The Virtual 2013 BYU Season - Part 1/2

-- Covering pre-season through Week 5

I'm continuing to write about Climps Hansen's quest to lead BYU ... to something great. Either a NCAA title, a promotion to the P12, or 30 straight wins over Utah. For a more thorough explanation of what this is, click here. Credit to Ricky O'Donnell for the idea. Remember all games are simulated.

2013 Pre-Season

First things first, a settings update. Last we touched base I had finished putting a bow on a top-20 recruiting class that featured six 4-star signees. That's a little too unbelievable given I'm a first year coach who barely squeaked out 8 wins for a university that has a curfew. I play the recruiting game well, but not that well. Therefore I'm notching up the difficulty of recruiting from All-American to Heisman, the highest level the game allows. Gulp.

I begin setting up the summer recruiting big board with relatively few positions to fill. My needs are only at kicker and MLB. With limited holes to plug I can take a couple chances on areas I want to bolster, namely TE, DT, and DB. I could probably use a nice FB too if I can find one. Fullbacks aren't in vogue so maybe I can sweep a high rated one off his feet with my strong rushing attack.

Unlike last year the top prospects in Utah are not interested in me. Those few that are see their rankings plummet the moment I scout them. Heisman mode is coming out with a fury.

But that's enough about recruiting, it's time for the big question. Who's going to start at QB? My prized freshman recruit Steve Latimer is ranked a superb 78(!) which leads the quarterbacking room. If he starts my two leaders on offense will both be named Steve. Will that confuse the offense? Or is it a sign Latimer's the next Steve Young?

Coming in at a 76 rating is QB Chris Culver, the redshirt sophmore who looked good against Army and NMSU and looked like a flaming poop bag against UCLA in our bowl game. If I roll with Culver and he develops positively, that means Latimer may not be a starter for 3 more years. He would take over as a redshirt junior in the 2016 season with only two years to play. That seems like a long time to wait.

I don't know what to do. During the glory years of BYU the incoming QBs ran the scout team, absorbed the offense, paid their dues. I want the glory years back.

The final wrinkle is that Culver and Latimer are both from Tremonton, Utah. What are the odds? They even played at the same high school. Latimer already spent part of his career sitting the bench behind Culver, a QB he believes he's better than. Would he be willing to do it again? And how would Culver react to sitting behind the guy who he lorded over in high school?

I'm gonna press pause on this choice and move throughout the rest of the roster.

Of the incoming class, RBs Marcus Robinson and Sean Stanford will sit out this year, as will WRs Thompson, Pittman, and Atkins. Every lineman is redshirting except for Dan Nelson (Mr. BYU name) who is gonna be the backup at RG due to lack of depth. I likewise want to sit the majority of my defensive recruits but as I complete the redshirting process I become very aware of how weak we are on defense. True Freshman Aaron Mitchell has no choice but to start at SS. He carries a 70 rating. He'll be backed up by (wipes sweat from brow) redshirt freshman Jonathan Massey. At the other safety spot I'm one injury away from seeing another true freshman take the reigns as well. Maybe I need to forget about fullbacks and tight ends and focus on DBs this recruiting go round.

In the end I decide to redshirt Latimer. I don't like the idea of dropping 18-year olds into the starting gig at a QB university like BYU. I assure him that this does not guarantee he'll be sitting for the next three years. We'll re-evaluate Culver and Latimer after off-season training. Oh, and if Culver pulls another "UCLA", the redshirt might come off Latimer rather quickly. 

The real life 2013 schedule was my favorite of the Indy era. It had the perfect blend of P5s, quality G5s, and interesting November contests. By no choice of my own I have to make two changes, shifting Middle Tennessee State for Temple and Idaho State for Akron. Here's a look at how things will play out:

at Virginia (vs former HC Bronco Mendenhall)
vs #9 Texas (projected 2nd in the B12 behind TCU)
vs #22 Utah (who we're on a 3-game losing streak against)
vs Temple

BYE
at Utah State (first year in the MWC)
vs Boise State (projected to win the MWC)

vs #17 Georgia Tech (defending national champs)
at Nevada

at #3 Wisconsin
vs Akron 

at Houston
at #1 Notre Dame

My strength of schedule is rated an A+ and it's not the only A+ that's in the news.

Remember last year when I leaned on my A+ coaching stability in all my recruiting pitches? Well I'm a C now. What a difference one year makes. On the bright side my conference prestige has jumped from a C to a B-, not sure why, unless I'm being rewarded for my tremendously hard schedule.

With schedule setting, summer recruiting, and the ordering of the depth chart taken care of, it's time to start the season. 

Week 1 at Virginia
We begin the first challenge of a tremendously difficult schedule by traveling cross country, going up against our former head coach, while starting a QB most of the fans wanted benched so they could see Latimer. Two games against top-25 opponents follow, making the prospect of an 0-3 start all too real. No pressure or anything. My heart is in my chest as I hit the simulate button.

And Steve Reid does it again! He rushes for 211, catches 56 through the air, and scores twice in a 34-20 win. Chris Culver does it again as well ... in the bad way. 9 for 28 and 201 yards. Two horrific games in a row for a guy the fans are starting to call CC So-bad-thia. 

The other bad news is Reid strained his quadriceps and is listed as probable for the Texas game. I've spent years making fun of Whittingham for grinding his runners into the ground and now I've done the same. Why didn't capable backup Peter Young get more touches? On the flight home the players are thrilled to beat their former coach. I'm mostly relieved. You can't lose to the guy you replaced.

On the recruiting trail my second best CB prospect hails from Roswell, New Mexico. We need to sign him so we can get some Area 51 No Fly Zone jokes going. 

David Bell, a MLB out of Utah rated 65 has me third behind USU and Utah. Bell represents my first in state battle amongst the big three of the state. I'm investing in him more for the competition and desire to trump my rivals than for the MLB need. 

Yes! Finally I find a prospect from West Valley, my home town. I scout Mr. Travis Ryan for 60 minutes. His stats plummet from 71 to 62, a drop of 9 points. He's a bust. Son of a turd. 

I've been a little more concentrated in my recruiting efforts this season, which has left the bottom of my list feeling unloved. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me. Here's a look at my recruiting map. I earned new pipelines in Oregon and Washington but so far I only have one interested prospect from the region. 

Week 2 vs #9 Texas
Did you know I have a pre-season 2nd team all-american on my team? You'd guess Steve Reid, my star runner, right? Nope. Enter Ryan Brown, my 94 rated senior kicker out of West Point, Utah. Cool huh?

And then there's Texas. They have three first team pre-season all-americans ... on their offensive line. I counter with 4 defensive lineman who would be 1st team all-americans if they played in division 4 football. 

In Europe. 

Texas counters with two additional first teamers on defense. I think we're about to experience the opposite of the Taysom vs Texas experiences. 

Yup. We lose 38-17. It would have been hard for Culver to play worse: 6/25, 65 yards, 2 interceptions, 0 TDs, a 29.8 QB Rating. He completes as many passes to our receivers as he does to the Texas corners. The fans were booing from the first quarter on. 

Steve Reid has his worst game since I became coach with 27 yards rushing on 8 attempts. Clearly the quadriceps are bothering him. 

There was actually a point in the third quarter when the score was only 21-14 for Texas, but it never really felt close. Both our touchdowns came off of interception returns by junior corner Cole Henry.11. Reminiscent of Rodney Rice's 70-yard interception return against Texas in 1988.  True freshman Aaron Mitchel also snagged his first career interception. He's having a good start to his career: 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 defection, and 1 pick through three games. 

As we move into rivalry week against Utah I'm forced to revisit the decision to redshirt Latimer. Culver has been abominable. I text my coaches on Sunday morning that Latimer will start against Utah, but by Monday cooler heads prevail. The problem with this year isn't going to be fixed by Latimer. We play the defending national champ, the pre-season #1 and #3 teams on the road, an additional top 10-team in Texas, a top-25 rival in Utah, the defending MWC champ in Boise, and the defending WAC champ in USU (newly promoted to the MWC). It's not going to be a pretty year no matter who we start. I want Latimer to focus on learning the playbook and running the scout team - nothing more. I announce as much in my Monday morning press conference. Latimer will not see the field in 2013.

Week 3 vs  #19 Utah - the Holy War

It's sad to come into a rivalry game not even expecting to have a chance to win, but that's where I'm at with Culver. I tell him the opposite of course, giving a magnificent rallying speech about how unheralded Brandon Doman came out of nowhere to defeat New Mexico and Utah to salvage the 2000 season. 

It worked!!! A 30-15 win over the #19 team in the country with a defense ranked an A+. I'm in shock. We jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and the crowd never stopped rocking. Given the opponent, it's the best offensive performance of my coaching career, the best win of my career, and the best showing of Culver's career. He goes 24/43 for 386 yards, 3 TDs and 0 picks. Where did that come from?

It's impossible to overstate how a big a win this is. It snaps the rivalry losing streak at 3. It's an upset on national TV. We had two of our top recruiting targets on visits to the game. Oh yeah and this. We're ranked in the top #25 for the first time under Climps Hansen' leadership. 

In recruiting I'm emboldened by the big win and am taking swings at a DT named Corey Ostrander who is rated a 79. Boise leads for his services, I'm 440 recruiting points behind. 

Oliver Stegall -- what a name -- is a 79 rated kicker who has had me in his top-5 all season. He traveled to Provo for the rivalry game and now has me listed #1 on his board. The crowd power is real.  

Jeff Hagen, the CB out of Roswell, New Mexico rates his desire to stay close to home as "Low". He's fleeing the aliens!

Finally there's an athlete named Eric Gates out of South Jordan who has me neck and neck with Navy. Get out of here Nuimatalolo. This guy is mine. 


Week 4 #25 BYU vs Temple

All week long I tell my guys no funny business. Following up a stadium-shaking beatdown over our rival with a game against Temple has all the makings of a trap game. 

But not this time. We win 38-14 to improve to 3-1 on the season. We jump up to #22 in the polls. Utah makes us look good by beating #4 USC. Don't look now but Culver is 23rd in the nation in passing yards. 

The negatives? We suffer two injuries to starters. 

Cody Williams is our best DT at a 76 rating (he's out two weeks with a broken thumb). Ronald Carey is also a 76 rated RT (he's out 6 weeks with a torn hamstring). 

In recruiting I rearrange the board a bit. I cut loose a few of the pie in the sky recruits, including a top ranked fullback who is a soft commit to Georgia. I bring in a couple DTs and DEs cause my talent level there is atrocious. I'm still dreaming of Corey Ostrander, the #4 DT in the country who has Boise State his number one by a mile. 

Robbie Moses, the #8 MLB in the country, who's religious name made me believe I had a chance at him (much like I believed BYU once had a chance at Zion Williamson, lol) signs with LSU. 

I jump to #1 on Gary Lucas's list. He's a TE out of Syracuse, Utah. He's not my dream at TE but at a 75 rating he would be a superb consolation prize. 

Jesse Cohen, a 6'2" athlete out of Oregon is the biggest gem I've seen to date. His initial ranking was a 63 and I offered him a scholarship because I loved Seth Cohen from The OC and my nephew Cohen from real life. After scouting, he has jumped 12 ratings all the way to a 75. I sink an hour phone call into him. Washington has the lead on me but I'm ready to make up time. 

Week 5 BYE

It's a perfect time for one. I've forgotten how fun it is to be ranked during a bye week and see yourself move up in the polls. And sure enough, we move up to #19. 

One stat to keep track of. In the list of toughest places to play, the home crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium is ranked 40th. I hope to bump that a good 15 spots before I retire. 

More to come in the next edition.