Utah State

This Saturday really is going to be a special day because we will have the Grand Utah College Football Quinfecta: What is the grand Utah College Football Quinfecta, you may ask? Well, every division 1 football team in the state(yes Weber and SUU count) have home games all on the same day. And I will be going to all of them. Just kidding. But anyways in celebration of this special day, I will preview all of these games, like what they will have to do to win, how it will affect the season and whatever else I feel like saying. Also, mother nature is clearly not a fan of the Grand Utah College Football Quinfecta because have you seen the weather for Saturday? Smh. 

Utah St: vs. Nevada @8:15 2 weeks ago Big Blue ill-advisedly got stuck in a cage with Mike the Tiger and got thrashed around for 3 hours. But luckily they had last week off to put on some bandaids and heal some wounds and they should be ready for Nevada. The Wolf Pack come to Logan with Last Chance U quarterback Malik Henry and are hoping to ride some momentum off their win against ...

4 games into the college football season and we are starting to get a taste of who is good and who isn’t out west. This highly scientific poll based on my personal opinion ranks all the teams in the Pac-12 and Mountain West, + BYU + Weber. 

1. Cal: The mighty Golden Bears of Berkely are the Pac 12’s only undefeated team left and possibly their final hope for making the playoffs (Good luck). They have not entirely over-powered anyone in any game, (ex: Cal 23, North Texas 17), but their victory over Ole Miss and their one-point win over Washington in Seattle puts them number one on the list.
2. Washington: The lightning delay game against Cal was probably a fluke and the Huskies would likely win in a rematch, but we here at PMH respect head to head wins and therefore put Cal ahead. Anyways, Washington QB Jake Eason is playing well, and UW is coming off two impressive victories over BYU and Hawaii and looks like the best team in the Pac-12.
3. Oregon: Oh ducks. Ya blew it. With the whole country watching opening weekend you let a 15-point lead slip away while Auburn Freshman Bo Nix rallied his team to victory. Oregon ...
4. Takeaways From the Aggies 23-17 Victory Over San Diego St. Saturday Night

   By Jacob Nielson

   Big-time win for the Aggies Saturday night. They beat San Diego St. for the first time since being in the Mountain West and started conference play with a solid road victory. Here are some takeaways from the game, and the season in general:

   Anxiety Aggies: The gray-cladded Utah State Aggies once again found a way to make things interesting when it seemed to be well in hand late into the game. It reminded me of the Air Force game last year how we were dominating when all of the sudden Air Force gets some fluke touchdowns and its a one-possession game. This one was a little bit scarier, because the Aztecs had the ball with time and a chance to win, and there was some serious PTSD from the Wake Forest game. Luckily the defense was able to get that final stop and come out of there with the win. 

   But I still have some serious concerns about our performance in tight games. Can the team just step up and look confident at the end of the game? If our 4th quarter performance is turning blow-out games into sudden nail -biters, what will happen when we’re ...

5. Ranking the Importance of the 12 games of the USU season

   By Jacob Nielson: The 2019 football season has been met with hype and anticipation seldom before seen in Cache Valley. With the return of Head Coach Gary Anderson, Star quarterback Jordan Love, and a talented defense, expectations are high in Bridgerland. But there are question marks as well. How will the new staff perform? How will the offense make up for the loss of RB Darwin Thompson and a handful of talented Wide Receivers? How will they handle the toughest schedule possibly ever? These questions will remain unawnsered until the season begins, but for now, lets take a look at the games we play, and rank the anticipation/importance level for all 12. 

   • 12. Stony Brook (9/7): The second game on the schedule will be the lightest test of the year, an opportunity for Mike Sanfords offense to work out the kinks, and for the Freshman students to memorize the Scottsman because that thing will likely be played like 35 times this game.
   • 11. New Mexico (11/30): The final game of the season will be against a lowly Lobos team that is expected to be last place in the mountain division. With the presumably automatic dub the Aggies post-season destiny will most likely not ...
   • Purple Mountain Haze is Back!!!

     Purple Mountain Haze is back up and running! Look for new posts on the upcoming college football season with plenty of analysis and opinion on BYU, Utah and Utah State. All three teams are expected to have good years. As well, there will always be a little baseball and Utah Jazz/NBA sprinkled in. And don’t be surprised if you come across an occasional human/community interest story. My son Jacob will be one of the contributors going forward. This blog has always been a fun hobby but other priorities have preempted it for the past 3+ years. Thanks for coming back and here’s to a great college football season in the Beehive state!

   • College Football Playoff – Just as Crooked as the BCS

     The college football playoff committee gave an early Christmas gift to every sports talk radio show in America today – a week’s worth of material and crazed phone calls to fill segment after segment. Up to this point, we had been led to believe the committee was actually acting like the intelligent, thoughtful group of 13 individuals they are. However, objectivity, reason, and sanity went out the window at noon eastern today when the final 4 teams were announced. Money, traditional names, power, greed and TV won out once again. Nothing shocking – we all know how college football works – it was just a little jolting because the committee had seemed to actually make sense up to this point.

     These were the rankings (I just have the top 16) released last Tuesday night (just 5 days ago):

     1. Alabama
     2. Oregon
     3. TCU
     4. Florida State
     5. Ohio State
     6. Baylor
     7. Arizona
     8. Michigan State
     9. Kansas State
     10. Mississippi State
     11. Georgia Tech
     12. Ole Miss
     13. Wisconsin
     14. Georgia
     15. UCLA
     16. Missouri

     Here’s the final top 10 rankings released today:

     1. Alabama
     2. Oregon
     3. Florida State
     4. Ohio State
     5. Baylor
     6. TCU
     7. Mississippi State
     8. Michigan State
     9. Ole Miss
     10. Arizona

     TCU is out of the top 4 and Ohio State is in.

     Here is what transpired over the weekend.

     • #1 Alabama easily handled #16 Missouri 42-13 in the SEC title game and secured their spot
     • #2 Oregon crushed #7 Arizona 51-13 in the Pac-12 championship game
     • #3TCU destroyed a ...
     • Week 7 Preview

       BYU takes on Oregon State this weekend. Oregon State has won only1 ball game to this point. However, the Beavers switched to redshirt freshman quarterback, Sean Mannion, a few games into the season. He has been improving week to week.

       BYUfootball: Oregon StateBeavers are getting better with each game

       Remember also that Oregon State’s version of LaMichel James, James Rogers, returned from injury in the 3rd week of the season. It could be that last week’s win over Arizona is a sign of things to come for Oregon State. This could really be a tough test for the Cougars. I know it sounds ridiculous but I’m not saying that for effect. Despite their record, we all know BYU is a very average team to this point. We’ll see how they fair when they line up against a roster full of Pac-12 talent.

       Here’s a link to Oregon State blog, Building the Dam, and their summation of the Cougars.

       BreakingDown The Cougars

       Finally – if you’re unsure of where the game will be televised here are two links to confuse you even more:

     • Week 6 Review- Aggies are the Best Team in the State of Utah

       Utah State

       Yes, they are up first in my week 6 review. They are currently the best Division 1 football team in the state of Utah. Sure Wyoming is no good but Utah State beat up on them the same way Mike Tyson used to knock out cream puffs in the first round. Utah State did what they should have and poundedWyoming63-19. The Aggies are obviously doing something right. And it wasn’t all just Robert Turbin and the running game on Saturday. Freshman quarterback, Chuckie Keaton threw 5 touchdowns.

       You’ve got to feel good for the Aggies. Many teams would have folded psychologically after having their hearts torn out 3 different times. (Auburn, Colorado State and BYU) Instead, they came out and did the exact opposite. Now it’s on to their WAC schedule. As mentioned before, I fully expect them to improve upon last year’s 4-8 record, achieve at least a 6-6 record and become bowl eligible. Whatever former Utah defensive coordinator and current Aggie head coach Gary Anderson is selling, his team is sure buying.

       Utah

       Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote an interesting piece last week about both BYU and Utah missing the good ole days ...

     • BYU vs. Utah State, Utah vs. Washington and Week 5 Review

       BYU

       So was that Tim Tebow or Riley Nelson running wild at the end of the ball game down in Provo on Friday night? I swear it was Tebow, but with long hair. If you love football (and you’re not from Logan) you couldn’t help but be entertained by what was a totally inexplicable turn of events at the end of the game between BYU and Utah State. That’s why we all watch. It’s true reality TV. It was fun to see Nelson play with reckless abandon and single handedly will his team to victory. Much like Tim Tebow used to do at Florida.

       You could almost tell what was going through Nelson’s head – “Man, this may be my only shot the rest of my college career. I’m not going pro. They’re gonna give the job back to Heaps eventually. And not to mention – I can’t stand those idiots in Logan for crucifying me the way they did when I transferred. I’m gonna throw caution to the wind, run somebody over, and enjoy myself!”

       That is exactly ...