With Mixed Emotion

The fan in me wants to say that BYU is definitely going to win and win big. The football knowledge in me says on paper this is a blowout.

Thank goodness the game is played on the field! Anything can happen on any given day in college football. While the match up is not exactly pretty, it did just get better with OU's #1 TE, J. Gresham being declared unavailable for the game Saturday due to knee problems. Gresham was tagged to be Bradford's security blanket and go to guy this year. Not having him in the line up along with starting 4 new players on the offensive line gives me hope that my Cougars can stay in this game. I don't know if they'll win and I'm really nervous to see how it goes, but I think they'll keep it respectable.

BYU coaches have made significant changes this year to help them manage the game more effectively than last year. The offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, will now be in the booth during the game watching from a bird's eye view while the quarterbacks coach, Brandon Doman will move down to field level to have better interaction with Max. The other big change is that Jaime Hill, the defensive coordinator, will take over play calling as well, giving Bronco Mendenhall the freedom to manage the overall game.

I'm really excited about these changes. They are designed to help the team improve in an area that has been lacking the last few years, in-game adjustments. If you've watched any BYU games the last couple years, you'll notice a methodical approach to everything and when that's working, no one comes close. The problem is when a team comes in and disrupts that rhythm, the team appears unable to adjust and usually escapes by the hair on their chin (pun intended) or gets blown away.

The BYU defense has a lot to prove and OU is a tough team to face for making a statement on defense. However, I believe enough changes have been made and work has been done that we will see improvement despite the result on the field.

BYU's offense is touted as one of the most efficient and high powered in college football. They will have to prove on Saturday that they can maintain that status against athletes with greater speed and talent. They will have to maintain composure at all times and play smart football.

While it's not likely BYU comes out of this one with a win, I do believe they will show the nation that they belong in the top 25 and deserve to be talked about as a probable BCS buster.

Now, disregarding all that, my fan prediction is

BYU 35 - OU 32

Go Cougs!