Excuses excuses already raining down from the D News but do we expect anything different-best of luck in your weak conference (and TV contract). I am sure there will be many dialed into the Mountain to watch Cougs and Yewts-get a life Utahns-SO CAL is where championships are won!

No I am not a Ute, actually went to the Y but finished things up at USC, education wasn't better but the football blows Y football into oblivion. Feterick or whatever his name is, not bad, not bad at all.

Let's here some posters pop off about how they have too many injuries now and how they are going to destroy UW. UW is a doormat, dont forget that. UCLA screams mediocrity. BYU and Utah are somewhere in between there, mediocre-TROJAN MAN!!!

It seems like each day there is another mishap and a player is hurt or try to recover from a prolonged injury. I don't like the way the season is starting for the cougars and its only a few days into fall camp. I just hope nothing else too serious comes up.

Hey didn't USC lose to the Utes, in Vegas a couple of years back? And is this the same storied program that lost to Stanford last year...at home?

USC hasn't won a national championship since 2004, so apparently recent championships run through Austin, Gainesville, and Baton Rouge.

This article is simply about Fui Vakapuna's hamstring. I'm not sure how you sniffed USC out of this story, But I agree, you definitely smelled something, you might want to check the bottom of your shoe. You probably just stepped in what you were shoveling.

If you remember Kevin Feterik as BYU's QB but talk about SoCal being where championships are won, you have a very short memory. How many championships did USC win during the Kevin Feterik at BYU era? Larry Smith as coach, no championships, and several mediocre USC seasons in the 1990s. In fact, BYU's last three years with Crowton looked a lot like USC's 1990s teams. USC got Pete Carroll, BYU got Bronco Mendenhall, and now BYU is consistently in the top 25 and is 22-4 over the past two seasons, which, by the way, is a better record than USCs for 2006-2007. Maybe you should focus on beating mediocre UCLA, who you say screams mediocrity but beat the Trojans last year. Or have you forgotten that? Maybe beat Oregon State too, if you can, another mediocre team, or did you forget losing to them last year too?

Fui, the article said it all. Bronco called you out for not working out consistently enough during the off season. Bronco does not call people out unless he has reason. You hurt yourself while working out for pro scouts in June. You weren't in the draft, and you were supposed to be working out to prepare yourself as a team contributor, not a solo performer. If you would get in shape, play with hunger, and impress scouts by your success on the field with the team in real games, your NFL stock will rise on its own. Stop goofing around in front of the scouts and focus on being ready to help your team first, pocketbook second.

We won't need him for the opener. Wayne Latu can play fullback and JJ Diluigi can play tailback and we will be just fine. Our RB depth was our strength but without Tonga and possibly Vakapuna, we will need someone to step up in a big way. Don't worry Coug fans because we'll be fine. Fui will be back for 9/6 vs. Washington and we'll need his power play there and the rest of the year. But we have others who are talented as well. GO COUGS!!!

From what I understand Tonga was the better back at blocking. This means that we need another back to step up in this area, thus the former tight end doing the blocking. Could be a good thing though he is tall, translation higher center of gravity.

In any case, I am one of those who believes in the whole Mendenhall thing. If he can take a bunch of walk-ons and make them into a decent defensive backfield last year, I'm guessing he will make good things happen in the absence of Tonga, and a weakened Fui.

To the USC guy, 'me thinks he doth protest to much.' Who's talking about USC, besides you that is? USC is great but loosing to some of the teams they did isn't great. You're throwing stones in a glass house.

UCLA screams mediocrity? haha. Is that what they were screaming last year? So they beat you, and we beat them. Hmmm, does that mean anything? Guess not.

Fui is so good and HUGE!!! This one time at EFY, he shows us his muscles.....he is ripped!
Watch out MWC, his one yard celebrations are better than ever.

Another BYU injury? This will be the Coug excuse all season they can just never put together a team without injuries without the overrated Collie and now Vakapuna the Cougs are done expect them to finish alongside Wyoming in the middle of the conference Go Utes!!!

interesting coaching tactics. not sure i follow. love the articles about the cougs. it's always interesting hearing about the injury updates and of course the injuries you don't hear about like Robbie Bosco's back in 1985. it's a good thing that there are 90+ players on the roster to fill in the gaps. which brings me to my perennial topic of how title IX should be tweaked such that men's football is carved out of the picture. requiring equal numbers of male and female athletes at any given school participating in college athletics is messed up by football. take out football and then apply the equality issue. many schools have been robbed of good wrestling, swimming, diving, soccer, volleyball etc teams. it's sad for sports all around.

Fui is the man..Its just too bad he has been so injury prone..

Trojan man. USC has been a dominate program since 2002. No doubt about that. I dont know why you get your kicks off of downing BYU and Utah, two teams who dont even have the BCS recruiting power or money that a program like USC had. I know the frustrations of last year losing Booty for a few games and that costing them the Stanford game, a close on at UW as well as a close on to Arizona. USC should be glad that Oregon tanked it with Dixon goin down or they likely would have never seen the Rose Bowl Last year. Everyone knows that USC is great when they are healthy (see the ASU game, btw I was there.) We dont need a fan poppin off on a BYU article to tell us that.

I follow USC closely and respect them. I'll be at the USC/Ohio State game. Sadly missing the BYU/UCLA game..but sacrafices must be made! ha

I love the Ute fans predicting that BYU will cry about injuries as an excuse for a mediocre season. I guess they're just projecting themselves, because that's all I've heard them say about the Utes now for years.

"Another BYU injury? This will be the Coug excuse all season..."

Only whiney Utah fans use injuries as their excuse for not winning conference championships and losing the annual rivalry.

BYU will adjust to fill the holes with other well-prepared players.

To those replying to the Trojan Fan. USC did not lose to UCLA or Oregon St last year! It was the year before! Look it up! USC lost to Stanford and @ Oregon last year

Let's hope Vakapuna makes a speedy recovery. I'm sure people will step up, but it worries me that freshmen are the candidates to fill in if Vakapuna can't go. One thing I admired about Whittingham last year was he never let injury be an excuse for his teams play. It was obvious his team was affected by key injuries early in the season. Get better Fui, Collie and others! Go Cougs!!

Cougs won't cry and whine about injuries the way the Utes have been. We had our share of injuries last year, yet hardly a word nor a complaint was heard.

Utes need to learn from Big Brother and take injuries like a man.

I find what Trojan man says ironic, since the Trojan's resurgence coincides with their offense being run by Cougars. First Norm Chow, and now Steve Sarkisian. If it wasn't for these Cougars running the show, USC would still be a middle of the PAC team.

Also, Ute fans are not whining and using injuries as an excuse. They proudly state that inspite of the injuries they had to many of their key offensive players, they still won nine games, a bowl game, stifled BYU's offense, and were able to come close to beating BYU in their stadium. BYU fan will whine and use injuries as an excuse.

Utah fan, your team did play BYU as good or better than anybody all season, but you still lost. Get over the hump, and make one more play, healthy or not.

Trojan Man again just giving you props for noticing. Didn't say we couldn't copy a few things BYU does, amen, give yourself some respect but remember you are still BYU, no championships will be coming to Provo anytime soon, especially as long as you are in your lame conference! Again a few posters point out a few of our losses along the way but that is because we play in a real football conference, maybe not the best football conference but certainly not the MOUNTAIN!!!

TROJAN MAN!

Trojan Man = No life..

The Y will probably be better without Fui. He hasn't shown a lot since he's been at the Y. I guess we can hope but I don't have that much confidence in him including his first year.

Unga needs a back up and Fui isn't it. The poor kid is an injury waiting to happen. BYU will be short at running back unless they can get someone healthy enough to compete.

Wow!!!! You Utah fans are out of control. I have been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt because one of my friends is a Utah fan, but I am beginning to think that he is the exception. You go on and on with your excuses for why you lost the games you lost last year, and then before one single Cougar fan even thinks of making an excuse for their injuris this year, you accuse them of doing exactly what you have been doing for a year. you sound like my kids with the logic of your comments.(If you are 8 and 10 you may disregard that last comment) By the way Joe, if Collie is so overrated as you say then explain to me how he got wide open on a 4th and 18 against your best defensive back. Also, for all of you worrying about a freshman starting at fullback, don't forget it was a freshman who filled in for Fui last year when he got hurt and won MWC freshman of the year honors. Trojan Man you are a champion chaser.

I don't get it, I'm a huge Trojan fan but I don't get what your doing on here when the story is about a BYU player. I can even see a Utah fan on here but where did you come from. Dude get on the UCLA board if you want to smack talk. Just becasue you went to BYU and the USC so what, I did the same thing.

As far as "Hey Trojan Man" Bronco having a better record than PC check out who each team played and the two National Championships before you start comparing the two. Also isn't Pete 2-0 vs Bronco?.
See what you started Trojan Man... Stay off the board and stop talking about USC in a BYU article.

are you that annoying band wagon trojan fan that was in my comms 239 class with prof logan at BYU? were you the one who wanted to be a sports writer who knew absolutely nothing about sports. you bandwagon fans are all the same. I bet you loved the bulls in the 90s with jordan. I bet in the early 2000s you were a lakers fan. I have more respect for the BYU fans who have stuck with their team in the good and the bad times. I love how you have to come to the desnews BYU sports page to talk about USC, whats the matter you dont have any friends out in socal to talk about them with?

"no championships will be coming to Provo anytime soon, especially as long as you are in your lame conference"

Typical BCS bs: we won't invite you to the party, then we'll make fun of you because you aren't at the party. You're not good enough to be in our conference, but we won't invite you to join our conference to give you an opportunity to prove us wrong.

The BCS is a joke. Time to start a true playoff to force the BCS cartel to prove themselves on the field, instead of in a BCS-biased beauty contest.

No one said BYU was as good as USC. We don't get 4 and 5 star recruits, we can't promise our athletes acting careers, we don't have millions of dollars to play with on coaching, facilities, etc., and we can't get away with gifts being given to our Heisman winners. We can't control what conference we're in, all we can do is beat who we play (same record as you the last two years), win OUR conference (outright I might add, something USC hasn't done in two years), and be stuck ranked in the mid-teens. Consider where our recruiting classes are ranked compared to yours and we are FAR exceeding expectations. If you get top 10 recruiting classes each year and AREN'T ranked in the top 10, you stink, like ND. Get off your high horse, Trojan. If Pete Carroll leaves and takes some coaches with him, then you'll be back in the middle of the pack again, like you were just 7 years ago, losing to a Ron McBride-coached Utah team in a bowl game.

Trojan Man is right who is BYU??? They talke up Collie and Fui but neither one of them can make it through training without getting injured haha they are suppose to be the BYU stars?!!! Good Luck Coug fans

i don't think byu will miss vakapuna this year -- they didn't last year. any one of the new running backs (latu or diluigi) will be able to fill in just fine. besides, hall will be so busy putting the ball in the hands of a great receiving core (collie, pitta, reed, george, mahuika, ashworth, chambers, hafoka, and unga out of the backfield) that byu won't have to lean on their running game too much.

Someone earlier ripped Fui for working out in front of pro scouts. He could have pulled his hamstring doing passing drills in the same way Collie hurt his leg. Offseason injuries happen and what Fui did for scouts is very similar to the drills players run all offseason to stay in shape and improve. I am more concerned about the possibility that he did not put in what was necessary to come to camp completely healthy. Collie, Fui and now Sorensen. Every team has these injuries - just ask the Utes - but it still stinks to hear about them. Fui better get with it cause if someone like our big freshman TE does well moving bodies for Unga and Diluiji, Fui may stay on the sidelines like last season.

When a Utah fan hears there is a BYU injury they pat themselves on the back and say "I hope BYU loses all their starters so we can have a chance at winning against them!" Well Utah fans, BYU's diminishing starters does nothing to make your team better. In the end, Utah should focus on improving their own abilities in order to get better, not cheer and hope all other teams get worse. That isn't going to happen and it makes you look petty.

it is sort of funny. Just like what one guy said above is USC has practically been powered by BYU alum anyways. Who do you think produced your heisman quarterbacks? NORM CHOW, who was a long time byu coach. And lets not forget about your quarterback coach SARKISIAN. Its pretty funny. But anyways i'm not going to say anymore because this is about fui, not usc.

Shouldn't the USC fans be on someone else's blog talking trash? Like Ohio State, or Oregon, or Arizona State... teams that actually play USC this year? Teams that USC had better be ready to play?

Let's give USC (or any BCS program for that matter) just ONE of the following restrictions and see how fast they fall out of the top 25.

a) Send some of your top recruits and freshmen somewhere for two years where they'll get a maximum of 30 minutes a day to work out. The rest of the day will be spent in church service.

b) No alcohol, drugs, or premarital sex for any of your players or they're off the team.

c) Make 1/3 of your team get married and start having kids (in that order, please)

d) Put the college in a conservative college town where anyone who's not white and/or not mormon is instantly a minority.

e) all of the above

BYU has to pick (e) every year, and yet they're a very competitive football team. Give them the exposure and budgets of a BCS school and they'd be top 15 fixtures every year.

Yes I wreak havoc on BYU boards because I went there and dealt with the entitled kids. USC kids are generally from the hood and know how to get by in life. BYU kids can get by but not without raising their nose at others "not as privileged." It is nice to be out of the bubble, my BYU Finance degree has served me well. BYU you are better than others in everything else (and I mean everything) except FOOTBALL-LONG LIVE TROJAN POWER!

Quit writing about every injury DNews, save the excuses for after the losses:)

There is almost no way an RM would come home rocked and intense like Fui was. Every player could not get over how rocked/conditioned he was in fall camp when he came back from his mission. Coaches commented that they had never seen any RM return so physically ready from day one. The personal commitment it would take to do that without performance enhancers would be infused to him and he would never be caught in fall camp (this year) behind in physical conditioning. Coach called him out in the media, which speaks volumes to me. He will never again be like his soph year. I never felt that his injuries were the core of the issue. I hope my logic is way off, because I have always wanted the fierce FUI back.

Go Cougars

Ahhh yes but you cannot resist comment like you cannot resist "popcorn popping" Very wise grasshopper BYU has "graduated" many a coach to the real power. I won't dispute BYU is a good stepping stool . . . on the way to greatness (not actually greatness but on the way to greatness)

TROJAN MAN

First, will everyone please stop addressing the USC guy. The only reason he posts stuff at 1 am on the BYU articles is because it gets everyone all riled up. Just don't respond or acknowledge him...he'll go away.

Second, Ute fans can explain part of last year with injuries. Sure, BYU had injuries but not their best players. Utah lost its best:

RB (debatable)
WR
QB (for several games)
Offensive lineman
Defensive lineman (for several games)

In addition, they lost a few other starters that weren't best, but still starters (like LB Kyle Brady).

BYU can't complain about injuries because they lost backup players or other replacable players.

Take away the Cougs Hall, Collie, Unga, the best offensive & defensive lineman and I'd like to see the team they would field....probably no better than a 7-5 team. I give props to the Utes for acheiving and rebounding like they did after loosing most key players early in the season.

Go Utes.

Re: Gretzky, Sounds like another Title IX winner.Throw out the baby with the bath water. Football and Basketball are the main reason any athletic program can exist anywhere. Football and Basketball are the only Sports that produce enough revenue to pay their way and supports all the rest of the so called minor sports on campus.Just be glad that they do so well or you can kiss your favorite womens sports good bye!! Fuis no longer a Hb. He is too big and lumbering a runner.His size and quickness now makes him a natural Fb.replacement for Tonga.Many tight-ends have the size and athleticism to play Fb, and some were Fb's in their Hs. years. Good move by Coach Bronco.

BYU
DB - decimated by injuries in fall camp - BYU adjusted and made due with 4 walkons

RB - Vakapuna, previous year's Freshman of the Year starter, was still recovering from an injury the previous season - BYU adjusted with Freshman of the Year Unga

RB - JJ Diluigi, season-ending injury in fall camp - BYU adjusted with a deep group of running backs

WR - Collie, played most of the season on a sprained ankle - BYU adjusted, Collie played through the pain and BYU rotated capable backups into the lineup to keep Collie fresh

PK - Payne, pulled groin - BYU adjusted by making do with shorter field goal attempts and punting or going for it on fourth down

QB - Hall, grade 3 shoulder separation for Utah and bowl games (same grade as Johnson's; just because it didn't require surgery doesn't mean it wasn't JUST AS PAINFUL and debilitating as Johnson's injury) - BYU downplayed the injury to avoid making Hall a target; Max played through the pain, and even though he had two of his worst performances of the season, he was still effective enough to manage a 50-yard pass on 4-and-18.

Sad to hear about injuries to any athlete. Best wishes, Fui.

I find it so funny that you people seem to base your own self worth off of the success or failure of a team you root for. People; go out, get a group together and play the game yourself and then you can talk trash. Stop equating football with life. I understand in Provo there's not much else to do but still...

Sad | 12:53 p.m. Aug. 6, 2008
"I find it so funny that you people seem to base your own self worth off of the success or failure of a team you root for. People; go out, get a group together and play the game yourself and then you can talk trash. Stop equating football with life. I understand in Provo there's not much else to do but still..."

By that logic, I have to ask you -- what on earth are you doing reading these silly training camp articles? Let alone posting on the message board? And I don't know where you live, but there's got to be something better to do, right?

Stop calling the kettle black, Mr. Pot.

Yeah, BYU fans NEVER use injuries as an excuse! . . . Well, except for against Louisville in '01 . . . and against Hawaii in '01 . . . and from '02 to '05 when BYU was an awesome 20-27.

Yep, BYU fans have never said "if only (insert name) wasn't injured, we would have won".

Injuries to Staley, Doman, Whalen, Berry, Beck, and Vakapuna are just a few of the ones I have heard BYU fans throw out as reasons they lost a game in recent years.

This string of injuries looks kind of familiar...As a Ute fan, I hope all of the heal up quick -- it makes for a long season if they don't... It's going to be a special year for BYU, Utah, and the MWC.

Ignore the trolls (USC/BYU/UofU) -- 85%+ of the fans on both sides cheer for the other side as long as it's not rivalry week.

Go Utes!!

Funny how all the cougars get a little defensive about this. Reminds me of the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Good Luck Cougars

By the way...Do you think it bothers Utes when you spell it "yewts?" TRY HARDER!!!

RE: several nice Ute posts. Thanks for the class.

I just want to say that any BYU or Ute fan that delights in injuries really shows their true colors. The colors aren't red or blue, but are a very vivid yellow. Utah showed how to overcome key injuries a year ago and still have a successful season. Maybe it's the Cougs turn this year. When the schools meet in November I sincerely hope it's with their best athletes.

The cougars better not look past those Panthers of Northern Iowa. They may be in a lower division but they look strong. They return 13 starters from last year’s squad which posted a 12-1 overall record. I’m sure they will be psyched about playing the Cougars come game day. Hope BYU can clean up some of these injuries and soon.

And please no more talk about Max Hall being a Heisman candidate. The thought shouldn’t even be close to his mind. There are already plenty of talents out there who are much closer to achieving Heisman.

If the cougars want to win games they will have to keep their "eye on the ball" from day to day, game to game, not looking forward to far a head. Let’s just get past this first game. GO Cougs!

The first poster MUST have gotten kicked out of BYU because he sounds so bitter. Injuries do happen and yes BYU will role through the weak conference yet again and yes they will go to a BCS.

Joe I am a huge Ute fan, but you cant come on here and say that Austin Collie is overrated. He has got the size and the speed to make it to the next level. So do not come to a BYU page and start dishing it and make the rest of us look bad. By the way may Collie have a speedy recovery and Fui.
Go UTES!

Tafui is the best running back on their roster. It's too bad that he's been injury plagued. Have we forgotten what he's done when he's healthy? Maybe our boy would have been better off signing somewhere else after high-school. Byu still hasn't figured out how to use a running back. Go Fui

I hope that Utah is full strength when they play BYU and that the Cougars have some injuries. That will make for silence from TUN after a BYU victory. USC is a bandit school with lots of head turning on academics. Enjoy your victories and be ready to turn in your trophies after the NCAA investigates you.