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2009 BYU Cougars NCAA Football Predictions

Written July 24, 2009 by Jason Lowry

BYU Cougars 2009 Predictions While the 2008 season wasn’t exactly what BYU Cougar fans had in mind heading into the season, it was still a very successful season, as the Cougars finished up the regular season 10-2 and finished third in the MWC at 6-2. The Cougars were awarded a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl for the fourth straight season, but failed to come away with a win against the Arizona Wildcats. This year the Cougars have 12 returning starters back, but once again this team figures to be right there for the MWC title when the season finishes up.

On offense the Cougars have just four starters back, but with senior quarterback Max Hall back under center this team figures to make a smooth transition with a bunch of new faces in the starting lineup. Last year Hall torched opposing defenses for 3,957 yards and 35 touchdowns, but will have to make do in 2009 without star wideout Austin Collie, who led the MWC with 106 catches for 1,538 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hall does bring back senior tight end Dennis Pitta, who had 83 catches for 1,083 yards and 6 touchdowns, and figures to be in for a monster season as Hall’s go to guy. Three sophomores are expected to become the new starters at wide receiver, led by McKay Jacobson, who could quickly become Hall’s favorite target on the outside. At running back the Cougars return the top rusher back in the MWC in junior Harvey Unga, who ran for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Unga and Hall will be greeted by a number of new faces on the offense line, as the only starter back is sophomore left tackle Matt Reynolds. It looks as though junior Jason Speredon will join Reynolds on the left side at guard, while junior Nick Alletto and sophomore Terence Brown are expected to start on the right side. At center the Cougars hope that senior RJ Willing will finally be able to start a full season and help sure up a depleted unit. While there is plenty of concern with the play this team will get up front on the offensive line, I think as long as Hall and Unga stay healthy the Cougars will be a force in the MWC this season. Sportsbook.com has the Cougars 2009 win total at 9 wins this season.

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Last year the Cougars had just 3 starters back on defense, and were pretty solid allowing 24.5 points a game. This year the Cougars figure to be even better on this side of the ball with 8 starters back from the 2008 season. The Cougars run the 3-4 defense, and look to be as good as it gets up front with three outstanding players back on the defensive line. At defensive end the Cougars bring back seniors Brett Denney and Jan Jorgensen, and in the middle another senior returns in Russell Tialavea. At linebacker the Cougars have three more seniors returning to the starting lineup, led by middle linebacker Matt Bauman, who led the Cougars with 108 tackles last season. Teaming up with Bauman will be Coleby Clawson, Shawn Doman, and former defensive back Jordan Pendleton (sophomore). The secondary figures to be the Cougars biggest weakness heading into the 2009 season, as they have holes at both corner and safety. It remains unclear if senior corner Brandon Howard will be able to play this season, and that means the team will likely turn to a couple of junior college transfers in Brian Logan and Lee Aguirre along with junior Brandon Bradley to find two new starters at this position. The Cougars look set at free safety with senior Scott Johnson back in the starting lineup, and are hoping that former junior college transfer Andrew Rich is ready to step in and start at strong safety. If the Cougars can get things figured out in the secondary, the defense should make some big improvements from the 2008 season. Bet the Cougars +20000 to win the BCS National Championship at Sportsbook.com.

My 2009 Prediction: 1st in MWC (8-0) Overall (10-2)
I think the Cougars have an excellent shot at running the table in the MWC in 2009, as they get both Utah and TCU at home, and the toughest road game this team has in conference play is a middle of the season game against UNLV. We will likely learn a lot about this team in their opener against Oklahoma and their first home game against Florida State. I think the Cougars are once again headed to a bowl game, just this time I think they get rewarded with a little better bowl game than the Las Vegas Bowl.

Looking for some help with your 2009 NCAA football picks, be sure to check back for our expert NCAA football predictions and the latest college football betting odds at Betfirms.

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