CougarCast: BYU Sports

BYU is trending down. Boise State is trending up. To beat Boise State you have to play all 3 phases extremely well and sound for 60 minutes. Can BYU somehow find a way to do something they haven't done this season?

A pair of 2-3 teams will meet on the gridiron in Tampa. Who could have ever predicted that it would be a super important and compelling watch? But it definitely is. 

What will Jaren Hall be like?

Can Kalani outcoach Charlie Strong to lead the Y to victory?

BYU heads to the Glass Bowl to take on Toledo! Sitting at 2-2 after the first 4 weeks is about as good as anyone expected, the next 4 games are the contests that will really tell where BYU is at as a program. 

Plus, getting to know the Toledo Rockets and their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, what decision will BYU DC Iliasa Tuiaki make in handling the Rockets Rush Offense?

The great CougarCast listeners have brought it this week. So, BONUS POD TIME!

Listener email wonders if BYU would be more mentally prepared for USC if they were playing in LA Coliseum instead of LaVell Edwards Stadium. Listener makes the case.

Plus, a Twitter interaction caused a deep dive into games decided by the last play of the game, what was Bronco's record in this games and how many of them did he face?

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BYU beats Tennessee! Enjoy it, BYU plays to entertain. Kalani Sitake knows plenty about last play victories. Can they pull out some magic against USC? They need to. Plus, BYU can get further by embracing what they can do and tempering what they can't.

The BYU Cougars and the Tennessee Volunteers are in disarray! So, what can we expect in Knoxville this weekend? Plus, a look into the start of Zach Wilson's career.

How important is beating Utah for BYU? Well, now that it has been 8 losses in a row since 2009, more important than ever. It goes WAY, WAY deeper than bragging rights.

Plus, how is the actual game going to play out? What should the game look like if BYU are going to beat the Utes?

On this week's episode:

• We've seen 34 games at BYU with Kalani Sitake as head coach. He is 17-17. What do we know about having him at the helm? He is a really good guy. And it is going to be extremely up and down. (2:00)
• Before Michael Shelton ever sounded off on the quality of BYU Football fans, the conversation on Twitter was about the lack of fans checking out the game against Northern Illinois. Why aren't fans going to game? When they do go, why aren't they passionate? Keith does a deep dive into the recent history of BYU Athletics marketing attempts to influence fan behavior and how it is probably a negative factor. (23:20)
• Oh yeah, BYU plays Boise State this week. Brett Rypien and the Broncos have -- like always -- a very good football team. BYU's ability to pull off their first victory ever in Boise will come down to their ability to defend the pass. Which is no easy task against BSU. (45:50)

 

This week's task for BYU Football is to figure out a way to put together more than 20 points. Northern Illinois' offense is really poor. Atrocious even. They are 1/2 a team. The issue is that their defense keeps them in games. So, can Zach Wilson lead the Y to enough points against a stout defense to put the Y over the top?

Here's what we learned for the Hawaii game:

Provo, Utah is a house of horrors for the Hawaii football program.

The defense had a (small picture) great, but (big picture) frustrating game plan and approach.

The offense with Zach Wilson features one distinct advantage over Tanner Mangum and perhaps a psychological benefit.

The listeners of CougarCast are smart!