Didn't see that coming. I have to admit, going into the Maaco Las Vegas bowl I was pretty skeptical about the Cougars chances against Oregon State. Why? This matched up like the TCU and Florida State games. But, despite the fact that there was a 40-50 mile an hour wind, BYU came into Sam Boyd stadium and made the Beavers look silly. The defense got it done, the offense had confidence going into the wind, and the team was well prepared and motivated. Max Hall had a good night, throwing for 193 yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks. I'll remember him as a pretty good quarterback, but not a great QB. The traits I liked about Max was that he was a competitor, he hated to lose, and he was fearless. He would take hits and get right back up again. That is the kind of quarterback I like to see.
After thinking about whether or not Harvey Unga will enter the draft, I have figured it out. I don't think he will stay for another year. Here are my reasons:
1. BYU just picked up Josh Quezada, a 3 star running back from La Habra California. He ran for over 2,000 yards his senior season. It came down to BYU and Utah. He would have to cut his trademark long hair if he chose BYU. He chose BYU because he wants playing time, and he fits the system. A 226 pound bruiser. He is enrolling early, so he can learn the system. He must have heard something along the lines of "Harvey's going pro." If that happens, he only has to beat out Bryan Kariya and a couple other halfbacks.
2. he already broke a few BYU records, like the Freshman rushing record, rushing yards in a career, and receiving yards for a halfback at BYU.
So don't be surprised when Harvey decides to go pro.
The Mountain West Conference is sitting pretty after watching 4 out of its 5 bowl teams win their respective bowl games. Wyoming beat Fresno State, 35-28 in double overtime, a pair of Pac-10 teams were thumped, when BYU hammered Oregon State and Utah finished off Cal, and recently, Air Force just grounded Case Keenum and one of the best passing teams in the nation, 47-20, picking off 6 passes. All that's left is for TCU to beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl to give the MWC dominance over the WAC. That'll be a fun game to watch. One of the nation's best defenses with 4 year starters at cornerback and defensive line going up against the most efficient quarterback in the nation in Kellen Moore. I think TCU shuts down the Broncos and their ground game runs over, through, and past this defense to win its first BCS bowl game. If Boise State couldn't stop Ryan Matthews, they're not going to stop TCU's ground game with Ed Wesley, Ryan Christian and Joseph Turner.
Prediction: TCU 55 Boise State 21
