My OC Darnell McKenzie levels up after our awesome offensive year, giving me a decision on where to spend an upgrade point: Offense, Training, or Recruiting. You know I believe in the jimmies and joes more than the Xs and Os. I learn that he has a badge which makes him particularly skilled in recruiting route running WRs. DC Axel Pittman, like me at HC, doesn’t change. I’m given the option to extend McKenzie's contract, which otherwise is on pace to expire at year end. He excelled, but do I want to lock myself into something for half a decade? I say … yes. I extend him through 2027 with a clause that if he is hired away as HC I’ll get paid half his remaining salary. I wonder how Axel Pittman feels about that, given his own contract expires at the end of the upcoming year?
Forget contract renewals pal, you're lucky I'm not canning you. There are some defensive coaches out there with level 10 recruiting that I'm tempted by ... but I decide to stand pat with the organization. Our defense struggled in the 4th but performed well overall. Plus year two is typically a leap year for new coordinators.
Benjamin Farmer served as Baylor’s DC and was the guy I came closest to hiring. He gets Maryland’s head coach job instead. I shall monitor his performance from afar with curiosity.
We are losing a LOT of players. This feels like a real life 2022 to 2023 shakeup. Departures include ...
OL Nathanael Yung – 96 overall
WR Grant Barry – 93 overall
CB Caden Daniels – 92 overall
S Dawson Browning – 91 overall
DL Riley Zamora – 87 overall
CB Braxton Rivas – 87
DL Solomon Goldsmith – 85
OL Brandon Bridges – 84
S Chase Bruno – 84
LB Abel Whalen 83
LB Jerry Cotton 82
OL Bobby Mills 81
That’s 13 starters, and a 14th is TBD. That’s TE Wesley Gilbert who is getting projected as a 5th rounder in the draft. I have two promises I can offer to keep him on the team. The first would be a promise that he makes an all-American team. I don’t think that’s likely. Grant Barry had a 79/1,202/11 season and didn’t get close to an AA team. Plus Wagner seems to enjoy spreading the ball around.
The second convincing power is simpler: buckaroos. $2.363 million dollars will keep Gilbert at BYU. I don’t know what to do. The guy had a receiving line of 36/442/2 with 4 drops. That’s not great, but if I let him leave we’ll be starting a middling junior named Joseph Vincent.
Maybe it’s the cheapness inside of me, but I let him walk.
It may have been smart to save some change because I have 16 players threatening to transfer. I'll need money to persuade some to stay. I can also cut players at this stage, though only 6 before I lose integrity.
Backup QB Randy Delossantos throws a wrench in my NIL budget. He wants 75% of the available snaps – an impossibility given Rafael Wagner's standing – or an enormous $4.8MM NIL for the year. Whoa! Without one of those two gifts he walks. My remaining budget is $7.45MM. I have no backup plan for 2025 if Randy goes. Can I really spend over half my budget on a player who won’t start until next season?
Cha-ching. Randy stays.
6 players in total go to the transfer portal, including a couple I’m sad to see go – SR DL Bradyon Wise and WR Ernesto Mathews. I say goodbye to my third and fourth string running backs. I just can’t promise them 50 carries, not on this pass happy team.
April rolls around and I have four draftees. Guess Gilbert’s gamble to declare early paid off. 5th round isn't special but it's nothing to sneeze at either.
If you're wondering who Jalen Pearce is, I kind of am too. He never caught my attention during the 2022 season. Maybe he had a massive performance at the combine?
Maybe it’s the cheapness inside of me, but I let him walk.
It may have been smart to save some change because I have 16 players threatening to transfer. I'll need money to persuade some to stay. I can also cut players at this stage, though only 6 before I lose integrity.
Backup QB Randy Delossantos throws a wrench in my NIL budget. He wants 75% of the available snaps – an impossibility given Rafael Wagner's standing – or an enormous $4.8MM NIL for the year. Whoa! Without one of those two gifts he walks. My remaining budget is $7.45MM. I have no backup plan for 2025 if Randy goes. Can I really spend over half my budget on a player who won’t start until next season?
Cha-ching. Randy stays.
6 players in total go to the transfer portal, including a couple I’m sad to see go – SR DL Bradyon Wise and WR Ernesto Mathews. I say goodbye to my third and fourth string running backs. I just can’t promise them 50 carries, not on this pass happy team.
April rolls around and I have four draftees. Guess Gilbert’s gamble to declare early paid off. 5th round isn't special but it's nothing to sneeze at either.
If you're wondering who Jalen Pearce is, I kind of am too. He never caught my attention during the 2022 season. Maybe he had a massive performance at the combine?
Preston Hooper, a DL from USC goes first overall in the draft, and also is the first player to be inducted into the College Hall of Fame. He is also inducted into the USC Ring of Honor. Can’t wait until I get a BYU guy in one of those.
A look at the single-game records from 2023 shows Frank Hale, my old boss at the tax commission, grabbed a couple years of eligibility for Western Kentucky and set a record with two defensive touchdowns. Rafael Wagner sets the pass attempt record with 61 in our loss to Houston, while Grant Barry set the receiving yard record at 266 in our bowl loss to Ole Miss. From a season long perspective, Utah State sets an ignominious record with 38 sacks allowed.
Spring recruiting is a whole new ball game. The transfer portal is flooded and it’s time to see what I can finagle. My OC now has an “Ace” level pitch, thanks to the point upgrade.
A transfer RB named Christian Riley commits to Brigham which will help us move past the Ronald Rahman Noodle era.
There’s a 69-rated WR named DeShawn Beltran who I'm interest in and who's interested in me, but I don’t got room for him. Please bless that he doesn’t go to Buffalo and rise to Khalil Mack prominence.
I’m about to sign way too many LBers if this transfer portal gift works out. Air Force just jumped me for a portal TE Franco Harrell thanks to a $600K NIL deal.
All in all, we miss BIG on transfer day. 90-rated WR Ashton Casey chooses Arizona over us; that might come back to hurt. 79-rated freshman OL Jarreet Fleming goes Maryland; TE Franco Harrell goes Air Force; OL Casey Bowling from USC chooses USU over us (ouch!). Wow did we woof. But we did nab a couple of biggies - Kyler Armstrong, a 75-rated, 4-star WR out of Omaha has some sparkling film.
Our recruiting class ends up 39th in the nation; respectable, but three spots behind Duke, four behind Utah. We did manage one 5-star, but only three 4-stars, and way too many 2-stars. In the Big 12 we actually finished seventh, behind Baylor, OSU, UCF, Cinci, West Virginia, and Utah. The potential gems from this class could mostly be on offense where we sign two ultra promising WRs and two less promising but above average RBs:
A look at the single-game records from 2023 shows Frank Hale, my old boss at the tax commission, grabbed a couple years of eligibility for Western Kentucky and set a record with two defensive touchdowns. Rafael Wagner sets the pass attempt record with 61 in our loss to Houston, while Grant Barry set the receiving yard record at 266 in our bowl loss to Ole Miss. From a season long perspective, Utah State sets an ignominious record with 38 sacks allowed.
Spring recruiting is a whole new ball game. The transfer portal is flooded and it’s time to see what I can finagle. My OC now has an “Ace” level pitch, thanks to the point upgrade.
A transfer RB named Christian Riley commits to Brigham which will help us move past the Ronald Rahman Noodle era.
There’s a 69-rated WR named DeShawn Beltran who I'm interest in and who's interested in me, but I don’t got room for him. Please bless that he doesn’t go to Buffalo and rise to Khalil Mack prominence.
I’m about to sign way too many LBers if this transfer portal gift works out. Air Force just jumped me for a portal TE Franco Harrell thanks to a $600K NIL deal.
All in all, we miss BIG on transfer day. 90-rated WR Ashton Casey chooses Arizona over us; that might come back to hurt. 79-rated freshman OL Jarreet Fleming goes Maryland; TE Franco Harrell goes Air Force; OL Casey Bowling from USC chooses USU over us (ouch!). Wow did we woof. But we did nab a couple of biggies - Kyler Armstrong, a 75-rated, 4-star WR out of Omaha has some sparkling film.
Our recruiting class ends up 39th in the nation; respectable, but three spots behind Duke, four behind Utah. We did manage one 5-star, but only three 4-stars, and way too many 2-stars. In the Big 12 we actually finished seventh, behind Baylor, OSU, UCF, Cinci, West Virginia, and Utah. The potential gems from this class could mostly be on offense where we sign two ultra promising WRs and two less promising but above average RBs:
WR Nasir Lambert
WR Kyler Armstrong
RB Bradley Ansari
RB Zane Bacani
No doubt I'll get Ansari and Bacani confused over and over. I'm intrigued by a fellow named Ernest Bhagat, who I will be calling "Baghat" from here on out. He's only rated a 60 at the OL position but he has A+ potential. But before you get excited just know all 5 of these guys are on the redshirt path.
On defense our most prized pickups are a safety named Reese Mann -- hello Reeses Peanut Butter Cup NIL deal -- and a linebacker with a rockstar name of Martin Hendrix. Hunter Jacques is one of those many 2-stars I'm complaining about but again, at least he's got that A+ potential to get excited about.
Based on last year's overall performance, our program loses 300 prestige points; I suppose that’s the punishment for losing to Utah and losing a bowl game? I remain at 7 stars overall, so at least I didn’t drop a level. I have $60.75 million dollars to play with going into 2024.
After paying coaches and maxing out my $15MM NIL budget, I have $37MM to spend on our program. It goes fast. To maintain the stadium as is costs $7MM. I spend $6MM to maintain our practice facilities … and I sprinkle an extra $7.5MM on top of that to upgrade them to Level 9 (I may have been wrong earlier about levels maxing out at 10; looks like you can get up to level 12). What does upping to level 9 give me? A jump from 2 to 3 in preseason training minimums and increases our offseason development bonus from 12% to 14%. I think it may be money well spent.
College life? Lol, no soup for you. I spend the minimum $4MM to maintain my D- rating. I’ve got $12MM left which is not enough to cover maintenance for Marketing and Academics. I will likely have to pull back my NIL budget. I really underwhelmed my donors this year, accomplishing just 2 of their 6 goals. The TaxAct bowl only paid me $3MM.
But we take a pause from all the numbers for we come now to the most exciting moment in any and all sport simulation games: offseason training results. And I dare say my strength and conditioning program delivers nicely this year. My second most improved player is starting QB Rafael Wagner, who jumps from an 81 to an 86. His QB IQ jumps 12 spots – I love it. My most improved player is sophomore CB Felix Mchugh who vaults 8 spots from an 80 to an 88. I convinced him to abandon the transfer portal in exchange for a minimum of 40% snaps played, and I don’t think that will be a problem cause he’s easily looking at starter territory with that number.
Another DL Tristin Rhodes jumps 7 spots from 74 to 81. Overall our DL room was the spot to be in summer 2024. Our top 4 guys improved 6, 8, 6, and 7 spots. Wow. I’m reminded that Axel Pittman is a level 9 at development, and this is where that bread gets baked. Randy Delossantos only improved 3 spots; he’s now at 81 overall. Did that offseason NIL money go to his head? Did he not take his offseason workouts as seriously?
But we take a pause from all the numbers for we come now to the most exciting moment in any and all sport simulation games: offseason training results. And I dare say my strength and conditioning program delivers nicely this year. My second most improved player is starting QB Rafael Wagner, who jumps from an 81 to an 86. His QB IQ jumps 12 spots – I love it. My most improved player is sophomore CB Felix Mchugh who vaults 8 spots from an 80 to an 88. I convinced him to abandon the transfer portal in exchange for a minimum of 40% snaps played, and I don’t think that will be a problem cause he’s easily looking at starter territory with that number.
Another DL Tristin Rhodes jumps 7 spots from 74 to 81. Overall our DL room was the spot to be in summer 2024. Our top 4 guys improved 6, 8, 6, and 7 spots. Wow. I’m reminded that Axel Pittman is a level 9 at development, and this is where that bread gets baked. Randy Delossantos only improved 3 spots; he’s now at 81 overall. Did that offseason NIL money go to his head? Did he not take his offseason workouts as seriously?
I was expecting freshman phenom Kaleb Foster to have a 5+ boost at minimum, so I’m surprised to see he only went from an 83 to an 87. Still, that's good enough to be our second best WR behind Noah Cochran who takes a minor leap from 92 to 94. Our TE room is the weakest on the team, and offseason training did little to help that.
Did I mention Wagner finished last season 9th in passing yards and 4th in TDs (33)? He was top ten in Heisman voting. Expectations are going to be through the roof this year.
And ... I've saved the biggest news for last. We have the highest rated player to cross BYU's paths in any virutal environment in OL Hudson Wolfe. With a massive, "I think this game is broken" jump in offseason training he enters fall camp as a 100-rated(!!!) offensive lineman as a junior. With some focused spring sprinklings he improves to a 101. What!?! We have two other OL rated above 90 meaning this won't be a real life 2023 BYU offensive line situation with Kingsley and the scrubs. And we aint done talking about OL yet!
Hudson was our top gainer but right behind him gaining 8 rating improvements were three underclassmen OL! Our next highest improver was also on OL. Who do we got coaching these guys? Jeff Grimes Junior? Of our top 12 highest gaining players, 9 were offensive lineman. Let's giddyup baby.
I'm going bonkers in OL recruiting as well, targeting a couple of 80+ JUCO players. I know where my bread is buttered.
The first half is weird. Starting senior QB, Rafael Wagner -- who has earned the loving nickname of Araujo (hearkening back to the mid 2000s BYU basketball draft pick) -- is not known for his speed, but scrambles 55-yards to give us an opening touchdown. North Carolina scores the next two TDs, both arising from fumbles, one of which comes from sophomore WR Kaleb Foster (speaking of heavy expectations ...) and is taken to the house. After we failed to convert a 4th down on NC's 36 there was a palpable scare in the crowd. But we settle down with a strong rushing attack as newcomers Christian Reilly, Luis Thapa and Kole Hawthorne each score small TDs to give us a 21-14 halftime lead.
If we hold on to the ball in the 2nd half, we should handle this thing. We score on the first possession of the 3rd and up 28 to 14 we're feeling pretty comfortable. And then the 4th quarter hits. Why does this always happen to my teams? NC scores 17 straight to go up 31 to 28. We come back clutch - 8 plays later transfer RB Christian Reilly scores the TD that puts us up by four, 35 to 31. With two minutes left UNC faces a 3rd and 12 and Edgar Boyd comes from the corner to get a sack! It's 4th and 16 for the game. UNC QB Uriel "The Urinal" Mooney drops back to pass ... and it's incomplete! It's a shaky first win but it's a win!
We average a crushing 7 yards per carry - netting 330 yards on a whopping 45 attempts. We only throw 21 passes for 178 yards. Weird. But check out these rushing numbers:
Christian Reily, 17 for 143 1 TD -- wow, big debut for the transfer
Rafael Wagner, 11 for 99, 2 TDs -- WTF?
Ummm ... we have to talk about Rafael Wagner. Where was this last year? There were absolutely no signs he would turn into Taysom Hill and yet here he is running around the field with fleet feet. Did those goal lines stuff against Utah last year motivate him somehow?
Or so one would think! DL Rowan Dickerson starts the next drive with an 8 yard sack and the drive is over before it starts. Our next drive is a punt, Tech's next drive is a fumble, and we end the half with a missed 30-yard field goal. Both sides are frustrated with a 7-0 BYU lead at halftime.
On Tech's next possession they drive all the way to three yard line. We hold on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down and Tech decides to kick again(!) with 5 minutes left on the clock. The Swifties are in disbelief. So am I! It's 14 to 9 and the crowd is booing. A running clinic could finish the game for us. And yet to my utmost surprise our OC dials up another long bomb and Wagner completes it to Kaleb Foster for a 63-yard TD. That will do it! Tech turns it over on downs and we kneel on a 21-9 victory to move to 4-0!
It ends up being a pretty even game yardage wise (403 for us, 395 for them). We could not get the running game going (3.8 ypc on 37 attempts) but our passing game delivered in the 4th quarter big time. Cochran goes over 100 yards and he's putting up a nice redemption season -- at his current 80 yard per game average he's on pace to bypass the 1,000 yard mark by season's end.
Week 5: #8 BYU (4-0) at South Dakota (who cares)
I have not played my stars lots of minutes this season. The 101-rated legend in the making, OL Hudson Wolfe, has only played 65% of snaps. Noah Cochran, my best WR, only 64%. Christian Reilly, only 41%. And yet I have a ton of players pissed at me for not giving them more time. At my current rate I'm on pace to have 13 or 14 meaningful players transfer. All of which is to say I might take my starters out after their first drive against South Dakota. Shockingly I'm favored less against the Dakotans`(26.5) than I was Iowa State (29.5). Odd. Am I overlooking this team whose mascot I do not know?
I initially thought this game was a home game so you can imagine I almost punched the computer when I saw an attendance of 6,500 fans. How many of those are close proximity Cougars? Also since when does the #8 team play on the road at Big Sky teams? I'm a Man! I'm 40!
I'm opting to run an up-tempo offense this game. I want to get my backups as many plays as possible. I also want my starters to experience a little bit of windedness. The first drive works nicely - 9 plays and 75 yards for a TD. I honestly might bring in the subs now. Two birds with one stone - give scrubs minutes and keep the starters fresh for next week's game against Utah.
The scrubs do just fine. As a Power 5 juggernaut should, we dust South Dakota 45 to 6. Backup QB and presumed starter next year (if he doesn't transfer) Randy Delossantos does solid work completing 16 of 19 passes for 138 yards alongside one TD and one pick. Unlike Wagner he has no running game to speak of. WR Kaleb Foster fumbles again, his second on the season. He of course had a killer fumble last year that cost us a game as well. This is something to keep an eye on ...
We are undefeated heading into the rivalry showdown.
Week 6: #10 BYU (5-0) vs #16 Utah (4-1)
We fall in the polls again! The disrespect!
Did I mention Wagner finished last season 9th in passing yards and 4th in TDs (33)? He was top ten in Heisman voting. Expectations are going to be through the roof this year.
And ... I've saved the biggest news for last. We have the highest rated player to cross BYU's paths in any virutal environment in OL Hudson Wolfe. With a massive, "I think this game is broken" jump in offseason training he enters fall camp as a 100-rated(!!!) offensive lineman as a junior. With some focused spring sprinklings he improves to a 101. What!?! We have two other OL rated above 90 meaning this won't be a real life 2023 BYU offensive line situation with Kingsley and the scrubs. And we aint done talking about OL yet!
Hudson was our top gainer but right behind him gaining 8 rating improvements were three underclassmen OL! Our next highest improver was also on OL. Who do we got coaching these guys? Jeff Grimes Junior? Of our top 12 highest gaining players, 9 were offensive lineman. Let's giddyup baby.
I'm going bonkers in OL recruiting as well, targeting a couple of 80+ JUCO players. I know where my bread is buttered.
Pre-season expectations for 2023 BYU are significant. Is the nation overrating Wagner's awesome junior season? I'm not sure, but Tom Holmoe has tasked us with the goal of winning 10 games or winning our Big 12 division. Is our team that good? Well, it certainly is old, with seniors littered throughout the two deep. Let's put it this way: our QB and both RBs are seniors, 4 of our 5 OL are seniors, both our TEs are upperclassmen and two of four top WRs are seniors.
Overall we are estimated to have the 7th best offense in the nation.
On defense we aren't far behind at 15th overall.
In this universe Tom Holmoe is labeled as Hotheaded. Not ideal for me given I've had seasons ruined by firings, disc deteriorations, and computer chicanery. Something to keep an eye in my relationship building.
I take a spin through the preseason landscape and whoa whoa whoa whoa we are ranked 6th in the polls. So it's not just Tom then. Talk about your pressure. There are insane week 1 matchups (LSU vs OSU, Oklahoma vs Michigan, Penn State vs Texas) so at least not all eyes will be on us for our season debut.
We start the season at home - before hitting the road for a month straight. Let's begin.
Week 1: #6 BYU vs North Carolina
We're favored in every category except offensive passing, where the computer grades us as even. North Carolina doesn't seem bad. They're ranked at 81 on both offense and defense, only 5 and 6 spots behind us respectively. And yet we are favored by an absurd 18 points. I'm betting on NC to cover, but trusting BYU to win. Let season two of the dynasty begin.
In this universe Tom Holmoe is labeled as Hotheaded. Not ideal for me given I've had seasons ruined by firings, disc deteriorations, and computer chicanery. Something to keep an eye in my relationship building.
I take a spin through the preseason landscape and whoa whoa whoa whoa we are ranked 6th in the polls. So it's not just Tom then. Talk about your pressure. There are insane week 1 matchups (LSU vs OSU, Oklahoma vs Michigan, Penn State vs Texas) so at least not all eyes will be on us for our season debut.
We start the season at home - before hitting the road for a month straight. Let's begin.
Week 1: #6 BYU vs North Carolina
We're favored in every category except offensive passing, where the computer grades us as even. North Carolina doesn't seem bad. They're ranked at 81 on both offense and defense, only 5 and 6 spots behind us respectively. And yet we are favored by an absurd 18 points. I'm betting on NC to cover, but trusting BYU to win. Let season two of the dynasty begin.
Here is our offensive depth chart ...
and our defensive ...
The first half is weird. Starting senior QB, Rafael Wagner -- who has earned the loving nickname of Araujo (hearkening back to the mid 2000s BYU basketball draft pick) -- is not known for his speed, but scrambles 55-yards to give us an opening touchdown. North Carolina scores the next two TDs, both arising from fumbles, one of which comes from sophomore WR Kaleb Foster (speaking of heavy expectations ...) and is taken to the house. After we failed to convert a 4th down on NC's 36 there was a palpable scare in the crowd. But we settle down with a strong rushing attack as newcomers Christian Reilly, Luis Thapa and Kole Hawthorne each score small TDs to give us a 21-14 halftime lead.
If we hold on to the ball in the 2nd half, we should handle this thing. We score on the first possession of the 3rd and up 28 to 14 we're feeling pretty comfortable. And then the 4th quarter hits. Why does this always happen to my teams? NC scores 17 straight to go up 31 to 28. We come back clutch - 8 plays later transfer RB Christian Reilly scores the TD that puts us up by four, 35 to 31. With two minutes left UNC faces a 3rd and 12 and Edgar Boyd comes from the corner to get a sack! It's 4th and 16 for the game. UNC QB Uriel "The Urinal" Mooney drops back to pass ... and it's incomplete! It's a shaky first win but it's a win!
We average a crushing 7 yards per carry - netting 330 yards on a whopping 45 attempts. We only throw 21 passes for 178 yards. Weird. But check out these rushing numbers:
Christian Reily, 17 for 143 1 TD -- wow, big debut for the transfer
Rafael Wagner, 11 for 99, 2 TDs -- WTF?
Ummm ... we have to talk about Rafael Wagner. Where was this last year? There were absolutely no signs he would turn into Taysom Hill and yet here he is running around the field with fleet feet. Did those goal lines stuff against Utah last year motivate him somehow?
Despite a light passing attack, our biggest receiving weapon Noah Cochran posts a nice 1st game, catching 4 of 5 targets for 99 yards. Good to have him back after the season-ender last year.
Week 2: #6 BYU (1-0) at Iowa State (0-1)
We are favored by 29.5 points on the road at a conference opponent. My eyes bulged typing that. Is Vegas trying to kill us? We stay at #6 as all ranked teams ahead of us prevail in week one.
Week 2: #6 BYU (1-0) at Iowa State (0-1)
We are favored by 29.5 points on the road at a conference opponent. My eyes bulged typing that. Is Vegas trying to kill us? We stay at #6 as all ranked teams ahead of us prevail in week one.
Maybe I shouldn't have been concerned? Iowa State musters a USU-ish 21,000 fans, resulting in a level 2 crowd presence. Let's just say the fan expectations were on point. We lead 24 to 6 at halftime and again our offensive line is mauling. We rush 24 times for 175 yards, a 7.3 average. Goodness me. Will I be able to hang on to my highly rated rookie redshirts at WR if we run all game long?
We score 24 points again in the 2nd half to complete a 48 to 6 demolishing of Iowa State. We rush for 25 first downs and dominate time of possession 38 minutes to 22. With 15 passing first downs we finished one first down shy of the real life record set by the 2013 BYU team against Houston. We finish with 54 carries for 363 yards, and it made me wonder, how close is 54 carries to the real life BYU record? Surprising NOT CLOSE. For once upon a time against Utah in the year of my birth BYU rushed 77 times in a 35 to 21 victory. Wonder what prompted that run-a-rama?
Good to see the backups grab some minutes. In league news Utah notches 11 sacks against UCF, setting the in-game record for the time being.
Week 3: #8 BYU (2-0) at Oklahoma State (1-1)
Our pod is off to a monstrous start. We're ranked 8th overall -- a two spot dip after pantsing Iowa State on the road? Odd I say -- while defending conference champ Utah is 17th, and Arizona State is 20th. The last member of the pod (Arizona) is 2-0 and unranked. Wild.
This presents our first intriguing matchup in terms of strength vs strength. We are #1 in the nation in rushing; OSU is 16th in stopping it. Nevertheless, I have no fear. For the 3rd week in the row I install a rush centric practice. I instruct RB Coach Harvey Unga to give Christian Reilly a workhorse snap count. Let's see if it works. We're favored by 6 and both teams are remarkably healthy.
We control the first quarter and silence the rowdy crowd with a quick 10-0 lead. We score two more times in the 2nd quarter and are feeling quite optimistic with a 24-10 halftime margin. This has been our weakest running half (only 111 yards on 19 carries) but Rafael Wagner has been solid in the passing game, completing 12 of 15 throws for 151 and 3 TDs. OSU is keying in on the run and we are punishing them for it.
We coast in the second half. OSU fails to score again and we finish the game with a 34-10 victory. We end up holding OSU to only 235 passing yards which feels like a win given they were throwing it around in the first two games. 3-0 feels amazing! I look forward to seeing us drop 2 spots in the polls again for a double-digit road win. [eye roll emoji]
Week 4: #9 BYU (3-0) at Texas Tech (3-0)
OMGosh we really do drop in the polls again, this time one spot to #9. I should be sending a thank you to the voters who are giving my squad free motivation. To add insult to injury it's Colorado and the all flash, no mustache Sanders squad who bypassed me, thanks to a victory over formerly #17 Utah (eh, so Colorado isn't all bad ...)
We score 24 points again in the 2nd half to complete a 48 to 6 demolishing of Iowa State. We rush for 25 first downs and dominate time of possession 38 minutes to 22. With 15 passing first downs we finished one first down shy of the real life record set by the 2013 BYU team against Houston. We finish with 54 carries for 363 yards, and it made me wonder, how close is 54 carries to the real life BYU record? Surprising NOT CLOSE. For once upon a time against Utah in the year of my birth BYU rushed 77 times in a 35 to 21 victory. Wonder what prompted that run-a-rama?
Good to see the backups grab some minutes. In league news Utah notches 11 sacks against UCF, setting the in-game record for the time being.
Week 3: #8 BYU (2-0) at Oklahoma State (1-1)
Our pod is off to a monstrous start. We're ranked 8th overall -- a two spot dip after pantsing Iowa State on the road? Odd I say -- while defending conference champ Utah is 17th, and Arizona State is 20th. The last member of the pod (Arizona) is 2-0 and unranked. Wild.
This presents our first intriguing matchup in terms of strength vs strength. We are #1 in the nation in rushing; OSU is 16th in stopping it. Nevertheless, I have no fear. For the 3rd week in the row I install a rush centric practice. I instruct RB Coach Harvey Unga to give Christian Reilly a workhorse snap count. Let's see if it works. We're favored by 6 and both teams are remarkably healthy.
We control the first quarter and silence the rowdy crowd with a quick 10-0 lead. We score two more times in the 2nd quarter and are feeling quite optimistic with a 24-10 halftime margin. This has been our weakest running half (only 111 yards on 19 carries) but Rafael Wagner has been solid in the passing game, completing 12 of 15 throws for 151 and 3 TDs. OSU is keying in on the run and we are punishing them for it.
We coast in the second half. OSU fails to score again and we finish the game with a 34-10 victory. We end up holding OSU to only 235 passing yards which feels like a win given they were throwing it around in the first two games. 3-0 feels amazing! I look forward to seeing us drop 2 spots in the polls again for a double-digit road win. [eye roll emoji]
Week 4: #9 BYU (3-0) at Texas Tech (3-0)
OMGosh we really do drop in the polls again, this time one spot to #9. I should be sending a thank you to the voters who are giving my squad free motivation. To add insult to injury it's Colorado and the all flash, no mustache Sanders squad who bypassed me, thanks to a victory over formerly #17 Utah (eh, so Colorado isn't all bad ...)
There is some dour news in the form of our first major injury. Our #1 LB Landon Gardner -- all conference player last year -- took an upper body blow that will keep him out for 6 weeks.
Our next opponent is Texas Tech who is 3-0 (unranked), and allows 48 rushing yards per game. That's #1 in the country. I average 324 rushing yards per game (somewhere Air Force salutes me). And I thought last week was a case of iron sharpening iron.
Our offense has been a bit too democratic to garner any real individual national praise, but in the Big 12 Rafael "Araujo" Wagner is the early leader in the clubhouse for offensive player of the year. He's only passed for 541 yards and 4 TDs, but he's complimented extreme efficiency (78% accuracy) with 275 yards rushing and 3 TDs to boot. Seriously did he go to Taysom Hill camp in the summer? Third in the B12 race is his Texas Tech counterpart, Jett Rollins, who has 898 yards through three games. Sheesh. Let's kick off our third straight road game.
The opposing crowd is listed as rowdy, which I think undersells the Texas Tech faithful. In my universe, Pat Mahomes is on the first row of the student section with Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and the stadium is shaking. I need a good start ... but Tech promptly takes the kickoff to the 45 and Jett connects on a 20 yard pass on his next play. Already the ball is on my side of the field. And then ... the drive stalls. Tech plays it super conservative and punts from our 38 yard line. Wow. That quiets the crowd.
We put together an absolutely smashing first drive. 12 plays and only one 3rd down faced before Wagner finds a junior WR named Alexis Salazar "Slytherin" for a TD. BYU 7, Tech 0. Alexis was overshadowed last year in the receivers room by senior Grant Barry and Kaleb Foster's freshman phenom antics, but he was a solid recruit with a promising future. Maybe now in his upperclassmen years he will prove himself.
Our next opponent is Texas Tech who is 3-0 (unranked), and allows 48 rushing yards per game. That's #1 in the country. I average 324 rushing yards per game (somewhere Air Force salutes me). And I thought last week was a case of iron sharpening iron.
Our offense has been a bit too democratic to garner any real individual national praise, but in the Big 12 Rafael "Araujo" Wagner is the early leader in the clubhouse for offensive player of the year. He's only passed for 541 yards and 4 TDs, but he's complimented extreme efficiency (78% accuracy) with 275 yards rushing and 3 TDs to boot. Seriously did he go to Taysom Hill camp in the summer? Third in the B12 race is his Texas Tech counterpart, Jett Rollins, who has 898 yards through three games. Sheesh. Let's kick off our third straight road game.
The opposing crowd is listed as rowdy, which I think undersells the Texas Tech faithful. In my universe, Pat Mahomes is on the first row of the student section with Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and the stadium is shaking. I need a good start ... but Tech promptly takes the kickoff to the 45 and Jett connects on a 20 yard pass on his next play. Already the ball is on my side of the field. And then ... the drive stalls. Tech plays it super conservative and punts from our 38 yard line. Wow. That quiets the crowd.
We put together an absolutely smashing first drive. 12 plays and only one 3rd down faced before Wagner finds a junior WR named Alexis Salazar "Slytherin" for a TD. BYU 7, Tech 0. Alexis was overshadowed last year in the receivers room by senior Grant Barry and Kaleb Foster's freshman phenom antics, but he was a solid recruit with a promising future. Maybe now in his upperclassmen years he will prove himself.
We put together another long drive -- 10 plays, 60 yards -- before facing a 4th and 3 at Tech's 20. It seems smart to go for the FG, but I want to punish if I can. I call for the offense to go for it. The mesh passing concept is ... deflected and incomplete. Argh. The crowd is back in it.
Or so one would think! DL Rowan Dickerson starts the next drive with an 8 yard sack and the drive is over before it starts. Our next drive is a punt, Tech's next drive is a fumble, and we end the half with a missed 30-yard field goal. Both sides are frustrated with a 7-0 BYU lead at halftime.
I'm sad to admit that Tech's rush defense is legit. For the first time this season we're on pace to finish below 5 yards per carry. Christian Reilly in particular is having a rough go, with only 26 carries on 7 attempts. We may need to call on Wagner this half.
The game continues to slog along in the third quarter. Tech nabs a field goal to make our baseball game 7-3.
Tech puts another kick through to start the fourth and it's a very edgy atmosphere in the stadium. Both of our teams are potent offenses and both have failed to deliver today.
And then the first big play of the game! Wagner throws deep out of shotgun to WR Noah Cochran and it's a 68-yard gain. First and goal BYU! On 3rd and goal from the four I call for a triple option run -- unthinkable a year ago when Wagner was a sloth -- and Wagner takes it in. BYU 14, Tech 6. Phew, we have breathing room!
The game continues to slog along in the third quarter. Tech nabs a field goal to make our baseball game 7-3.
Tech puts another kick through to start the fourth and it's a very edgy atmosphere in the stadium. Both of our teams are potent offenses and both have failed to deliver today.
And then the first big play of the game! Wagner throws deep out of shotgun to WR Noah Cochran and it's a 68-yard gain. First and goal BYU! On 3rd and goal from the four I call for a triple option run -- unthinkable a year ago when Wagner was a sloth -- and Wagner takes it in. BYU 14, Tech 6. Phew, we have breathing room!
On Tech's next possession they drive all the way to three yard line. We hold on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down and Tech decides to kick again(!) with 5 minutes left on the clock. The Swifties are in disbelief. So am I! It's 14 to 9 and the crowd is booing. A running clinic could finish the game for us. And yet to my utmost surprise our OC dials up another long bomb and Wagner completes it to Kaleb Foster for a 63-yard TD. That will do it! Tech turns it over on downs and we kneel on a 21-9 victory to move to 4-0!
It ends up being a pretty even game yardage wise (403 for us, 395 for them). We could not get the running game going (3.8 ypc on 37 attempts) but our passing game delivered in the 4th quarter big time. Cochran goes over 100 yards and he's putting up a nice redemption season -- at his current 80 yard per game average he's on pace to bypass the 1,000 yard mark by season's end.
Week 5: #8 BYU (4-0) at South Dakota (who cares)
I have not played my stars lots of minutes this season. The 101-rated legend in the making, OL Hudson Wolfe, has only played 65% of snaps. Noah Cochran, my best WR, only 64%. Christian Reilly, only 41%. And yet I have a ton of players pissed at me for not giving them more time. At my current rate I'm on pace to have 13 or 14 meaningful players transfer. All of which is to say I might take my starters out after their first drive against South Dakota. Shockingly I'm favored less against the Dakotans`(26.5) than I was Iowa State (29.5). Odd. Am I overlooking this team whose mascot I do not know?
I initially thought this game was a home game so you can imagine I almost punched the computer when I saw an attendance of 6,500 fans. How many of those are close proximity Cougars? Also since when does the #8 team play on the road at Big Sky teams? I'm a Man! I'm 40!
I'm opting to run an up-tempo offense this game. I want to get my backups as many plays as possible. I also want my starters to experience a little bit of windedness. The first drive works nicely - 9 plays and 75 yards for a TD. I honestly might bring in the subs now. Two birds with one stone - give scrubs minutes and keep the starters fresh for next week's game against Utah.
The scrubs do just fine. As a Power 5 juggernaut should, we dust South Dakota 45 to 6. Backup QB and presumed starter next year (if he doesn't transfer) Randy Delossantos does solid work completing 16 of 19 passes for 138 yards alongside one TD and one pick. Unlike Wagner he has no running game to speak of. WR Kaleb Foster fumbles again, his second on the season. He of course had a killer fumble last year that cost us a game as well. This is something to keep an eye on ...
We are undefeated heading into the rivalry showdown.
Week 6: #10 BYU (5-0) vs #16 Utah (4-1)
We fall in the polls again! The disrespect!
Last week, in the latest proof that BYU and Utah are siblings, the Utes also played a weak Dakota opponent, though I know the Northern Dakotas are historically tougher than the southern. Utah beat them 19 to 3. The Utes only loss on the year is to undefeated and 9th ranked Colorado. This game will go a long way towards shaping the conference championship game picture. As I look at the national picture, I'm starting to understand why we haven't gotten a lot of polling respect yet. Of the top-10 teams, we have by far the weakest SoS at 104th nationally. Though I would argue that is a bit of a misleading statistic. Oklahoma State is ranked and 4 of our 5 wins are on the road. That should count for something.
In pregame prep I'm confronted with the age old football question. Do I zig (pass) because Utah expects me to zag (run)? Or do I zag because I'm the best in the country at zagging? The trickiest thing about being a running team is sticking with it. What happens if I go down 10-0? What happens if I'm averaging 3 yards per carry in the first half? Historically running teams wear their opponents down in the latter quarters, but it can be scary to get to that point if the game state is unfavorable. Choices choices.
Meanwhile I'm tweaking my rotations for this game. My team is incredibly fresh, with most stars having been on the field around 50% to 60% of snaps played. Not today. If you carry a 90 or greater rating I'm asking you to be a workhorse in this game. I almost get to the point where I name Christian Reilly as an every single down player, as the transfer has risen to be our best RB, but cooler heads reign and I will allow Kole Hawthorne some snaps. Let's begin. Enormous stakes on the line.
We win the toss. The crowd rates at a level 9 (deafening) - the max for Lavell Edward Stadium under its current capacity. I love to hear it. The game starts perfectly. Utah rushes for zero and misses on two passes. We take the ball and MARCH. 13 yard pass to Cochran. 8 yard run by Reilly. 14 yard run by Wagner. 3 yard run by Wagner. 32 yard TD run by Reilly. Bam, 7-0 BYU. Utah's next drive features a gutsy 4th and 1 attempt at midfield. It succeeds! The next play is a Tristin Rhodes sack to squash any momentum. We take the ball and our offense continues to punish. 10 plays, 80 yards, 5 minutes off the clock, touchdown BYU.
Utah faces a 3rd and 13 on their own 20, down two scores, and somehow they complete a 26 yard pass. Dang it! But once again our defensive line makes a play, sacking Marcos M. (we call him Marcos the Mexican, he doesn't seem to mind) on a 3rd and 10 which very well may knock Utah out of field goal position. The ball is on the BYU 38, meaning a kick would be about 54 yards. What will Utah do? They puss out and punt! Instant regret on the Ute sideline as Wagner promptly scrambles for 51 yards and it's first and 10 for us at the Ute 21. Five plays later Wagner finds rarely used WR Conner Britton for the 10 yard TD pass. 21-0 for BYU! Utah responds with a three and out! One more score and we might be sending in backups in the third quarter! And yet, what did Han Solo say about getting cocky? Our next pass is intercepted and returned to our own 10 yard line. Utah may have life. Thankfully we force a FG. 21-3. We get a FG back on our next drive to make it 24-3.
With two minutes left Utah mounts its best drive of the game, getting all the way to our 13 yard line before our defense buckles up and forces the FG. At halftime it is 24-6.
In pregame prep I'm confronted with the age old football question. Do I zig (pass) because Utah expects me to zag (run)? Or do I zag because I'm the best in the country at zagging? The trickiest thing about being a running team is sticking with it. What happens if I go down 10-0? What happens if I'm averaging 3 yards per carry in the first half? Historically running teams wear their opponents down in the latter quarters, but it can be scary to get to that point if the game state is unfavorable. Choices choices.
Meanwhile I'm tweaking my rotations for this game. My team is incredibly fresh, with most stars having been on the field around 50% to 60% of snaps played. Not today. If you carry a 90 or greater rating I'm asking you to be a workhorse in this game. I almost get to the point where I name Christian Reilly as an every single down player, as the transfer has risen to be our best RB, but cooler heads reign and I will allow Kole Hawthorne some snaps. Let's begin. Enormous stakes on the line.
We win the toss. The crowd rates at a level 9 (deafening) - the max for Lavell Edward Stadium under its current capacity. I love to hear it. The game starts perfectly. Utah rushes for zero and misses on two passes. We take the ball and MARCH. 13 yard pass to Cochran. 8 yard run by Reilly. 14 yard run by Wagner. 3 yard run by Wagner. 32 yard TD run by Reilly. Bam, 7-0 BYU. Utah's next drive features a gutsy 4th and 1 attempt at midfield. It succeeds! The next play is a Tristin Rhodes sack to squash any momentum. We take the ball and our offense continues to punish. 10 plays, 80 yards, 5 minutes off the clock, touchdown BYU.
Utah faces a 3rd and 13 on their own 20, down two scores, and somehow they complete a 26 yard pass. Dang it! But once again our defensive line makes a play, sacking Marcos M. (we call him Marcos the Mexican, he doesn't seem to mind) on a 3rd and 10 which very well may knock Utah out of field goal position. The ball is on the BYU 38, meaning a kick would be about 54 yards. What will Utah do? They puss out and punt! Instant regret on the Ute sideline as Wagner promptly scrambles for 51 yards and it's first and 10 for us at the Ute 21. Five plays later Wagner finds rarely used WR Conner Britton for the 10 yard TD pass. 21-0 for BYU! Utah responds with a three and out! One more score and we might be sending in backups in the third quarter! And yet, what did Han Solo say about getting cocky? Our next pass is intercepted and returned to our own 10 yard line. Utah may have life. Thankfully we force a FG. 21-3. We get a FG back on our next drive to make it 24-3.
With two minutes left Utah mounts its best drive of the game, getting all the way to our 13 yard line before our defense buckles up and forces the FG. At halftime it is 24-6.
There's not a lot to complain about at intermission. Reilly has taken 8 runs for 62 yards and Wagner has 9 for 90. If this were one game I'd worry that the Wagner running game isn't sustainable but I know better. He has unquestionably become a weapon on the ground. Sacks from Tristin Rhodes and Rowan Dickerson were huge. Here comes half number 2.
Cochran takes the kickoff to the BYU 36 - solid return. Wagner immediately targets Cochran on the next play for 17 yards. A couple of passes to Kaleb Foster and we're in the red zone. Two plays later Wagner scrambles for the TD. He is unstoppable on the ground right now. 31-6 BYU. Utah's man to man defense cannot handle the running QB. We end the quarter at that same score which means the scrubs are coming in early, my favorite passive aggressive way of humiliating an opponent (besides punting on 3rd down a la the New England Patriots).
Backup QB Randy Delossantos finds Grayson Davis for a 6 yard TD and it's 38 to 7. I'm relieved Grayson got some love, he's been mouthing off in team meetings about getting the ball.
With 9 minutes left Utah scores their first TD of the day. The score is 38-13, Cougars. Cochran promptly returns the kickoff all the way to the Utah 40. He's a monster. We take our time, moseying around for 8 plays and 5 minutes before rubbing one in for fun. Someone I don't know named Maxwell Hudson gets the TD and it's 45 to 13. And that's all she wrote folks. A boring old fashioned butt whooping of a rivalry game. I loved every second of it. We clobbered in yardage (455 to 270). Wagner passed for 168 and ran for 96. Cochran only snagged 4 passes for 43 yards, but he was awesome on kickoffs averaging just under 40 yards per return. Dominating performance all around. We are undefeated and suddenly dreams of grandeur are starting to materialize.
Cochran takes the kickoff to the BYU 36 - solid return. Wagner immediately targets Cochran on the next play for 17 yards. A couple of passes to Kaleb Foster and we're in the red zone. Two plays later Wagner scrambles for the TD. He is unstoppable on the ground right now. 31-6 BYU. Utah's man to man defense cannot handle the running QB. We end the quarter at that same score which means the scrubs are coming in early, my favorite passive aggressive way of humiliating an opponent (besides punting on 3rd down a la the New England Patriots).
Backup QB Randy Delossantos finds Grayson Davis for a 6 yard TD and it's 38 to 7. I'm relieved Grayson got some love, he's been mouthing off in team meetings about getting the ball.
With 9 minutes left Utah scores their first TD of the day. The score is 38-13, Cougars. Cochran promptly returns the kickoff all the way to the Utah 40. He's a monster. We take our time, moseying around for 8 plays and 5 minutes before rubbing one in for fun. Someone I don't know named Maxwell Hudson gets the TD and it's 45 to 13. And that's all she wrote folks. A boring old fashioned butt whooping of a rivalry game. I loved every second of it. We clobbered in yardage (455 to 270). Wagner passed for 168 and ran for 96. Cochran only snagged 4 passes for 43 yards, but he was awesome on kickoffs averaging just under 40 yards per return. Dominating performance all around. We are undefeated and suddenly dreams of grandeur are starting to materialize.
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