tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166494582009-10-12T10:12:56.359-06:00www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2392125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-37562977882570199312009-10-05T11:19:00.001-06:002009-10-05T11:20:59.498-06:00

In case you missed my announcement last Friday, my blog has a new format and a new home: It can now be found by going here: http://blogs.sltrib.com/byu/index.php

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-31610259040225679252009-10-02T10:36:00.004-06:002009-10-02T15:20:37.471-06:00

Happy game day, everyone. I have some news related to this blog for you today. Barring some unforeseen snafus, this is most likely my last post on this particular platform (google-based blogger). Several Trib staffers have already moved their blogs to a new platform, and my switch-overs (BYU and recruiting) are scheduled to take place today. So don't be alarmed when you click on this blog later

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-19624299475883478032009-10-01T14:41:00.000-06:002009-10-01T14:43:02.093-06:00

A lot has been made of last year's 34-14 BYU win over Utah State, and how the Aggies scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and were close to scoring another at the end of the game. BYU outgained USU 406-322 in that game and took advantage of several Aggie turnovers to turn it into a rout in the first quarter. Credit the Aggies for fighting back, but the Cougars helped USU's cause by committing

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-48788942727453210252009-10-01T09:59:00.001-06:002009-10-01T10:02:03.697-06:00

Our BYU football story in today's paper, written by Martin Renzhofer is about cornerback Brian Logan and how teams such as Colorado State have noticed his 5-foot-6 stature and are picking on him, especially near the goal line. Here's a link to that story. Generally, BYU coaches and players have praised Logan's play, saying he is an upgrade from their starter at the position last year, Brandon

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-16646847268880326812009-09-30T19:52:00.003-06:002009-09-30T19:56:08.795-06:00

Kyle Collinsworth, the 6-foot-6 combo-guard from Provo High who committed to BYU basketball coach Dave Rose on Wednesday afternoon, told me he would like to play one season for the Cougars and then leave on a church mission. A little more on Collinsworth's commitment, now that the proverbial "dust" has settled a little bit: * Scout.com gives him four stars and ranks him as the No. 99 prospect in

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-80291178087082347642009-09-30T18:32:00.001-06:002009-09-30T18:33:46.192-06:00

Cougar nation is justifiably buzzing over news tha Provo High combo-guard Kyle Collinsworth committed to BYU basketball coach Dave Rose today. The BYU baseball team also recently picked up a huge commitment, getting a pledge from the top prospect in Arizona, center fielder Jaycob Brugman. For more on Brugman, check out our recruiting trail blog here.

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-59824578345390770762009-09-30T17:27:00.000-06:002009-09-30T17:28:11.211-06:00

Just got off the phone with Kyle Collinsworth, the 6-foot-6 combo guard from Provo High School. Collinsworth has committed to BYU, he said. The senior said he decided this afternoon to commit to BYU, and called coach Dave Rose to set up an appointment. At around 5 p.m., in Rose's office, Collinsworth relayed the news. "He was pretty excited, it seemed," Collinsworth said. Collinsworth is widely

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-47214788787739795822009-09-30T16:27:00.001-06:002009-09-30T18:03:48.718-06:00

BYU defensive end Brett Denney isn't on the Cougars' PAT team, but don't be surprised if he starts lobbying coaches to put him there. Denney's brother, Ryan, a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from punter Brian Moorman on a fake field goal play in Sunday's 27-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It was the second-straight season in which Ryan Denney, who played

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-68584063321379494682009-09-30T14:35:00.003-06:002009-09-30T14:41:02.007-06:00

Reporters' Mountain West Conference preseason all-conference ballots are due today. So I have switched gears a little bit in the middle of football season to study the men's basketball scene in the conference and finalize my ballot. The preseason rankings, all-conference selections and other preaseason individual honorees will be announced at next week's MWC media day in Denver. Here's what I

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-7722079722656482182009-09-30T09:35:00.002-06:002009-09-30T09:38:39.906-06:00

One of the BYU-related articles in today's paper, which you can find here, focused on Harvey Unga's broken pinkie finger. I wasn't able to include a lot of details, due to space limitations, for the printed version of the newspaper, so here's a little more on Harvey's fourth finger. Unga said it happened on BYU's first offensive play from scrimmage, an 11-yard run by Manase Tonga, against CSU. "

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-11437148989380018622009-09-29T18:35:00.001-06:002009-09-29T20:19:40.435-06:00

Naturally, the big question for BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall after Tuesday's practice was the condition of Harvey Unga, who wore a soft cast on his right hand. Having addressed that topic (Unga has a broken pinkie finger where his knuckle meets his hand) Mendenhall called the practice "nice" and crisp." "A lot of mental work today," he said. "I was impressed." Addressing other issues, Mendenhall

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-1591613130694786452009-09-29T18:03:00.002-06:002009-09-29T18:06:00.666-06:00

BYU running back Harvey Unga has a new injury on his hands -- literally -- but Cougar fans shouldn't be alarmed. Unga practiced Tuesday with a soft cast on his right hand, and after practice coach Bronco Mendenhall said Unga has a broken pinkie finger. Mendenhall said the injury is "inoperable" and that Unga will not miss any games. He broke it the second play of the game against Colorado State

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-75900438600624185472009-09-29T15:48:00.001-06:002009-09-29T15:49:05.784-06:00

Just filed a story about the progress BYU quarterback Max Hall is making. It should be online later this afternoon and in tomorrow's newspaper. Earlier this afternoon, Hall participated in a conference call with five or six reporters from around the state. Mostly, he talked about the kind of challenge the Cougars expect to get from the Utah State Aggies on Friday. "I would imagine [the Aggies]

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-67632553511550489502009-09-29T12:03:00.001-06:002009-09-29T12:06:03.023-06:00

For once, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall didn't have to field the most questions during the Mountain West Conference coaches teleconference on Tuesday morning. That distinction went to new New Mexico coach Mike Locksley, who was grilled by reporters over the incident that came to light Monday (but actually happened a week ago Sunday) regarding Locksley punching UNM assistant J.B. Gerald.

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-10606346571120078782009-09-29T09:01:00.002-06:002009-09-29T09:04:31.854-06:00

Classified as a "newcomer," BYU backup quarterback Riley Nelson could officially talk to reporters after the Oklahoma game. But with the Cougars playing Nelson's former school, Utah State, this week, we decided to hold off on a story about Nelson's transfer until now. That story is in today's Tribune, and here's a link if you missed it. I spent quite a bit of time talking to people about

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-82661715479191014092009-09-28T16:49:00.000-06:002009-09-28T16:50:04.420-06:00

Like BYU, Utah State held its weekly news conference this morning, with coach Gary Andersen and running backs Robert Turbin and Michael Smith making comments and answering questions. Here are their replies regarding questions related to BYU, courtesy of the USU sports information department: Robert Turbin On BYU: "They are a very good team, especially on defense. They do a few things

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-41041493528035995762009-09-28T12:01:00.001-06:002009-09-28T12:02:53.767-06:00

The Mountain West Conference will send a team to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl for at least the next five years, the conference and the bowl just announced today. After this year (when the opponent will be a Pac-10 team), the opponent will be either Navy, Army or a team from the Western Athletic Conference. Here's the release with all the details: SAN DIEGO, CA - The San

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-87786289100792047962009-09-28T10:53:00.000-06:002009-09-28T10:54:22.983-06:00

Saying the Cougars beat the Colorado State Rams because "we won the physical battle," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall addressed the media Monday morning and said his team made strides toward improving and is eager to play this week against Utah State. Mendenhall said he loves the instate rivalry with the Aggies and would love to play USU every year. He learned on his visit to Logan last year "that

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-23632387722663863192009-09-28T08:41:00.002-06:002009-09-28T08:43:58.865-06:00

Seeing as how their offense put up 42 points, there was some hope among the BYU Cougars that they would land one of the conference's Player of the Week honors, but it was not to be. The MWC just released its honorees list. TCU quarterback Andy Dalton and Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels are the co-Offensive Players of the Week, while Air Force defensive back Reggie Rembert is the

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-90363475660088471112009-09-27T20:41:00.002-06:002009-09-27T20:46:19.710-06:00

BYU quarterback Max Hall ran for 26 yards in Saturday's 42-23 win over Colorado State. However, he was credited for only 4 net rushing yards because he was sacked twice and fumbled a snap for a big loss. Hall ran for one touchdown, after faking out pretty much the entire CSU defense by feigning a handoff. He picked up a critical first down with another scamper in the third quarter. Coach Bronco

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-1652421239772074182009-09-27T10:45:00.001-06:002009-09-27T11:09:56.272-06:00

Saturday night's 42-23 win over previously undefeated Colorado State apparently did not impress the coaches who vote in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll that was released Sunday morning. The Cougars are tied for No. 21 (down from No. 20) with Miami, which was blown out by Virginia Tech. The Cougars were passed by Iowa, which went from unranked to No. 17 after its upset of Penn State, Michigan

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-50630017134593420022009-09-26T21:36:00.001-06:002009-09-26T21:37:51.294-06:00

The Cougars didn't thoroughly dominate Colorado State tonight as a 42-23 final score suggests, but generally they were pleased with the way they played in the victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium. "Mountain West Conference football is difficult, and we had a convincing win, so I was happy with the outcome," coach Bronco Mendenhall said. The Cougs won easily despite giving up 438 yards of offense.

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-74969570580972358012009-09-26T17:33:00.001-06:002009-09-26T17:33:57.054-06:00

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. That sums up most of the first half for the BYU Cougars, although they have a 21-7 lead over the Colorado State Rams at halftime at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter -- thanks to a blocked punt and two interceptions that set them up with excellent field position. The Rams answered with a 10-play, 63-yard drive for a touchdown in

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-81172223105020743632009-09-26T15:44:00.000-06:002009-09-26T15:45:04.573-06:00

Just got word that BYU linebacker Matt Bauman, who has a sprained knee, most likely will not play today. At the very least, the starting inside linebackers will be Terrance Hooks and Shawn Doman. Bauman is dressed and going through pregame warmups, but will not play unless an injury to the aforementioned causes some depth issues. The other inside linebacker to see playing time today will be

www.sltrib.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16649458.post-19314973828216550292009-09-26T15:33:00.001-06:002009-09-26T15:35:03.138-06:00

Greetings from a sun-splashed LaVell Edwards Stadium. It is 83 degrees, the leaves on the mountains above the stadium are beginning to turn and there's a slight breeze that is hopefully keeping fans from overheating -- especially those staring into the sun in the east grandstands. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild just chatted for a bit at midfield, and both

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