A spot in the championship game is on the line today as Team Odysseus faces Team Hansen.
The #2 seed Odysseus will start...
QB Marc Wilson DL Jim Herrmann
RB Luke Staley DL Brett Kiesel
RB Matt Bellini LB Kyle Van Noy
WR Andy Boyce LB Leon White
WR Margin Hooks DB Derwin Gray
WR Mark Bellini DB Brian Mitchell
TE Itula Mili
while the #3 seed Hansen is led by ...
QB Steve Sarkisian DL Byron Frisch
RB Jamal Willis DL Romney Fuga
RB Lakei Heimuli LB Cameron Jensen
WR Austin Collie LB Fred Warner
WR Reno Mahe DB Rodney Rice
WR Ross Apo DB Tom Holmoe
TE Jonny Harline
RB Jamal Willis DL Romney Fuga
RB Lakei Heimuli LB Cameron Jensen
WR Austin Collie LB Fred Warner
WR Reno Mahe DB Rodney Rice
WR Ross Apo DB Tom Holmoe
TE Jonny Harline
The Cougarboard illuminati pointed out that Team Odysseus has the upper hand on defense, but I think they're underrating the unstoppability of the Collie-Mahe-Harline combo (but then I'm biased, hence the reason for the poll in the first place lol). Also, remember the results of these polls will not determine the outcome. I just wanted to open my mind to additional reference points while recapping the matchups.
Date: 8/28/2020
Location: Ithaca Field
Odds: Team Odysseus -1
Over/Under: 55.5
Odds: Team Odysseus -1
Over/Under: 55.5
First Half Recap
Despite an honor code scandal, the retirement of a legendary coach, five losses to Utah, and some truly frightening uniform choices, the 2000s were an awesome decade for BYU Football. Here's a small sampling of that awesomeness: the arrival of the greatest deep threat in BYU history, the 3-3-5 defense, 5 dramatic victories over Utah, an upset over Oklahoma, three outright MWC championships, a four year run of consistent top 25-rankings, the best offense in the country in 2001, three of our top 5 running backs of all-time, a 59-0 beating of UCLA, whoopings over Oregon and Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl, and just two more things ...
Austin Collie and Luke Staley.
Ranking first and second on my favorite players of all-time, Collie and Staley were superstars on a transcendent level. If you had to make a list of the best players in BYU history that aren't quarterbacks, these guys would automatically be in the top-5 and I'd be comfortable staking Collie as the #1. How often has a BYU player -- that's not a QB -- led the nation in their statistical category, as Collie did in receiving in 2008? Or as Staley did in touchdowns in 2001? How often have we had talents good enough to forgo their senior season and enter the draft early?
Here's a fun way to think about how dominant Austin Collie was. In 2016 our leading receiver was Nick Kurtz with 541 yards and 2 TDs. In 2017 it was Bushman with 520 and 3 TDs, and in 2018 it was Manbush again with 511 yards and 2 TDs. Combined, our leading receivers from those three years caught 1,572 yards and 7 TDs. Or in other words, only 34 more yards and 8 TDs less than Collie caught in one single season in 2008.
Here's a fun way to think about how dominant Luke Staley was. In 2017 the entire BYU team scored 25 touchdowns. In 2001 Luke Staley scored 28 touchdowns -- and he didn't play in three games. Yeah, I know the 2017 team sucked but STILL. Twenty-eight touchdowns. His 15.45 points scored per game remains the ninth best scoring pace in the entire annals of college football.
Which is why, to nobody's surprise, the Team Hansen vs Team Odysseus matchup quickly became the Collie vs Staley bowl.
Yet make no mistake, the scoring did not come as fast and furious in this showdown as it did during the Davis-Newt bonanza. With 3 of BYU's top 5 linebackers of all-time on the field (Van Noy, Warner, White); with a combined 52 interceptions worth of defensive backs patrolling the passing lanes (Gray 14, Mitchell 13, Holmoe 13, Rice, 12); with 26 career sacks for Jim Herrmann and 25 career sacks for Byron Frisch on the defensive line; with the only linebacker in BYU history to lead a team in tackling for three years straight (Jensen) manning the middle; well, it just couldn't be a 50-50 game could it?
But none of those players made their bones on special teams, which is where our game recap starts. Team Odysseus kicks off and Austin Collie receives. We remember much about Austin Collie: the one-handed grabs, the ludicrous 2008 season, the moment he stiff-armed Utah State into oblivion. We perhaps forget only one player in BYU history has a better career kickoff return average than him. Chris Farasopoulos averaged 27 yards per return; Collie, 26.
Today that average rises.
Collie takes the opening kickoff all the way to the Odysseus 18-yard line, and from there it's an easy scoring start from Team Hansen. Jonny Harline runs the Gronkowski goal line fade and even the great Van Noy is unable to stop it. 7-0 for Team Hansen.
Luke Staley carries the rock early and often for Team Odysseus in response. Staley's career high in touches was 34, accomplished once against Air Force as a freshman and another time against Wyoming as a senior. He gets the ball 9 times in the first quarter to put him on pace for 36 in this game. The force-feeding translates to 45 yards on the ground, 27 yards through the air, and two scores to put Team Odysseus up 14-7. As in Team Hansen's prior game against Harvey Unga, his defense is struggling to contain a hall of fame running back.
After instant success on their first drive, Team Hansen is also struggling to unlock the Odysseus defense. Sarkisian has a wealth of intermediate receiving options with Harline, Heimuli, and Willis, but Leon White and Kyle Van Noy are locking down the mid-range. Sark decides to gamble with a deep shot and it's Collie on the catch all the way down on the Odysseus 9-yard line. But facing a compressed field the drive stalls and a field goal makes the score 14-10.
Defenses continue to play well late into the second quarter: Rodney Rice picks off a Marc Wilson throw intended for Andy Boyce. Jim Herrmann sacks Sarkisian to force a punt. Cam Jensen and Fred Warner stuff Luke Staley on a 3rd and 2. Austin Collie returns the punt 42 yards, but Kiesel sacks Sark on 3rd and goal to force another field goal. At halftime Team Odysseus leads 14-13 over Team Hansen. Both teams feel like they've squandered opportunities as they head to the locker room.
Second Half Recap
Team Odysseus receives the ball first in the third quarter and on play three Wilson pitches the ball to Staley ... and Staley is gone. It's a 61-yard sideline scamper that puts Team Odysseus up 21 to 13. On Team Hansen's next drive the offense decides to try a little option play of their own. Sarkisian lines up at receiver and Collie takes the snap. He pitches to Willis who carries the ball for 7 yards, which for those doing the math at home is 54 yards less than Staley managed on his option pitch. On the next play Collie takes the snap again. Every defender crowds the line of scrimmage anticipating another running play, but Collie takes a 5-step drop. He lobs it to Reno Mahe who makes the catch and advances the ball all the way to the Odysseus 22-yard line. The next play Collie lines up under center yet again! He throws behind the line of scrimmage to Sarkisian for a double pass, and Team Odysseus could not have been more prepared for it. Sark is quickly pressured, throws the ball up, and it's intercepted by Brian Mitchell at the 4-yard line and returned NINETY SIX yards for a pick-six. Mitchell is one yard shy of tying the record he set after turning in a 97-yard interception return against New Mexico in 1989. Team Hansen fails yet again to score a TD from close range and Odysseus is up 28-13.
Being in a desperate situation is good for Sarkisian though. He bounces back with a gem of a drive, completing 7 passes on 8 attempts, the lone incompletion coming from a ball batted down by Leon White. Collie hauls in four of the targets, Heimuli two, Mahe one, and Harline's single catch is his second TD of the game. Down 8, Coach Hansen texts Bill Barnwell for advice and ultimately decides to chase points. The two point play is a flawless rip off of a Clemson conversion from years past: Collie lines up in the shotgun, takes the snap, reverses it to Mahe, who flips it to a wide-open Sarkisian.
It works as well today as it did then for the Tigers. It's now 28-21 for Team Odysseus.
The ensuing Odysseus drive highlights more of the indomitable Staley. He catches the ball over the middle for 14. He runs for 6. He takes a screen pass for 22. He runs for 22. Marc Wilson is laughing to himself in the huddle. "So this is what it's like to have a cheat code on your team? Cool."
Staley scores his fourth touchdown of the day on a grinding run reminiscent of this score. But sure Brady Poppinga, Luke Staley was a wimp who was scared of contact and only ran on the sidelines and went down the first time someone touched him.
Trailing by two scores, it's desperation time again for Team Hansen. Reno Mahe helps juice the drive with a simple wide receiver screen pass that ends up netting 31. Collie snags another deep catch to put him over an absurd 400 yards(!!!) in combined receiving, returning, and passing yards. Nearing the troublesome redzone once again, Coach Hansen calls for the classic BYU delayed trap handoff to Jamal Willis, and Willis scores from 15 yards away. The touchdown goes to Team Hansen but the extra point is blocked by Kyle Van Noy! Team Odysseus leads by eight once again, 35 to 27.
Defenses stiffened late in the first half, and history is repeating itself in the second. Team Hansen holds Team Odysseus to a 3 and out and it looks like momentum may be favoring Sarkisian and company. Until they go 3 and out on their very next drive. Team Odysseus, ummm, bounces back with a drive that is twice as productive as the one that came before, which is a weird way of saying they punt the ball away after a 6 play drive goes nowhere. Team Hansen drives to midfield on their subsequent possession, but fails to convert a 4th and 3 by way of yet another trick play (this time a direct snap to Willis, whose jump pass sailed over Harline's head).
With three minutes left in the game Team Odysseus can run out the clock with a few first downs. They get one on a Staley option to Cam Jensen's side of the field. They get another on a completion to Matt Bellini. And finally with 54 seconds left Team Hansen gets a stop after Romney Fuga plugs the hole on a quarterback sneak. There's no way Coach Odysseus is putting the punt anywhere near Austin Collie. The kick sails out of bounds and Team Hansen will have solid field position as they attempt to mount the game-tying drive.
The drive starts precariously. The first pass from Sarkisian is tipped by Derwin Gray and nearly intercepted by Brian Mitchell. The second play of the drive is a completion to Lakei Heimuli, who fumbles the football. By fortune of a funky shaped leather object taking a funky bounce, the ball ends up safely out of bounds. On third and long Sark wants his tight end. For the first time all game Collie lines up at the line of scrimmage as a tight end, while Harline takes Collie's spot out wide. It's yet another wrinkle from Team Hansen's offensive coordinator, Gary Crowton. The Odysseus defense is scrambling while Sark receives the snap. In the confusion both Van Noy and Leon White roll to Harline's side of the field. Collie flies in the opposite direction completely uncovered. Sark completes the pass and Collie is off to the races. Gray finally meets up with him after a 42-yard gain. With 18 seconds left Team Hansen will have four shots from the redzone, where they've struggled all day.
Turns out they only needed one.
Team Hansen lines up in the same formation as the play before, except this time Reno Mahe is next to Collie on the line, forming a lightweight double tight end set. Team Odysseus is better prepared this time, but Harline is on an island on the outside, guarded by Mitchell. Now let us remember the 2006 Jonny Harline annihilation tour, and in particular the Utah game, where we learned one man alone cannot stop Jonny, even if that man is 6-time pro bowler Eric Weddle. Sarkisian throws, Harline catches, and it's 35-33 for Team Odysseus. It all comes down to the two point conversion now.
On the sideline, Coach Hansen and Gary Crowton consult their list of two point plays.
"Hmm, should we try the two point play BYU ran with Taysom against Boise in 2012?"
"Nope. It sucked"
"Hmm, should we try the two point play BYU ran with Taysom against Utah in 2016?"
"Nope. It sucked"
"Hmm, should we try the direct snap, reverse to the wide receiver, pass to the quarterback play?"
"Nope, already used it."
Team Hansen comes onto the field. Sarkisian is under center. Heimuli behind him. Collie, Mahe, and Harline -- the three greatest BYU receiving threats to take the field together -- align in a diamond to the far right. Sarkisian takes the snap. He throws to Mahe ... except the ball never leaves his hand. It's the Statue of Liberty! Heimuli takes the ball from Sarkisian's dangling slight of hand, and it's a clear path to the endzone. Not a single Odysseus player is on the left side of the field.
It would take the most instinctive, athletic, clutch defender in BYU history to stop a genius play call like this.
And Team Odysseus have just that.
Kyle Van Noy apparates onto the screen and cuts down Heimuli at the one yard line. Lakei stretches but he's well short. Conversion denied. Game over. Team Odysseus advances!
Final Score
Team Odysseus 35
Team Hansen 33
Player of the Game
Austin Collie - 13 catches, 178 yards; 6 kickoff returns, 213 yards; 2 punt returns, 58 yards; 1 pass attempt, 39 yards; 1 rush, 6 yards. In total, 494 all-purpose yards, which shatters his own record he set against Tulsa in 2007.
Other Noteworthy Performances
Luke Staley 24 carries, 143 yards, 4 TDs; 8 receptions 67 yards
Brian Mitchell 10 tackles, 96-yard interception return for a TD
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