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Franchuk: Even when 'crap happens,' BYU still dominates |
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JaredCowley | Sunday, November 5, 2006, 8:45 am
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — After other Saturdays, this space might best be used to find BYU guys to blame.
John Beck threw an interception in the end zone early. Michael Reed, a wide receiver, was responsible for a late holding call that took away a touchdown run.
Derek McLaughlin's shanked punt gave Colorado State such good field position, it couldn't help but put up three points in the second quarter.
Mind you, those were the only three points the Rams had in a three-touchdown loss. So going into attack mode about BYU's errors, and there were some noticeable ones, is like nitpicking that Eva Longoria can't act.
Ignore it, and just keep watching.
BYU has won six games in a row and is 7-2, 5-0 in league. It almost literally takes miracles for teams to even have a chance anymore.
Sonny Lubick, CSU's eternally delightful and suddenly very old-looking head coach, spoke glowingly about BYU after a fourth consecutive loss. He entered a broom closet-sized room at Hughes Stadium, shirt ruffled and hair sticking up wildly because of the hat he'd worn.
He didn't really look frustrated or angered when he addressed reporters. What more to do?
"We played pretty darn hard," Lubick said, "but that only takes you so far."
More questions came, he offered some more verbal shrugs. Could the offense have done something different? Why no gadget plays to throw off the Cougars' defense? Sonny, how come...?
The man basically told 'em — 'em being the local media — to bag it. No excuses, but also no chance.
"I could see the writing on the wall," Lubick said. "We were not going to move the ball consistently. They're the best team in the league. I just can't imagine any team being able to beat them. They're so strong, on both sides of the ball."
Defense saved the day, in a manner of speaking. The Rams had seven first downs and averaged 1.1 yards every time they rushed. They became a passing team because their star running back was injured just before the season started. But only 125 yards were accumulated, about 100 less than average, on 13-of-23 efficiency.
There's also a Longoria analogy for this. It's like she's so good looking, you cynically presume she had to have some surgeries. The BYU defense was so good, it's almost too easy to reason it was CSU's lousiness and predictablity.
Cameron Jensen, the soul of BYU's defense, said he had no idea the game looked boring.
"We were fired up out there," Jensen said. "Every play, we felt like we were in control. The defense just loved it."
The offense, meanwhile, didn't take its recent explosiveness (an average of 40 points the last five games) as a sign that it would automatically light up Fort Fun.
But the group seemed to get its cue from queasy head coach Bronco Mendenhall. Just before the game started, television cameras zoomed in. He vomited.
That isn't to say the offense was that bad. Like Mendenhall, it blew chunks at times but ultimately forged on.
The Cougars scored on their opening drive the past three games, but settled for a McLaughlin punt down to the 2-yard line this game. They scored on the next drive, going 50 yards in seven plays.
The blowout was on, right?
Not if BYU had anything to say about it.
But this is the thing: Opposing teams right now are clearly at the Cougars' mercy. Give them good field position, or don't catch a few breaks, and it's over. Fast.
This one dragged on because the end of the first quarter, seeping into the second, was as bad as BYU's looked since September.
BYU had first-and-goal on the 9 and lost four yards on a run. The next play Beck went for the end zone and had the pass picked off.
Luck more than anything. Beck had a similar thing happen two games ago, against UNLV, when he was intercepted in the end zone. This time also meant a defender making a good play, albeit an abnormal one.
"I thought it was a touchdown when it left my hand," Beck said. "The guy came from underneath."
Beck talked about how quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman and him are satisfied more if they don't make fundamental, egregarious errors. This apparently was not one, but rather an unfortunate circumstance. The Cougars will take their chances on those not happening often.
"Crap happens in football," Beck said, then crediting his team's defense.
He shook his head as he spoke of a somewhat frustrating night. Later he gave the grin of a guy happy to be a winner. All that matters.
It's just about getting others to believe in your superiority, even on ugly days.
The Rams obviously bought it. |
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