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BYU-Tulane: Big win over little opponent
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As impressed as I was with BYU’s season-opening win over Oklahoma, I was not overly impressed with the Cougars’ lopsided 54-3 win over Tulane this past Saturday.
I mean, how impressed can one really be about a win over a team that put up less resistance than the Cougars’ scout D team? It’s like being impressed by a touchdown scored during practice.
Let’s be honest; Tulane is a struggling program. The Green Wave has won just 10 games since 2004 and is consistently the doormat of Conference USA. A stiffer opponent following the historic win over Oklahoma would have gone a lot further in preparing the Cougars to regain the Mountain West Conference title.
It would also have strengthened the argument – should the Cougars go undefeated – that BYU deserves to be in the BCS title game in January. If there is anything besides losing that is sure to sink a team’s hope of playing in the BCS title game, it’s playing a weak schedule.
That’s not to say that the Cougars don’t have a tough schedule. But, can anyone say that BYU’s schedule is tougher than any of the BCS favorites like Florida, USC, Alabama or Texas?
Recent history has shown that any one of those teams can lose a game and still get ranked into the championship game.
While the Cougars are playing a much tougher non-conference schedule this season than usual, it still is not on par with the BCS favorites’ schedules.
The argument is not whether BYU can play with the BCS conference teams or not. The question remains whether the BCS will allow the Cougars to play with the big boys when it counts most?
All of this presupposes a lot. The season is only two games old, after all. Talk of a national championship at this stage of the season, and with so much stacked against a mid-major conference team like BYU, is premature.
On the bright side, BYU is doing what it’s supposed to be doing: rising to the occasion against tough competition and handily defeating inferior competition. But, I am still wary that a soft opponent like Tulane did little to prepare the Cougars for the meat of their schedule.
That will change when Florida State visits LaVell Edwards Stadium this coming Saturday.
The Seminoles struggled with Championship Subdivision Jacksonville State on Saturday, coming away with a 19-9 come-from-behind win at home.
However, FSU looked impressive in Week 1 against Miami. Had it not been for Jarmon Fortson’s dropped pass in the end zone as time expired, the Seminoles would be undefeated and a ranked team heading into Saturday’s game.
This season, FSU’s Christian Ponder is averaging 309 yards per game passing, has completed 60.5% of his passes and is expected to test the Cougars’ secondary early and often.
In short, the Seminoles are going to give the Cougars all they can handle.
A win on Saturday will go a long way in preparing BYU for what lies ahead.
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