Going Into The Season - Has BYU Ever Had A More Intriguing

[Cougarbib]

Set of Wideouts?
I do not think so. There are at least 5 guys I cannot wait to see on the field in 2014 and 2 or 3 others that might be worthy of some PT. Fresh receivers all day long.

Set of DBs?
I do not think so. We will have a legit starter at all 4 spots with decent depth at back-ups. BYU rarely has more than 1 or 2 legit starters at DB.

QB/RB Combo?
Maybe. Maybe not. We have had QBs more intriguing. Detmer after Heisman season. Maybe even Heisman season. But who was the RB? McMahon as a senior. Maybe even as a junior. But who was the RB? Doman was not all that intriguing going in. Staley maybe. We have had intriguing QBS like Young. And RB like Unga. But duos. I think going into a season, Hill / Williams might have the edge.

OL?
Yes. This is not the most intriguing line. The intrigue is just hope that they are finally decent again. Intriguing in that sense.

Tight Ends?
Yes. See OL. The intrigue is hope that tight ends are actually relevant.

FB?
Yes. The intrigue is whether we will even have a full back.

Defense should be solid. Kicking - color me worried.

Camp starts in 4 days. Go Cougs.

[Cougs_Rule]

I think you truly mean intriguing and not "promising", but I can't tell.

One clear group you left off was LBs. Will the OLB, twin towers be as awesome as I think they will? Will they get a lot of media attention? Will the incoming OLBs also provide intriguing depth to match their hype?
Will the MLBs be a pleasant surprise and fill shoes nicely? Will Stout finally make something of himself in college? Will Pikula get a lot of tackles with teams targeting the middle of the D and avoiding the edges?
So, yes, a lot of intrigue this year that is hopefully matched by a lot of promise and results.

[Cougs_Rule]

Same could be said of the Dline. What exactly does BYU have? A lot of possibilities and potential, but what will be the results?

[Cougarbib]

I think you truly mean intriguing and not "promising", but I can't tell.

One clear group you left off was LBs. Will the OLB, twin towers be as awesome as I think they will? Will they get a lot of media attention? Will the incoming OLBs also provide intriguing depth to match their hype?
Will the MLBs be a pleasant surprise and fill shoes nicely? Will Stout finally make something of himself in college? Will Pikula get a lot of tackles with teams targeting the middle of the D and avoiding the edges?
So, yes, a lot of intrigue this year that is hopefully matched by a lot of promise and results.

Promise was a huge part of the intrigue factor for the first 3. I glossed over the defense and special teams other than the promising DBs.

Intrigue abounds on this team. I usually am a "show me" guy on the P words like Promise and Potential, but our forgiving schedule this season has tempted me enough, that I drank a few sips of the Blue Kool-aid made with the forbidden fruit - wait - I think I actually ate Blue Jello in a Forbidden Fruit Mold at a recent wedding or funeral.

[Cougs_Rule]

Yes. Your typical hedging is fledgling. But I am not only drinking but serving koolaid for reasons that you also typically point out and that is schedule. Although, this isn't a cupcake schedule. People are making too much of that. This is the perfect BYU schedule. I only wish Cal were a bit better, but maybe they turned things around.

[Cougarbib]

Yes. Your typical hedging is fledgling. But I am not only drinking but serving koolaid for reasons that you also typically point out and that is schedule. Although, this isn't a cupcake schedule. People are making too much of that. This is the perfect BYU schedule. I only wish Cal were a bit better, but maybe they turned things around.

I agree about the schedule. This schedule is more forgiving than 2013 was and 2015 will be, but it is not a cupcake schedule. Not even close to cupcake.

BYU has had a few schedules that were tougher, but not very many.

[NDCougar]

Yes. Your typical hedging is fledgling. But I am not only drinking but serving koolaid for reasons that you also typically point out and that is schedule. Although, this isn't a cupcake schedule. People are making too much of that. This is the perfect BYU schedule. I only wish Cal were a bit better, but maybe they turned things around.

I agree about the schedule. This schedule is more forgiving than 2013 was and 2015 will be, but it is not a cupcake schedule. Not even close to cupcake.

BYU has had a few schedules that were tougher, but not very many.

Not sure "cupcake" is the right word but it will be a very "light" schedule. No one we cannot or should not beat. There are solid teams but no one that is an expected top tier (top 15) or even expected to ranked (could be wrong).

Half the games should be auto W's: Viginia, Nevada, MTSU, UNLV, Savannah State, Cal and potentially even UConn. When half the schedule should be auto W's it is extremely light and borderline cupcake.

Several good teams that if we beat them we get credit for: UT and BSU.

If we beat Houston and USU I don't think we get the credit we deserve. UCF could end up being solid or could be a one hit wonder.......we shall see it will be exciting.

We will know by week two or three what the year will look for BYU, being independent allows us to jump right in vs putting cream puffs first. If we were in a conference we ould have MTSU and Savannah State first.

[Cougarbib]

Yes. Your typical hedging is fledgling. But I am not only drinking but serving koolaid for reasons that you also typically point out and that is schedule. Although, this isn't a cupcake schedule. People are making too much of that. This is the perfect BYU schedule. I only wish Cal were a bit better, but maybe they turned things around.

I agree about the schedule. This schedule is more forgiving than 2013 was and 2015 will be, but it is not a cupcake schedule. Not even close to cupcake.

BYU has had a few schedules that were tougher, but not very many.

Not sure "cupcake" is the right word but it will be a very "light" schedule. No one we cannot or should not beat. There are solid teams but no one that is an expected top tier (top 15) or even expected to ranked (could be wrong).

Half the games should be auto W's: Viginia, Nevada, MTSU, UNLV, Savannah State, Cal and potentially even UConn. When half the schedule should be auto W's it is extremely light and borderline cupcake.

Several good teams that if we beat them we get credit for: UT and BSU.

If we beat Houston and USU I don't think we get the credit we deserve. UCF could end up being solid or could be a one hit wonder.......we shall see it will be exciting.

We will know by week two or three what the year will look for BYU, being independent allows us to jump right in vs putting cream puffs first. If we were in a conference we ould have MTSU and Savannah State first.

Light compared to whom? Hawaii had a cupcake schedule the year they went undefeated before getting creamed in The Sugar Bowl. That is a cupcake schedule. Boise State built it's Cinderella cult following usually playing a cupcake schedule and on occasion a borderline cupcake schedule. I am not sure Boise State has ever played a schedule any tougher than BYU will play this year. Yes, they have on occasion played 1 team tougher than any on our schedule this year. Ok. That still gets you to 11-1.

I agree that almost every PAC team will play a schedule tougher than ours this year. But some are not much different.

This schedule is not elite. It is not Top 25. It is probably about slightly above the middle.

This schedule is tougher than 1984. Even if Pitt had been legit, this schedule would still be tougher.

in 1984, AFA, was the toughest WAC opponent. Then Hawaii. Then Utah at 6-5. No WAC team had more than 8 wins even with 8 WAC opponents in every schedule. Add a bad Pitt team, Baylor, Tulsa, and USU for BYU. And that schedule was above average for BYU up until that time. Average. Not weak.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[SpiffCoug]

in 1984, AFA, was the toughest WAC opponent. Then Hawaii. Then Utah at 6-5. No WAC team had more than 8 wins even with 8 WAC opponents in every schedule. Add a bad Pitt team, Baylor, Tulsa, and USU for BYU. And that schedule was above average for BYU up until that time. Average. Not weak.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

1984 was actually a pretty weak schedule - even by BYU terms of the era. In 1984, BYU played exactly one team that won 8 games and one team that won 7. Six teams won 4 or fewer.

Some comparisons of similar years
1986, 3 teams won 8, 1 team won 7, 5 teams won <4
1985, 1 team won 12 games, 2 teams won 9, 1 team won 8, 1 team won 7, 4 teams won <3
1983, 1 team won 10, 1 team won 8, 4 teams won 7, 2 teams won <4
1982: 1 team won 11, 1 team won 10, 1 team won 9, 1 team won 8, 1 team won 7, 3 teams won <4

[NDCougar]

Bibs,

Not sure saying another team has a weak schedule so it means BYU's schedule is not light. Yes Hawaii had a light schedule, not sure how that impacts BYU's 2014 schedule. Same with BSU, what does them having weak schedules have to do with anything? Does that impact whether we should or should not win a game this year.

Re: 1984, that was a very weak schedule as well. The moral of this story should be you don't know how tough the schedule will be until it is played. Pre-season 1984 if you said BYU would beat Pitt and Michigan you would have been very pleased. Maybe this schedule ends up being tougher than it looks but there is nobody at is a guaranteed L.

Again, anything more than 2 losses should be a disappointment. BSU, UCF and UT on the road could be tough; USU and UH at home are tough. That means 7 games are games that we should win, no questions. That means of the 5 games listed above we need to beat 3, none are world beaters and all are winnable.

This is a very light schedule. You can point the finger at other programs and say they have weaker schedules.....that does not impact our schedule. Given differences in schedules a 10 win schedule is not tough for us, if you want to compare our schedule to a PAC 12 or SEC schedule and then say "if we win less than 10 wins would be great" I would agree.......but we cannot have a one size fits all schedule and compare 10 wins for BYU vs 10 wins for a P5 conference.

End of story, it is weak this year. Texas and BSU are down, if they were both playing top tier football I would change my stance.