BYU upsets Oklahoma

At the risk of being lynched by those who read this, I am going to make a quick comment about the BYU upset that went down in the inaugural edition of the Cowboy Classic in Arlington, Texas.

What a game.

This, if anything, helps USU because it now increases their strength of schedule. The biggest upset of week one makes the showdown that's going to be played in a month in Provo that much more of a big deal for USU. A win against what could possibly be a top-10 team at that point would not only be huge for USU, but for the entire WAC. It would validate the entire program and make the Aggies a true talking point for contention in the WAC, especially because Boise State is going to be playing USU in Romney Stadium in November. This is a big deal not only for BYU and everyone that will play them for the rest of the year, but also for the entire state of Utah. No one can deny that there are definite flaws in the BCS system now. Two Mtn West teams have struck gold against legitimate, powerful, historic programs within a two-game stretch. Both were games that were on ESPN, on national TV. BYU not only just validated the MTN west, but also the WAC, the state of Utah, and every non-BCS conference team in the country.

It's a big deal.

View the ESPN recap here

View what SI has to say about it.

I would also like to give a wag of my finger to ESPN's coverage of the game. They are discounting this win because Bradford was injured at the end of the 1st half and didn't return. I would imagine as well that most of the nation's media and coaches, not having watched this game, will also discount this win because of the Bradford injury. That will hurt their ranking. I think it's very important to give credit where credit is due.

Now, USU and Oklahoma do not play the same type of game. USU does not have the weight of Oklahoma, but they also do not play the same type of defense that USU plays. USU plays a man, speed-intensive defense. I certainly still think that USU can stand a chance against BYU, especially if they work harder than BYU leading into that game. BYU is not faster than USU.

That being said, all the questions about BYU's O-line and defense were answered tonight. That spells problems for any opponent barring any injury to BYU, and I don't think in a rebuilding year USU will be able to get the penetration that USU will need to rush Max Hall.

That's about the only bright spot for a USU fan that I can see coming out of this game - if USU somehow manages to pressure Hall, they can make him err. When he was pressured by Oklahoma's line, he threw riskier passes, was sacked aplenty, and threw two interceptions. That really is the key to beating BYU, pressuring Hall into making mistakes.

Also, I would like to eat my words. I went down on the record as saying the USU was more likely to cover the spread than BYU was. Now, both covered the 21-point spread, but I did not think that BYU was going to be within three touchdowns of Oklahoma. I thought their defense would be slower, the injuries in camp would weaken them too much, and the offensive line would give away too much only because of their inexperience.

Bottom line, BYU beat Oklahoma. Western football just got that much better. The nation should recognize