I have now had several subscribers who say they have not received the letter I sent this morning. Consequently, I am resending it. If you did receive it, please disregard this resend. hb HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 34, Issue 16 - November 18, 2013 Click <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions Notre Dame Next BYU Goes Grantland On Idaho State in 59-13 Win With Notre Dame up next this coming Saturday in South Bend and Idaho State dispatched summarily last Saturday in Provo to the tune of 59-13, I feel the nostalgic need to partially plagiarize Grantland Rice, the renowned sports writer, from his most famous story written on October 18, 1924 in the New York Herald Tribune. Here is his opening description of a Notre Dame 13-7 win over Army in a game played at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Bold type indicates where I have substituted and changed a few words of Rice's rhetoric. Outlined against a blue-gray November sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Williams, Hine, Hill and Brown. They formed the crest of the Provo cyclone before which another fighting Idaho State football team was swept over the precipice at LaVell Edwards Stadium yesterday afternoon as 58,645 spectators peered down on the bewildering panorama spread on the snowy plain below. A cyclone can't be snared. It may be surrounded, but somewhere it breaks through to keep on going. When the cyclone starts from Provo, where the candle lights still gleam through the Utah sycamores, those in the way must take to storm cellars at top speed. Saturday the cyclone struck again as BYU beat Idaho State, 59 to 13, with a set of backfield stars that ripped and crashed through a not so strong ISU defense with more speed and power than the warring Bengals could meet. BYU won its seventh game in ten starts through the driving power of one of the greatest backfields that ever churned up the turf of any gridiron in any football age. Brilliant backfields may come and go, but against Idaho State, in Williams, Hine, Hill and Brown, covered by a go fast, go hard and charging line, BYU can take its place in front of the field. No doubt Grantland Rice was a gifted writer of sports and also maybe a little football fiction. He had the good fortune to write sports for a living before football games were televised for all to see. I don't have Rice's gift of writing, but I do have a TV and so do you. That means you saw what I saw: Outlined against a blue-gray November sky, BYU pounded and pulverized a patsy from Pocatello. It didn't make for great TV or any great Grantland Rice writing. It did make for a guaranteed winning exit in 22 players' last appearance in LaVell Edwards Stadium. They included; Tyler Beck, JD Falslev, Kaneakua Friel, Spencer Hadley, Mike Hague, Cody Hoffman, Adam Hogan, Austin Holt, Austen Jorgensen, Scott LeFrandt, Eathyn Manumaleuna, Marcus Mathews, Blake Morgan, Jason Munns, Kevin O'Mary, Skyler Ridley, Daniel Sorensen, Justin Sorensen, Uani Unga, Manaaki Vaitai, Kyle Van Noy and Richard Wilson. Famine isn't exactly how I would describe BYU's rushing attack against Idaho State. It was actually more of a feast. The Cougars rushed for 421 yards on 46 attempts. That works out to be a 9.2 yards per carry average. Pestilence or Pimples? And pestilence certainly didn't describe Taysom Hill's passing performance against ISU. I would substitute pimple for pestilence. Hill completed 11/19 passes for 153 yards and threw for 2 touchdowns. The pimples would be the 3 interceptions produced by Hill. Three interceptions is not a life threatening issue, especially against a team like Idaho State. But like any acne, it was annoying and needs to clear up against Notre Dame next Saturday. Three turnovers against the Irish and sure defeat will likely join death and destruction in the alliterative prediction of the outcome of the BYU -Notre Dame game in South Bend on Saturday. This is a Sandwich Game for both BYU and Notre Dame Losses to Wisconsin by BYU and Pitt by Notre Dame two weeks ago have taken the starch and flavor out of this contest. Had BYU been able to beat Wisconsin in Madison and had Notre Dame been able to beat Pitt in Pittsburgh, this game would have had serious BCS Bowl implications. As it stands now, the Cougar - Irish matchup Saturday in South Bend will be nothing more than a game between two evenly matched 7-3 teams that are now overly matched when it comes to BCS standings and bowl invites. This game has no college football relevance nationally, but it certainly is still relevant to both fan bases. Notre Dame needs a home win over BYU to try to make a salvageable sandwich out of the tail end of their season. They lost to a very ordinary 5-5 Pitt team on the road two weeks ago and will undoubtedly lose to a currently very good 8-2 Stanford team in Palo Alto next week. BYU Bologna? The Irish are hoping that BYU will be the lunch meat between the two bread beatings of Pitt and Stanford that will make the year end Notre Dame Sandwich easier to swallow for their fan base. BYU is still trying to digest the bratwurst beating at the hands of Wisconsin two weeks ago. It is still causing indigestion among coaches, fans and players. A win over Notre Dame just might be the Pepto-Bismol Cougar fans need to lubricate the loss to the Badgers and finally get it through the digestive track of defeats BYU has ingested this season. While this may be a sandwich game for both teams, there are no secret ingredients to how this contest will turn out. It will hinge on quarterback play. The team whose quarterback performs the best will win the game. Notre Dame will come with Tommy Rees. BYU will counter with Taysom Hill. How the two play will determine who wins and who loses. Las Vegas odds makers have Notre Dame as a 1-point favorite. I peg Hill as a 10-point favorite over Rees. I call it BYU 31 Notre Dame 21. Rose Reveals and Revels in New Recruits Here is Dave Rose's official assessment and announcement of the new BYU basketball recruits that signed with the Cougars last week. PROVO, Utah - BYU basketball coach Dave Rose <http://byucougars.com/staff/m-basketball/dave-rose> announced today that high school seniors Ryan Andrus, Payton Dastrup, TJ Haws, Dalton Nixon and Jake Toolson have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Cougars. Rose also announced that Jordan Chatman and Isaac Neilson will return from two-year missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and play for BYU in 2014-15. "We are very excited about this group of signees," Rose said. "The commitments from these players mean a great deal to our staff and to our basketball program. This group is comprised of great players that will be terrific teammates. We are looking forward to the opportunity to coach each one of them." Andrus, a 6-foot-10 post player, earned first and second-team all-state honors last season while playing for Doug Meacham at American Fork. He averaged 19.4 points and 6.5 boards and led the Cavemen to a 17-9 record and a trip to the 5A state semifinals. "Ryan is a complete post player," Rose said. "He can score with his back to the basket, runs the floor very well and is an excellent defender and rebounder. He'll be a great fit in our system." Dastrup plays for Gary Ernst at Mountain View High School and is considered one of the nation's top 100 recruits. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 18.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks last season. He was named second-team Division I All-Arizona by AZcentral.com and first-team All-Tribune by the East Valley Tribune. Nationally, ESPN.com and Scout.com have him ranked No. 12 and No. 18 among power forwards. "Payton has a very special gift of size and skill," Rose said. "He can score with his back to the basket, and can stretch the defense to the 3-point line. He is a great passer in the post and can put pressure on defenses in so many ways." Haws' accomplishments place him among the best all-time in Utah high school basketball history. The 6-foot-4 guard has won three state titles playing for Quincy Lewis at Lone Peak and helped the Knights win the 2013 MaxPreps.com National Championship. A second-team all-state honoree as a freshman, Haws has earned first-team honors in each of the last two seasons and was the 5A MVP in 2012-13. He was also the MVP of the 2012 5A state tournament. Haws averaged 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals last season. He is ranked 57th and 67th nationally among all prospects by Scout.com and ESPN.com. "TJ has enjoyed great success at Lone Peak," Rose said. "He has the ability to score in so many ways and is relentless in his approach. TJ is a winner in every way. He is very competitive on both ends of the floor. He comes ready to play in our attacking offense, and will be perfect for us." Nixon is a two-time first-team all-state honoree out of Orem High School playing for Golden Holt. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 17.5 points and 8.2 rebounds last season as Orem finished 20-4 overall and 13-1 in region play. As a sophomore in 2011-12, he led the Tigers to the 4A state title and was named the tournament MVP. "We're very excited about Dalton," Rose said. "He has a great feel and understanding for the game. Dalton has the ability to score in a variety of ways, is a strong rebounder and brings toughness and a great physical presence." Toolson he hails from Gilbert, Ariz. The 6-foot-5 guard did it all last season playing for Derrick Donaldson at Highland High School, averaging 18.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks while earning All-Arizona honors from AZcentral.com. He put up similar numbers his sophomore season when he averaged 18.4 points and 6.3 boards. "We love Jake's game," Rose said. "He has a great basketball IQ and helps his team win in so many ways. He is a great shooter, can drive the ball, in a very good rebounder and really understands the game. He's a natural fit for us." While all five have signed National Letters of Intent, Dastrup, Haws, Nixon and Toolson plan to serve two-year missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to enrolling at BYU in the fall of 2016. Andrus plans to play for the Cougars next season. Rose will also welcome the return of Chatman and Neilson from LDS missions. Chatman, a 6-foot-4 guard who originally signed in November 2011, is currently serving in Taiwan and will return in April. The son of former Cougar great Jeff Chatman, Jordan Chatman was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Washington his senior season when he averaged 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals at Union High School. "Jordan will be a great addition to our team next year," Rose said. "His size, skill set and versatility give him the ability to play multiple positions. He can really score, and is a physical defender. We're looking forward to having Jordan in our program." Neilson, a 6-foot-10 center, averaged 15.3 points, 11.3 points and 5.0 blocks as a senior while leading Mission Viejo High School to a record of 29-3. He originally signed with BYU in November 2010. Neilson earned second-team all-state and All-CIF honors. He will return from his mission in Alabama in December and enroll at BYU for the 2014 winter semester. "Isaac is a winner and a very skilled big man," Rose said. "He runs the floor very well, and is an excellent shot blocker. He'll give us a great presence underneath the basket on both ends of the floor." Basketball Briefs BYU is currently 4-0 with wins over Weber State, Stanford, Mount St. Mary's and Colorado Mesa. Here is my early season assessment of BYU basketball based on those four games: Dave Rose was right. Eric Mika and Kyle Collinsworth are very good players. They have played how he said they would. Matt Carlino is good and bad. Fortunately, this season he has been 97 percent very good and only 3 percent bad. That is a big improvement from his 70-30 percentage numbers of last season. BYU needs a very good Carlino and so far he has delivered. Nate Austin is improved and has learned his role. Anson Winder is healthy and it shows. Frank Bartley is young, but very talented. His upside could be unlimited. Tyler Haws is not healthy. When he is, he is still BYU's best player. When he isn't healthy, shoot him up with pain killers and he will still be BYU's best player. Luke Worthington needs experience and time, but as a freshman, he has been better than Austin was as a freshman. Skyler Halford is the guy that has made Carlino better. He gives Rose a serviceable to occasionally, for a few minutes, a spectacular replacement for Carlino. Halford is the competitive reason that Carlino can be controlled by Rose and has reduced his poor play moments to only 3 percent of his court time. Josh Sharp is serviceable in a pinch, but still 3-5 inches short of being a real front court contributor. That's why Bronson Kaufusi, in my opinion, will rejoin the team in Januar Last season BYU couldn't shoot 1-of-21 from beyond the arc and win. This year, they can do that and still win. That is a testament to their open court game, and ability to defend when pushed and prodded by Rose. This team won't go undefeated, but they will be indefatigable and fun to watch. I see NCAA tournament as a gimme. Ladies before Gentlemen In women's basketball, the Lady Cougars are currently 3-0 on the year. Their latest win was a 70-69 overtime victory over Boston College in Provo. They also defeated UNLV on the road and opened the season with a win in Provo against South Dakota State. In soccer, BYU defeated Weber State 4-0 in the opening round of the College Cup playoffs. Next up for the Lady Cougars will be Colorado. That game will be played at Tallahassee, Florida. In Volleyball, the BYU women swept both Gonzaga and Portland in Provo last week. They now will finish out the regular season with a title deciding match against San Diego on the road. In cross country, the Cougar women were extended an at large berth in the National Cross Country Championship. That will take place in Terre Haute, IN this coming Saturday. Also in cross country, men got the biggest win of the season when the NCAA relented on a final appeal for Jared Ward, BYU's best runner and allowed him to compete as a senior this season. He will join an already strong BYU squad and participate in the men's side of the NCAA cross country championship. That meet is also held at Terre Haute on Saturday. BYU Television Timetable BYU vs. Iowa State (Men's Basketball) Wednesday, Nov 20 at Provo Tipoff: 7:30 pm Mountain Time TV: ESPNU BYU vs. Notre Dame Saturday, Nov 23 at South Bend Kickoff: 1:30 pm Mountain Time TV: NBC BYU vs. Texas (Men's Basketball) Monday, Nov 25 at Kansas City Tipoff: 5:30 pm Mountain Time TV: ESPNU BYU vs. DePaul/Wichita State (Men's Basketball) Tuesday, Nov 26 at Kansas City Tipoff: TBA TV: ESPN2 or ESPNU BYU vs. Washington State (Women's Basketball) Tuesday, Nov 26 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Nevada Saturday, Nov 30 at Reno Kickoff: 1:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS Sports Network BYU vs. Arizona (Women's Basketball) Saturday, Nov 30 at Provo Tipoff: 2:00 pm Mountain Time TV: BYUtv BYU vs. Utah State (Men's Basketball) Saturday, Nov 30 at Salt Lake City Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: BYUtv
