Over the hump keys to winning the South

I think UW looms as a very big game, because our 2 most likely competitors in the South have an easier schedule with the North teams. We need Huntley, the OL and WRs to rise to the occasion.

Arizona’s D is a little small inside, but they started 9 freshmen last year, some of them All-PAC caliber talents, like Fields the rocket LB who hurt Huntley last year. I’m glad we have them at RES.

Likewise with USC, best to have them @ altitude. If we beat USC and take the South, that’s the end of Clay Helton, IMO.

Wazzu should be a winnable game, but the Pirate is a great motivator and strategist (like the time we were up on them in SLC 21-0 and he called two consecutive timeouts to read the riot act to the team, and they beat us).

Stanford – hard to know. We usually have the size to duke it out with them, but can our skills players beat theirs, in Palo Alto?

I agree CU is going to be tougher than most think. McIntyre is a really good coach. UCLA we *should* be able to get down there because of the mismatch of personnel and scheme, but who knows what Kelly has dreamt up since he’s been out of the game. ASU *should* also be manageable, but they have some good talent that caved on Todd Graham because he’s such as asshole, like RichRod, but not quite as bad.

BYU – if we’re in a position to win the South, we’ll want to pound them to justify our position. If we’re out of it, we’ll want to pound on them for redemption. Talent differential should make this a solid double digit win.

Keys to the season:

– the backups QB(s). No reason not to play Tuttle, and I think Shelley could be a solid game manager, with an underrated arm and the mobility to keep defenses from sagging into a zone.

– WRs – they need to step up and help make the air game more diverse than we had with Carrington as the bailout option.

– Defense – the anonymous comments from PAC-12 coaches lined up exactly with Scalley’s recent vow to steer away from such a high percentage of blitzing. We’ve taken a lot of chances, which have burned us in crucial situations. Need to play teams like UW in crucial situations and beat them, straight up.

The double-edged sword of having the depth we do is grumbling and transfers, but the redshirt rule will keep the youngsters engaged and hopefully we can play a lot of guys without breakdowns. If we do, the depth turns into a serious weapon, especially as the season wears on.

Basically everyone hates everyone and the coaches have no control over anything. 

There is no middle ground. Either people say the place is in total chaos or it’s a place of peace, harmony and love. We will see pretty quick vs Arizona. 

I have quite a few diehard BYU fan friends, and despite that obvious character flaw and the fact that it represents a lack of good judgment or taste, I remain friends with them because they are good dudes.  They range from die-hard blue-goggle wearers to the reasonable and cautiously optimistic, so their opinions obviously vary considerably, but there seems to be a consensus amongst them regarding the following:

-The QB battle continues, but there is a growing rumor that Zach Wilson may have beaten out Mangum, and therefore might start receiving first team reps this weak.  Hard to say if this is actually true, and even if it is, hard to say if that is either a knock on Mangum or an indication of Wilson’s superior talent level.  My guess is that the situation is similar to what we had with Troy and Tyler last year: the incumbent is a known commodity with a relatively low ceiling and only one year left of eligibility, and the staff is willing to take some knocks now tio develop a more talented but less seasoned QB for the future.  Better to break in the new guy during a known and accepted rebuilding year, than to have a ‘meh’ year this year and then bring on a redshirt freshman QB next year when Mangum is gone.

-The O has been playing pretty well, though more cautious fans are hesitant to get excited because they have, to this point, only been tested against BYU’s D, which all fans seem to agree is not going to be very good this year.  Same problem that plagues many fans during camp: if one side of the ball dominates, does that mean that side is really strong or that the other side is really weak?

-It appears that there is a lot of position switching, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.  Hard to say what that means; it could mean nothing, it could mean that there’s no talent or depth at certain positions and that the coaches are filling holes by shifting players from positions of better talent/depth, or it could mean that the coaches are simply trying to get the best players on the field as much as possible.  In any event, depth appears to be a legit concern and it appears they will struggle to recover if injuries occur at certain spots.

-O-Line appears to be a position of strength, as does linebacker.  Tight End appeared to be another strength, but rumor has it that Bushman didn’t put in the work this summer (got married) and may not have therefore taken the leap that fans/coaches were hoping for, or may have even regressed a bit.  There are additional rumors of other key players reporting to camp out of shape.  Impossible to say whether or not this is indicative of the coaches losing the locker room to any degree, but whatever the reason, it’s not good news.

-Most (except the google-wearers) seem to think they’ll win 6 games this year, with one win against a stronger opponent and one WTF loss.  Most seem to think they’ll win one of their big six games (5 P5 games and Boise), with AZ and Cal being considered their best chance to win a big game.  None think they’ll beat Utah.