BYU Football 2012: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

With the season opener just 2 days away, it's time to get down to business with BYU football! Judging from past experience, I really should refrain from making predictions because, honestly, I really suck at it. But that's never stopped me before! So, against my better judgement, here are some of my predictions for the 2012 BYU football season.

After writing this post, I found these pics on byucougars.com. They fit perfectly!

The success of the season rides on Riley's physical health. My biggest fear is that Riley Nelson will take a hard hit and break his neck or a major appendage in the first half of the season opener. He's fearless and is known for taking risks and getting hit hard, which definitely has its upsides, but also has its MAJOR downsides. If he gets injured badly enough to put him out for the season, or for even a few games, we could be in really, really deep water. The second-string quarterback, James Lark, doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence. He just hasn't played enough. As a senior, he's only seen action in a grand total of 6 games, and in most of those games, he only played a couple of downs. He has potential, but I wouldn't feel comfortable handing the reins over to him for a good portion of the season if Riley gets hurt. The third-string quarterback, Taysom Hill, is a freshman standout, and will most likely be leading the Cougars for the next three seasons after Riley and James are gone. However, since he is a newbie, he's played even less college football than Lark has. I think he'll be just fine after he gets some good plays in him and practices throughout the year, but could we depend on him if Riley goes down? Not sure. So, my plea to Riley is to take it easy . . .  just a tiny bit. I love his enthusiasm and willingness to take one for the team, but we need him to stay healthy and broken-bone-and-punctured-lung-free this year if we are going to have a good shot at winning at least the majority of our tough road games.

Cody Hoffman will be the star receiver, once again.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: It wouldn't surprise me if that boy could catch a football if it was covered in Crisco and shot out of a cannon 100 yards away and he had one hand tied behind his back. He is THAT GOOD, and I don't see things changing much, especially with Riley Nelson's improved arm strength and footwork and the chemistry that has developed between them lately.

Losing Josh Quezada is going to hurt. Don't get me wrong-- I like Mike Alisa, but losing a big piece of depth at the running back spot certainly isn't going to make things easier. How much is it going to damage our offense overall? I don't think it will make a HUGE difference, but I think it will be tougher than a lot of people are predicting.

Ziggy Ansah will come out of the shadows. I met Ziggy at the Cougar kickoff last week, and he was super quiet, but very kind. He seemed a little overwhelmed at all the attention, but quietly and graciously signed autographs without hardly saying a word. I kind of view him as a defensive version of Michael Oher from The Blind Side-- quiet and reserved, but deadly when he puts his mind to it. He moved to the U.S. from Ghana and ran track at BYU in 2009-- he knew nothing about football until he joined the team in 2010. But now as a senior, I think he'll be a real force to be reckoned with.

Kyle Van Noy will turn heads on defense. That man is ruthless. Look to him for some super hard hits, memorable and possibly game-changing sacks, and probably a few interceptions.

Coach Brandon Doman will continue to improve. He really struggled as the O.C. at the beginning of last year, but he slowly and surely improved. He might start out a little shaky again this year, but he'll get into the groove again pretty quickly and by the end of the season, he'll be calling killer plays like nobody's business.

We're starting out with a win! My Cougars will beat those other Cougars on Thursday night. I don't think it will be a blow-out-- maybe a one or two-touchdown difference in the final score. Our defense will be especially tested against Washington State, but I think they're up for it.

We'll go 10 for 12 on the regular season. I think this will be a decent year with a good chance of having an undefeated home season; however, the super tough road schedule will inevitably get us a few losses-- most likely Boise State, Notre Dame, and/or Georgia Tech. I'll be optimistic and give us one win out of those three (Plus a win at Utah. That's non-negotiable. Either that or I secede from the state.) No national championship by any stretch of the imagination, but not too shabby. Hopefully we'll also get a bowl win out of it. With 24 seniors, the Cougs have a lot of experience and a lot of motivation to get it done this year.

Can't wait til kickoff! Look for me in the middle section of the south endzone! :) Go COUGARS!

All pictures on this post from www.byucougars.com. No copyright infringement intended.