CougarCorner

From the looks of things, this game is going to come down to who has the best defense, and right now that looks like UAB.

Though I hope I'm wrong.

You were right Sammich.

It stinks but now we can focus on next season.

BYU was not mentally ready to play at the start of the game. And the 14-0 1st quarter deficit proved too much. Sure they Cougs fought back and actually took a lead in the game, but they should never have been in that position in the first place.

Whether that was because of the contract negotiations and interviews Kalani went through during bowl prep, or the Jaren injury, or feeling UAB and/or the Independence bowl was beneath the team, or something else. We weren't ready to play.

We were a better team, but we didn't prove it.

SpiffCoug wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:15 pm
We were a better team, but we didn't prove it.

I'm not sure about that. BYU's defense played almost exactly how it has played in the second half of the season. I hope that with new and better recruits it can improve. But a small, pessimistic part of my brain says that we saw the exact same defense on Saturday that we'll see through 2027.

ABYUFAN wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:00 am

SpiffCoug wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:15 pm
We were a better team, but we didn't prove it.

I'm not sure about that. BYU's defense played almost exactly how it has played in the second half of the season. I hope that with new and better recruits it can improve. But a small, pessimistic part of my brain says that we saw the exact same defense on Saturday that we'll see through 2027.

I'd love to say that it was because we were missing so many starters on defense, but the offense lost nearly as many starters through the season and they played just fine. Something is wrong with the training, scheme adjustments, or some other component of the defense that isn't accommodating for new players like it ought to (and will need to do even when we DO have better recruits). I haven't been on the "fire Tuiaki" bandwagon, partially because I don't believe it will ever realistically happen. But until some kind of shakeup happens on defense, I am afraid that we will remain a good, but not great team, even with the recruiting advantages given by the big 12.

I didn't get to watch the game, but it kinda wasn't surprising. The bowl game itself doesn't really mean anything. We aren't the first team who thought that we should have been in a better bowl and then didn't show any enthusiasm for being in a lesser bowl. 9 times out of 10 in the regular season we beat UAB by at least 10 points.

Sitake's extension should have come with the caveat that he has to find a new DC...