A few thoughts:
You said that GT's offense is tough to defend. Well, EVERY offense was tough for us to defend last year
. In all seriousness, our horrible D was good enough to win 12 games last year. That may say more about the offense than anything however. This year, none of us really know much about the defense, although we do have every reason to beleive we'll see significant inprovement.
About our receivers, BYU has never had the big gamebreakers that ACC and SEC teams have loads of. In fact, BYU probably is most responsible for perpetuating the slow, white receiver steroetype. On the flip side, these same slow white guys (relatively speaking) have historically been great route runners, had hands of glue, and have been fearless. We've been very succesful with these types of guys.
But times are changing. BYU has been able to recruit more speed and athleticism in the passing game. We still only have one standout receiver (Reno Mahe), but a whole pack of decently athletic, speedy receivers that we can just rotate in the game. This may be a big help to us in the Georgia humidity.
We have historically had great TEs, and will again have two end up in the NFL in the 2003 draft. Our lines have both been huge, and this year will be no exception. Our O line is all 310 lbs plus, and they are all athletic guys, not just big fat dudes. BYU has historically put a fair amount of linemen in the NFL as well.
But size has it's flip side of the coin, mainly a lack of speed. Last year's LBs averaged 260 lbs, but ran 4.7 40s. This was coupled with a weak defensive interior line, and the results against the run game were scarily bad. This was a historical deviation from BYU's traditionally strong run defenses. The new athletes on D are expected to get us back to where we were in 1998 (#5 defense nationally) when we were faster.
Our Achilles heal was always pass defense. Last year, the pass defense was surprisingly solid, and we lost our worst starter in converage, to be replaced by a JC All-American. We don't expect any dropoff against the pass.
In the end, we have a lot to be hopeful for this year, If our new personnell respond as expected, BYU will be very dangerous. If not, we may well be mediocre. Only time will tell. We are lucky in that our O will be gooing against your D, strength on strength. It should be great fun to watch.
As far as BYU fan delusionality goes, there's no denying that many BYU fans feel that BYU football is the biggest thing between Omaha and the West Coast. BYU has had great success at playing giant killer in the past, but has a penchant for losing to lesser talented teams.
This seems to be changing under Coach Crowton, whom you know well. His intensity has really extended into every part of the program, and we;ve noticed a great revitalization for BYU football. Things are pretty good now, and they seem to only be getting better (in terms of wins, program viability, and recruiting). He deserves a lot of credit for the 12-2 2001 team, that went 6-6 in 2000 with the same personnel.
In any case, I'll quit rambling now. best of luck, and hoping for a great game against GT.
