Things I Think #1

One of the best times of the year on the Sports Calendar begins in late September and extends throughout the month of October when Major League Baseball finishes the regular season and storms into the playoffs, when the Football season begins and the contenders start to separate themselves from the pretenders, and when the NBA season...oh wait, let's just stick with Baseball and Football this year.  In honor of the Football season and SI's Peter King, here are my "Things I Think":

Rank This!
I think that College Football should not have rankings until at least 4 or 5 weeks into the regular season.  It really is prohibitive to the teams that are really better than how good the media or the coaches think they are while they are all on summer vacation in July.  Is Notre Dame the 16th best team in the country?  No.  They weren't in July either and they wouldn't even be ranked if the Top 25 came out today.

Houston Quarterback Case Keenum (7) would be
a fan of no media or coaches polls until October.

But preseason rankings most hurts the off-the-radar, non-BCS conference teams such as the Houston Cougars who were ranked 36th to begin the year, and have stormed to a 4-0 record, including wins over UCLA and La. Tech (who just lost to Mississippi St. in OT last week) while passing for almost 400 yards per game. Yet, if Houston was to go 12-0 this year, the highest they would conceivably climb in the BCS rankings is in the 12-20 range, well out of contention for a National Championship or even a BCS Bowl.  I don't agree with pretty much anything the BCS does but they do have this one right...the BCS rankings don't come out until week 8 of the season.

BYU Big 12 Bound?
I think BYU should not join the Big 12 simply because they are invited to join due to the departure of Texas A&M or due to the Big 12's desire to live up to their name and actually have 12 universities in the conference.  Some BYU fans may think I'm crazy for not wanting the Cougars to make the move without a second thought.  But even a ride on the Titanic looked appealing at one point.  Didn't the 4 most important Big 12 schools try to leave the conference just last week?  What if they tried to do it again next year?  Put yourself in TCU's position - TCU committed to the Big East last year only to see Pitt and Syracuse leave to the ACC last week, leaving the Big East with only 6 football-playing universities and leaving TCU with the thought that maybe a MWC with Boise State may not be all that bad after all.

BYU proved they could play with the big boys by
dropping a one-point game at Texas earlier this year,
the big question Cougar fans are asking themselves
is will they do it on a continuous basis?

Will BYU still be guaranteed to be on ESPN and/or BYUTV or will BYU be stuck on Fox Sports Midwest, which would be a small step up from the mtn?  BYU knows what is at stake and they shouldn't make the move unless they feel that the instability will be gone, the drama will stop, and BYU's desire for "access and exposure" will not be hindered by any Big 12 TV deals.  We'll probably see a lot of "BYU not interested in the Big 12" reports in the coming weeks because BYU will be in the process of negotiating the right deal for the short and the long-term.  By the way, such a move to the Big 12 would only be successful if BYU can convert 3rd downs on a consistent basis.

It's Wild Enough As It Is...
I think that Major League Baseball does not need a 5th playoff team from the American and the National League.  Going into the last day of the regular season today, the Rays and the Red Sox were tied for the Wild Card spot in the AL while the Braves and the Cardinals were tied for the Wild Card in the NL.  It's the last day of the regular season and we still don't know a single playoff matchup for the playoffs which begin this Friday!  We could potentially have two tie-breaking playoff games tomorrow!  Baseball has the longest regular season in sports at 162 games, but since the Wild Card format was established in 1995, it has created an additional level of interest that vaulted Major League Baseball out of the 1994 strike and cancellation of the World Series into a test of will and endurance for those teams trying to become the one non-division winner in each league to join the playoff fun.  If we had two Wild Card teams in each league this year, we would just be patiently waiting for the one-game playoff between the four teams in contention this year.  However, a 5th playoff team seems inevitable as both the players and the owners seem to support the idea of a one-game playoff between two Wild Card teams from each league.

No one seems to care what I think.

The "Holy War"

BYU and Utah will face off at Lavell Edwards Stadium this Saturday night on ESPN2.  The 2011 version of the annual "Holy War" game will be the earliest the Cougars and Utes have ever played in the season (they have only ever played one other time in September).  With Utah's move to the Pac-12 this season, a September game became the only option as the Pac-12 conference prefers that its teams only play conference games in November (when the Cougars and the Utes have traditionally squared off).    It is also the first time ever that the teams are playing each other when they're not in the same conference.  Many have predicted that the BYU-Utah rivalry will be diminished because they will no longer have the potential to be playing for a conference championship, which has been the case many times in recent years.  I agree that the rivalry will be different than it has been in the past, but as long as they continue to play on an annual basis the rivalry will still be able to keep pace with other non-conference rivalries such as Michigan-Notre Dame, Florida-Florida State, and Georgia-Georgia Tech for the following reasons:

Utah dominated the rivalry early on, but it has been even (3-3)
in the last 6 years.

History
Even though they may no longer be in the same conference, fans will still be able to draw upon the intense history of the rivalry.  The teams have been playing football since 1896...or 1922 depending on who you ask.  The rivalry even extends to a disagreement on when the rivalry officially began.  Utah claims the first time the teams squared off was in 1896 when Utah played Brigham Young Academy and won 12-4.  BYU claims the rivalry began in 1922 when Utah beat BYU, 49-0.  BYU apparently didn't realize the rivalry had actually started until 1942 when they finally beat the U for the first time after tying them 3 times and losing 18 times.

BYU and Utah fans will forever be neighbors, friends, foes, and rivals!

Proximity
A quick drive up or down I-15 separates the two schools with mixed fan bases in between and beyond the Wasatch Front.  But it doesn't matter which conference the teams are in, they will always be competing for the same recruits, sponsors, and fans as long as Salt Lake and Provo stay about 50 miles apart.  A rivalry thrives on winning and losing, pride and humiliation, taunting and trash-talking.  Fans and families are sometimes split right down the middle of the BYU-Utah divide.  The losing team will have to endure the taunts, cheers, and scores even though the teams may not be in the same conference standings.  Does "34-31", "4th and 18", and "Beck to Harline" ring any bells?  Utah coach, Kyle Whittingham, recently said, "It's the biggest single sporting event in the course of a year.  It's the biggest thing that happens in this state."  That's what a rivalry is all about.

Current BYU President and LDS Church General Authority, Cecil Samuelson,
holds a bachelors, masters, and an M.D. from the University of Utah.  Which
team will Cecil be cheering for on Saturday?

Religion
That's right, I said it!  Whether you like it or not, the "R" word will always feed the BYU-Utah rivalry.  For example, when Max Hall had his infamous rant after BYU's overtime victory in 2009 ("I don't like Utah.  In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them.  I hate their program, I hate their fans...I think the whole university, their fans and their organization, is classless."), Utah fans, especially the fans who were not members of the LDS Church, pointed out the fact that in his ranting and raving, Max Hall was also including the prophet of the LDS Church, along with many other senior leaders in the Church who had attended to the University of Utah, when he deemed the entire university and organization as "classless".  The University of Utah is the state university of Utah while BYU is the flagship university of the LDS Church.  Many University of Utah alumni are members of the LDS Church, and BYU fans are all stereotyped as self-righteous zoobies.  Even when the BYU football players thank the Lord and give him the "glory" as Austin Collie did after his "4th and 18" catch in the 2007 BYU-Utah game, he became a lightning rod of controversy instead of just normal comments that seem to roll off every successful athlete's tongue.  Former Utah head coach Wayne Howard once said that "There's too much religion involved (in the BYU-Utah rivalry).  I did not like that.  I really didn't."  And the resulting dislike - and even hatred - is what the rivalry is all about.

BCS or No BCS?
Utah was invited to the BCS party and BYU was not.  Simple as that.  Many BYU fans now have a complex about the fact that Utah has a better chance to go to a BCS game by winning its conference than BYU does, even though BYU has not earned the right to play with the big boys as Utah has by going undefeated in '04 and '08 and winning a BCS Bowl game on both occasions.  Along with the monetary aspects of being part of a BCS conference, Utah will be able to tantalize BYU fans with the notoriety of being part of a BCS conference, even though Utah will more often than not still end up at the Vegas Bowl instead of the Rose Bowl.  BYU is now an independent team with a sweet TV agreement with ESPN, set with the ability to schedule its own teams and not have to split its TV and Bowl revenues with 10 or 12 other conference teams.  Which path is better and more successful will fuel the rivalry in the years to come.

Tackling and defense will be strong on Saturday night, but the key will be
which team will be able to best execute on offense.

The Holy War - 2011
With all those factors as a backdrop, BYU and Utah both come into this year's game with identical 1-1 records, with both teams coming off close disappointing losses to the 2006 BCS National Championship title game contenders, Texas and USC.  Both teams come into the game still trying to find their rhythm on offense, and both teams come in with a stout defense.  The key to this game will be obvious - whoever scores the most points will win.  Sounds blatantly stupid and obvious, but it is true.  Utah barely averages 300 yards of offense per game this year and BYU averages a soultry 275.  If BYU can get its running game going, which has only averaged 67 yards per game, or if Utah can find its passing game, which averages a high school-like 169 yards per game, watch out!  Favored by 4.5 points over Utah, BYU will have the slight home-field advantage as they will be ready to play for the home fans for the first time this year.  The BYU defense's strength is the run defense and I would expect BYU to be able to find enough holes in the Utah defense to run their way beyond 100 yards for the first time this year, control the game, and make just enough plays to win, 21-17.  But of course I think BYU is going to win, I am a self-righteous zoobie after all...

Football Is Back, But Don't Bet On It!

Football fever continues to sweep through high school and college campuses everywhere and onto NFL stadiums across the country.  Football is America's game and it seems as though everyone is affected by football - even if it's just the increased traffic that occurs before or after a game as thousands upon thousands of fans all go into a stadium optimistically and either leave jubilant or disappointed.  There are a ton of observations from the first couple of weeks of football, but here are a couple of things that have caught my attention and captured my interest for the season to come.

Baylor quarterback, Robert Griffith, will
try and keep the Bears on the winning
track on a day other than Friday this year.

Friday Night Lights
Historically known for being the night when high school football teams take the stage, the college teams are taking over Friday night so far this year.  The Friday night games involving the teams from Week 1 (TCU vs. Baylor) and Week 2 (ASU vs. Missouri) have been two of the best games of the season so far.  In Week 1, Baylor outlasted TCU 50-48, but only after nearly blowing a 24-point lead going into the 4th Quarter of the game.  In fact, TCU took the lead 48-47 after being down 47-23, but quarterback Robert Griffin led the Baylor Bears to the game-winning field goal with only 1:07 left.  In Week 2, Arizona State eventually beat Mizzou in overtime after blowing their own 14-point 4th Quarter lead.  ASU, who consistently lost late-game leads in 2010, hopes that 2011 will have more happy endings than lost opportunities.  If these games are any indication, then Boise State at Toledo (who almost beat Ohio State at Ohio State on Saturday) will be a must-watch game even before College Football Saturday.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley (7) carried
the Trojans past the Utes, but not without
some expensive controversy.

Don't Bet On It
The Utah Utes recently joined the Pac-12 conference, and were welcomed to the league by playing at perennial powerhouse USC at the Coliseum.  USC displayed its superior talent throughout the game, but the Utes played tough and hung with the Trojans by forcing 3 turnovers and had a chance to tie the game at 17 with a 41-yard field goal, and that's where things went wacky...all the way to Vegas.  The Trojans blocked the potential game-tying field goal, picked up the loose ball, and ran the ball to the end zone as time expired for a touchdown and an apparent final score of 23-14.  However, the officials on the field ruled that due to an excessive celebration penalty (the entire USC ran onto the field when the kick was blocked) the touchdown didn't count and the game was over.  But over 2 hours later, the Pac-12 stepped in and ruled that the on-field officials had made a mistake and that the touchdown should have counted.  No big deal, right?  No apparent difference between winning and losing, right?  Right, unless you were in Vegas.

Although there were hundreds of games to bet on this past weekend, the game
that caused the greatest commotion in the Vegas sportsbooks was a late-night
game on the West Coast between new Pac-12 South rivals, USC and Utah.

According to most sports books, the Trojans were favored to beat the Utes by 8 points.  So the final 6 points were the difference between a 3-point win for USC and a 9-point win by USC, or in other words the difference between winning and losing a bet on the game.  According to Todd Furman, senior race and sportsbook analyst for Caesars Entertainment, his sportsbook didn't recognize the change made by the Pac-12.  "We graded the bet at 17-14," Fuhrman said. "We don't recognize overturned results.  Every book can operate how they choose.  However, they should have addressed it in their house rules."  In other words, not in my house!

The Las Vegas Hilton is one of a few books that are going by the updated score of 23-14, meaning they will be paying out USC tickets in addition to the Utah tickets that were already previously cashed when Utah beat the spread at a temporary final score of 17-14.  It pays to bet at the Hilton.  The MGM Mirage was another sportsbook that was dismayed when the game's score was eventually changed as most of the betting action was on Utah to beat the 8.5 point spread, and had paid out the winning prior to the score being amended by the Pac-12.

Speaking of spreads, BYU is a 4.5-5 point favorite over Utah in the annual "Holy War".  Of course, that is presuming that the BYU offense will be able to score at least 4.5-5 points on Saturday.  Stay tuned for my preview and prediction for the "Holy War" later this week.