Don't Stop Believin'!

Yes it has been a while since I've posted anything and for this I apologize. I promise to do more. It seems I have so much going on with school, work, and life in general that I just don't find the time to blog anymore. But I promise to find more time. Its an exciting time to be a BYU fan (even if we lost to TCU). Basketball season is also right around the corner and this could be a very good BYU basketball team this year. Seattle sports aren't doing so hot but there is always something to talk about with the M's or the Seahawks. Anyways, on to the good stuff, or the bad stuff for BYU fans.

So yes, BYU did get smoked by TCU. Yes, our coaches got totally out coached. Yes, some of our defensive philosophies are ridiculous (I'll mention them later). And yes, our offense is predicable. After all this negative stuff, we still have a chance at the BCS. But we need a few things to happen. I'll explain.

1. We have to win the rest of our games. This will be tough the way the team is playing right now. But honestly, we probably won't have a really tough game until we travel to Utah. Although the road trips to Colorado State and Air Force won't be easy. UNLV is also not a pushover anymore. But if we can somehow find a way to improve enough before Nov.22, we CAN win the rest of our games.

2. Utah must beat TCU in 3 weeks. Yes I know it is hard to root for the Utes but if TCU runs the table then they'll get the BCS bid. TCU doesn't have another hard game on the schedule except for Utah.

3. Boise State must lose a game. They actually have a couple tough games left. The tougest one is next week against a good San Jose St. team on the road. They also have a couple other tests @Nevada, @ New Mexico St., and vs. Fresno St.

4. As of now we are barely ranked behind Tulsa and Ball State in the BCS rankings. We must pass them somehow. We might be able to pass them just by winning out because our strenght of schedule is better. Or they could just lose a game. Tulsa has to play @Arkansas which won't be easy. Ball State has a couple in-conference games that should give them a challenge.

If these four things happen, we will be ranked in the top 12 (which is where we need to be to guarantee a BCS spot).

Now I'm going to go off a bit on what BYU needs to do to go undefeated the rest of the way.

1. Bronco/Jaime Hill need to re-think their defensive philosophy on playing the corners 10-15 yards off the ball. I can understand when it is 3rd and long. But when the other team needs 3-10 yards for the first down, we can't just make it easy for them and give them the 1st down. It might work against terrible QBs, but if we actually want to beat a good team we have to tighten up.

2. Learn how to adjust during the game! When a Wide Reciever is taking snaps at QB, he is probably going to run. Utah does this same thing with their Running Back so we're going to have to learn how to defend it. Along these same lines, our front 7 has to be more physical and stop the run, bottom line.

3. Our offense needs to get its confidence back. Teams have learned that if they shut down Collie, Pitta, and Unga, its game over. Somehow Anae needs to find a way to mix it up a bit to get the defense on its heels. Be a little creative without sacrificing consistency. TCU was able to pressure Hall. Mostly because our receivers couldn't get open.

Bottom Line: Don't Stop Believin'! signed-Journey