Win at Home

Win at home.

That's what the collective teams of BYU's women's volleyball, women's soccer, and football teams have to do this week. That's tilts with Idaho State, Utah State, Oregon State (x2), Boise State, (here a state, there a state, everywhere a state state) and UNLV this week. All in the friendly confines of the Smith Fieldhouse, South Field, and Lavell Edward Stadium respectively for the Cougar teams.

It should matter. It should matter that your team is playing at home, that the opposing team has to go into the teeth of a roaring, enthusiastic, jam-packed crowd.

First of all, its just math. A team that might not otherwise perform as well gets a few percentage points boost when they are at home. While teams with better away records do happen, home records are most often better by a wide margin.

For BYU, there should be no such thing as not being favored in a home game. Especially this year, with the general excellence of almost all the major sports. Even if its only by .0001%.

Part of it is pride. No, not the "we're better than you" type--insert your standard disclaimer here. I of course mean the confidence and self-esteem you have when you see something that you have put emotional capital into, and attributed worth to, is threatened. Its a matter of possession. It is YOUR field. YOUR building. Even if you've never set foot on it and tossed a ball, that ownership of the fan and the team combined is what makes certain home advantages indomitable.

And it can't be one or the other. It has to be both team AND fans that buy into that pride in order for that magical mixture to be complete. Most of the time, BYU has had that.

But that doesn't mean there can't be some improvement. Woman's Basketball, for how good they are, deserves a lot more. A lot more. Frankly, this is the most disgraceful showing by the fans. In some ways it's understandable, as the women's team is sometimes forced to play at unfavorably early game times. But honestly--their tickets are incredibly cheap, you can sit right next to the action, and they are good--great trapping defense, uptempo offense, in every game. Lexi Eaton deserves a great audience for her senior year.

Attendance has fallen for men's basketball games, too. Not too long ago (during the Mountain West/Jimmer years) they were the hottest ticket in the state. Some of the luster of yesteryear has also worn off for football games--when was the last time there was a nice sellout?

There SHOULD be one for Boise State this weekend. A stadium of solid white--no Skittles for you!

If nothing else, #DoitforTaysom.

The Cougars are doing their part---they're all fielding exciting teams with amazing players that you--yes, you--should go support. Yes, the championships haven't been rolling in quite like they used to. Yes, sometimes it's nice to sit back and listen to the ESPN or BYUtv commentary from the comfort of your couch. But nothing is quite like being at the venue. That's where real fandom is made. That's where the real emotion--the true keystone of collegiate sports--is best felt.

Fans have done their part for soccer this year. But ramp it up a bit, and the overall excellence of the BYU sports could get that extra boost to be dominant at home, this week and every week.

Its something BYU should be known for. Be it for volleyball or soccer or basketball or football, teams should fear to come to Provo.



Quick hits:

Football:

For some reason, I seem to subconsciously look down on Boise State. It just seems like BYU should beat them. I can't come up with a logical explanation for this. I remember the 55-point shellacking from last year. I know that the Bronco's lead the series by a fair margin (4-1) and are 28-1 against Utah teams since 2000. It should be clear that a Tanner Mangum, a true freshman starting in his first game fresh off "the mish," is not going to mean all smooth sailing. (There WILL be growing pains, mark my words, but I think he'll have enough in him to win it). But it still seems like Boise State shouldn't win. Whether harsh reality soon shakes me from this delusion, or if I'm tuned into some sort of precognitive wave, we will soon find out. Either way, I expect the game to be close. After all--BYU is at home.

Women's Soccer:

One of the unfortunate sides of soccer is there are ties. This causes teams like Utah State to play the game pretty much seeking a tie. They packed it in defensively, making few forays into their offensive third (although some solid Cougar possession and passing was partially thanks to this) but from the way they delayed and maintained, it was clear the Aggies were thinking a tie was as good as a win. This led to a barrage of shots from the increasingly frustrated Cougars. Thankfully, it finally payed off when Bizzy Phillips launched in a goal from 55 yards off of free kick, the only of the match for both teams, spoiling the Aggie's spoiler strategy. Even so, Ashley Hatch seemed perhaps a bit too desperate to put something in, and was hitting a lot of balls very high--and she wasn't the only one. The bombardment tallied to 35-8 shots in favor of BYU, but only 8 on frame. If the Cougars keep the shots a little lower, they will go back to dominating instead of merely escaping.

Women's Volleyball:

Speaking of escapes, the Cougar spikers really got one by the skin of their teeth. After blowing out a seemingly over-matched Idaho State in the first set 25-7 with the help of Ciara Parker's three consecutive aces right out of the gate, the Cougars let down their guard and the Bengals took the next two sets--in fact, the home team never even managed to lead in them. It was gut-check time, and BYU had to step up and show some home court pride. They did, partially in thanks to the insertion of Danelle Parady into the lineup. A career high seven kills on some crafty hits from someone far off the scouting report, along with the re-emergence of the Cougar's famous block, combined to give the home team the tough win in 5. It wasn't without a fight, though--the Bengals rallied to keep it close in the fifth, but they couldn't stop the momentum the Cougars had built up behind a decent crowd of 1500.


Quote of the Week:

“All the guys who are concerned with the run game can go put on a hat and let them coach,” --Robert Anae

Upcoming games:

The Cougars are 2 of 2 so far in their big home stand week, but 4 more to go:

WVLB vs Oregon State Sep 11, 2015 7:00 PM MDT TV BYUtv
WSOC vs UNLV Sep 12, 2015 6:00 PM MDT Radio ESPN960 / Cougar IMG Sports Network
WVLB vs Oregon State (yes, again) Sep 12, 2015 6:00 PM MDT (no coverage, live stats only--go before the football game! It times out perfectly)
FTB vs Boise State Sep 12, 2015  8:15 PM MDT TV ESPN 2 Radio Cougar IMG Sports Network/ KSL News Radio 102.7 FM 1160 AM