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BYU football: Defense is quicker, Mendenhall says

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ECU | 1:09 p.m. July 23, 2008

ECU is still quacking in their boots over the mighty BSU Broncos who are a combined 1 and 3 in bowl games over the last 4 years. Other than a miracle win over Oklahoma the Broncos have loses to BC on the smurf turf and Louisville. Keep talking smack about a conference that went 1 and 3 in bowl games last year and then also try not to deny that you would sell your grandmother for a chance to play in the MWC. If you don't believe me go back and read the Idaho Statesman and your coaches own comments to the media. Need I say more.

Re: Mr Obvious | 1:15 p.m. July 23, 2008

Do you really want to open up the whole recruiting discussion again?
Teetering on the edge of being mediocre? They were well in to mediocrity.
He is the coach for crying out loud. Like and respect him, but honestly some of the comments are a little disturbing. Let's be completely honest here. Do you really like him? Would you be calling for his head if he was losing? I don't know you, but you probably would. I wonder how long it will take you to turn on him when he begins to lose?

Re: Boise St Bronco | 1:19 p.m. July 23, 2008

Is that: Boise State or Boise Saint?? Whatever.

Win another Fiesta Bowl?? What an imagination you have. A little early in the season don't you think -Boise Saint?

Comments continue below

Am I missing something? | 1:36 p.m. July 23, 2008

BYU's defense seemed to be their only weak link last year (could've gone 12-0 if not for defensive mistakes). So know, they lose a ton of starters, and have a bunch of young guys and walk ons in those spots and I'm supposed to believe all this hype about 'bigger/faster/stronger'?

This isn't smack, I'm just confused. Wait until that defense proves itself before you start talking BCS, or another MWC title. You'd think out of all people Cougar fans would be weary of pride cycles.

Ernest T. Bass | 2:01 p.m. July 23, 2008

Your obsession is just sad.

Ernest T. Bass | 2:03 p.m. July 23, 2008

Tulsa made you guys look fast. Their receivers only had your DBs beaten by 8 yards.

You're missing something | 2:05 p.m. July 23, 2008

They win and lose as a team, but, if you want to pinpoint weaknesses, BYU's defense lost one game, the Tulsa game, because they were fooled time-and-time again by trick plays. They solved that problem, and were solid against the trickery the remainder of the season.

BYU's offense lost the UCLA game. But don't forget, it was the first road game of their college careers for Hall and Unga, so a few mistakes should have been expected.

BYU's defense this season isn't nearly as inexperienced as some would have you believe. We have players returning who were projected starters last season, before injuries in fall camp ended their seasons, and many of the 2nd and 3rd platoon players from last year had significant playing time.

This season's defense will be solid.

Re: Michael | 2:12 p.m. July 23, 2008

Good point. BYU fans are extremely defensive...why is that? If you know you are so much better than everyone else (in the world), do you really need to come "prove" it to everyone? I as a Ute fan accept that BYU has a better football program historically, and that BYU has been dominant in the Mountain Weak Conference for the last few years.

To: Boise St Bronco | | 3:04 p.m. July 23, 2008

Ah yes, the Boise State Broncos, how did that work out them last year. Lost to Hawaii, who totally got faced by Georgia.

BS Broncos are lesser pretenders from a weaker conference.

@PAC-10 Fan& bigslurrp | 3:07 p.m. July 23, 2008

Maybe 8 pale white guys from BYU winning the National Championship may bring back the thousands of fans that have left NCAA football for NASCAR!!!

Anyway, Leon White was the BEST linebacker to put on the Royal Blue..

Bigslurp? I feel that the LDS kids at the U are cut off behind enemy lines. Oboma land, get it

Boise St. | 3:16 p.m. July 23, 2008

The Broncos won't even win the WAC this year but at least they'll still have their other claim to fame, the blue turf.

Re; Liking a head coach | 4:01 p.m. July 23, 2008

It goes without saying that most fans like coaches who win.

Most BYU fans like and respect Gary Crowton, except for the fact that he isn't cut out to be a head coach. I still think he is a great offensive coordinator and will do very well at LSU.

As for Bronco, most BYU fans consider him to be the second coming of LaVell Edwards. Computer speak. But a great head coach who has the vision to build on the tradition LaVell established.

Thats not saying much | 5:39 p.m. July 23, 2008

BYU's team are notoriously one of the slowest in the country so saying they are faster now probably means they are just average. Good thing for them that they are faster too, if the opposing offense can get past a solid D-line they will be running through a suspect back 8 and the cougar defenders will be chasing them from behind. They will give up over 25 points consistenly.

1984 | 6:25 p.m. July 23, 2008

Ernest t bass... why are you even commenting on this article? Go read some stuff about the utes or something. You don't hide your obsession very well...

You're not saying anything | 6:29 p.m. July 23, 2008

"They will give up over 25 points consistenly [sic]."

Like they did last season when they ranked 10th in the nation in total defense (307 ypg) and 9th in scoring defense (18.5 ppg)?

Sptwrtr14 | 6:44 p.m. July 23, 2008

Notoriously slow? ... I've never seen a slow team go undefeated two years in a row in any conference ever but thanks for the comment, is this your first year watching football?

Fesenko Hater | 7:57 p.m. July 23, 2008

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. byu MUST be the only team in AMERICA whose players actually work out during the offseason. In fact, I'm pretty sure their the only team whose players get better as they approach their senior year.

Think about it for a minute cougies. Would BronKo ever go on record saying the team was slower? Nope. Show some critical thought when reading, especially by a beat writing home named Harmon.

Both Utah and byu will be good this year. Unless of course byu doesn't show up to play at the right venue on the correct day. That would be tragic.

Go Utes!

quick defense | 9:27 p.m. July 23, 2008

byu has a good defense, but it still wont stop the utes offense from scoring, mainly cause of the injuries they occur year by year, someone have the byu defensive coordinater go to gary anderson (ute def. coord.) to have a good defense consistently. byu has a good defense, its just way inconsistent IMO from what ive seen the past couple of years

GO UTES!!!

Ed Clinch | 9:52 p.m. July 23, 2008

I have heard Brono in person and he is definitely one of my heroes...

This might be the Cougs' year.

Calm down | 10:20 p.m. July 23, 2008

Although I am a cougar fan, don't get your hopes up on one article that says they might be faster. Last year Utah thought BYU would stink because of the new offense, hopefully it goes the same this year for defense where they are overlooked, yet dominate. Until BYU can bust the BCS, we can't talk smack about not winning to Utah. They did bust it. Let the games do the talking for us, not our mouths and comments.

Mr. Obvious | 10:28 p.m. July 23, 2008

I used the word mediocre to describe BYU's Crowton era because I thought it would be a description Ute fans could relate to. Let's face it, what BYU fans consider a mediocre year, a Ute fan would consider a pretty good year.

The comparison made earlier really says it all. Bronco took over a BYU program in shambles. Kyle took over a program that was the best in school history. And yet, Kyle has still finished behind Bronco every year.

sprtwrtr14 | 11:47 p.m. July 23, 2008

Dear Fesenko Hater,
People usually do get better as they get closer to their senior year. But when you lose over half your defenders to graduation and/or the draft you usually have some rebuilding time, such as the situation with BYU. So therefore what Bronco was saying is pretty impressive if true. Any other ignorant comments Ms. Fesenko?

Conference Number 7! | 12:11 a.m. July 24, 2008

Bronco is my hero even though he was an integral part of the coaching staff during the bad years.

BYU will win EVERY game this year including the BCS Bowl Game. If they don't, the season will be a great disapointment to all.

It is good to know the team speed is improving. This will help the team be invincible against lower division PAC 10 teams as well as other lower divison directional schools..

Hall, Collie and Unga will be injury free all year due to the excellent conditioning program at BYU as well as often documented divine intervention. If they are injured, it will be okay because BYU has good walk-on's.

Finally, I can't wait for the season to begin. I love to watch ESPN's Game Day Coverage of the MWC as well as the inevitable ESPN coverage of BYU's improved defensive team speed.

Re: Number 7 | 7:22 a.m. July 24, 2008

You're rambling. Try getting a little more sleep before starting your graveyard shift.

DieHardCougar | 8:54 a.m. July 24, 2008

Who cares whether BYU's defense is faster or slower? Bronco has shown over the past 5 years that no matter who is on the field, his defense is in the top 25 in the nation in several categories. I expect nothing different this year.
And we all know what kind of offense BYU has this year.
Go Cougs!

BYU vs. Utah | 9:19 a.m. July 24, 2008

Hey everyone, I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Can someone please explain to me why anybody who lives in Utah wouldn't want both BYU and Utah to go undefeated and then play in a major game in November? I think that this would be the best thing that could happen to the MWC.

Make no mistake I'm cheering the Cougars all of the way, but I also cheer for Utah in every game they play so that the game of the year has everything on the line...conference championship, BCS birth, top 10 rights, etc...

Watch the Pride Cycle | 10:10 a.m. July 24, 2008

Hey guys, shouldn't we tone it down a bit? I recall Utah having a couple good years in a row, and Colorado State before that. Remember when Kansas State and Nebraska were awesome?

Just a thought.

re: calm down | 12:13 p.m. July 24, 2008

thank you for proving my point, although i am a HUGE utah fan i do expect byu to possibly run the table, with the lone loss the loss to utah(if it happens), i think byu, even if they do lose a game or two would still play in the bcs, mainly cause they've been ranked all the past two years and play crappy teams in bowl games.....but the defense is suspect to me, you cant defend tulsa's horriffic spread offense but you can show up against everyone else? if utah off. coord. andy ludwig actually knew what he was doing when running utah's spread, i would think byu would be a little bit worried, but i think both teams will do just fine, possibly both bust the BCS (wouldnt that just be awesome)..

Wasatch Front | 12:49 p.m. July 24, 2008

Good point, BYU vs. Utah. When I moved here from California, I used to root for both BYU and Utah as well, and couldn't understand the rancor between the two schools. However, after several years of living here and personally witnessing the vile hatred exhibited by many Ute fans -- not to mention the unbelievable behavior of "fans" at Rice-Eccles Stadium -- I have been swayed over to actually enjoying seeing Utah lose in the most stupid ways possible.

For example:

There was nothing quite so beautiful as watching Ryan Kaneshiro notch the right post on a game-winning field goal.

Or seeing 9 Ute pass defenders somehow forget to cover Johnny Harline.

Or seeing those same Ute pass defenders -- coached by the best D coordinator in all of football, Gary Anderson -- let Collie get behind them on 4th and 18.

Or seeing that idiotic QB Lance Rice scramble and run out of bounds with no time left against Air Force when the Utes were easily in range for a game-tying field goal against Air Force.

Or seeing the Utes get shut out at UNLV.

Meyer never let anything like that happen on his watch.

oldpuebloguy - Tucson | 1:46 p.m. July 24, 2008

As a BYU alum...I would be happy just to get one ticket to the UCLA game. I'd pay and get there no problemo. Anybody have a spare they may want to part with? oldpuebloguy@comcast.net

To: oldpuebloguy - Tucson | 2:30 p.m. July 24, 2008

No extra tickets here, but if someone else doesn't offer you a ticket, just come. You can always get a ticket from a scalper and many BYU fans sell their extra tickets at face value or less.

Re: BYU vs. Utah | 2:59 p.m. July 24, 2008

How much time do you have? There is not enough time to describe the breadth and depth of this rivalry.

Why would either team want their rival to do well? That's ridiculous! Just because our schools reside in the same state we're supposed to like and support each other? That's crazy talk. Actually that's all the more reason to hate each other's guts and wish nothing but 0-12 and 9th place on the other. That's where I stand anyway.

Memo to U | 8:16 p.m. July 24, 2008

Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.

That about sums up the Ute comments about Brigham Young.

Anonymous | 8:23 p.m. July 24, 2008

why does the DNews even allow these comments. Talk radio is bad enough - who wants to listen to all these poor takes and commentary?? Ad hominen attacks and one liners from the comfort of your own home are only emblematic of the shallowness of your arguments and ridiculous nature of your tone.

Regardless go Cougs.

Red Jello | 8:27 p.m. July 24, 2008

Although I haven't actually seen this - I have only tasted jello a couple of times this month, but I have had people come over and tell me they really think jello is good for your teeth. It may be good for your teeth.

Translation by Dick Harmon: Jello IS good for your teeth.

enough already | 8:46 p.m. July 24, 2008

Enough with the 'pride cycle' garbage. Reason #1: If such a thing actually exists it already happened to BYU from 2002-2005. Reason #2: There is no such thing as a 'pride cycle' in football, so stop with the Nephite theories already. What football fans post on comment boards has nothing to do with their team's success or failure, as much as you and some others might want to believe it actually does. Football programs simply go through cycles where they lose good players and coaches get old or great coaches move on, period. It really isn't very complicated or mysterious.

Seattle | 10:56 p.m. July 24, 2008

It is good that BYU beat Utah last year but is continuing to remind everyone that the only reason they won is because of a unbelievable error is hardly a vote of confidence for BYU.

Go ahead and rub it in but truthfully Utah has outplayed BYU in both games the last 2 years and won the 4 games before that.

That shows me that Whittingham prepares his team better for a rivalry game better than BYU does. I believe he got that emphasis from Urban Meyer.

utes will lose 5 games | 12:01 a.m. July 25, 2008

And one will be to BYU. Every year, we hear utes talking about how good their team is and then they finish 6-5. What's going to be different this year, nothing. GO Michigan!!!!

Nyron | 3:46 a.m. July 25, 2008

Coach Bronco was simply observing things about HIS team. He was not referring to any other team, not the Olympic Sprinters, not the NFL, not any other entity. Some people up North really have a phobia. It would be amusing if it weren't so sad.

Clueless in Seattle | 7:05 a.m. July 25, 2008

"Whittingham prepares his team better for a rivalry game better than BYU does"

One word: SCOREBOARD

All Kyle has proven is how to lose 2 out of 3 close games.

2007
First downs:....BYU 21, Utah 14
Passing yards:..BYU 269, Utah 129
Rushing yards:..BYU 155, Utah 115
Total yards:....BYU 424, Utah 244
Final Score:....BYU 17, Utah 10

2006
First downs:....BYU 27, Utah 26
Passing yards:..BYU 375, Utah 376
Rushing yards:..BYU 54, Utah 98
Total yards:....BYU 429, Utah 474
Final Score:....BYU 33, Utah 31

2005
First downs:....BYU 20, Utah 24
Passing yards:..BYU 309, Utah 240
Rushing yards:..BYU 176, Utah 251
Total yards:....BYU 485, Utah 491
Final Score:....BYU 34, Utah 41 (OT)

to Seattle | 7:34 a.m. July 25, 2008

You need to do a little research before you post your comments. "truthfully utah has outplayed BYU in both games the last 2 years"?? Not hardly. Last year BYU's stats were obviously better. The year before in the 33-31 BYU win utah had a slight edge but overall the stats were very close, and that game was at res where you'd expect utah to play better.

But I hope what you say IS true about Whittingham preparing his team for the rivalry game and that he does the same things again this year. That will mean another Cougar win this season at res. And to say that whittingham got his rivalry game attitude from meyer is a bit of a stretch. Remember this: he worked much longer under MAFU so that's what's influenced him most.

GO COUGARS!!!! Beat the Son of MAFU again!!!!!

Re: Seattle | 8:57 a.m. July 25, 2008

There are errors that occur during every football game. The fact is, the teams have to play well enough over the course of the entire game to compensate for the errors they commit.

Tell me, what errors are you talking about? Are you talking about the error of the coaching staff in only rushing two against BYU and forcing their secondary to cover for way too long and allowing Harline to get open in the endzone?

No? Maybe it was the missed tackle on Hall last year that would have ended the game? Instead the play was extended (again forcing the secondary to cover for way too long).

I think it is funny that people rush in to point out that one guy messed up, when in fact there were, as it were, a comedy of errors that allowed things to happen.

If I could have one wish, it would be that BOTH BYU and Utah would make it to the final game undefeated and we could have a game like we have had the last three years. Maybe both teams would go to a BCS bowl.

Go Cougs!!!
Go Utes!!!

Show the country that Utah has two quality teams.

Fesenko Hater | 9:20 a.m. July 25, 2008

Thanks DNews. You let cougar fans personally attack others, but their kind rebuttles are censored. LAME. Keep living in your byu bubble.

-Fesenko Hater

love it | 9:41 a.m. July 25, 2008

I love this time of year. BYU fans showing their collective pride, in their typical snobby and obnoxious way, and Ute fan expressing his little step-child picked on mentality obviously wishing he were a Coug but relegated to Uteville.

As a non-mormon Wazzu fan living in Utah watching all this, it's quite the spectacle.

For the record, it's close but true, Ute fans are bigger idiots that Cougar fans.

Anonymous | 9:55 a.m. July 25, 2008

Hey Pac 10 fan, are you a racist? "8 pale white guys"? Good enough to beat your Wildcats and Bruins last year. Maybe you need more pale white guys in the Pac.

Texas Cougar | 10:41 a.m. July 25, 2008

"love it"- I love your comment! I've known some pretty idiotic BYU and Utah fans over the years. Maybe they could start a new university in Utah with a football team for deranged BYU and Utah fans to start cheering for. It would make the rivalry a lot more enjoyable for the rest of us.

I was at the Tulsa game last year. During the first quarter, Tulsa's quarterback (Paul Johnson) was obviously nervous. BYU had Tulsa on the ropes in the first quarter and had a chance to be up 21-0. However, the cougars let their youth show, and Johnson got into a groove, and the quarter ended 14-7 for Tulsa.

After that, Johnson put together the best game I've ever seen a quarterback have (which would really mean something if I was old...I've only been following football seriously for about 15 years). NO TEAM IN THE COUNTRY COULD HAVE DEFENDED THE BOMBS HE WAS TOSSING THAT NIGHT. Not only was he hitting receivers in stride, but he was hitting them their hands from 40 yeards away while they were double teamed. I doesn't surprise me that he finished as the top passer in the nation last year.

Re: Fesenko hater | 12:00 p.m. July 25, 2008

Maybe the reason why the DNews is not allowing you to post your "rebuttles" is because they have no idea what that word means? LAME! Keep drinking the spellcheck Kool-Aid, Ute Homer in Fesenko Hater clothing!!!

Oklahoma City Thunder | 12:15 p.m. July 25, 2008

In one small sense, I do agree with Seattle. It seems to me that Utah does prepare better for the rivalry game than the Cougars do. That's because, I think each of the last three years, BYU has clearly had the better team, the better record, more momentum, etc. Based on how BYU has dominated other teams with similar records each of the past three seasons, I would have expected BYU to win those three Utah games by two touchdowns each. The fact that each game literally went down to the final play suggests that Utah has played above its record.

Why is that? I don't know. But even Bronco admitted after that 2005 loss that his players were unprepared for the emotion that Utah brought to start -- and how to offset it. Basically, they got caught up in the emotion -- which is intrinsic to how Utah prepares for a game. (Don't think so? Just look at how Kyle whipped the entire program into a frenzy over a minor perceived slight last year vs. Wyoming.)

The rest of Seattle's comments are inane. What do you expect from a city that can't hold its NBA franchise?

Zoobie 56 | 2:42 p.m. July 25, 2008

Cougar football is only about a month away. It gives me chills. The nay sayers will never let up. All I heard last year was that the Cougars were going to stumble and not win the MWC. (It didn't happen) Let's just enjoy good old Cougar football. Maybe this will be a fantastic season. Maybe it's not in the stars. Either way the Cougs have my loyalty, and let's not let a few misguided souls take all the fun out of things.

Let the Ute bumper | 8:28 p.m. July 25, 2008

stickers abound. The rest of us need the warning about DUI.

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