...rarely does any tram return 22 olayers at every spot + soecial teams, and rarely to teams gel in overall unit and position group chemistry right off the bat. I think most trpubling about these kinds of comments is that they undermine the concept of science and quantametrics. I have YET to see an explaination of "what constitutes more athletic than BYU and why?" I have been analyzing CFB for nearly 40 years professionally. I have yet to see how a 6'-2" 200 lb 4.4 40 that can rep 225 lbs 15 times playing in the SEC is somehow, bigger, stronger, faster, and better conditioned than the kid in Provo that does the same and carries a 6'3 frame at 205?

Coaching, technique, dedication to game and individual opponent prep are the reasons SEC teams win most of the time. In some cases they have clearly superior athletes on roster, but not when facing the best 40 other programs in the country. They win because the ate coached well enough, drilled well enough and expect confidently well enough to win when its crunch time. Look at BYU vs. UTAH and LSU vs. ALABAMA over the last six seasons. Neither BYU or LSU has defeated their rival. Why?

Better athletes over there? Frankly no in most cases.

Better conditioning? Nope!

Better scheme? Meh!

Better OTF play? YEP!

Better OTF game coaching? YEP!

Better capitalization on errors? YEP!

Better play in crunch time? YEP!

Better team on THAT day? Yes and on THAT day is a huge key to the why?

UTAH has been lead by a better coach than Bronco, and Less Miles was constantly out-coached by Nick Saban. Key to beating a rival isn't better athletes. Frankly BYU probably had every bit as good of athletes even under Bronco. BYU was poorly prepared to win against UTAH, especially mentally. Three of six games that started with BYU TO~TD's in the first 2 plays from scrmmage! That's the coach being too uptight, so uptight he could have cracked walnuts between his butt cheeks. Les Miles had the same problem at LSU.

I see no reason for BYU to think it will lose in Houston any more than I thought BYU would lose to Texas or Oklahoma in the last decade.

Nobody is "elite" until they prove it on the field in every new September.