BYU-Arizona Las Vegas Bowl Preview: Pac-10 Reputation, Refs, and the Rest

Some of you have been asking about what it is like to prepare for a Pac-10 team and what the reputation of the Pac-10 is.

You have the SEC, which is full of bruisers who run the power game: smashmouth football. The ACC is supposed to be fast (SEC as well). The WAC is full of trick plays and underdogs. The Big Ten is kind of a LB/RB conference, and the Big 12 of late has become the spread offense conference of potent offenses with weak defenses.

So where does the Pac-10 fit in? What is their calling card? I think the Pac-10 is the passing conference. They are fast, but not super fast across the board. Some teams boast some good RBs, but no great ones (exception Bush). The thing the Pac-10 has a lot of is tall, lanky receivers who can run and catch.

So how do you prepare for a Pac-10 team? I don’t think it is really much different than preparing for a MWC team unless you are playing USC and Oregon. With Oregon you have to worry about offensive speed, and with USC you have to worry about, well, a lot of things.

Every other Pac-10 team is pretty simple in my book. They are going to run the ball with plays like a Power, Stretch, and a Lead in short yardage. They will use these run plays to set up a lot of Play Action passes and bootlegs.

If you stop the run and your secondary is sound on their keys in the PA pass game, then it turns into an NFL-style offense, and you have defend the pass the rest of the game with an occasional run to keep you honest.

So what is BYU going to do against UofA? For starters, this offense is terrible. If I were the boys in blue, I would be lickin’ my chops. The OL is soft and slow. Tuitama, while improved, is still a below average QB. Their RBs are fast and hit the hole hard, which is going to be a challenge for the BYU D. The pass game is weak.

On the other side of the ball...their defense is no better than UCLA's, and our O better have a field day.

In the opinion of this writer, the Wildcats are lucky that “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Otherwise they will not have a very merry Christmas.

We can’t forget the biggest stereotype of them all when it comes to the Pac-10, and that is their officiating crews. These guys are the biggest homers in the business.

BYU has been on the bad end of some Pac-10 officiating in the past, but so has every other conference. It is at a point now where I think it is just embarrassing for the conference. Someone needs to step up to the plate in that conference and get things changed. The Bowl’s saving grace is there will probably be a mixed crew. At least let's hope.

By Markell Staffieri