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Summarized by Kent Larsen
BYU Loses, SportsLine Gets It Right, and Wrong
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA -- BYU's football team lost their season opener
against #2 ranked Florida State in a 29-3 drubbing Saturday night
that nearly cost the Cougars their NCAA-record streak of 313 games
without a shut-out. Widely expected to lose, the Cougars complied,
by a margin just slightly larger than the 23 1/2 points given them by
Las Vegas odds-makers.
Sports columnists vacillated about what the results may mean for the
rest of the Cougar's season. Supporters took solace in the defence's
holding the Seminoles virtually scoreless after the first 17 1/2
minutes of the game. Even Seminole's coach Bobby Bowden acknowledged
the performance. "Brigham Young had every disadvantage there was. The
humidity was in our favor, the heat. Everything was in our favor and
they battled us even, in my opinion."
But pessimists claim that Florida State didn't perform well in the
game, noting that BYU's defense held the Seminoles to just 57 yards
rushing and that Florida State's offensive line allowed 4 sacks.
Quarterback Chris Weinke was forced to throw 50 times because BYU
kept the team from its preferred running game.
In the end, however, BYU's performance wasn't strong enough,
sportswriters agreed. SportsLine's Dennis Dodd was perhaps nastier
than others in his assessment of BYU's performance, asking, "When,
for example, was the last time BYU had neither a quarterback nor a
prayer?" He particularly criticized BYU's quarterback, saying "BYU
sophomore quarterback Bret Engemann played like he was Larry King
instead of just the son-in-law of the talkmeister."
He may be right that Engemann didn't play well, but he also has his
facts wrong. Engemann is Larry King's brother-in-law, not his
son-in-law. The closest Larry King has to a son-in-law at BYU is his
step son (and Engemann's nephew), Danny Southwick, who joined BYU's
team as a freshman quarterback this year.
Sources:
Defending national champs quiet Cougars in Pigskin Classic
CBS Sportsline 27Aug00 S3
By Dennis Dodd: SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Hey, Chris. At least you're not as old as ......
Jacksonville FL Times-Union 26Aug00 S2
By Gene Frenette
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