BYU Cougars: Friday Night Lights at Utah State

By Todd Erickson  |   Friday, October 03, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

BYU Cougars
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The bye week has been kind to the BYU Cougars, although there is a sort of edgy anxiousness that usually sets in with the break from weekly game action. Minor injuries have been on the mend. Linebackers Grant Nelson and Terrance Hooks received medical clearances and rejoined the BYU game roster. Coaches were able to pay visits to several key recruits as well as spend extra time studying game films.

The BCS hype building up among sports media outlets around the nation has no doubt saturated the Cougars individually and collectively. Likewise, they’ve had a chance to see how a lack of focus can lead to disasters like USC’s dismal showing in Corvallis, Ore., and Florida’s faltering at home against Mississippi.

Focus, execution and discipline will be critical with each passing week from now on and it all begins in a place that appears to be the easiest game on the schedule: Logan, Utah. BYU shouldn’t approach the Aggies differently than any other opponent they face this year. The table is set and every season goal is still within sight. The Cougars need to hunker down, stay focused and take care of business from hereon out.

Cougar keys to this game

1. Execute the game plan. Game plans are the blueprint for players to follow in constructing victory on the field. In general, the offensive portion of the game plan consists of several packages of plays with alternative sets and formations that provide the best matchups and ways to isolate particular strengths against the opponent's weaknesses. On the other side of the ball, the plan includes alignments and packages that can neutralize threats and exploit certain tendencies. The combination of expert planning and individual player and unit execution on the field as directed on the fly by the coaching staff is what delivers the results.

Ideally, in a game like this one, BYU would like to get by with a fairly basic assortment of bread-and-butter plays on offense, revealing just a few new little twists on the game film to keep the next opponent guessing. The defense will do whatever it takes to keep feeding the rock to its hungry offensive machine. Quite simply, executing the game plan Friday means getting the job done as quickly and effectively as possible. Utah State should provide just enough resistance for the Cougars to work on shaking off the bye-week cobwebs.

Friday's game is not just important in the win-loss column. It's a very important building block type of experience to get everyone back on the same page in game speed action. It's essential for Max Hall and his receivers to regain their timing in this game. Important to find new ways to get the ball more to Dennis Pitta and Andrew George. Helpful to get Fui Vakapuna more carries. It's a good test to see how focused the team can be with all the outside distractions swirling around them.

2. Put the game out of reach early. You’ve read this before and I’ll keep harping on it throughout most of the season. The longer you let any underdog hang around, the risk of an upset increases exponentially. If Key No. 1 above happens, this will occur. And if this occurs, the next key, No. 3, will naturally follow.

3. Get your reserves plenty of playing time. This will happen when you put the game away early like the Cougs have done the past two games. Although it’s not a key to success in this game, it is a key to success for the rest of the season. Just wait and see how many of the reserves that saw substantial action in these early contests help out and make key plays in games down the road this year.

Prediction

This Cougar team can toss a third consecutive shutout, but I don’t think it will happen on the road. If it was a home game in Provo, it would happen tonight. BYU will be a tad rusty from the extra week layoff and I expect a turnover or two—quite possibly from special teams play--might help the Aggies break the old goose egg open. Watch out, though, once the offense gets humming: BYU 52, Utah State 10

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About Todd Erickson

Todd Erickson is the author of Road to the Rose Bowl (Silverback, 2005), the definitive book on the last 50 years of matchups and tradition in the Rose Bowl Game. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 weekly college football columns AP Top ...
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