Episode 51 – A Bad Luck Sports Week

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As promised (or threatened, depending on how you look at it), an open letter to the Brigham Young University football team:

Dear Cougar players, coaches, and administrators,

First and foremost: congratulations Champs! That’s two in a row, after not having won one for a few years. Not too shabby, if you ask me. Fans in other conferences would have liked to see their team chase bigger dreams after a good season, but you guys have your priorities in order. Besides, that makes two straight undefeated seasons in your conference, which is pretty impressive, and looks good on a resume.

Of course, it would be nice if you could win a few of the higher-profile non-conference games, and get a shot at the real prizes, but don’t worry too much about it. Besides, the Las Vegas Bowl loves having you, right? It’s the closest bowl to Provo (if I’m reading my map correctly), so everyone can come down and see it. Besides, nobody wants to travel during the holidays, even if it is New Orleans, Pasadena, Phoenix, or Miami. Get a nice, early bowl game and be home in time for Christmas. That’s wise of you.

I should start by thanking Coach Bronco Mendenhall and his excellent program for putting things together. There is a coaching sweet spot where at the end of the year your fans are somewhere between Overjoyed About A Fantastic Season and Wish They Had Done Just A Little Better. Coach Mendenhall has found that hard-to-reach place for two seasons running, and good for him. That spells “job security” and “managing expectations,” right? Hey, the flippin’ stadium is named after the last coach who was consistently good, and Bronco has already learned the scowling reticence bit. A win or two against some of those mediocre Pac-10 and C-USA teams would probably help the legacy, though.

As a fan, it was nice to see Bryan Kehl have a good senior year. He will certainly go down as one of the most athletic defenders to ever strap it up for BYU, and could almost have played any position on the field. In fact, a few times I thought it was too bad he wasn’t playing every position, particularly when Tulsa’s receivers were 15 yards behind his buddies in the defensive secondary. Oh well, like the old saying goes, you can’t win them all. Besides, BYU’s stars have always been on the other side of the ball. Good luck in the future, Bryan, we hope to see you in the NFL. We are really, really, REALLY going to miss you next year, when the fans will be hoping that opposing teams elect to neither run nor pass against the defense.

Hey, speaking of offensive stars, how about that Max Hall kid, huh? It isn’t easy to step into the Legendary BYU Quarterback position, and he did it pretty well, for an underclassman. Naysayers and doubters thought he wouldn’t be able to handle it, but he looked comfortable in the pocket. Sure, that comfort led to a few rip-roarin’ hits and ugly interceptions by some lucky defenders, but he’s young (that’s “young” as in age, and not a comparison to “Steve Young”). Besides, if they ever hold an “NCAA Quarterback Who Looks the Most Like Comedian Will Farrell” contest, he has to be a finalist, at the very least.

The real revelation of the season was Harvey Unga, who even set freshman team rushing records. We were every bit as excited about him this ye...