Has the 'Holy War' Become An Unholy Mess?

You know the Holy War I am talking about... right? The yearly battle between Utah's Running Utes and the Cougars of BYU. It is one of the truly great rivalries of college football and deserves to be so. But has the whole competition situation between the two schools, state and religious just become far too uncivil and discordant? Many think so and yearn for the years where it was much more good-natured and friendly.

I think the best international rivalry is between the sports fans of Australia and New Zealand. In most instances the meeting of the fans during the game, and I mean any games, whether, rugby, league or cricket, is intense but happy. At the end, you usually find both sets in the same pub, having a beer together. That's the way it should be, a good hard-fought game, and lots of fun for both teams' followers later on.

I remember clearly, former BYU quarterback Max Hall, now playing for the Arizona Cardinals famously saying, "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans. I hate everything,". The year before apparently, Utah fans had poured beer on members of his family. Neither incident is endearing and plainly not the stuff from which legends are made. I hope it's better this year and in the many seasons to come. I also hope for a Utes win, coz I bleed red too.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

It was painful for many of my friends to watch the Brigham Young University football game against Florida State on Saturday. Not only were they on the end of a thorough beating with a scoreline of 34-10, but they seemed to flat and lifeless, unable to respond to the second-half FSU onslaught. While the offense produced some faltering yards, the defense was ripped wide open, yikes, for the second week in a row.

So what's the problem with the Cougars? Sometimes it's easier to answer with what they are not - they are not a bad team, not even close. But they have some serious holes and these are not being filled, so what they need is a little Dutch boy, with pudgy fingers ready to go. First up: Quarterback, it's either Nelson or Heaps, take your pick, but you must choose, Bronco, heads or tails! I have seen many teams in a number of sports over the years use a positional rotation policy on a weekly basis, and it seldom works.

Where this policy can come up trumps is if you have one under-performing player who has lots of potential AND you know from close observation that his, or her, personality can handle rotation. What this injects into the right person is an attitude that says, "I'm gonna show you who's best!" On the other hand, a more fragile personality can crumble under the perceived lack of faith by coaches. For me, I'd keep Heaps as the starter even if he is a freshman, he gained in confidence the longer he stayed on the field, which is a good sign.

Secondly, the stuttering offense will probably fix itself if one quarterback is named starter, the team know who the leader is, and can learn his style. Running back J.J. DiLuigi looked eager and explosive, the one bright spark in the game. Last, for the moment, a defense that needs help and direction against the running game, where they fall down - sometimes literally. Both the Air Force and the Seminoles found big holes to run through. While they might not get back into the Top 25 Rankings, BYU I am sure, will improve vastly over the season and with Heaps around, will provide stern tests for most teams in the years to come.