Monday, November 21, 2005

This just in: MY JOB SUCKS!!!

7pm-7am mainframe cycle management.


Please let me know if you know of any openings for a person with 2 music degrees who has experience in mainframe ops & cm. There may be a chili's gc in it for you.
BYU 34, Utah 41

This was a tale of two halves. BYU came out lethargic and unable to execute their way out of a paper bag. Utah recoved a fumble(that was ripped away from Tahi) and returned it inside of the BYU 5 and punched it in from there. Also, Bronco took a pass on an easy field goal attempt and elected to go for it. The 4th down play failed. Score at halftime? 24-3, yewtah.

BYU came out on fire in the third quarter, scoring 3 tds in the period. They followed it up with 10 in the fourth, but it just wasn't quite enough. It went to OT but the yewts took advantage of BYU's porous pass defense and BYU couldn't score when it counted. You can read about it here.

Oh yeah, the yewts players & fans flooded onto the field and their band kept playing during the postgame ceremony honoring the BYU seniors. Isn't that nice?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005


BYU
35, Wyoming 21


I got to see this one with my Dad while visiting my parents in Arkansas, about a 4 hour drive from where we live in Texas. It was a good visit with the folks topped off by watching a nice win by BYU.

BYU clearly outplayed Wyoming in the first half, scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters. Wyoming put together some nice drives but turnovers really killed them. It was BYU 28, WYO 14 at the half. The third quarter was pivotal as Wyoming scored a td to bring themselves to within seven. After they forced a BYU punt, they drove all the way down to the BYU 9 yard line and were on the verge of tying the game....before fumbling the ball. BYU recovered. BYU then drove 93 yards to reestablish the 14 point lead.

The story of this game was 5 Wyoming turnovers(0 BYU turnovers). Wyoming moved the ball very well but the turnovers just killed them.

The most astounding individual performance of the night belonged to Justin Luettgerodt. Luettgerodt recovered 3 Wyoming fumbles and had an interception as well. I'm not sure how someone would do this even if they tried. Three fumble recoveries in one game? That's just incredible. This almost makes up for that biffed xp snap in the TCU game.

It was somewhat disconcerting to me that BYU didn't score in the 4th quarter and only scored 7 points in the second half. BYU needs to assert itself and be better at putting teams away. I fear that the BYU offense may have lost some momentum. I sure hope not. On the other hand, the defense deserves some credit for holding Wyoming to 7 second half points.

Now on to Utah.

BYU hasn't beaten Utah since 2001.

Utah is without its starting quarterback(Brian Johnson - knee) & its leading receiver(Madsen - ankle). Both got hurt Saturday in the utes home loss to New Mexico. I felt sorry for BJ - knee injuries just suck. I'm sorry that they got hurt but I'm not sad that we don't have to face them Saturday, either. Johnson is an excellent qb. Due to these key injuries most BYU fans are wildly (over)confident. I am not. Utah always prepares very, very well for BYU - even in the years that they aren't doing well. I am quite sure that the Utah players are preparing for this game with a focus and effort fueled by the white-hot hatred that they feel for BYU. You can read more on my feelings about it here.

So Utah is without a couple of key players but I have every reason to believe that they will be well prepared for the game saturday. It should be tough, especially if BYU is overconfident(which they very well might be). I hope that they practice with a sense of urgency this week.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Yeehaw!

BYU 55, UNLV 14

I don't get to see many BYU games(being in Texas and no ESPN gameplan availble through my cable provider) but someone I met through CougarBoard graciously invited me over to watch it. He had a nice setup - a projection tv(a projector hooked up to his satellite signal) which used a blank spot on the far wall as a screen. The projector was directly overhead from where we were sitting. It was very nice. I brought the chips & soda.

The team started slow but UNLV turned it over a couple of times(via interception) deep in their own territory and BYU seemed to have no trouble scoring inside of the redzone. It was 27-7 at halftime after BYU scored 20 2nd quarter points. You can guess the rest.

It was pretty cool watching the game in such a nice setting but I sure was bushed by the time it was over. My work schedule has screwed up my sleep schedule to the point where I often get really tired in the evening. The game didn't get over until after 6pm Saturday evening and I was lucky to get home in one piece. Its a solid hour drive from Rockwall(where I watched the game) to Denton. Still, it was great to be able to see the whole game and to see the Cougars do so well. 2 more games to go - @Wyoming and at home against Utah.

Winning either one would clinch BYU's first winning season since 2001. Winning both would be better, of course. 7-4 would be an attractive record to shop around to the bowls. I, unlike some on CougarBoard, am not going to assume or predict victories in either of these games. BYU lost too many games in the first half of the season for me to be too confident about victories from one week to the next. Every week, I just kind of hold my breath and hope for the best. Call it 'The Crowton Effect.' Anyhow...

I think BYU has a good chance at Wyoming but Laramie is a difficult place to play in so I'm afraid that the Cougars may stumble here. I sure hope not.

I'm not even going to try to call the Utah game. They have really had BYU's number the last few years. They have a good passing qb and BYU's pass defense has been really porous. Good news: Utah's running D has been equally porous and BYU has a HUGE(think 310 and go north from there) offensive line and a couple of pretty good running backs. Utah really hates BYU, though. Really. Quite a bit more, it seems to me, than the other way around. This often translates to BYU preparing like its just another game and Utah preparing like they are on fire. BYU shows up a step slow and hands made out of clay and then Utah goes crazy; long pass plays and long punt returns and the like. And home field advantage doesn't seem to matter that much to BYU in this game because the schools are less than an hour apart and Utah always travels well to BYU. If BYU can control the clock by moving the ball with the running game it will improve their chances of winning quite a bit.

Here's hoping that we win out!!!!!

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

I'm a big Star Wars Fan.

and.......






ROTS is out TODAY!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to see all the extras, how they filmed the scenes, how the made the special effects, interviews, etc. Should be cool.