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BEAVERS LOSE UGLY, COLD & WINDY GAME TO BYU

1-5-2009 - Yes I know it has been nearly two weeks since the Las Vegas Bowl game but I have a good reason for not writing this till now. . . . . The Dog ate my homework??. . . . . I have fallen and I cannot get up?. . . . Ummmm It's my wife's fault ! That will get me in trouble for sure.

The truth of the matter is that I was left so dismayed by how we played BYU that I could not wrap my mind (what little I have left according to my wife) around what I was seeing on the field two weeks ago. Terms like Horrible, Ghastly, Unbelievable come to mind. It was just flat bad.

I have been writing these post and pre-game articles, blogs, tweets. Whatever it is that the savvy social media expert calls it today, for nearly ten years. I like to write, did well in college on all my papers. But I am not of the same stature of say Paul Buker or Ken Goe nor do I pretend to be. But as I get older the more I like to put my thoughts and opinions down in writing in some vain attempt to be heard by someone. Are you there? Hello?

I enjoyed reading Mike Riley's take on the game and that he has trouble letting go of things like that and that he wanted to get right back on the field. I am pretty much the same way. When I played competitive golf and had a bad round I wanted to go right back out and play again the same day. It's kind of cleansing, like doing it again will make what just happened go away.

When I have bad rounds of golf or the teams I coach play poorly I have trouble sleeping as my mind races through all the possibilities that might have been until I finally settle on a course of action at the next practice session. I am pretty sure that Riley is going through something similar that past two weeks. "What could we have done differently?" sort of thing. But then again, when you or your team lays that big of an egg sometimes, no matter how hard it is to do, you just have to put it behind you and move on because you know it really was not your day.

The funny thing about this article is that by waiting so long to put the game out of my memory, I now find myself having to relive it to write about it.

Up to about 8:46 to go in the first quarter I was pretty impressed by how the Beavers were playing. The defense was shutting down BYU's offense and the Beavers had just finished a 4 play 37 yard drive for a touchdown to go up 7-0. That drive of course was helped by the fact that the Beavers had given up the ball at the start of the game to take the wind in the first and fourth quarters. If you don't remember or did not see the game. The conditions at kickoff were 39 degrees and winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 50 mph. I wonder now if one thing that Riley is second guessing himself on is taking the wind to start the game. Because that put the Beavers offense having to go into the wind for two straight quarters.

Following the Beavers first TD at the 8:46 mark the game changed as BYU used short passes and the running game to put together a 14 play 84 yard drive for a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 and also put the Beavers on notice that BYU was not affected by the wind and was there to win. Sixty seconds later the game turned for good on a questionable call. Canfield threw a swing pass to Quizz behind the line of scrimmage that he never got control of and then was leveled by a BYU defender. The pass was ruled a lateral and BYU picked the ball up and raced 34 yards for a BYU touchdown. So with 1:41 to go in the first quarter the Beavers wind advantage was gone and they faced the task of having to come from behind in the teeth of freezing cold and high winds.

After the Beavers next drive stalled the Beavers punted and recovered a BYU fumble at the BYU18 yard line. But the play was overturned by a holding penalty on the Beavers and they were forced to rekick. Giving BYU the ball on the 20. End of the first quarter BYU 14- OSU 7.

From that point on BYU, playing with the wind went; Field Goal, Touchdown, punt, half, touchdown. While OSU playing into the wind went; punt, turnover on downs, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs. End of the third quarter. BYU30 OSU 7.

In the fourth quarter with the wind the Beavers managed to put 13 points on the board but BYU matched every score thanks to a fumble and an interception by the Beavers.

The final score was BYU 44 - OSU 20. A lot of the issues in the game were self inflicted by the Beavers. Penalties at the wrong time. Fumbles and interceptions. But BYU came prepared and had to play in the same conditions. They were the better team on this day and the Beavers were not ready to play in those conditions. Or perhaps the Beavers were still playing with a hangover from the Civil War loss. Either way, it will be a bowl game that will not be remembered by many of Beaver Nation. Just like the 2002 Insight Bowl that I attended, I will not remember this game much past today.

Now the Beavers look toward next season. They return a large number of players from this years team and their main concern is replacing the quarterback position. Ryan Katz played a series in Vegas and threw a picture perfect pass for a TD late in the game. With the Beavers facing perhaps their toughest preseason schedule in many years. Can Katz or perhaps a different quarterback be ready to take on TCU, Boise State and Louisville? We will have to wait 8 months to find out. GO BEAVERS!

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Key	STATISTIC	OSU	BYU	Advantage
.	Scoring Offense	20	44	BYU
.	Pass Attempts	22/47=.425	19/30=.633	BYU
.	Passing Offense/YPC	217/9.9	192/10.1	BYU
.	Kickoff Returns	15.1	8.0	OSU
.	Punting	26.0	37.5	BYU
.	Turnover Margin	-3	-2	BYU
.	Rushing Attempts / YPC	27/3.3	35/3.3	TIE
.	Rushing Offense	88	116	BYU
.	Total Offense	305	308	TIE
.	Punt Return - PUNTS/YPR	1/5.0	1/0	OSU
.	First Downs	17	18	BYU
.	Sacks	2	0	OSU
.	Penalties	10/95	10/74	BYU
.	Red Zone Offense	2/2	5/5	BYU
.	3rd Down Conversions	5/16	8/14	BYU
.	4th Down Conversions	2/6	1/1	BYU
.	Field Goals	0/0	1/1	BYU
.	Time of Possession	29.57	30.03	BYU
18	Totals	13 WINS	2 WINS	BYU

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