BYU/Nebraska football tickets through friend - $75 each on row 20, North End Zone; Three years ago - BYU/ND in South Bend - $83 through ND online ticket sales, Row 15 South End Zone. Those are my two big games. Notice, $75 each for the End Zones. My BYU season tickets this year, Row 9, North End Zone - $180 for six games ($30 each). Oh, and the Nebraska season tickets also come with an expected annual donation per seat plus the ticket price. My point, we have a pretty good deal going on here for Cougar football. Granted, those two teams have far better teams coming to play in their stadium right now, but our home schedules are getting better.

I realize many on CB are frustrated with what happens when we end up 8-5 and we expected 10-3 or 11-2 but in all reality we should have won at least two of those games last year (Nevada and Memphis, and probably UCF) which would have put us at 11-2. Our frustration comes from losing games we feel we should have won. I was thinking a perfect season as Taysom led the team to 4-0 and then watched as we imploded for 4 games. This year we have an incredible schedule, but my blue goggles are really bright right now. Maybe the same old thing happens and it breaks my heart again, but there is always that hope. It is the hope that carries me every season, the possibility that we could have a special year. As long-term fans we are always "Fully Invested" and that is what makes the losses so painful, especially when we knew we should win. These players want to win, they hate to lose. Anybody who has played and is that committed hates losing.

My BYU goggles are snug and fit perfectly over my eyes. I graduated from Nebraska and will have the best of both worlds being at the game, but I really want to see BYU win, and I believe that they can and will. I think BYU will win against Boise State with some of the personnel losses they had this year. Then comes UCLA. UCLA scares me because they are tough, and have great players in place, but they are up and down. If we catch them down I think we win, but if they are up I think they will win by one touchdown. Harbaugh is going to do great things at Michigan but there again I think BYU can go in and take the game, much like they did to Texas last year. At that point we will be 3-1 and will be in the top 25.

We should easily beat UConn, and East Carolina will be tough (and will be thugs much like Memphis) but we should still beat them here. Cincinnati will all be based upon what pressure we put on Gunner Kiel. If we pressure him some we will win, but if we don't pressure him it will turn into a shootout and hopefully we will still win. I am going with the win since it will be here in Provo, and I think the altitude will get to them by the fourth quarter. Wagner will be another blowout like Savannah State but will give a week's rest to the starters. At that point we would be 7-1 and ranked in the top 10-15. San Jose State will be another win where we should take it by at least 10 points.

Missouri is going to be a real challenge. They are a tough team, and playing in Arrowhead will be another challenge for us. I would really like to see us win but I think we will lose by 6 just because of a couple of blown plays. Fresno State and Utah State should both be wins just because we will be playing for the seniors who will be ending their BYU careers and will want to go out with quality wins. Chuckie Keaton will be a seventh-year starter by then and will have already been knocked out this year so we will get their back-up. Final tally on the year is 10-2 with a bowl game to go 11-2 with a win against Utah in the Las Vegas bowl.

There are my blue goggles. An incredible year with Taysom, Jamal, and Mitch all healthy, and the defense living up to what Bronco can do and his schemes. A Taysom injury and it all goes out the window, but at least the goggles are on for now. Go Cougars. 37 days!!!