|
Cougars' focus is on winning, not cracking the Top 25 |
|
|
|
|
JaredCowley | Saturday, November 4, 2006, 10:50 am
|
Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Is BYU a Top 25-worthy football team?
And how much does it matter?
As the Cougars prepare for today’s matchup at Colorado State (4:30 p.m., The mtn.), they are sitting just outside the AP Top 25 at 27th. A win against Colorado State would be BYU’s sixth victory in a row and could move the team into the Top 25.
If that happens, it would be the first time since 2002 that BYU’s name could be found among the nation’s top 25 teams. In 2001, the Cougars climbed as high as seventh and finished the year ranked 25th. After opening with wins over Syracuse and Hawaii in 2002, BYU broke into the Top 25 at No. 24. The date was Sept. 8, 2002.
What came next was a shocking loss at Nevada, and the Cougars haven’t been close to the rankings since ... until now.
BYU players and coaches insist their focus is on winning conference games, not national rankings.
“I don’t know,” said BYU junior safety Quinn Gooch when asked if the Cougars were a Top 25 team. “I’ll let you guys worry about that. I only worry about winning games.
“It would be significant because we haven’t been there in a long time. It would be a good little tittle for recruiting but winning games and conference championships are more important to me than national rankings.”
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall, naturally, agrees with Gooch.
“The Top 25 is something that will take care of itself,” Mendenhall said. “Each game we play is our biggest game and is important to reach our goal of a conference championship, but it also at the same time re-links us to what this program is about. To this point we are still reaching out to that to feel like we belong.”
BYU tight end Dan Coats, one of the more outspoken players on the team, has a slightly different view.
“I say definitely so,” he said. “Not in the paper, and not officially, but as a team I think we’re good enough to be in the Top 25. I was thinking about the teams of the past and how they used to dominate the conference. The rankings always came after they dominated. We’re focusing on doing well in conference play, and the Top 25 will be there.”
But, like BYU, its time to focus on the upcoming game.
Colorado State started the season 4-1, beating in-state rival Colorado, Weber State, Fresno State and UNLV. The Rams held a 21-3 advantage over Air Force the next week, but ended up losing, 24-21. That was the first of three straight losses, including a 24-0 shutout loss at Wyoming and a heartbreaking 20-19 decision to New Mexico last week.
Colorado State quarterback Caleb Hanie (1,816 yards, nine TDs, eight interceptions) has strong targets to throw to in Johnny Walker (45 catches) and Damon Morton (35). The Rams lost All-MWC running back Kyle Bell to injury before the season started. That, and a very young offensive line, has resulted in a struggle running the ball (76 yards per game, 111th in the country).
BYU ran for 274 yards against Colorado State last season, including 147 from Curtis Brown. This year, CSU’s defense is much improved and ranks 15th in the country (274 total yards allowed per game).
“The offensive perspective, where I spend most of my time, is that they throw the ball well,” Mendenhall said. “The running game has certainly been acknowledged in the past and has been a part of the championships that they have won. The schemes are similar, but the yards per rush are quite lower than what it has been before and so that is why they might have lost a little balance from the years before.
“Defensively they’ve improved,” Mendenhall continued. “I see a more confident group and their scheme is almost identical to what we’ve seen in the past.”
Colorado State’s biggest problem this week is slowing down a BYU offense that has averaged 450 yards and 40 points in four conference wins.
“They are the most balanced offense we’ve seen,” said Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick. “These guys moved the ball against Boston College and Arizona. They will be a handful to contain.”
Staying focused: Coats said the leadership of senior quarterback John Beck keeps the offense focused on its execution.
“John’s the captain of the ‘O’,” Coats said. “He keeps all of us in line. If he sees us start to slip, he’s right on us, telling us ‘Football is fun, but we’ve got to keep our focus’. We all respect him and so practice picks up and we’re back on our way.”
This week, Beck was named as one of four finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, given anually to the nation’s top senior quarterback.
2001 or 2006? Comparisons have surfaced contrasting the 2001 BYU offense with this year’s squad.
Mendenhall faced the 2001 offense as the defensive coordinator at New Mexico.
“I think this offense is more execution-driven and not as big-play oriented,” Mendenhall said. “This offense has balance and has more weapons. I’m not sure there is as much flash, trickery or variance as the 2001 team.”
Extra Points: Brown is 212 yards away from becoming BYU’s all-time leading rusher. ... Beck is 340 yards away from passing Jim McMahon as the No. 2 career passing leader in BYU history. ... Colorado State leads the series in Fort Collins 16-14-3. ... Last year, BYU won 24-14 in Provo. ... BYU has outscored its opponents 82-12 in the first quarter and 164-41 in the first half. ... BYU’s offensive line weight advantage over the CSU defensive line is more than 65 pounds per man.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Read his blog at blogs.heraldextra.com/darnell. |
- Currently 5.0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Rating: 5.0/5 (1 votes cast)
|
