Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
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As mentioned earlier in this space, BYU leads the nation in 3rd down conversion, at 61.97% (44/71).
BYU is 13/14 on 3rd and 2 or shorter; 9/10 running and 4/4 passing. Harvey Unga, is 4/4 running for first downs on 3rd and 2 or shorter.
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BYU on 3rd and 5 or shorter: 23/28, 82% (11/12 run, 12/16 pass)
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Overall 3rd down conversions (rushing): 15/24, 62.5%
Note: this number is not as high as you might expect it to be, since BYU has run five times on "low percentage" 3rd and 10 or longer downs; 1/5 on those runs. BYU has also run seven times on "medium to low percentage" downs from 3rd and 5 to 3rd and 9; 3/7 on those runs.
But, on runs of 3rd and 4 or shorter, or when actually "running for a first down," BYU is 11/12--91.7%.
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Overall 3rd down conversions (passing): 29/47, 61.7%.
Of the 18 non-converting pass attempts:
1 complete but short of line-to-gain
3 interceptions
3 sacks
11 incomplete passes
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"Pick Your Poison":
Opponents don't know who to focus on in third down situations; here is the distribution breakdown of players who have either run or caught balls for third down conversions, with the number of conversions for which they were responsible:
Pitta-5
Harvey-5
George-5
Chambers-5
Hall-4
Tonga-4
Kariya-4
Ashworth-3
JJ-2
Riley-2
Heimuli-2
Jacobson, Thompson, Hafoka-1 each
Total: 44 conversions on 71 attempts.
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Other numbers of note...
Max Hall's rating of 201.8 at UNLV was his 5th game with a 200+ QB rating; only Ty Detmer (6) and Steve Sarkisian (6) have recorded more 200+ games at BYU. Jim McMahon and John Beck also ended their BYU careers with five 200+ games.
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Big Play Potential: BYU has had 32 plays of 20+ yards; opponents have only 12 such plays (Florida State had five of them).
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BYU's Mendenhall era record when running for 200+ yards: 13-1 (only loss was at Utah, 2008; 214 rushing yards).
Since 1972, BYU's record when rushing for 200+ yards and passing for 300+ yards (as was the case at UNLV and Tulane): 37-0.
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The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has announced that this Sunday's BCS release time for games through October 18, 2009 will be released between 4:00-4:40 p.m. ET.
The official announcement will be made on Fox after the first NFL games, while a national press release will be sent via The National Football Foundation.
The schedule for the remaining BCS releases is listed below.
BCS RELEASE DATE -- APPROX. RELEASE TIME
• October 18 -- 4:00-4:40 p.m. ET
• October 25 -- 7:15-8:00 p.m. ET
• November 1 -- 7:15-8:00 p.m. ET
• November 8 -- 4:00-4:40 p.m. ET
• November 15-- 7:15-8:00 p.m. ET
• November 22 -- 4:00-4:40 p.m. ET
• November 29 -- 7:15-8:00 p.m. ET
• December 6*-- 8:00 p.m. ET
* Indicates final BCS Standings release
The Harris Interactive Poll, USA Today Coaches Poll and computer rankings each comprise one-third of the BCS Standings. To derive the three percentages, each team is assigned an inverse point total (25 for No. 1, 24 for No. 2, etc.) The two poll percentages are calculated by dividing each team's point total by a maximum 2850 possible points (Harris) and 1525 possible points (USA Today).
The computer rankings percentage is calculated by dropping the highest and lowest ranking for each team and then dividing the remaining total by 100 (the maximum possible points).
The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percentage totals of the Harris Interactive Poll, USA Today Poll, and computer rankings. The teams' BCS Averages are ranked to produce the BCS Standings.
The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking provider accounts for schedule strength within its formula.
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Tonight's "Bronco Mendenhall Show" is live at Ken Garff Nissan, on University Parkway in Orem, starting at 7:00 pm.
You can pose questions to the coach by e-mail (cougarradio@ksl.com) or via text message (57500).
Iceberg Drive-Inn will be there of course with free burgers and drinks until they're gone. And don't forget to text the word "cougars" to 89800 and get a special text sent to you for a $3.99 combo that includes the Iceburger (double meat double cheese with grilled onions), fries and a drink--you'll also be entered to win a free shake. There will be 50 winners a week.
Even if you entered last week's contest, you can do so this week and get the special text to use at any of the Iceberg locations. All of the Iceberg stores are being alerted so that BYU fans can redeem the text.
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