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2010 BYU Football Predictions
by James Boyd
BYU heads into the 2010 season off a solid 11-2 season where they finished 7-1 in MWC play, and took home an impressive win over Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars finished second in the MWC behind TCU in 2009, and will likely be once again looking up at the Horned Frogs in 2010. The Cougars have 12 starters back for the 2010. Here is a quick breakdown of what the Cougars will look like this season, plus my prediction on where they finish the year in the MWC.
Offense:
The offense will have to find a way to replace starting quarterback Max Hall in 2010, and the competition looks like it will be between freshman Jake Heaps and junior Riley Nelson. Heaps appears to have the early edge heading into the fall, but it is going to be hard for whoever wins the job to put up similar numbers to what Hall produced in 2009.
The Cougars also have a huge hole at running back, as they lose 2009 leading rusher Harvey Unga. They will enter the 2010 season with three players fighting for the starting job. True freshman Joshua Quezada is the likely candidate to emerge out of this group, but he will get plenty of competition from juniors JJ Di Luigi and Bryan Kariya.
The Cougars really like to use their tight ends in the passing game, as 2009 starters Dennis Pita and Andrew George combined for 92 catches for 1,237 yards and 13 touchdowns. The problem is both are no longer with the team. The Cougars do bring back junior wide outs McKay Jacobson and O'Neill Chambers, and are expected to send freshman wide out Ross Apo and freshman tight end Devin Mahina into the starting lineup this season.
The Offensive line figures to be a strength for the Cougars in 2010, as the only change needed to be made is at center, where red-shirt freshman Houston Reynolds is expected to take over. Other than that the rest of the line is the same as last year, and overall this unit should improve.
Defense:
The Cougars run the 3-4 defensive scheme, and should benefit from the return of junior nose tackle Romney Fuga, but will have to find two new starters at defensive end. Heading into the fall it looks as though senior Vic So'oto and freshman Bronson Kaufusi have the early edge to take over at these two important spots.
At linebacker the Cougars are also needing some new faces to make their way into the starting lineup, as the only starter back to this unit is junior outside linebacker Jordan Pendleton. Two more freshman are expected to make their way into the starting lineup, as Zac Stout is the leading candidate to take over one of the two inside spots, while Kyle Van Noy is slated to take over at the other outside spot.
In the secondary the Cougars return both starters at corner in seniors Brian Logan, and Brandon Bradley. Logan finished second on the team with three interceptions, while Bradley was much more of a factor at making tackles, as he finished fourth in 2009 with 64 stops. Senior free safety Andrew Rich led the Cougars in tackles and interceptions last season, and should once again be a playmaker for the defense in 2010. Red-shirt freshman Jray Galea'I is expected to take over at the strong safety spot.
Prediction - 4th MWC: It is hard picking the Cougars to finish out of the top three in the MWC, as they have had the best conference record of any team over the last 10 years. I just feel like this is going to be a very young team that makes a lot of mistakes and I think the offense will really struggle with the losses of Hall and Unga.
About the Author
For a complete look at how the conference will shape up this season, check out our 2010 MWC predictions. If you plan on betting the college football odds this season, be sure to stop back each week for our expert college football picks.If you want winning NFL picks to beat the NFL odds this fall, then get signed up for one of the premium packages on my site.
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