Some of you people...I swear!!!

******DISCLAIMER*******
I'm pretty worked up right now!!!

I am sick and tired of the Associated Press, and the friggin ESPN polls, and the BCS polls, and the Coaches polls, and the strippers polls that are so quick to crucify BYU Football for any and every reason they can.

This week BYU went into Husky Stadium in Seattle, WA ranked numer 15 in the nation, and took on a PAC 10 opponent in the University of Washington, and they won. Now they're ranked numer 18? Are you serious?

Sure UW isn't the toughest of teams from the PAC 10 conference, but it's still a PAC 10 team, and BYU still won. I guess we dont reward teams for victory anymore. The least they could have done was left us at number 15. Utah stayed at 22, and they beat an even less impressive UNLV squad from a non-BCS conference. Why y'all gotta be pickin' on my coug's like that, huh?

Okay, so BYU only won by a point, and that was even controversial, but get ready, I'm about to go off about that.

NCAA College Fooball Rules
SECTION 2. Noncontact Fouls
Unsportsmanlike Acts
ARTICLE 1. There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct or any act
that interferes with orderly game administration on the part of players,
substitutes, coaches, authorized attendants or any other persons subject to
the rules, before the game, during the game or between periods.
a. Specifically prohibited acts and conduct include:
1. No player, substitute, coach or other person subject to the rules shall
use abusive, threatening or obscene language or gestures.....
2. After a score or any other play, the player in possession immediately must return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot. This prohibits:
(a) Kicking, throwing, spinning or carrying (including off of the
field) the ball any distance that requires an official to retrieve it.
(b) Spiking the ball to the ground [Exception: A forward pass to
conserve time (Rule 7-3-2-d)].
(c) Throwing the ball high into the air.
(d) Any other unsportsmanlike act or actions that delay the game.
PENALTY—Dead-ball foul or live-ball foul treated as dead-ball foul. 15 yards [S7 and S27] from the succeeding spot. Flagrant offenders, if players or substitutes, shall be disqualified [S47]. If a player or an identified squad member in uniform commits two unsportsmanlike fouls in the same game, he shall be disqualified.

I've taken the liberty of highlighting they key points to the Unsportsmanlike conduct rules of the NCAA. Now here are my thoughts.

1) This is insane. You might as well tell the players that they can't smile after a score. The rule needs to be changed ASAP. And by the way, the soonest time possible to address and change rules is at the end of the season.

2) In the case of UW and Jake Locker vs. the NCAA and the PAC-10 officiating crew we find the NCAA and the PAC-10 officiating crew not guilty....Even though it is a dumb rule, and the rule caused UW much pain, and anger, the refs followed the rules, and they did not step outside the line. BYU and UW both went into the game expecting that the refs would follow the letter of the law in their officiating, anything less would have been unjust. Therefore if the official would have made a better "judgement call" like all UW fans, and BYU haters are calling for, then BYU would have gotten screwed. And I'm not saying that out of selfishness. The call was justified, the outcome of the game was within the rules, and was just. Nothing could have or should have been changed.

3) Take a look at the image to the right. This is a photo of UW's extra point attempt (after of course the 15 yard penalty was assesed ) . We can clearly see Jan Jorgensen's (#84) hand very easily blocking the attempt, but I want to point out a few other things while we're here.
Please note that there are 3 other Cougars in prime position to block the kick. They include #42 Shawn Doman (upper center) and #52 Russell Tialavea (upper right). So don't give me this lower kick for distance mumbo jumbo. THAT KICK WOULD HAVE BEEN BLOCKED FROM THE ONE YARD LINE. Why don't we give some credit to BYU's special teams unit for making a second clutch, game-winning block, against yet another PAC-10 opponent. BYU won the game. Let's give them some credit. More that a 3 spot drop in the top 25 poll. They deserve more than that.

I would argue that this conroversy hurts BYU more than it hurts UW. Why you say? Because it turned the world against BYU. Everyone is blaming the Cougars who tried their best and played a good game. BLAME THE RULE MAKERS!!! I can tell you who they are if you want to write them a letter:

NCAA Football Rules Committee
* Not eligible for re-election.

Chair
Mike Bellotti
Division I (FBS)
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
97403
Term expires
9-1-09*

Secretary-Rules
Editor
Rogers Redding
Division I (FBS)
Southeastern Conference
Birmingham, Alabama 35203

Frank Carr
Division III
Earlham College,
Richmond, Indiana
47374
Term expires 9-1-10*

Gil Cloud
Division II
Upper Iowa University
Fayette, Iowa 52142
Term expires
9-1-10*

Randy Edsall
Division I (FBS)
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut 06269
Term expires
9-1-11*

Chris Hatcher
Division I (FCS)
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Georgia
30460
Term expires
9-1-11*

Todd Knight
Division II
Ouachita Baptist University
Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71998
Term expires
9-1-11*

Tony Samuel
Division I (FCS)
Southeast Missouri State University
Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701
Term expires
9-1-09

Ron Prince
Division I (FBS)
Ron Prince
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas 66502
Term expires
9-1-09*

Rocky Rees
Division II
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 17257
Term expires
9-1-10*

Ky Snyder
Division I (FCS)
University of San Diego
San Diego, California 92110
Term expires
9-1-10*