BYU football: Cougars preparing for the unknown
<!--subtitle-->Arizona's new offense will keep BYU playing a guessing game heading into Saturday's opener
<!--byline-->By Rhiannon Potkey
The Salt Lake Tribune
<!--date-->Article Last Updated: 08/31/2007 02:01:48 AM MDT
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> var requestedWidth = 0; </SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </SCRIPT>PROVO - They are guessing how the system will work, envisioning where the pieces will fit, and speculating which formations will be run.
Preparing for a season-opening game is always a challenge. But preparing for an opponent implementing an entirely new offense requires even more prep work.
Brigham Young's first four opponents this season all feature new head coaches or coordinators, but Saturday's opponent - Arizona - is the only one where no previous game film will be available.
The Wildcats hired offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes in the offseason to provide a scoring punch to complement their stingy defense. Dykes spent the last seven years helping orchestrate a record-setting aerial attack at Texas Tech.
Arizona's spread offense is being described as a hybrid of Texas Tech, BYU and New Mexico State, but BYU can't be sure how Dykes will use the new weapons at his disposal until it's unveiled Saturday.
"We heard different things that they are patterning their offense after BYU as much as Texas Tech, so I am not sure which offense we will see, or a combination of both," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We have had to devote some time to Texas Tech and we have certainly devoted plenty of time to defending our own offense. But I think the real key will be the execution of our system and then making adjustments as a coaching staff as the game goes <HR class=articleAdRule>Advertisement
<LINK href="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/css/site297/default.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><CENTER>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.writeln(AAMB11);</SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N3880.sltrib.com/B2302283.32;dcadv=1134329;dcove=o;sz=300x250;ord=80090?"></SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
<!-- Template Id = 1 Template Name = Banner Creative (Flash) --><!-- Copyright 2002 DoubleClick Inc., All rights reserved. --><SCRIPT src="http://m1.2mdn.net/879366/flashwrite_1_2.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=VBScript>dcmaxversion = 9dcminversion = 6DoOn Error Resume Nextplugin = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." & dcmaxversion & "")))If plugin = true Then Exit Dodcmaxversion = dcmaxversion - 1Loop While dcmaxversion >= dcminversion</SCRIPT><OBJECT id=FLASH_AD height=250 width=300 classid=clsid
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000>
<EMBED src="http://m1.2mdn.net/1413615/07GM04_Sierra_0for60_300x250.swf?clickTag=http%3A//ad.doubleclick.net/click%253Bh%3Dv8/35c0/3/0/%252a/x%253B128983245%253B0-0%253B0%253B18610302%253B4307-300/250%253B22230244/22248134/1%253B%253B%257Efdr%253D127438828%253B0-0%253B0%253B18607959%253B4307-300/250%253B22177516/22195406/1%253B%253B%257Esscs%253D%253fhttp%3A//www.utahgmc.com" quality=high wmode=opaque swLiveConnect=TRUE WIDTH="300" HEIGHT="250" bgcolor=# TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash" AllowScriptAccess="always"></EMBED></OBJECT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
</CENTER>
<HR class=articleAdRule>
on."
Arizona kept things pretty vanilla in its camp scrimmages, and coach Mike Stoops wasn't about to reveal any secrets before the opener.
"People have no ideas what we are going to emphasize," he said. "This offense has a mind of its own."
Arizona was in drastic need of an offensive makeover. The Wildcats ranked 115th in the nation in total offense last year, averaging only 253 yards and 16.5 points per game.
Last season's 16-13 victory over BYU was a clear harbinger of things to come, as the Wildcats accumulated exactly 253 yards and relied on three field goals to give them the edge.
Junior quarterback Willie Tuitama is back at the controls to run Arizona's new spread attack with receivers Mike Thomas, Terrell Turner and Anthony Johnson as downfield targets and Chris Jennings coming out of the backfield.
Aside from having game film of Texas Tech to view, BYU has the benefit of in-house familiarity. BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae spent four years coaching with Dykes at Texas Tech.
But Anae believes the best preparation he's provided BYU is putting his own players on the field each day in practice.
"You are not going to expand or retract that offense at such a scale that you won't recognize it, so I think it has been very beneficial for our defense to go against our offense," Anae said. "They have had a full-speed look for quite some time now, and that is the best thing for them."
Still, BYU senior safety Quinn Gooch admits the element of the unknown causes some defensive unease.
"It makes you a little bit nervous," he said. "But even preparing for a regular week when you know tendencies and coaches, they can throw different plays and new players in there, so you still have to be able to adjust. The coaching staff will make the adjustments on the sideline, so we can play effectively on the field."
Four-receiver sets? Two-back alignments? Multiple tight ends?
The Cougars will have to wait until Saturday to find out if their visions were anything close to reality
rayerSlaps singnature
