HB Arnett's "Lite" <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 801 372 0819 Vol. 38, Issue 5 -B, August 31, 2018 Gumbel and Gump Give Some Analysis of BYU Football for 2018 "How can you rank BYU No. 1? Who'd they play -- Bo Diddley Tech?" Bryant Gumbel said in November 1984, just a few months before BYU was named national champions. I like BYU. I really do. When I was playin' at Bama, I had to run fast and far if we wanted to beat them Cougars. I think that's what Arizona gonna find out tomorrow. They gonna have to run fast and far to beat 'em. I'm bettin' two shrimp boats and a ping pong paddle and takin' the Cougars in this one. And I Concur Here's a Much More Accurate Analysis of BYU Football for 2018 Forrest knows football and I know BYU. We both concur that nobody, including Kalani Sitake, knows what we are going to get as a football team for this coming season. We will get our first real clue against Arizona. What I do know is that I hate dark chocolate and chocolate covered nougats. That was what BYU offered in their football box last season and I hated it. What I'm looking for in this 2018 BYU box is some tried and true milk chocolate and caramel football. Since I'm a type 2 diabetic, I don't want an overdose of sweet BYU sugar. I'm not wanting a national championship. I don't need a national ranking. I just want BYU football to be competitive in every game. They might get blown out at Arizona, but I seriously doubt it. They likely will be beat badly against Wisconsin and Washington, but you can still be competitive and show some physicality in a blowout. That's the box I want for this season. Speaking of not knowing what you are going to get, there is quite a bit of chocolate irony in the first depth chart released late last week by Sitake and his crew. The most prominent word used in that depth chart was "OR". It seems a little late to still be undecided about who your starters, especially on the offensive side of the ball, will be. Before you get too concerned about being "OR'd" <https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/8/28/17792094/dana-holgorsen -tennessee-wvu-depth-chart> read this. What I Will Be Watching Forget Tanner Mangum and the passing game. It will be decent if not good (more on that later). What will determine the score and won/loss record of the game will be how BYU plays on the line of scrimmage (both sides of the ball). Offensively, will the line of scrimmage get a push during a running play? If it does, BYU will have a productive run game. The running game will not be spectacular because there are no "home run hitters" in this group of backs, but if there is a push at the line of scrimmage, then this is an offense that can average 125 yards plus per game. If the line can get a push and a run game develops, then there is a good chance that this group can protect Tanner Mangum and give him time to look downfield and find an open receiver. Mangum's issues of the past couple of seasons is that he took to many hits and didn't have the protection he needs to see the field. We will know after three offensive series just how good Mangum will be by how good the offensive line is. What I Already Watched Yes, I watched Utah's defensive line completely dominate Weber State last night. Yes, I know it was Weber State, but even a BYU honk and homer could see that Utah is loaded on the defensive line. BYU's defensive front isn't that good, but they will be much better than they showed last season. And if the BYU offensive line turns out to be as good as I think they will be, set your clocks and calendars for November and the battle in the trenches in the Utah (defensive line) vs. BYU (offensive line) game. Don't you hate it when you open a box of chocolates and most of the good ones are gone and the rest all have a bite taken out of them. That pretty well describes the BYU vs. Utah defensive lines. The Utes are loaded, but BYU did get a few bites in the recruiting battles. It takes two hands to count the number of Utah defensive linemen that BYU wanted but opted for Utah instead. This is a battle that Sitake and staff will have to keep working on. The good news is that is exactly what they are doing now. There are two absolute truths when it comes to college football. Alabama will be good and BYU academics and honor code issues will make recruiting stud athletes, even the LDS ones, difficult. Waste of Time I could take multiple paragraphs here describing the talents and progress shown in fall camp. It's called hype and hope. Every fall, the local press gushes about how BYU has shown real improvement and will be a force to be reckoned with. Here are the cold hard facts. Nobody, including coaches and you and me, really know how good or bad their team will be until they play somebody else. Here's my best hype and hope. BYU will be better. They will win 7-8 games. I lean more towards 8 than 7. Tanner Mangum will be good. We will see about great after the first three games. The offensive line will be outstanding. If the defensive line can be the same, then I'm looking at 9 wins. It's that simple. Quit watching receivers, and defensive backs and focus on the line of scrimmage. After three or four series against Arizona, we will know all we need to know about this 2018 BYU football team. Yes, it really is that simple. Oh yeah! One more thing. BYU will need to score 35 points against Arizona if they are going to win their season opener in Tucson. Even if BYU's front four defensively is very good, you can still beat them by going around them with speed. That is what Arizona has in Khalil Tate, their starting quarterback. I didn't say BYU would be very, very good, just improved. I will say this, however. I still like BYU in this spot for the win. I call it BYU 38 UofA 34. Now, if I'm wrong, I'm sure I will hear about it. Don't worry, I already had a dose of reality this week when New Orleans traded for QB Terry Bridgewater. That pretty well shattered most of BYU fans' dreams of Taysom Hill ever becoming an NFL starting quarterback. Hype, Hope and Hill are good, but when reality talks it is time to listen. Fall camp in college and pros is the same. Hype and Hope and then reality sets in. Reality is just 24 hours away for Kalani Sitake and BYU football fans. I still like Hype and Hope and +11.5 points. Here's hoping BYU Coaches, Players, Fans and I Don't go Elijah Bryant with our Expectations for Arizona and the rest of the season. <https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/elijah-bryant-signs-deal- with-israeli-team/> Click here for the Elijah Bryant reference. When Hell Freezes Over I drove through the outskirts of Wyoming's Yellowstone Park Monday afternoon, August 27 on the way to a family funeral in Montana. The thermometer said it was 47 degrees. I wondered what it read in Laramie. It was 45 degrees. If you are a BYU football fan, be sure and bring a blanket anytime, any season when you go to Laramie for a football game. That is what BYU will be doing on September 28, 2024 when they face Wyoming in football. The game will be reciprocation for a game played between BYU and Wyoming in Provo September 24, 2022. The two-game series was announced by both schools earlier this week. Mapping BYU Basketball Recruiting BYU Basketball is seemingly famous for recruiting players from Utah County. The latest two are Casey Brown, a 6-3 shooting guard from Pleasant Grove HS. He is a mission first recruit. The big fish of this class is out of American Fork HS. That would be Isaac Johnson, a 6-11 post player with shooting guard skills. Needless to say, he is being pursued by the biggies, even though he also will be a mission first guy. Gonzaga, Ohio State, BYU, Utah, and Oregon are where he will visit. Meanwhile, BYU is still trying to land Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, a 6-9 forward from Gill, MA. Don't know what the connection is, but BYU's chances are slim. This kid can qualify at any and all of the prestigious academic schools like Vanderbilt, Stanford etc. Television Timetable BYU vs. Stanford (Volleyball Women) Saturday, August 31 at Provo Start Time: 7:00 pm MST TV: BYUTV BYU vs. Arizona (Football) Saturday, September 1 at Tucson Kickoff: 7:45 pm MST TV: ESPN BYU vs. Cal (Football) Saturday, September 8 at Provo Kickoff: 8:15 pm MST TV: ESPN2 or ESPNU It's Never too Early to start making Funeral Arrangements If the second go round in the CS Lite business doesn't work out, at least I will have my burial plan in place. Only downside is that there won't be many visiting my site, even on Memorial Day. Melstone, Montana is a long way away. Here's the good news. Plots go for just $15 a pop and the views are free. I bought 6.Just in case they bring back Polygamy before I expire.
