East Carolina Pirates Jsi Hatfield runs the ball whereas enjoying BYU Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Provo, Utah. The Pirates gained 27-24. October was robust sledding for the Cougars, who open November with a giant check at Boise State. Ben B. Braun, Deseret Information
BYU coach Kalani Sitake walks the sideline throughout sport in opposition to East Carolina Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Provo, Utah. The Pirates gained 27-24. Ben B. Braun, Deseret Information
It’s Halloween, and whereas different soccer applications are having fun with the annual celebration, BYU is holding a bag of rocks and questioning if one thing nice will seem of their follow patch to save lots of the season.
If anybody is aware of their ache and their plight, it’s Charlie Brown.
The Charles Schulz character within the masterpiece “It’s the Nice Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” has been trick-or-treating since 1966 with solely a bag of rocks to indicate for it — whereas his associates take pleasure in a sturdy harvest of “sweet, apples and gum!”
BYU confronted entrance porch encounters in opposition to Notre Dame, Arkansas, Liberty and East Carolina in 4 consecutive weekends. Wearing a costume that varies from week to week, the Cougars arrived at every door with massive hopes and desires and every time the payoff has been the identical — a rock — within the type of defeat.
The similarities don’t finish there. Charlie Brown attire up as a ghost, however with too many holes minimize within the sheet. He appears like a strolling potato. “I had just a little bother with the scissors,” he says.
At occasions, BYU’s protection performs like a ghost — with too many holes which have allowed operating backs to scissor by the road, linebackers and secondary.
Raheim Sanders (Arkansas), Dae Dae Hunter (Liberty) and Keaton Mitchell (ECU) may simply as properly be Frankenstein, Werewolf and Dracula as they've grabbed, clawed and sucked the life out of BYU’s season.
Mixed, the three runners have rushed 59 occasions for 564 yards and 4 touchdowns. Should you embody Notre Dame’s Audric Estime and Logan Diggs, who collectively went for 191 yards on 31 carries, the nightmare quantity solely grows.
BYU’s protection has been left maligned each bodily and psychologically with their our bodies and their egos equally bruised. Nevertheless, in two of the 4 latest losses, Notre Dame and ECU, the protection gave the offense the ball within the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win.
How completely different would this Halloween really feel if BYU was 6-3 and bowl eligible as a substitute of 4-5 and holding a bag of rocks? All three phases of the sport share the blame — offensive scoring, defensive containment and sporadic particular groups.
October was tough from begin to end with a number of hopeful moments scattered about, solely to be crushed in the long run — one other state of affairs they share with Charlie Brown.
Yearly Lucy talks him into kicking that soccer, even promising execution with authorized documentation. However irrespective of his optimism and good intentions, yearly, she pulls the ball away on the final second and lets him fall flat on his again.
To Charlie Brown’s credit score, he has by no means missed a efficiency attributable to an damage, not like the rising variety of absentees on BYU’s roster.
Whereas the fact of the “Nice Pumpkin” is debatable (see Linus vs. Lucy), the patch of grass behind the Pupil Athletic Constructing could be very actual and it'll decide how honest BYU is in its quest to beat Boise State on Saturday and hold its bowl hopes alive. The extra honest the follow — the higher their possibilities.
The 55,000 loyal Cougar followers, who sat within the chilly Friday night time ready for one thing good to occur, can relate to Linus as he tries to reassure Sally, that regardless of public opinion, ready within the pumpkin patch nonetheless beats going to the Halloween celebration.
“He’ll be right here, you'll be able to wager on that! Linus is aware of what he’s speaking about! Linus is aware of what he’s doing!” Sally says whereas defending her associate’s massive dream in opposition to the rising considerations from household and associates. Then she turns a bit skeptical. “All proper, the place is he?”
“He’ll be right here,” Linus says, simply earlier than passing out after mistaking Snoopy’s picture within the moonlight because the longed-for Nice Pumpkin.
For BYU, the large second gained’t come within the type of a beagle, but it surely may have the identical impact on their consciousness. As an alternative, there will likely be Sooners, Longhorns, Cowboys, Crimson Raiders, Jayhawks, Wildcats, Bearcats, Knights, Cyclones, Mountaineers, Cougars, Horned Frogs and Bears desperate to greet them.
Trick-or-treating in these neighborhoods may very well be void of treats for some time. Regardless, the optimism that has simmered down through the four-game skid will likely be again. Like Charlie Brown, it all the time comes again.
“Simply wait ’til subsequent yr Charlie Brown! You’ll see!” says a defensive Linus in Schulz’s closing credit. “Subsequent yr at this identical time, I’ll discover a pumpkin patch that's actual honest!”
Subsequent yr at this identical time, after a 12-year wait, BYU will likely be sitting within the Huge 12. If the Cougars aren’t defensive and honest about the kind of soccer they need to play, it may very well be Halloween each weekend — together with a a lot greater bag of rocks.
Dave McCann is a contributor to the Deseret Information and is the studio host for “BYU Sports activities Nation Recreation Day,” “The Put up Recreation Present,” “After Additional Evaluation,” and play-by-play announcer for BYUtv. He's additionally co-host of “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake walks the sideline throughout sport in opposition to East Carolina Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Provo, Utah. The Pirates gained 27-24.
Ben B. Braun, Deseret Information