Kuresa knows BYU has big advantage

Jake Kuresa is no physicist, but he generally gets the gist of the laws that govern bodies in motion.

He doesn't need a chat session with Sir Isaac Newton to know BYU's offensive line is bigger than the D-line at Air Force, and there are dire consequences for this discrepancy.

In short, Kuresa expects the Cougar offensive line to place the smaller Falcons in a very bad situation as they attack and try and to open holes for BYU's power run game come Saturday in Colorado Springs.

But he's also smart enough to know the Falcons will absorb everything BYU throws their way and will come back for more.

Visiting with Kuresa is like picking apples off a tree. You've got your choice of great quotes, from ripe to green, from hard to soggy, from funny to serious. Reporters are going to miss this guy.

This week, the big Cougar offensive lineman held court on Air Force and BYU, divvying up the proper respect while dishing out his simple interpretation of the laws of weight and velocity.

Tennessee saw the same physical mismatch earlier this season in Knoxville with Air Force, but at the end of the game, the nationally ranked Vols found themselves trying to stop a Falcon two-point conversion that would have given the Cadets a gargantuan upset.

"They are a hard-working group of undersized, under-everything kind of guys, a team that never gives up," Kuresa said. "As far as speed, size and talent, they don't match up with us, especially on the front line.

"They know that. It will be our biggest advantage, and that's been the story of why we've scored so many points on them the last two games. They don't match up. We're too big."

None of that matters, however, if the Cougars don't execute, fail to use the size advantage to their benefit and disrespect the Falcons, Kuresa said.

While BYU has won the past two outings (by 17 and 21 points), holds a 20-6 advantage in the series and no game has been decided by fewer than 14 points since 2001 when Gary Crowton excised a 63-33 whopping on the Falcons, Kuresa has faith that this time the Cougars have enough weapons and firepower to deliver a victory.

"This year, we are just more consistent," he said.

More consistent than in the 62-41 win over the Falcons last year in Provo?