Best Team This Decade?

the 2001 team was awsome but lost the last 2 games. (finishing strong is important in my book)



The 2009 team was good, but they had some close conference victories. My vote goes to 2006 because that team was MWC champs, and their margin of victory in conference was awesome.

vancouvercougar wrote:
the 2001 team was awsome but lost the last 2 games. (finishing strong is important in my book)



The 2009 team was good, but they had some close conference victories. My vote goes to 2006 because that team was MWC champs, and their margin of victory in conference was awesome.

Imagine if Harvey and Max had gone down with injury in the Air Force game... hard to judge the finish of the 01 season.

craigoscarson wrote:

the 2001 team was awsome but lost the last 2 games. (finishing strong is important in my book)



The 2009 team was good, but they had some close conference victories. My vote goes to 2006 because that team was MWC champs, and their margin of victory in conference was awesome.

Imagine if Harvey and Max had gone down with injury in the Air Force game... hard to judge the finish of the 01 season.

I would give BYU a chance in both those games due to thier defense, which is the difference between now and 2001. In 2001, BYU HAD to score 50 pts to win. Today, BYU has a chance in all games because thier defense isn't averaging 40pts per game given up.

craigoscarson wrote:
We'll never know how 2001 would have turned out had Staley not gotten hurt vs MissSt.

It would have dramatically changed the face of our remaining games.



I agree that G Crowton did not know defense but Ws are Ws and he's been a 1 yr wonder every place he's gone. That was his 1 yr wonder at the Y and aside from Staley's injury and the subsequent Hawaii game without Staley, I suggest that we could have won out.



If not winning out is what it took to start to bring down the Crowton era (an undefeated season would have bought him enough good will to coach a few more mediocre seasons more than what he got) then I'm good with it.



Again, if the argument is about most talented team, I'd put 2001 up against every team in BYU history; though some would balk at that simply because of who was at Qb, and how many points the D gave up despite having half a dozen future NFLers on the field.



I think I missed Gabe Reid and Reno Mahe on that list too... the amount of guys that were all conference, and got some time in the NFL is substantial.

Here's the thing - the question isn't about what team had the best PLAYERS on it. The question was which was the best TEAM. And any TEAM that has to put together 4th quarter heroics to beat UNLV, UNM, and Wyoming isn't the best team. A team that gives up as many points per game as the 2001 team did isn't a great TEAM.



I don't care how many players they put in the NFL on that defense - that 2001 D sucked. Period. I often wonder what would have happened had we put the 2006 D with the 2001 O.

Also, a team is made up of HEALTHY players on it. In each year that we're discussing the team had SOME injuries to SOME players. Who knows how any of the teams would have fared had everyone who was supposed to be healthy actually was. This isn't a game of what-if, it's a chance to analyze what DID happen with the healthy players on the field.

33311710 wrote:

We'll never know how 2001 would have turned out had Staley not gotten hurt vs MissSt.

It would have dramatically changed the face of our remaining games.



I agree that G Crowton did not know defense but Ws are Ws and he's been a 1 yr wonder every place he's gone. That was his 1 yr wonder at the Y and aside from Staley's injury and the subsequent Hawaii game without Staley, I suggest that we could have won out.



If not winning out is what it took to start to bring down the Crowton era (an undefeated season would have bought him enough good will to coach a few more mediocre seasons more than what he got) then I'm good with it.



Again, if the argument is about most talented team, I'd put 2001 up against every team in BYU history; though some would balk at that simply because of who was at Qb, and how many points the D gave up despite having half a dozen future NFLers on the field.



I think I missed Gabe Reid and Reno Mahe on that list too... the amount of guys that were all conference, and got some time in the NFL is substantial.

Here's the thing - the question isn't about what team had the best PLAYERS on it. The question was which was the best TEAM. And any TEAM that has to put together 4th quarter heroics to beat UNLV, UNM, and Wyoming isn't the best team. A team that gives up as many points per game as the 2001 team did isn't a great TEAM.

And any team that can't win when there's any pressure isn't a great team either. You have to give 2001 credit for going 12-0 under tremendous pressure and national attention.

I think anyone who has watched BYU football consistently the last decade would agree that the 2006 squad is the best of the bunch. Certainly there have been other teams that had more talented individuals, both on offense and defense. But no other team was as consistent or dedicated.



As for the players I would want to see on the All-Decade team, here's what my list would look like:



Under Construction:

QB - John Beck, Max Hall

RB - Luke Staley, Curtis Brown

RB - Harvey Unga,

WR - Todd Watkins, Reno Mahe

WR - Austin Collie,

TE - Dennis Pitta, Jonny Harline

OT - Matt Reynolds,

OG - Ray Feinga,

C -

OG - Travis Bright,

OT - Dallas Reynolds,



DE - Jan Jorgensen

DT - Russell Tialavea

DE - Brett Keisel

OLB - Bryan Kehl,

MLB - Kelly Poppinga,

MLB - Cameron Jensen, Justin Ena

OLB - David Nixon, Colby bockwoldt

CB - Brandon Bradley

SS - Aaron Francisco, Quinn Gooch

FS - Scott Johnson,

CB - Ben Criddle, Brian Logan



K - Matt Payne

P - I'm torn between Payne or Santiago

LS - John Pace

Payne was a MUCH more consistent punter than Santiago (who only had one good year).

I actually am still looking for the numbers but just off of memory I can't recall a punter who was able to pin teams inside the 10 as often as Santiago. I know he only had the one good year but he only had two years total and the first he was trying to get used to the swinging gate. The kid had a cannon of a leg though.



That said, I can't think of too many players I like more than Matt Payne in the early part of the decade. I don't blame the BSU loss on him and what's more, I give him credit for being one of the only ones who was sick of losing during that sad and bleak era. I mean, how pathetic would you feel if your punter beat you down the field and laid the wood on the opponents returner? If I were on those special teams I think I would have just as soon crawl into a hole and hide than show my face again after getting shown up like that by a P/K. I just think the whole culture back then was just one of laziness and no heart or desire.

So which 8 of you don't think defense matters? :D

2001 was so much fun, but the schedule was such a joke it wasn't even funny. Boise State is laughing at that schedule.



2006 was nice because it was the return to glory. That team probably had the best win of the decade (go look at how many road teams win in Ft. Worth). Yet, their slow start was troublesome and that team flew under the radar until after the TCU game after which the schedule became ridiculously easy.



However, for my money this year's team is the best. Unlike the 2001 team this team could finish. The 2009 team posted the same record as the 2006 team, but they played a better schedule.

You also have to consider that the 06 team was in every single game that they played. The 09 got slaughtered like a sacrificial lamb not once, but twice. And one of those teams was probably about the caliber of Arizona 06.

But also that between the two (06 and 09), they went exactly a total of two weeks with national / BCS pressure.

Mars wrote:


IMO, if the Sr. Beck squad met the Sr. Hall squad tomorrow, 2009 wins 35-28.

I'm not so sure. Most likely what would happen: the young Jacobsen meets up with his future self, and the universe collapses in a time paradox.

Hands down, 06 gets my vote. Both of 2006's losses were nailbiters, and after those 2 close losses there was NO question who was going to win until the utah game of course.



Had the 2009 defense of BYU vs OU and OSU shown up all year, I'd give it to 09 though.

Somehow, the space/time continuum is about to rip apart. I'm in agreement with both mormonrasta and Mars. That has never, ever happened before!!!