Where does this BYU win rank?

The Cougars’ upset of No. 3 Oklahoma wasn’t a fluke. The Cougars outfought the Sooners in what was their home turf in Big 12 country and made the plays that counted.

Tell me Harvey Unga would miss this game, the Cougars would turn the ball over four times including a fumble at the goal line and I’d say it should have easily been a loss.

But who knew? Well, ESPN’s Andre Ware knew. Plus my neighbor Mark Gillman, who predicted all summer, without seeing a practice, the Cougars would win. But he’s love sick over Bronco Mendenhall and the guys in blue.

My prediction was wrong. I’ll admit it. I did post here that BYU had a great chance if the game was sloppy or if it was a shootout. And I hinted it would help if BYU took out Sam Bradford.

What this game did is vindicate Mendenhall’s statement he’s made all year after losses to TCU, Utah and Arizona, that it isn’t so much speed that counts, it is execution.

You could see this Saturday. BYU made plenty of mistakes. So did Oklahoma. But when it came to winning the game, it didn’t matter that Oklahoma had superior speed and sbout seven future NFL draft picks. It was BYU execution in a 78-yard scoring drive and a goal line stand that made the difference in the game.

Mendenhall was right.

We have reported for a month BYU’s defense was better. You saw it in the secondary, where everyone likes to poke fun of BYU’s so-called lack of speed. This secondary is quicker, it is faster, it is more aggressive and has more athletes who like to mix it up. The mentality is completely different than a year ago and yes, speed is nice, but so is just making plays and executing.

Brian Logan made his debut. He is tough, very tough. That changes a game to have a corner who can hit and get his hands in the breadbasket of receivers and just bug them. Jorden Pendleton is a nice addition to Jaime Hill’s arsenal. He had a great game and is just starting his career. This front seven is far better than a year ago.

Now, where does this win rank in BYU history? It is debatable. I’d place it in the Top three of all time. Because of the hot BCS debate, a sore left open last year with Utah’s win in the Sugar Bowl and all the Congressional stuff that had the BCS guys reeling, I think this win should be given more weight.

By BYU defeating Oklahoma, the No. 3 ranked team fresh off a national championship appearance, it sent a statement to the BCS and solidified the MWC argument that college football is all messed up.

If you saw Navy almost beat Ohio State and Northern Iowa almost take out a ranked Iowa team, you understand what I’m saying.

BYU’s win gave the non-BCS schools one more stone to throw. It also lifted the MWC to a difference status than every other non-BCS school begging to get in. If this league can register more wins over BCS schools, like Utah at Oregon and TCU at Clemson and Virginia, the MWC will continue a path to show how pitiful it is that the Big East has an automatic bid.

How would you rank this win?

Love to hear from you.

And yes, I was wrong. BYU, on Saturday, was clearly a better football team than Oklahoma. It isn’t even a debate.