The Cougars handled the Rams about like I expected (see previous post: my prediction was 33-9) in winning fairly easily 35-16. I have to give credit to my co-author on this blog, Spencer, who almost exactly predicted the final score with his 35-17 prediction.
The Cougars did gain some momentum heading into this week's important match up with TCU on Thursday night. I think the Cougars accomplished a few things with the win over CSU:
1) Re-established the ability to beat teams through the air. In a game that many anticipated would be dominated by the Cougar's ground game, Max Hall proved his ability to find receivers and helped propel the Cougars to victory.
2) Shaking off the Rust - the Cougars still haven't played a Div-I opponent with a winning record since beating the Lobos in New Mexico at the end of September, but after two bye weeks and a game against Div-II Eastern Washington, this game had to feel good and gets the Cougars ready for what will probably be the toughest stretch of opponents all season (TCU, @ Wyo, Utah).
3) Remained unbeaten in MWC play - it really doesn't feel like this team scares anybody ... like '06 team that dominated opponents ... they have won games, though at times unspectacular, and remain the team to beat in the MWC at 4-0 and need only two wins in their last four to grab at least a share of the title.
TCU vs. BYU 11/8/07
In the preseason, this game was being built as the game that was supposed to determine the MWC champion ... now that November has arrived we see that that preseason billing wasn't correct; however, there is still plenty at stake for both teams.
TCU - the Horned Frogs have a chance to become bowl eligible and move to 6-4 on the season and back to .500 in the conference with a win over BYU on Thursday night. With MWC games still against UNLV and San Diego State the Frogs will likely get to at least 7 wins and depending on how things shake out, may or may not get a bowl invitation with only 7 wins (considering BYU, Utah, New Mexico, Air Force could all have more wins). Beyond bowl invitations, the Frogs have a chance to regain some of the luster that they have lost within the conference (going 14-2 during first 2 years in MWC and going only 2-3 this season to date). Also, a chance to avenge a home loss to the Cougars last year in which John Beck, heavily taped ankles and all, rocked the Frogs in a 31-17 that wasn't actually that close.
BYU - it may seem the Cougars have less to play for, but without sounding too much like Bronco ... this is the most important game of the season (this week at least). A win on Thursday will move the Cougars within one win of getting at least a piece of the MWC title. The Cougars also need to get a win against a quality opponent and while TCU doesn't represent a top 25 team or a BCS-conference foe, they are certainly an upgrade from UNLV, Eastern Washington, and CSU. A loss against TCU could shake the Cougars confidence heading into the final three games of the season.
BYU Will Win If ...
The Cougar defense plays a great game ... I don't think the offense will dominate TCU (which probably represents the best defense BYU has seen all year), but Max Hall has enough weapons to move the ball and score enough to win the game ... so the defense will be critical. The TCU offense has improved as the season has progressed, as one would expect having a Freshman QB, but they are not asking Andy Dalton to win games for the team, when they have asked him to win games without being able to run the ball they have lost every time this year, check out the numbers:
In 5 Wins this Season TCU averages:
Passing
Comp.-Att., Yards, Total TD/INT
16 - 28, 201, 7/0
Rushing Yards
182.4 ypg
In 4 Losses this Season TCU averages:
Passing
Comp.-Att., Yards, Total TD/INT
20 - 45, 226, 4/8
Rushing Yards
90 ypg
Basically, when opposing defenses have limited TCU's ability to run the ball, they have forced Dalton to beat them and he has failed to beat teams that way. In fact, in their 4 losses he has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns and he attempted almost 17 more passes per game in those losses. Thus, the key will be to limit the Frogs ability to run the ball and make Dalton try to beat them through the air. Utah held the Frogs to only 94 rushing yards and Dalton threw four interceptions.
PREDICTION ... BYU 24 -TCU 20
No comments:
Post a Comment