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We're two days away from the BYU Cougars' 2012 lid-lifter: a "Clash of the Cougars," as BYU entertains Washington State in renewal of a series last contested in 1990.
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The BYU-Wazzu match-up takes a marquee position on college football's opening night broadcast agenda, with ESPN televising the contest as part two of a doubleheader that opens with an SEC game pitting South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
"I don't think it's random, and I don't think it's by accident," said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall of his team's TV presence on Thursday night. "I don't think they had a blind-folded executive at ESPN that threw a dart at 123 teams and just happened to hit BYU. I think it was well thought out and planned, and that's an honor."
You can hear all of Mendenhall's comments to the media after Monday afternoon's practice by clicking his link in "Cougar Cuts," above left. You will also find Monday interviews with Riley Nelson, Michael Alisa, Cody Hoffman and Brandon Ogletree.
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Thursday night's 8:15pm showdown will be the first game in a refurbished LaVell Edwards Stadium, with new, larger high-resolution video boards and end zone LED ribbons acceented by an interior paint job that brings more blue to the Cougars' home venue. The season-opener will also be the first game played under BYU's new tailgating provisions.
The improvements and enhancement are not lost on Mendenhall, who says "I take it really seriously. I want (the fans ) to fill our stadium because of not only watching the game--the gameday experience--but also why we're playing the game. We continue to try to make LaVell Edwards Stadium a fantastic experience...we're trying to do everything better to improve our program."
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On the field, BYU takes a pair of notable streaks into the opener. Mendenhall's teams have won five consecutive season debuts, while the Cougars are also on the nation's fourth-longest current win streak, having won the last four games of last season. Only Northern Illinois (nine), TCU (eight) and Baylor (six) take longer win streaks into 2012.
Washington State head coach Mike Leach has an impressive streak of his own going; he has won seven straight season-opening games. Conversely, Wazzu has lost six consecutive road-openers, by an average score of 44-17. Additionally, the Pullman Cougars have dropped eight straight non-conference away games, dating back to 2006.
Washington State will have you know it has won four straight non-conference games in the Mountain time zone.
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The BYU-Washington State series has been a historically high-scoring one; in three games played, the average score is 45-38. The losing team has scored at least 36 points in all three games.
BYU-Washington State All-time Series
| Year | Location | BYU | Washington State | Notable Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 (Holiday Bowl) | San Diego | 38 | 36 | BYU led 31-7 before hanging on to win behind Jim McMahon's 342 passing yards |
| 1989 | Provo | 41 | 46 | Teams combined for 1,036 yards in total offense. Jason Hanson kicked FGs of 46, 52 and 58 yards for WSU |
| 1990 | Provo | 50 | 36 | Ty Detmer passed for 448 yards and 5 TDs |
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Mendenhall is facing Mike Leach's "Air Raid" offense for the first time since 2002, when he coordinated the New Mexico defense that faced Leach at Texas Tech, but a Mendenhall-coached defense took on the "Air Raid" in 2007's season opener, when Arizona visited BYU with a new offensive coordinator in tow.
That coordinator was Sonny Dykes, who had just left his post as Texas Tech's co-offensive coordinator and had installed Leach's offense in Tucson. The Wildcats completed 28 of 38 passes in the game at BYU, but generated few few scoring opportunities, as the Cougars won 20-7.
While Arizona struggled in the opener running its version of the "Air Raid," under Dykes' offensive leadership the 2007 Arizona team flourished, setting single-season records for passing yards, passing yards per game, completions, touchdown passes and completion percentage.
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Opening game trials are not new to teams adopting Leach's offensive game plan. His first game as Texas Tech head coach in 2000 came against Mendenhall and New Mexico. The Red Raiders won, but with a relatively modest 24-point output. Tech completed only 21 of 47 passes for 186 yards.
In 2005, BYU's new offensive coordinator Robert Anae had come from Texas Tech, and had gone with his version of the "Air Raid." In the season-opening game with Boston College, the Cougars threw the ball 60 times, completed 41, had no interceptions, but put only three points on the board. As mentioned, Arizona's "Air Raid" had a sluggish start at BYU.
In his book "Swing Your Sword," Leach writes:
"The quarterback decides when and where to throw the ball. On the throw, the receiver adjusts to the ball. If the receiver stops or settles because he guesses, then he is wrong. If the ball is thrown to the wrong place, where there is no space, then the quarterback is wrong. Where the ball is caught is based upon how the defender chooses to play the route. Simply stated: throw it where they are not. The execution of this requires months and even years of practice."
Leach has had a couple of months to work on getting his new team used to the principles of the "Air Raid." Whether that will have been enough time to succeed against a veteran BYU defense is the question. Some recent BYU-related history says the odds are against Washington State firing on all cylinders Thursday night.
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BYU's official depth chart may or may not reflect the lineups that take the field on Thursday night; the receiver, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker spots could all potentially see deviations from the school's two-deep.
At receiver, Marcus Mathews was not listed at any of the three positions (corresponding to X, Z and H, although not listed that way), but assuming his hamstring feels good enough to play, he could be the second-stringer at any of the three spots--although he would be considered more of a "Y" than and "H" in the slot.
Marcus' brother Mitch Mathews had risen to the no. 2 spot behind Cody Hoffman at "X," but a clavicle injury set him back in the latter weeks of camp; as a result, he is not listed on the depth chart, but you never know how he'll be feeling on game day.
At slot, David Foote is listed as a backup to JD Falslev, while Foote also occupies a spot in the backfield two-deep, hinting at BYU's versatility and options. Alex Kuresa saw time in the slot during camp, but has also been used at Z, playing behind Ross Apo. Other Z's include Dallin Cutler (listed as no. 2) and Dylan Collie. Cody Raymond is also in the slot mix, while Skyler Ridley is a listed backup to Hoffman.
On the offfensive line, the only two positions not listed with an "or" option are left and right tackle, where Ryker Mathews and Braden Brown have their spots locked down. Houston Reynolds has been used at left guard, center and right guard during camp, while Braden Hansen has mostly played left guard, but was listed at right guard in the two-deep. Blair Tushaus has battled with Reynolds for the no. 1 nod at center, with Mendenhall saying BYU could very well use both players there on opening night.
The defensive line depth was altered by an early-camp back injury suffered by projected starting right end Ian Dulan. I was worried about Dulan from the get-go, and if or when he will play is a question that has not been answered. With Dulan now out and BYU down a senior standout, look for Russell Tialavea to start at right end, with Ziggy Ansah and Bronson Kaufusi also in the mix.
At linebacker, Zac Stout is once again out. This time, it's an Achilles issue, so his spot behind Uona Kaveinga will now be occupied by Uani Unga. That's Uona and Uani at middle linebacker.
While BYU didn't talk much about Buck linebacker Brandon Ogletree, his reps were managed in camp, and I don't think he looked 100%. Starting Will linebacker Kyle Van Noy looked to have recovered from his shoulder surgery, but has been rested in recent days by Mendnehall. "He's good to go; there are no issues there," said the coach.
Mendenhall is sold on his new limited-contact practice regimen as having had a positive impact on overall team health and wellness, but a number of projected two-deepers are either out or banged up heading into the opener, leading one to conclude that as much as you may seek to minimize injury, the game of football is still physical enough that some mishaps simply cannot be prevented.
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