BYU's hype machine is in full gear

BYU’s bye week continued to roll today with a quick one-hour practice session. And yes, Dennis Pitta did not practice again, healing his sore shoulder.

Because the Cougars don’t play this week, they could get jumped in the polls. But the Cougars are receiving a lot attention as a Robin Hood kind of team that many national folks would like to see deliver a big embarrassing blow to the BCS.

At today’s practice, I saw Albert Chin, a writer for Sports Illustrated. He was doing a sit-down interview with offensive coordinator Robert Anae for a future piece. That kind of attention brings back memories of the 80s and 90s.

The hype machine for BYU at 4-0 on the verge of breaking into the Top 10 is in full gear.

Once such national columnist, who sees the big picture, is Dennis Dodd from CBS Sportsline. read Dodd’s column here.

Now, here’s where I say “Whoa Nellie….”

All this talk spurs a lot of interest in the Cougars and it is well-deserved in wake of back-to-back 11-2 seasons and the nation’s longest win streak. But it also calls for a dose of reality.

The Cougars haven’t played a really great football program for a while. And BYU has been involved in a lot of close calls. The two-straight shutouts are impressive, but as defensive coordinator Jaime Hill told me today, you have to take a lot of the defensive hype with a grain of salt right now because the Cougars have not faced a great, explosive offense this season.

And they won’t see one at Utah State, the next game.

So, I like Hill and his approach. He knows he has a lot of young players. He knows how fragile his defense is if somebody gets injured. When Vic So’oto went down to a broken foot, it forced his hand in getting freshman Daniel Sorenson ready to play. It forced his hand in putting Scott Johnson as a nickel back and moving a raw Brandon Bradley in as corner in some situations.

Hill knows BYU’s offense is pretty good.

He hopes, in time, BYU’s defense can stand toe-to-toe with a very good explosive offense and make plays. But he’s realistic, he doesn’t have a sure knowledge that BYU’s defense can perform at the highest level when challenged by a big-time QB, Rbs, O-line and receivers whom the QB can actually deliver the ball to on time and in perfect rhythm.

So, all this hype is something many enjoy, but reality is that the Cougars have not played anybody considered a huge threat. TCU and Utah will nudge the Cougars into that arena. Maybe UNLV’s QB, who is coming on as of late, will test the Cougar defense in a way Hill needs to see.

In the meantime, as we all break down the games, quote stats (like I’ll do in Thursday’s column), all should be kept in perspective. There’s a lot of hurdles for this team to face before we truly know how good they are, especially on defense.

I think this defense is decent. I saw it in two-a-days. I’ve seen big progress and confidence. I’ve seen it make plays against Max Hall and his receivers. But how would it hold up against an athletic QB who can run and throw accurately? I do not know. Neither does Hill and he doesn’t mind saying it.