BYU Silences The Quack!

The BCS is most certainly the "Great and Abominable Church" spoken of in the the scriptures. It is the great whore of all the earth and its defenders are its pimps. Mike Bellotti's anti-MWC rant is proof of this. Even after the Ducks got totally destroyed by the Cougars, he stood by his statement that the MWC is an inferior conference. But it doesn't really matter what that "Quack" thinks of the Mountain West, because if he really feels that way, he has to admit that his team flat out sucks and that he sucks as a coach. My sneaking suspicion is that coaches like him don't really believe that rhetoric, they simply spout it to perpetuate the perception of "the talent gap", an artificial prestige to make it easier for them to recruit! If it is so much bigger than MWC, why did BYU average more attendance than all but three PAC teams and only 150 less per game than UCLA? BYU averaged a lot more than the Ducks. I think attendance is a pretty good indicator of a good product, don't you?
BYU did its job to dispel the myth and bring down the "great and abominable BCS".
They started off sloooowwww tonight. This was after ESPN hyped the game as a shoot out in the desert. It was anything but a shoot out, at least in the first half. BYU's offense couldn't seem to do anything right, especially in the First Quarter. BYU's defense was the big story, holding the team above water until the offense could gather itself. The Cougar defense held Oregon to only 73 yards in the first half much to the disappoint of Gary Crowton, the former BYU coach and now offensive coordinator for the Ducks. In fact, the Cougar defense was so dominant, they posted a shutout through three quarters. One wouldn't have expected such, due to BYU's injury ridden secondary, but Justin Robinson stepped it up "big-time" and intercepted two passes. One of these picks was a huge momentum shifter after Beck had thrown an interception of his own and it appeared the ducks would score. As he went to the sidelines his teammates gave him the royal treatment, propping up his feet and fanning them.
BYUs offense was destined to get things going. John Beck to Johnny Harline, over and over again. Harline 9 receptions for 182 yards, a personal record for the best tight end in the nation, who will certainly play on Sundays next year.
As the second half started, everyone, BYU and Oregon fan alike expected Oregon to come back with a vengeance, but it was not to be. BYU set the tone on the opening kickoff stopping the Ducks dead in their tracks.
Beck came alive in the second half and silenced the critics if there are any left. With a late TD scramble, he dove in the endzone, proved he is not the mechanical quarterback that many accused him of. As he dove over the pylon, he sprung up waving the fist in a show of emotion. The TD run pushed the score to 31-0, essentially ending the game in favor of the Cougs. Beck set a Las Vegas bowl passing record with 363 yards and would have extended that even further had it not been for all the dropped passes in the first half.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Curtis Brown, my personal favorite. He was a studd as usual. He had some big carries. The thing that makes Curtis a vital part of this team is not his running as much as his fire! He is the soul of the team. On a run in the second half, he refused to go down. Instead of responding to the pushing by Oregon at the end of the play, he turned and started amping up the BYU crowd, jumping in the air and pumping his fist.
The only negative aspect of the game was ESPNs coverage. Why do the spend half the broadcast talking about basketball? Their interview with Jerry Tarkanian was pathetic. He actually said that Oregon is every bit as good as BYU. Well, apparently not Jerry. He made this comment after BYU had tripled Oregon in yards. And instead of admitting that the PAC10 and the rest of the BCS are not that much better than the so called "mid-majors", they stated that, "this is a butt-kicking, what does this say about the PAC10." What does it say about the PAC10?! It says that they are good, but BYU and the MWC are not as bad as you think. ESPN will never admit that the artificial distinction they have created between the BCS and non-BCS has created a perception that there is a huge gap in talent, which does not exist. BYU is just a better team than Oregon and could be successful in the PAC if they were given a chance. And does anyone have a line on why they interviewed Ryan Leaf on and talked to him for so long? Who cares about Ryan Leaf? What do you expect from the BCS pimpin' network?
This turned out to be the best bowl performance in BYU's storied history. BYU is a team that has traditionally had a less than stellar post season reputation. They showed well for the conference who so far is dominating in their bowls. Let see if those losers the Utes can keep it up, I'm guessing that they should beat the "Golden Hurricane."