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BYU football: Big block for Cougars

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Nice | 10:01 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Very convincing win.
Anonymous | 10:03 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
re:Wisconsin Ute | 9:44 p.m.

And Michigan beat a great Miami University at Ohio team today 16-6 in the Big House.

Utah beat them by two, a missed 2 point conversion...

We can all use circular reasoning if we need to.

Have a nice evening.
KB | 10:04 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Officiating was in favor of Washington the entire game. There were numerous no calls that should have gone against Washington that were never called. Consider the number of penalties that went against BYU compared to the one against Washington. When the refs finally do get a call right, everybody cries foul. The officials kept Washington in the game way too long. Great job BYU.
Comments continue below
Pocatello Cougar | 10:12 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Folks, please stop with the "defense will doom us" talk. They gave up, what, 337 or so yards against the Huskies? That's pretty solid. Their QB is special and certainly caused some problems, but I don't see anyone else like him remaining on the schedule. As for Northern Iowa, they gave up just 10 points (7 were by the defense)and most of their yards came on that one big play.

No, they aren't as good as last year's defense, but they are young, just like last year's offense was. Max and the boys will cover the defense's back until they gel.

It's going to be just fine. Really.
Wade Gee | 10:09 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
To Ferndale: I hope you don't take my comment personally. We both agree on the celebration call, it was not a good one. What we don't agree on is that BYU fans are "whining" about a win. Also, go to ESPN.com and look at the photos of the game. I apologize for mentioning this so many times, but the comments keep coming so fast alot of people don't see them all. The photo of the block shows Jorgensen was well into the backfield which would take away the argument the penalty caused the kick to be blocked. He would have blocked that kick no matter where it was from. Also it does clearly show a UW player pulling on his shirt.

I can't say how high the ball went because the TV didn't follow the course of the ball.... I was just saying he didn't drop it over his back it did go into the air.
re:thinkaboutit | 10:09 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Re-read the post.

The quotation marks denote where I actually am "quoting" what you said.

Once again, I will accept your apologies. Mention it to Bob and let him know it's all good.
re:Nice | 10:13 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
What makes a win convincing?

Is it poins (scoreboard), stats, what ESPN says, what Bryant Gumble thinks?

Aren't W's put in the W column, and L's put in the winning column?

Was Utah's win at Michigan convincing or not convincing?

Just curious...
Terry Birch | 10:17 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Where is BYU's defense? Is the defense coach any good? They might need a new defense coach. I've seen their defense much better than that. They need be more prepared than that every week. Send their defense coach back to football school or get a new coach.
rules | 10:21 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Look, I agree that the call shouldn't have been made at that point in the game, but you people need to do some research and look up the rules of the game. ESPN even cleared it up in their article about the game that if the ball is thrown into the air after a touchdown then the refs HAVE to throw the flag, and it wasn't just one ref, it was three. It's a lame call, but it HAS to be made when it's that obvious of an infraction. That being said, there were plenty of holds during the game that were so blatent that since they didn't call those, why should they call ANYTHING during the game. Also, as much as I don't like to rag on my own team, Collie's touchdown at the beginning of the game could have had an unsportsman call because it looked like he spiked the ball between his legs. So what are we going to do now? keep whining about it? the game is over. the result can't change. BYU and Washington still play next week. There will be no replay of this game. FORGET IT! It's over! no more rehashing it!
CTR Jake | 10:19 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Looks like the angels pulled through for BYU again.
Franeker | 10:23 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Make no apologies for this win - the better team won without a doubt. The BYU "O" can play with any team in the country, and dominate any D in the country when they eliminate mistakes.

The defense was just good enough to win the game, and that's all they needed to be. Obviously, they are not yet comparable to last year's "D," but every week brings them closer to that objective.

I'm not worried about how they match up with Utah - I'm confident they learned enough in the last 2 games to make a good showing against UCLA, and that's all that matters. Max and Company will take care of the rest.

When the BYU defense lines up opposite the Utes at the end of the year, they will have a full year of seasoning behind them.... It would be ill advised for any team to take them for granted at that point - even the Utes.
Ferndale | 10:26 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Thanks, Wade, no hard feelings.

Thinkaboutit, I was not in the cheap seats. My boss gives UW over $1 million a year and he let me have his seats because he knows I'm from Utah. They were the best seats in the house and I did not see the ball go 20' in the air, I assure you. Check out ESPN tonight, 80%+ of fans in the US who saw the replay have voted that the wrong call was made.

For his part, Locker was graceful about it. He was interviewed by KJR radio here in Seattle right after the game and despite being prodded by the interviewer to say it was a bad call, he apologized to his team and the fans and gave BYU credit for being a great team. A class act to the end.

wow | 10:27 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
All I can say is that there is no way that BYU should be ranked above Oregon who slaughtered Washington and Penn State who is just dominating whoever steps on the field with them and when you compare the teams that BYU Oregon and Penn State have played they are all in the same league and Penn State and Oregon are way better than BYU. East Carolina needs to be in the rankings too. I say Oregon 11, Penn State 13 and BYU 18. Yes I say they drop in the rankings. For everyone who thinks that BYU is ready for the Pac-10 then you are insane.
Enter Name | 10:29 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
So ESPN is running Ted Miller's piece that says it was the wrong call.

Ted Miller covers Washington and the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and ESPN.

If he dogs the "call", are we going to say it is unbiased: as much, more, or less than Dick Harmon's column saying the call was correct in tomorrow's paper?

I think it is a "spin-job" by an ABC affiliate to keep the BCS in business, and you Ute fans that quote it as "cannonized scripture" just be ready when it is your turn.

(Five straight quarters of not being able to score on UNLV-- Ute fans need to worry about the Utes and let BYU worry about BYU).
Good call, sophomore mistake | 10:29 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
When the ball goes so high in the air that Locker has a chance to chest bump one player, turn to another, hug him, and then finally the ball falls on his shoulder as it comes out of the ozone. Good Call!

I don't know who's more upset, UW fans (deservedly so) or Utah fans (do they even know their team won tonight?)
Wynndow | 10:29 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Big Picture has it right! The call was a poor attempt by the officials to placate the Cougar sidelines after all the holding that they (the officials) did not call against the Huskies. The game never would have been close had the officials done their job throughout...
Corbin Emerick | 10:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Wow... Ty Willingham said after the game that it was the right call. He said it's a stupid rule, but that it was the right call. So all BYU haters keep your mouths shut. Utah got lucky when Michigan attempted that 2 point conversion. There just lucky that Michigan's qb overthrew the receiver by about 5 feet. A win is a win. We going undefeated baby... BYU's offense will not be stopped. If UNLV was able to have some success running the ball... Watch out baby for Unga. You couldn't stop him last year and he's even better this year. And remember it was your own Urban Meyer that said good teams make their luck. BYU knows how to get it done in the clutch baby... 12 in a row.... Longest in da nation!!!!
wow | 10:34 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
How is it that 49 out of 50 states say the penalty on Locker was a bad call and the only state to say it was the right call was Utah? I guarentee that if it would have been the other way BYU fans and people in Utah would be throwing a fit. How lame that it is only right if it benefits BYU. I am a BYU fan and am glad they won but I NEVER NEVER want to see a call like that change the game the way it did. When it was called the option to go for 2 points to win it all was taken away. Great block by the defense and the refs didn't give them that but the refs did make the 2 point conversion not an option for Washington. I would think they might have gone for 2. I would have because they were too worn out on d and would not have been able to stop BYU in OT. So sad a game is changed so much by one bad judgement call that even BYU's coach said was bad.
win is a win | 10:39 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Good job COUGARS!
Utah Man | 10:39 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Bad Call or not, BYU won end of story. That said your defense better figure it out or Norm Chow will chew you up and spit you out!!!!!!!! Good win by the Cougars and a great win for the Utes, both seemed to get a monkey off the back. Go Utes again watch out for those bruins
Mickey D | 10:38 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
I was at the game today at Husky Stadium with my son and it was a great atmosphere. What amazed me were the thousands of BYU fans and how loud and spirited they were. The craziest few thousand BYU fans were up on the third deck on the north side. I think they were hopped up on Mt. Dew. They made an incredible amount of noise and let the 60,000 other fans know what it meant to "Rise and Shout." Locker threw the ball at least 25 feet in the air after the TD, it was not just a little toss. He said afterwards that it was just an automatic reaction. Whoops.
Ferndale Tonight | 10:41 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
80% of the whole universe think it was a bad call.

Three refs and Locker agree it was the correct call.

This is a dilemma. How do we solve this?

I have a suggestion: From now on, both teams play and finish with a score, then fans across the galaxy vote and can overtun the score...

Or, we can just say whoever has the most points win.

Either way, I think it is a stupid rule, a stupid rule that "HAD" to be called.

Trust me, with all of the PI and holding calls Washington got away with, I believe the refs would have loved to swallow the flag. Throwing it was so against their nature, I'm sure that the officials were physically sick after the game.

0:02 seconds left in the game and U of W get's their first flag.

I think the arguement that it was the refs call that lost the game is a weak one. The "rule" is the rule, it's a bad, naughty rule, and denied us fans overtime.

That's what hurts...

Re: byu | 10:44 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
BYU's toughest game left is UCLA. Up here in Seattle, they are saying UCLA is probably one of UW's best chances for a win this season. The Huskies played Oregon, have #4 Oklahoma next, and still has Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Notre Dame (OK, not great any more but still better than Wyoming), and Stanford.

BYU has a patsy schedule and should not be ranked. They probably will go undefeated but against who? Are you guys actually serious about ragging on the BCS? I want to see BYU beat a ranked team. Then you all have credibility.
Eric P | 10:45 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Bad Call. But, BYU was the clear winner. Washington was playing a great emotional game, putting their heart into it, but they were obviously playing above themselves by the number of players that left the game due to injuries. Let's see a big win next week against UCLA.
It's just a matter of time | 10:45 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Coug fans, once again you will be in Utahs shadow this week, just like last. You will still be a page 2 story. I can't wait to watch your slow as tar defense next week, I hope two words haunt your every thought this week... "NORM CHOW" he is going to eat you alive and the best part is, there ain't nothing you can do about it!!! 42 to 21 ...eat it cougs.
After further review.... | 10:48 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
OK, I couldn't take it any more, so I went to the replay. I just watched the TD run by Locker at least 5 times, and every time, he threw the ball straight up in the air at least 30 feet, and a few seconds later it actually came down and hit him in the head. It seems the penalty was warranted. GO LOOK AT THE PLAY.
JO | 10:49 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Seriously, I am a BYU fan who did not grow up in Utah. It is amazingly funny how pathetic and ignorant BYU fans are. You seriously have have no clue. No fans in the history of sports are less Objective when it comes to watching the Cougars. That's why I can't stand going to BYU games. Come about half time, It's all I can do to not root for the other team because of how ignorant the fans are. Again, I am a BYU fan. Just not an ingnorant fan. I guarantee if you ask the Huskies fans right now, they would say the same thing about the refs, only that BYU was doing all the holding. Get a clue and some objectivity.
hey | 10:50 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
cheer up, at least the call got the kewgs on ESPN!
Anonymous | 10:52 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Jan Jorgensen's nuber is 84.

BYU won the National Championship in '84.

My wife was born on August 4th, 1984 (8/4/84)...
Weird, huh?
Washington man | 10:53 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
The officials missed several obvious offensive holding calls. WAAAAAA WAAAAA BYU got cheated!!!
Big Time Fan | 10:56 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Ok, we won, but UW is a very bad team and we should have won by a lot more. I'm thinking we would get smashed by a team like USC or Oklahoma that has not only great athletes but a good program. Will be interesting to see how we do against UCLA, our last chance to show we can play with the big boys.
Fulky | 10:59 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
The celebration call was unfortunate for Washington but it was right on with the rule book and both coaches recognized that after the game. This was not a judgement call, the ref's had no choice but to call it when they saw the ball tossed in the air as this is what the rule book requires. It may have had an impact on the game but there is no one to blame but the guy who violated the rule and the guy who kicked the ball.
re re BYU (10:44) | 10:57 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
they'll play the ranked utes in november, won't win though......
Worried... | 10:57 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
I am worried that the Pac-10 refs will feel the need to make up for the call next week when they visit Provo. It's rediculous that the Pac-10 gets to use their own officiating crews in all non-conference games. I am afraid that we will be having this same conversation next week after a badly called UCLA/BYU game.
Ferndale, WA | 10:57 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Not saying the call cost U of W the game. But the guy who said Locker threw the ball 25 feet in the air and I obviously didn't see the same thing. Who was closer, I can't say, I don't know where he was sitting. I was pretty close.

All the holds and PI calls, I didn't see them. I played lineman for many years and I saw a few holds here and there for both teams but nothing that really affected the outcome of the game. If every hold was called, you'd never get a game played, so you can't have it both ways.

The rule can be taken for the letter of the law or the spirit. I've seen much more exuberant end zone celebrations in college football with no call made. I would classify the call as "ticky tack."
gary | 10:59 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
until the head coach deals with his ego and hires a defensive Co., BYU will never reach a BCS game.
Just a reminder... | 10:59 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Unga fumbled on the 1, othwerise this is a two score game and we are not even talking. Tha call was terrible at the end, but look at the offensive husky penalties. Oh wait, there weren't any. No PI's in the first half, and nothing even close in the 2nd half.

The D looked pretty scary for the majority of the game. Locker overthrew too many recievers at the end of the game, and there were some drops as well.

It was a very entertaining game, and I am glad that the cougs came out on top. Next week should be fun!
Enough said | 11:04 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
"After scoring the touchdown, the player threw the ball into the air and we are required, by rule, to assess a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty," Farina said in a statement given to Washington officials. "It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call."
Ridgerunner | 11:07 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
BYU turned the ball over two times had way to many penalties which could have easily cost them the game! The rushing yardage was almost the same for both team but BYU's passing game was much better than UW. That is why BYU won the game. Also BYU's kicking game needs work! Next week comes a huge test, but it will be in L.E. Stadium, advantage, BYU!
Oh My Gosh | 11:05 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
You BYU fans are delusional. I just watched the replay AGAIN and no way does the ball go 30' in the air. Your bias is so strong that your judgment is out of whack.

Now I know why my friends from BYU are always talking about making 30 foot putts!!
delay of game | 11:09 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
this call was no worse than the no-call at the big house when sakoda made his 53 yard field goal. watch the replay of his field goal and you will see that it was clearly a delay of game.
MAGoo | 11:09 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
What are you smoking? The refs had to make that call. You should Rule 9, Section 2, Article 1 of the NCAA rule book.
Blueute | 11:12 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
To Wow:

BYU & Utah will never be in the PAC-10 not because they can't play to that level of competition. It's as always $. Why would 10 college presidents decide to cut the pie into 12 pieces instead of the current 10?

Even after the blocked PAT, Washington still had a chance to win on the on-side kick at the end of the game, but they choose to kick it deep.
Re: Bad Refs | 11:17 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
You obviously have not watch today's game or any game BYU has played against a PAC-10 school. Pac-10 officials have hosed the cougs time and time again...a number of calls today weren't called including a hold on the 20 yard first down conversion on the final drive. Watch a game and know your BYU history before spouting your uniformed mouth. What is sad is that BYU may drop in the polls because the refs made a controversial call. Either way 2-0...Go COUGS.
re everybody | 11:18 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
listen to what Lou Holtz said about Locker on ESPN, he is dead on, the rule itself needs to be changed. BYU should not feel awesome about this win and should not move up. I'm also sick of hearing about how the game wouldnt have been close if they had called holding blah blah blah. What if hall had messed his pants and couldnt play? What if a bird had flown into a byu extra point, fact is it doesnt matter! The call was made and it will help spotlight the fact that the rule is vague and extremely stupid. Taunting should be forbidden, but emotion should not be outlawed from college athletics. I saw a byu running back flex his muscles, thats taunting and should have been called but it wasnt.
bergstro | 11:23 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
You are all missing the point. Who cares if it was a bad call, or if BYU made a great play blocking the kick. The point here is that no one on FSN, ESPN, SI, or any other major sports outlet is talking about BYU's win, they are talking about how the ref cheated the Huskies out of a chance to win.

Fair or not, this will go down as the game that BYU won on a technicality, and for the second week in a row, BYU has a victory that will not impress anyone in the BCS.

After last season's Hawaii fiasco, any undefeated non-BCS team is going to have to have a couple big non-conference wins, along with a clobbering of their conference opponents. If BYU is undefeated at the end of the season, people will automatically (thanks to Hawaii) doubt them because of their cream-puff schedule. When they ask about non-conference wins, all they have at this point is a poor showing against a Div II team and the win that the national audience will only remember as the game where the ref screwed up.

To be a plus, BYU needed to win this game big.
PAC-10 Refs | 11:24 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
That's all I have to say!
kelly | 11:27 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
Bad call, not so sure it lost the game for Washington, however BYU fans you are forgeting that yes, they still got the touchdown and yes still had the oportunity to tie it with the extra point, but with Lockers ability to run there would have been a real possability they would have went for 2 instead to win the game, with a very good chance of doing it. The call took that option away.
Ute Fan | 11:27 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
My work here is done.

I now must go over and bug the Utes. There I will be known as BYU Fan...

Wish me well,
Blueute | 11:31 p.m. Sept. 6, 2008
To Wow:

BYU & Utah will never be part of the PAC-10, not because they can�t play on that level, but because of money. Why would the college presidents want to cut the pie into 12 pieces instead of 10 pieces.

Most college coaches would have gone for a tie and not the 2 point conversion, opting to put it into OT especially on their home field. Can you imagine the second guessers there would have been had there been no penalty and they went for two and didn�t make it. Willingham would be looking for a new job.

Washington still could have had a slim chance to win the game after the blocked PAT with an onside kick, but gave those chances up when they kicked it deep.

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BYU's Jan Jorgensen (84) blocks the extra-point attempt of Washington's Ryan Perkins to seal the Cougars 28-27 win over the Huskies on Saturday in Seattle.

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