Vandal Nation: How is the perception of the quarterback play there? Injuries, inconsistency seems to be the case there, no?
Vanquish the Foe: Fans are frustrated. Riley Nelson hurt his back but played 1.5 losses through it (and if he hadn’t played, wins would have likely occurred.) Pocatello’s Taysom Hill came on in relief but had a season-ending knee injury against Utah State. This happened at the end of the game when coaches were signaling “kneel down” and Hill thought it was the signal for “run it again,” which apparently are very similar. (Ugh.)
Nelson is back and has had mixed results. He missed a wide-open Cody Hoffman for a game winner at Notre Dame. In the last game against Georgia Tech, he tossed his usual jump-ball interception in the first half, but was generally better. He’s good enough to win the rest of the games BYU has, and then I think fans will be relieved he is graduating.
VN: BYU has played a fairly difficult schedule and has come out 5-4 with easy sailing to go from there. Is the season a general success or is there a lot of disappointment?
VTF: It’s a good effort, but disappointment abounds. Headed into the season, the four road games against Utah, Boise State, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech were circled as the season-defining games. As the season progressed, GT wasn’t doing so well, but Oregon State was undefeated, so the Beavers supplanted GT in that list of four games. All four of BYU’s losses came from those games, so it has given the season an empty feeling — especially since Utah, Boise and ND were all very-winnable games.
In the end, given the massive QB and offensive line problems, 9-4 would be okay but rather empty. San Jose State is a good team, and the chance to beat either San Diego State or Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl ends the season with a little perk.
VN: How has the BYU pass rush been this year?
VTF: Good. I see Idaho isn’t so hot at preventing sacks, which won’t be good for the Vandals. Generally, BYU’s pass rushing comes from two players: Ziggy Ansah and Kyle Van Noy. Ansah just bullies his way into the backfield with his size and athleticism on the D-line. Van Noy is the roaming playmaker of the linebacking corp. Sometimes, he’ll line up on the edge to rush. Others, he’ll be given freedom to roam and simply read the play, which works well. The two players have 13 tackles for loss each.
VN: Independence. Is it cool?
VTF: There are things to like about Independence, my Vandal brethren. One of those things is the variety and novelty of an independent schedule. The stagnation of playing the same schools year after year gives way to new teams and new road trips. I’m impressed with Idaho’s 2013 schedule. The Vandals have put together 12 games with only one FCS opponent (made possible by a double-header against New Mexico State, though). Kudos.
The rest of what has been great for BYU may not work out well for Idaho, primarily TV appearances. It would be surprising if many of Idaho’s road games are televised. This is tough for fans and for recruiting. Another is postseason play — if Idaho can get bowl eligible, will they have anywhere to go? I also hope that Idaho can keep enough teams interested in coming to Moscow. A struggle for sure, but 2013 might be a nice template.
VN: Final score prediction
VTF: BYU 52 Idaho 7
Sean Kramer
can be reached at
Vandal Nation: How is the perception of the quarterback play there? Injuries, inconsistency seems to be the case there, no?
Vanquish the Foe: Fans are frustrated. Riley Nelson hurt his back but played 1.5 losses through it (and if he hadn’t played, wins would have likely occurred.) Pocatello’s Taysom Hill came on in relief but had a season-ending knee injury against Utah State. This happened at the end of the game when coaches were signaling “kneel down” and Hill thought it was the signal for “run it again,” which apparently are very similar. (Ugh.)
Nelson is back and has had mixed results. He missed a wide-open Cody Hoffman for a game winner at Notre Dame. In the last game against Georgia Tech, he tossed his usual jump-ball interception in the first half, but was generally better. He’s good enough to win the rest of the games BYU has, and then I think fans will be relieved he is graduating.
VN: BYU has played a fairly difficult schedule and has come out 5-4 with easy sailing to go from there. Is the season a general success or is there a lot of disappointment?
VTF: It’s a good effort, but disappointment abounds. Headed into the season, the four road games against Utah, Boise State, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech were circled as the season-defining games. As the season progressed, GT wasn’t doing so well, but Oregon State was undefeated, so the Beavers supplanted GT in that list of four games. All four of BYU’s losses came from those games, so it has given the season an empty feeling — especially since Utah, Boise and ND were all very-winnable games.
In the end, given the massive QB and offensive line problems, 9-4 would be okay but rather empty. San Jose State is a good team, and the chance to beat either San Diego State or Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl ends the season with a little perk.
VN: How has the BYU pass rush been this year?
VTF: Good. I see Idaho isn’t so hot at preventing sacks, which won’t be good for the Vandals. Generally, BYU’s pass rushing comes from two players: Ziggy Ansah and Kyle Van Noy. Ansah just bullies his way into the backfield with his size and athleticism on the D-line. Van Noy is the roaming playmaker of the linebacking corp. Sometimes, he’ll line up on the edge to rush. Others, he’ll be given freedom to roam and simply read the play, which works well. The two players have 13 tackles for loss each.
VN: Independence. Is it cool?
VTF: There are things to like about Independence, my Vandal brethren. One of those things is the variety and novelty of an independent schedule. The stagnation of playing the same schools year after year gives way to new teams and new road trips. I’m impressed with Idaho’s 2013 schedule. The Vandals have put together 12 games with only one FCS opponent (made possible by a double-header against New Mexico State, though). Kudos.
The rest of what has been great for BYU may not work out well for Idaho, primarily TV appearances. It would be surprising if many of Idaho’s road games are televised. This is tough for fans and for recruiting. Another is postseason play — if Idaho can get bowl eligible, will they have anywhere to go? I also hope that Idaho can keep enough teams interested in coming to Moscow. A struggle for sure, but 2013 might be a nice template.
VN: Final score prediction
VTF: BYU 52 Idaho 7
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]