Originally posted by BYUalways#1: I would love to see a blowout, but I can't get past the fact that Ole Miss is still an SEC team which means most of their players live and die football and have for their entire life.
BYU 31 Ole miss 24
Wish I could be there
Did you see that mighty SEC team absolutely destroy Western Kentucky last night? Yes, the SEC is a very good conference, but that doesn't mean that all of the programs in that conference are All World. Just because UNLV plays in the Mountain West doesn't mean they have the caliber of players, or the level of program that TCU has.
Another thing most people don't realize is that head-to-head over the past 10 years, the PAC-10 actually has a winning record (12-10) against the SEC. If BYU were playing one of the bottom teams in the PAC-10/12 from last season, and that that team had lost a significant number of contributors from a defense that surrendered 35 points a game; and that it was fielding a QB and receiving corp that had very little game experience, most BYU fans would be feeling pretty confident.
Now, if you really analyze this game and take out all the emotion and boil it down, two things emerge. 1)Ole Miss' strength on offense plays into BYU's strength on defense. 2)BYU's strength on offense will go up against Ole Miss's weakness on defense.
Also consider that BYU had very few questions marks and a great deal of experience when fall camp opened. For Ole Miss though, there were a myriad of questions and significant inexperience. Do you remember the first five games for BYU last year when the Cougars had inexperience at QB and freshman playing at key positions? That is the situation for the Rebels this year.
Ole Miss no doubt has some fast athletes, but if you have fast, inexperienced players, they can often find themselves going in the wrong direction - fast. BYU has more experience and a better overall group of "football players" than Mississippi does right now. And I for one will take a football player over an athlete any day of the week.
For all of the reasons listed above, I have come to the conclusion that BYU should be the solid favorite in this game. For those that have followed DSB in the past, you know that I work hard to view things with an impartial eye when evaluating outcomes and match ups in such situations. To that point, some may remember that prior to the 2010 season I predicted BYU would win 7 games.
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