BYU vs. Oklahoma: So 1990? The BYU Cougars Have Been Here Before

Well it is finally here Cougar fans, the opening week of college football has come and yet as the BYU Cougars season opener vs. the 3rd ranked Oklahoma Sooners draws closer, I can't help but notice the similarities to a game played almost 20 years ago.

The year was 1990 and, much like this year, the BYU Cougars we slated to play one of the most dominant teams in the country, the Miami Hurricanes who were ranked number one in the country.

The Cougars came into the game ranked 16th, but still no one really gave them a chance to give "the U" much trouble. But behind a superman like performance from Heisman hopeful Ty Detmer the Cougars were able to defeat the Hurricanes 28-21 despite their disadvantage in size and speed. The win would eventually help Ty Detmer win the only Heisman trophy in school history.

That game keeps coming up in my mind when I look at what is in front of the Cougars this week in Oklahoma. They are obviously superior in talent, speed, and they have the returning Heisman trophy winner in Sam Bradford. Also, no one is giving them a chance to win despite BYU faithful around the country. It's just so similar to 1990 and that gives me a good feeling about Saturday.

Oklahoma is no doubt extremely talented, but there are a few things that BYU could exploit to get an edge. The Sooners do return a load of offensive starters along with Bradford, but only one on the offensive line which could give BYU the chance to put pressure on Bradford. BYU senior DE Jan Jorgenson is one of the best pass rushers in the country and should get some help from the rest of the D Line this year which will allow him to be more effective off the edge.

However, Mendenhall will have to revert to his old blitzing ways because last year he seemed reluctant to bring blitzes with any regularity and never on third down. I don't really know what happened to his play calling because when he started at BYU he instantly made the Cougar defense one of the top 25 best every year because they pressured the QB and last year they showed signs of it earlier in the year, but disappeared at the end when it mattered.

The Cougars must also be more physical than the Sooners on offense and defense. Much like the Cougar D was in 1990 in the fourth quarter when they stuffed the Hurricanes two times to preserve the win. Also, the Cougars will also be breaking in a new O line vs. one of the better D lines in the country.

Max Hall, I really hope, has shed all last year from his memory because in honesty it wasn't great. Personally, I would take sophomore Max Hall over junior Max Hall simply because in his sophomore year he spread the ball around and made the right reads. Last year he threw to Collie and Pitta and that's about it. He could learn a lot from watching Ty Detmer torch the Hurricane defense for 406 yards with six stitches in his chin because it will take that kind of gutsy performance against the Sooners.

If the Cougars are looking for inspiration, that incredible game in 1990 is it. Everything that they are about to face is in that game. If I was Bronco Mendenhall that is the tape I would for sure play at least once.

"Great moments come from great opportunity." Kurt Russel said that when he played Herb Brooks in the movie Miracle right before the USA hockey team played the USSR in the 1980 Olympics. Well Cougar fans opportunity is knocking now let's see if the 2009 Cougars can answer like that of the 1990 Cougars.

Rise and Shout!!