So, how good is BYU and how will Tulane help define the Cougars?

The BYU-Tulane game will tell us much more about the Cougars.

Is this a Top 10 team? Is the defense that improved? Is the offensive line on its way to being a solid unit this season?

These are good questions that needed to be answered sooner or later about the Cougars. Last Saturday was impressive, but was Oklahoma a legitimate No. 3? We may not know the answer for a few weeks if the Sooners rebound. A year ago BYU raced to a 6-0 record and achieved a No. 7 ranking before losing badly at TCU. In retrospect, after losses to the Frogs, Utes and Arizona, it was clear the Cougars didn’t deserve the ranking.

Is this Cougar team better than a year ago, or headed for a similar crash?

I will tell you this, some BYU coaches were surprised at certain elements of the win over Oklahoma a week ago. They’re still trying to figure out what is a great storied win and what is reality. These coaches know BYU’s weaknesses. A week ago they saw those weak elements overshadowed or hidden by many of this team’s strengths including effort, leadership and execution.

For instance, OU didn’t try and attack the back end of BYU’s defense deep through the air. OU chose to dink and dunk and not throw deep because BYU does protect against the long ball with its zone. I’m not saying this is a weakness, but it was not tested. In my opinion, BYU’s safeties are better than a year ago. Tulane will not take the same tact as OU. Tulane will push BYU’s limits from front to back and see what happens.

Last week Oklahoma’s offensive line was horrible. That forced a domino effect for the entire offense, from run blocking to pass protection.

Other teams, even Tulane may not have that issue against the Cougars. Tulane’s players may be more assignment sound and have some BYU film to prepare for those assignments.

Was BYU that good, or did Oklahoma lazily look at 2008 films of a non-blitzing, soft BYU defense and disrespect the Cougars? Did BYU’s strategy on offense (draw play, quick passes, some screens and run game) take Oklahoma completely by surprise? Did the Stoops brothers get together and see how Arizona handled the Cougars in Las Vegas and underestimate the Cougars’ collective will and desire to punch and keep punching?

Max Hall, like some BYU coaches, did have some surprises last week — things he couldn’t explain. Take for instance the play of Bryan Kariya last Saturday against what everyone says is a very tough Oklahoma front seven.

On the first series of plays Hall saw Kariya do something that forced him, the veteran, to take a double take. He explained it this way to me:

“In the first or second play of the game he moved two linebackers then moved the pile for a first down. I thought, ” where in the world did this guy come from.” And Brian just showed up and made a name for himself. If he plays like that, we’re going to win a lot of football games. It’ snice to know we’ve go another weapon to use with Harvey (Unga).”

This is just one example of the surprise I am talking about and this BYU team and staff is very close to one another. Still, surprises surfaced.

Against Tulane, the Cougar defense will get a team that is now familiar with BYU blitzes. The protections will be better. If Tulane has the personnel to execute it, we’ll know right away if BYU’s front seven is all that improved.

I’ve been reporting in the fall that it is faster, the secondary is quicker and overall, the defense is more physical. We saw that against Oklahoma, now we’ll see it against a team who has scouted BYU’s personnel, found keys and weaknesses and built a game plan around it. This is something Oklahoma did not do in a first game and then flatly failed to make adjustments and cue in players during the game. Horrible coaching job by the Sooners.

If BYU defeats Tulane, and I believe they will, if it is by 17 or more points, it will be an impressive feat because it is a second road game nearly 2000 miles from Provo. This is not the way most teams are starting the season. Look at the Top 10, see who folks are playing and where they are playing those games.

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Just got here in New Orleans. It’s been a rough three days to get here. I left Orem Wednesday at 1 p.m. after filling a commitment to the Boy Scouts at a tournament at Thanksgiving Point. I drove with my cousin to Albuquerque, arriving at midnight. We got up Thursday and drove to Dallas and checked in to a hotel about 9:30 p.m. I put my cousin on a plane in Dallas at 7 a.m. today and then drove to Houston to drop off a car to my daughter. I then caught a 8:20 flight from Houston to New Orleans where Jeff Call graciously picked me up at the airport and deposited me at the Marriott hotel where the team is staying.

Longest road trip I’ve ever taken to cover a football game.