BYU ranked No. 8 in coaches poll, 9th in AP
The Cougars remain ranked in the Top 10 after defeating New Mexico 21-3 on Saturday.
The poll, released Sunday morning, has the Texas Longhorns No. 1, followed by Alabama, Penn State, Southern Cal and Texas Tech. Oklahoma, the previous No. 1, slipped to No. 6, followed by another one-loss team Florida and then BYU.
What this tells me is BYU and what Bronco Mendenhall is doing is recognized by his peers, that conference wins are respected and finally, teams from BCS conferences with losses will continue to be ranked ahead of undefeated non-BCS schools like BYU and Utah.
Because one-loss teams receiving more forgiveness, it only sustains my belief that if the Cougars or the Utes run the table, they still will not be able to play for a national championship. BCS bowl, yes, but not the big game. That is why the system was created to keep the non-BCS teams out of that game.
Utah found this out in 2004 when they were undefeated but could not crack the Top Four. See the latest coaches poll here.
The AP (media) has the Cougars No. 9. See the AP poll here.
Mendenhall should be given credit for shifting BYU’s program into another gear this season.
–The Cougars finally avoided the two early losses that plagued his teams in 2006 and 2007.
–The Cougars have remained undefeated at home, establishing a 16-game win streak.
–The defense, while it can bend, it has been solid in holding down scores and gaining turnovers this season — a goal of this year. The Jan Jorgensen fumble recovery on Saturday gave BYU 12 for the season in just six games. A year ago, a decent BYU defense had just four fumble recoveries.
–The offense, while it has faced some twists and new looks from Utah State and New Mexico, proved fully capable of rebounding, adjusting and utilizing the talent at hand to get control of the challenge.
– Max Hall got batted around like a rag doll at times last year and it was a priority to protect him this season. He’s only been sacked once, at Utah State, and we saw a trend in the Lobos that is interesting. They did not really go after Hall, choosing to mix up coverages and fronts and protect the secondary with zone coverages and extra bodies placed in the back end. Perhaps teams are respecting BYU’s pass protection.
– The elevation of Austin Collie’s numbers show he and Max Hall really have developed a timing issue over the summer and a ton of hard work is paying off. This duo is mostly on the same page and having that connection is an ace in the hole when Dennis Pitta is doubled up in zone coverage or Harvey Unga faces a stacked box.
–The jury is still out on how good this team is. I think I see a trend of them playing down to the competition at Washington, USU and against New Mexico, while getting up for a team like UCLA because of its name. This Thursday, they’ll be in another crucial game against a name team with a big reputation. It will be interesting to see if they play up to the challenge in all facets of the game because they have not done so against teams they were favored to blow out by three to four TDs.
Finally, I was asked by a fellow reporter on the sidelines if I thought BYU was a Top 10 team. I received the same question when I spoke before a group in the Hinckley Alumni building before the game.
My answer is I don’t know. And I’d say the same thing about other teams that have been ranked in the Top 10. Does USC deserve to be ranked when the Trojans lost at unranked Oregon State? Does Missouri deserve a Top 10 ranking after losing at home to Oklahoma State? Is Oklahoma deserving of a No. 1 ranking, or a place in the Top 10 when its defense allows a whopping 44 points? Same with LSU, a Top 10 team, when it allows 51 points by Florida. And should Florida be in the Top 10 after losing to lowly Miss?
Who deserves a Top 10 ranking? I think teams that are undefeated in October should at least receive a consideration for a top vote regardless of schedule. Winning games, all games is a tough road no matter the conference. I’d say the same thing of an undefeated Utah.