Quest for Redemption!

Within minutes of the start of the BYU/TCU game I knew that the Cougars were in for a very long night. The last time I felt that way watching a game was last season when BYU came out and lost the momentum early on against Tulsa. It was frustrating to say the least to watch as BYU fell further and further behind in that game with absolutely no answer to stop TCU. BYU came out flat and TCU was playing out of their heads.

What was learned from that night? It depends on who you ask.

Is TCU the powerhouse that they appeared to be? And conversely, is BYU nothing more than just an average team that was exposed for who they really are.

TCU is obviously capable of playing well. They showed that against the Y. I think they are a solid team but I think Thursday night was more the exception than the norm. Their defense is outstanding but their offense has been suspect at times. I think they will finish the season with a good record but I don't think they will get through conference play undefeated. I think when they travel to RES that they will be in for a battle that will give them a loss in league play.

After the loss, everybody placed blame for the loss on the fact that TCU has better athletes than they Y. That's definitly the case, but come on, who doesn't? UCLA had better athletes. Washington had better athletes. Almost every team BYU goes against the argument could be made that they have better athletes.

BYU has proven that over the years they can compete and beat teams with better athletes than themselves. I do believe TCU's atheleticism contributed in part to the loss, but I think the main factor that caused the complete lapse in play was lack of preparation.

By not practicing on Sunday and having to travel on Wednesday to play Thursday, it essentially left BYU two days to prepare for the game. Contrast that with the fact that coach Patterson said that his team had be preparing for BYU since January. When looking ahead to the season, the game against BYU was more important to them than playing well against #1 Oklahoma. Their tackling dummies had BYU stickers on them. This was their big game.

BYU had a big Bullseye on their back and the Frogs hit the center of the target. I'm not trying to make excuses for the Cougars. It was Bronco's responsibility to make sure his team was ready and he admittedly said that he let them down by not getting them prepared to play.

So back to the question. Was this game an indication of what type of team BYU really is? Are they really that bad? I don't think so. They obviously can play down to that level if they come in unprepared, but we have seen also what they can do when things come together. I believe we saw a good team have an off night. It happens.

To all you BYU fans who have given up on this season, don't. The BCS hype is over, sure. But there is still a lot to play for including a possible share in the conference championsip, a win over the rival Utes, a bowl bid, and most importantly they can set themselves up for next year. If they can run the table the rest of the season they will be going into next year in a position even better than the one they started this year with. Not only will they have the whole offense coming back, but they will have the majority of their defense returning as well.

Is that enough to motivate the Cougars as well as their fans. For me it is. I expect the Y to come out with a chip on their shoulders and finish the season strong. I think at the end of the year we'll look back on a one loss season which will be an improvement over last year's record, a top 20 ranking for the third consecutive time in as many years, and an optimistic outlook towards next season for what possiblilities lay in store for this team.

Will it happen? We'll see. Either way I'll be their to cheer on the mighty Cougs in their Quest for Redemption.

Their Quest begins Saturday. Bring on the Rebels.