first play of the game. Copeland Bryan came off the edge and stripped Utah's QB of the football. Arizona recovered deep in Utah territory. It was challenged and overturned. An absolutely brutal decision by the refs that really robbed Arizona of a great opportunity to take an early lead. That play still irritates me. Copeland sprained his ankle a few plays later.

The other thing I remember about the Utah game was how hard our defense was hitting in the first half...and specifically the first drive. There were 3 or 4 highlight reel hits on that drive alone.

But the overturned fumble call was !@!@$!@#%

[KlutzCat]

The level of talent on the field this year isfar beyond what we put on the field at Utah. We played with grit, but ultimately we did not have the horses.

It really always comes down to talent. We are much better now than we were then.

[ghostwhitehorse]

You guys do have an easy excuse if you lose the game--provo is about 2000' higher than Tucson---that damn thin air!

I take it your posts are the result of oxygen starvation due to all that thin air?

[baalforhire]

So whats your plan? Put a cheap shot out on our QB? If you actually watched the game the UofA defense (when it got its head on straight) pretty much held the ASU offense in check in the second half. The problem for UofA in that game was that Adam Austin couldn't complete a pass to save his life.

Poor, poor wildcats--you guys should not talk about cheaps shots--considering what you did to Walters and Kealy! Things tend to even out over the years.

The fact is last years game was over after the 1st quarter and we rushed for over 200 yards mainly by going right at you. Meanwhile you guys ran for a measly 33.

[ASUHATER!]

yea those were not late hit cheap shots on those guys, perfectly legal hits/sacks that your guy just got injured during.

[ghostwhitehorse]

Poor, poor wildcats--you guys should not talk about cheaps shots--considering what you did to Walters and Kealy! Things tend to even out over the years.

The fact is last years game was over after the 1st quarter and we rushed for over 200 yards mainly by going right at you. Meanwhile you guys ran for a measly 33.

Ah, conformation. You had some of us wondering if you were a BYU fan or something. . . definitely a "something". :rolleyes:

And btw, what cheap shots to Walters or Kealy. . .? Stew or Morg or even dw99 would have mentioned such and I don't remember them doing so. . shut up or I will load up DII with the "Lord of Destruction" expansion pack and waste your ass again. :devil:

[Coptercat]

Its all in the past...Don't know why you fear what happened in the past. We have a better team now. Stoops is slowy getting the team better every year, just a slow process...

BYU 14 UofA 28

[Reydituto]

Somehow missed this beauty of a thread. Tee it up ...

So last year BYU had a great season. In fact the toughest game anyone gave their offense was Arizona. Now here we go again. Our defense will be as good or better assuming that the d-line improves. BYU lost a lot on offense including a QB that was drafted to the NFL. This is Utah all over again. I believe we should have the better team. Have we learned our lesson? Can we prove it on game day? Or are we going to come out acting like we have a big chip on our shoulder and self destruct as we have in the past?

Except UA beat BYU las year, as others have pointed out, so I'm not that worried beyond the normal opening-game concerns. Remember these 3 things:

1.) BYU is not as good as they were last year, on either side of the ball.
2.) UA will be better than they were last year, on both sides of the ball.
3.) The Home Field Advantage likely won't be enough for BYU to bridge that gap.

I vote for self destruct.
:lol2:

anyways--if you think about it ASU provided a pretty good template on how to defeat your defense.

You mean the gaudy 7 points they out up over the last 2/3rds of the game? :lol2: Boy that Kooter was an offensive geeeeeeen-yush ...

So whats your plan? Put a cheap shot out on our QB? If you actually watched the game the UofA defense (when it got its head on straight) pretty much held the ASU offense in check in the second half. The problem for UofA in that game was that Adam Austin couldn't complete a pass to save his life.

QFT.

Poor, poor wildcats--you guys should not talk about cheaps shots--considering what you did to Walters and Kealy! Things tend to even out over the years.

The fact is last years game was over after the 1st quarter and we rushed for over 200 yards mainly by going right at you. Meanwhile you guys ran for a measly 33.

1.) You mean like the cheap shot on Daniel Greer 40 yards behind the play? ... Or the headhunting ASU on Tui and Bell two years ago in Tempe? Forget the Kush years ... UA would have to steamroll the entire ASU sideline with an actual steamroller for things to "even out over the years" ... Keep it coming though baal ... you obviously have the memory of a tsetse fly ... it's just too easy ...

2.) The facts are a.) ASU only scored 7 points in the last 40 minutes if the game, b.) much of that rushing yardage was during the first 20 minutes, and c.) UA couldn't run, because ASU stacked the box after they headhunted Tui out of the game (while he was leading UA's charge back into the game at 21-7 and the ball near midfield) and Austin wasn't a downfield threat passing the ball. Short of it is, try the same thing again this year and see what happens ... good luck with that ...

[baalforhire]

all I can say is wildcats have selective memories. You guys are not pure as the driven snow--far from it.

It should be obvious that after putting the game out of reach in 1st quarter ASU didn't need to score.

[Reydituto]

all I can say is wildcats have selective memories. You guys are not pure as the driven snow--far from it.

It should be obvious that after putting the game out of reach in 1st quarter ASU didn't need to score.

In reverse order:

1.) It should be obvious that UA was coming back in that game, down 21-7 and driving for another score 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter, when ASU took Tui out of the game - coincidence? Hardly. Yet, it was 21-14 at half time. Not exactly blowout city. It's easy to forget UA was coming back on ASU when ASU jumped out to a 21-0 lead and won the game.

2.) No one is pure, no one is saying UA is pure, but ASU is definitely less pure. You wanna trade cheap shot/poor class stories about ASU's players and fanbase? It'd be a long night, and I'd be doing most of the typing. In the interest of brevity, I'll just end it here: Steve Kerr's Father. Thanks for playing. Buh-bye.

[TucsonDon]

BYU lost a lot off last year's team and honestly I don't know how good they're going to be, but regardless of that, it isn't an easy place to play, and I've always felt like that first game of the season is one you'd like to have at home. Game environment is so much different from bumping heads with teammates for the month prior, and having that crowd edge and familiarity of the surrounding makes a big difference...basically what happened to BYU last year. It seemed pretty clear at the time of that game that BYU was the superior team but couldn't get out of its own way (remarkably sloppy, penalty and turnover-filled performace) and ended up losing a tough one. That's the thing I'm the most concerned with.

[baalforhire]

the consensus spread for UA/BYU is BYU-5.5

[dc4azcats]

the consensus spread for UA/BYU is BYU-5.5

It's at -5 on vegas insider with the over under at 44. I doubt that it stays there. I still see it at -3 or -2.5 by game day.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/?s=905

[baalforhire]

and why will that happen--exactly! I think it will go the other way.

you guys crack me up.

[ghostwhitehorse]

and why will that happen--exactly! I think it will go the other way.

you guys crack me up.

Yes we know you are on crack. Old news, scummie.

[baalforhire]

Maybe Tui getting fitted for newly invented anti-concussion prosthetic will do the trick.

[godpapa]

If it stays at 5.5 or more I will load up on Arizona.

[ZonaDefender1]

Poor, poor wildcats--you guys should not talk about cheaps shots--considering what you did to Walters and Kealy! Things tend to even out over the years.

The fact is last years game was over after the 1st quarter and we rushed for over 200 yards mainly by going right at you. Meanwhile you guys ran for a measly 33.

Hey D!cknose ASSU is notorius for cheap Shots, need proof roll back the tape for the past 3 years, Like when you cheap shot Matt Leinhart, you bastards even dropped so low to cheap shot NAU's only real threat in last years game.

[dmjcat]

Personally, I'm not worried about how we played Utah several years ago. What I am worried about is:

1) We open on the road

2) We open with a new offense

3) We open on the road at altitude

4) We open against a team with the revenge factor

5) We open on the road with a group of Zebras that are likely
to be 100% Mormon

None of this is a recipe for success.

Personally, I'll be thrilled with another 16-13 win.

[baalforhire]

just a quick visit: for those of you who are assured of a cat victory you have a good money making opportunity. Bet the cats on the moneyline vs BYU--you get +180--for every dollar bet you will win $1.80. Who needs the points???

[Gronk4Heisman]

just a quick visit: for those of you who are assured of a cat victory you have a good money making opportunity. Bet the cats on the moneyline vs BYU--you get +180--for every dollar bet you will win $1.80. Who needs the points???

Where is the website? I could use a new big screen to watch our road games on.

[Chicat]

Personally, I'm not worried about how we played Utah several years ago. What I am worried about is:

1) We open on the road

2) We open with a new offense

3) We open on the road at aliitude

4) We open against a team with the revenge factor

5) We open on the road with a group of Zebras that are likely
to be 100% Mormon

None of this is a recipe for success.

Personally, I'll be thrilled with another 16-13 win.

I'm not worried about the altitude. It's not like we're a sea level team. Since the air is arid and relatively thin in Tucson, I think this will be less of a factor than people think. For those of you who have been to Mount Lemmon, the altitude at BYU is about the same as when you're halfway up the mountain. It's nothing really that drastic.


Are we guaranteed to have Mountain West refs? I thought teams brought their own refs to counter the home field advantage when playing out of conference.

[LikesMikey]

What worries me is Mendenhal is going to have his guys fired up in front of 65,000 screaming Mormons on opening day of the season. I have watched byu over the years beat a lot of very good teams at home they had no business playing let alone beating.

[LikesMikey]

What is it with you scummies and betting ?

[BlueNtheFace]

A solid O-line will help in resolving our only offensive question mark which is at QB.

We are reloading on D, with the advantage of entering into our 2nd year in the 3-4 formation.

I only see your WRs/RBs breaking 3-4 big plays against our D, resulting in your 10 points.

BYU has won 10 straight, including games against TCU, Oregon, and Utah. Arizona will be breaking in a new offensive scheme and will be affected by the Provo crowd and conditions.

Good luck w/ the rest of Fall camp. Hopefully you can arrive in Provo at full strength. No excuses.

21-10 BYU

[devilswin99]

BlueNtheface,

While a rule is to always root for the conference when they play OOC games, I must break away and root for the Cougs. I think a good BYU win will hopefully inject a dose of reality around here. BYU has always had solid teams year after year, and a great football tradition. I see this year being no different!

BYU - 27
UA - 6

Sincerely,

Devilswin99

[LikesMikey]

I would never root for the scummies in any sport no matter who they were playing. Maybe at the National Salsa Dancing Championships, but no other sport whatsoever. P!** on the asu.

[kylecollins]

A solid O-line will help in resolving our only offensive question mark which is at QB.

We are reloading on D, with the advantage of entering into our 2nd year in the 3-4 formation.

I only see your WRs/RBs breaking 3-4 big plays against our D, resulting in your 10 points.

BYU has won 10 straight, including games against TCU, Oregon, and Utah. Arizona will be breaking in a new offensive scheme and will be affected by the Provo crowd and conditions.

Good luck w/ the rest of Fall camp. Hopefully you can arrive in Provo at full strength. No excuses.

21-10 BYU

Only offensive question mark? Do you even follow your own team? You will have one good WR (in an offense that runs 3 a lot), 0 RBs, and new TEs as well. OL is about the only postion you dont have a question mark at.

Your D is reloading? With who? You lost your best players from each unit, and you just lost another starting DB for the season.

Congrats on your 10 game win streak. Sorry it doesnt impress anyone though. Oregon was a joke when you played them, might as well have played another game like the 7 teams you didnt mention. Utah is nothing to brag about, they are no where near the level they have been the past couple years. And well TCU played pretty much no one (#99 SOS), losing to the two best teams the faced. Pretty sad when utah is your 2nd hardest game (maybe thrid, TT might get that slot).

[dc4azcats]

A solid O-line will help in resolving our only offensive question mark which is at QB.

We are reloading on D, with the advantage of entering into our 2nd year in the 3-4 formation.

I only see your WRs/RBs breaking 3-4 big plays against our D, resulting in your 10 points.

BYU has won 10 straight, including games against TCU, Oregon, and Utah. Arizona will be breaking in a new offensive scheme and will be affected by the Provo crowd and conditions.

Good luck w/ the rest of Fall camp. Hopefully you can arrive in Provo at full strength. No excuses.

21-10 BYU

"Reloading on D"? TCU? That juggernaut of an offense that beat up the same scrubs you did. TCU scored 17 vs Baylor, 12 vs TT, and 31 against Army in OOC games. Please!! The same goes for Utah. Oregon lost it's last 4 games and averaged 14 points a game. Your defense is average at best and very good when it plays the scrubs in the MWC. Outside of TCU and Utah the next best offensive scoring team was Air Force at 69th. Everybody else was in the 80s or lower from the MWC so please spare me with the we are great etc. You beat 8 teams whose offense ranked 69th or lower in scoring.

As for our WR's, do you even have 4 quality db's? I was looking in Phil Steele's Magazine to see what defensive players he has listed as all MWC. Obviously an oversight as not one byu defensive player is listed as all MWC first team. Obviously, he didn't get the memo that your D was reloading. He does list Tialavea as 2nd team on the D line and he has Criddle and Gooch listed as 3rd team all MWC. Yet, you are telling me that our wr's will "only" break 3 or 4 plays. Sure they will.

You've won 10 straight but you went 0-2 against AZ and BC. Not exactly Florida and USC but, Cougar fan thinks they are beating the top teams in the country.

From what I have read - your QB Hall as a bit of an ego and he has the arrogance to go with the ego. He hasn't taken a hit in 3 years and he has never faced a D as good as ours (oh wait - he faces your D every day and what with all the 3rd team all mwc performers it must be tough) yet his o-line is going to take care of him? What happens when he wants to go deep but it isn't open? What happens when is running game continues to get stuffed? Is his arrogance going to get in his way and will he try and force a few as most frosh qb's do?

As for our offense - 2 years ago when byu broke in a similar type of offense they averaged 33 points a game. They also averaged 33 points after their first 4 games. I guess you guys are the only ones who get it?

[dc4azcats]

BlueNtheface,

While a rule is to always root for the conference when they play OOC games, I must break away and root for the Cougs. I think a good BYU win will hopefully inject a dose of reality around here. BYU has always had solid teams year after year, and a great football tradition. I see this year being no different!

BYU - 27
UA - 6

Sincerely,

Devilswin99

DW99 - you continue to show how little you know. "Always had solid teams"?
LY they went 10-2 but lost to AZ and BC. In 05, they went 6-5, 04 they go 5-6, 03 they go 4-8, and in 02 they go 5-7. That's a pretty solid run and it was "year after year". So, are you saying that this will be 6-6 typical byu year or the 10-2 that they had once in the last 5 years?

[UA Direct]

My BYU worries?

-Not the defense, we're clearly better all-around. CFN recently gave us the nod in every direction.

-Yeah, the offense. We can't possibly have a worse offense than last year - my worries are what one or two untimely mistakes can do. That's it - that's all I'm worried about - giving away free points.

[Reydituto]

I'm not going to pile on to our latest BYU guest, but I will remark how funny it is that they think they have very few questions and ignore all the personnel losses they had. They also like to point to the Vegas Bowl win over Oregon as some sort of clarion call trumpeting their arrival into legitimacy this season, conveniently forgetting the fact that UA beat the same Oregon squad 5 weeks before by roughly the same margin at Oregon!

Here are some facts:


UA beat BYU with a mediocre offense last year.

UA's defense held BYU's offense - with John Beck, Johnny Harline, Curtis Brown, McKay Jacobsen et al - to their lowest point total of the season. All of them are gone this season.

BYU's starting QB Max Hall hasn't played a down of D1 football.

UA's defense returns 10 starters. BYU returns 7, but lost their best defensive player in Cameron Jensen.

BYU averaged 1.0 yard per carry net rushing the ball in last year's game.

BYU is 2-18 against BCS schools since 2000.

UA had a winning record on the road last season.

BYU's scheme will not catch UA off guard, between the fact they played last year, the familiarity UA's OC Dykes has with what BYU's OC Anae runs, and the exposure the UA defense now has to a similar scheme day-in/day-out in practice going up against UA's offense.


These aren't necessarily the reasons why UA will beat BYU, but they will factor into BYU's demise.

[baalforhire]

at the LVHilton the line is UA +5.5--for normal fans that would be enough of a reality check.

Reality is a scarce commodity here.

[dc4azcats]

at the LVHilton the line is UA +5.5--for normal fans that would be enough of a reality check.

Reality is a scarce commodity here.

Lets see where the line is the week of the game. It's a little early as the lines don't move much when you have 3 weeks before kick off. That would be reality.

[baalforhire]

the wierd thing about the BYU program is that every year they have a lot guys returning from their 2 years missions. It's like a built in advantage for the program these guys come back 2 years older and more mature physically at least.

I guarantee that several of these guys will wow you in the opener--It's like who is that guy and where did he come from.

[bhanson]

They certainly come back 2 years older, but not 2 years stronger. My understanding is that they really don't have time to workout.

[baalforhire]

I suspect they play smarter--and have an improved work ethic---good combination.

[scumdevils86]

you are stupid ballsuckerforhire. they are not allowed to do ANYTHING football related for 2 years. NOTHING.

[Reydituto]

at the LVHilton the line is UA +5.5--for normal fans that would be enough of a reality check.

Reality is a scarce commodity here.

Speaking of reality, betting lines have v. little to do with reality. Besides, I thought you were on a break? Go away again, it was much nicer here without you ... :)

the wierd thing about the BYU program is that every year they have a lot guys returning from their 2 years missions. It's like a built in advantage for the program these guys come back 2 years older and more mature physically at least.

I guarantee that several of these guys will wow you in the opener--It's like who is that guy and where did he come from.

That advantage doesn't manifest itself until you have 24-year old Seniors. Most of them are quite weak and need a full year of conditioning to get their strength back, sometimes taking their RS year after their mission to do so. UA beat BYU last year with an OL full of men in their mid 20's, BTW.

[baalforhire]

"UA beat BYU last year with an OL full of men in their mid 20's, BTW."

Yeah you slaughtered those "old men" with that last second field goal.

[scumdevils86]

you really don't know how to read and look at facts objectively do you ballsuckerforhire?

[cridkid]

the wierd thing about the BYU program is that every year they have a lot guys returning from their 2 years missions. It's like a built in advantage for the program these guys come back 2 years older and more mature physically at least.

I guarantee that several of these guys will wow you in the opener--It's like who is that guy and where did he come from.

If you meant by "several" Austin Collie, I'll give you that. He is a next level type receiver and Arizona is well aware of him and has seen tapes of his freshman year. I am confident Arizona's DB's will neutralize him for the most part. Besides him there is no significant hype for anyone returning from a mission in the BYU camp. So, unless you think Collie is so good that he can be counted as more than one player, "several" is a grave exageration.

[Reydituto]

"UA beat BYU last year with an OL full of men in their mid 20's, BTW."

Yeah you slaughtered those "old men" with that last second field goal.

I never said slaughtered you dip, I said beat. It's called scoreboard. 16-13. It happened. But go ahead, lie through your teeth and say you're taking a break, then keep coming back to flame away ...

[baalforhire]

quote from dc4az:
'Lets see where the line is the week of the game. It's a little early as the lines don't move much when you have 3 weeks before kick off. That would be reality.

You might have a point--but now that the Stardust is closed the Golden Nugget is the new home of the "outlaw line". The game opened at AZ +3 but was quickly bid up to AZ +5.5--probably that early mormon money--they're such shrewd gamblers.

anyway see for yourself:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/line-movement/arizona-@-byu.cfm/date/9-01-07/time/1730#X

[dc4azcats]

quote from dc4az:
'Lets see where the line is the week of the game. It's a little early as the lines don't move much when you have 3 weeks before kick off. That would be reality.

You might have a point--but now that the Stardust is closed the Golden Nugget is the new home of the "outlaw line". The game opened at AZ +3 but was quickly bid up to AZ +5.5--probably that early mormon money--they're such shrewd gamblers.

anyway see for yourself:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/line-movement/arizona-@-byu.cfm/date/9-01-07/time/1730#X

The smart bettors wait to see if any injuries occur (see byu with 2 starters out with injuries). I will stick to my original statement and the line will come down from where it is today.

[Chicat]

The smart bettors wait to see if any injuries occur (see byu with 2 starters out with injuries). I will stick to my original statement and the line will come down from where it is today.

For ASU games, smart bettors wait to see who they've lined up to shave points...

[LikesMikey]

It's all the scummies getting in their early bets against the UofA. Suckers.

[baalforhire]

if you think that the line will move downward--than you should bet now!