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BYU Football: My three BYU football wishes

By Nathan Israelsen

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Quarterback Zach Wilson #11 of the Brigham Young Cougars throws the ball against the Utah Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Quarterback Zach Wilson #11 of the Brigham Young Cougars throws the ball against the Utah Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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If you could have three wishes for BYU Football what would they be?

Provo, UT – Wandering the desert searching for the Cave of Wonders may be a fool’s errand but, if I had a crack at that mystical lamp then I would pack my bags and start looking. Unlike Aladdin, I would use all three wishes for me. Or in this case BYU football. So, in honor of the new live action Aladdin movie we will give you our three wishes for BYU football this year.

1.       Beat Utah

2.       10-win regular season

3.       Zach Wilson is the quarterback that we hope he is

First off and most importantly is the issue of the “team up north.” BYU has fallen to Utah eight games in a row over the course of almost 10 years. That means that any child born in this decade has never seen BYU win a football game against Utah. The last victory came in an overtime thriller in Provo as Andrew George caught a pass over the middle broke some tackles and waltzed into the endzone. Beating Utah is not only the biggest wish, it is the most overdue as well. Rivalry games are built upon key factors such as; proximity, history and competitiveness. The “Holy War” as many have dubbed it, has the first two, but not the last one. BYU needs to do its part in reviving the rivalry by getting a victory over the Utes, because a one-sided rivalry really isn’t much of one. This year the Cougars and Utes play in Lavell Edwards Stadium on the first game of the season in front of an expected sell-out crowd. The path to put BYU football back on track, which is happening, starts by beating Utah.

2009 was a big year as well, and really all I am wishing for is to have a season like the 2009 season. That was the last year that BYU had 10 wins in the regular season. Now this wish would be amazing considering the competition that the Cougars are playing. Just take a gander at the first four games of the season. Utah in Provo, Tennessee in Knoxville and then USC and Washington back to back at home. That is an ambitious schedule but one that could pay huge dividends. This year they play a great home schedule and games that they need to win. But teams like Toledo, Utah State, Boise State and San Diego State are not to be looked past because three of those teams beat BYU last year. A 10-win regular with a schedule like this would be huge accomplishment and would bring about a prime-time bowl game which never hurts.

These first two wishes only can happen if this last wish comes true. Zach Wilson showed us that he has all the tools on his utility belt to be the next great quarterback here at BYU. A perfect throwing performance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl left BYU fans feeling pretty good and set the bar high for the sophomore signal-caller.  As a true freshman he threw for 12 touchdowns and had a completion percentage of 65.9%. His greatest strength that he showcased was the ability to move out of the pocket, get downfield and even take a lick from time to time. This biggest question mark will be how effective he can be now that he is the undisputed man. Will he rise the occasion and be the quarterback we all hope, and want, him to be? Or will he be the next great freshman to fall by the wayside?

Sometimes we need a little magic to have the perfect ending to the story, but for now all we can do is wait and see.

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