FOOTBALL
Despite a third straight losing season, the Cougar football team did see some improvement this year.
Quarterback John Beck had a breakout year, starting 10 of 11 games and throwing for 2,563 yards and 15 touchdowns. Beck's main targets this season were the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, Austin Collie, and junior college transfer Todd Watkins. Watkins and Collie combined for 1,813 yards and 14 touchdowns. Running back Curtis Brown also had four straight 100-yard rushing games at one point during the season, aided by a young but talented offensive line.
Cameron Jensen and senior Brady Poppinga were standouts at the linebacker position, and four-year starter Matt Payne proved the team with a solid kicker and punter.
But BYU's offense still gave up too many turnovers that cost the Cougars more than one game, and the defense struggled throughout the season with giving up big plays at crucial moments.
Despite going 5-6 on the season, the Cougars do have a bright out look for next season with many of their young starters returning.
Grade: C+
CROSS COUNTRY
The BYU's men's cross country team entered the season with lofty goals, one being a top-four finish at the NCAA Championships.
While the Cougars didn't quite achieve that goal, it didn't do anything to diminish from the quality of their season as the Cougars ended up with a fifth-place finish at the Championships.
'I think we had a fantastic finish,' head coach Ed Eyestone said. 'We ended up fifth in the nation. If I were a football coach, I would be getting a $14 million offer from Florida. I thought it was a great team effort.'
After losing the Mountain West Conference Championship for the first time in the conference's history last year, BYU was determined to regain the title this season. BYU edged out the defending champions the Air Force Academy to become the conference champions.
Sophomore Josh Rohatinsky earned All-American honors by finishing 22nd at the NCAA Championships, and also earned All-MWC first-team honors. He was joined by Bryan Lindsay and Dustin Bybee on the conference first team.
Grade: A
RUGBY
At the end of a long preseason, the No. 4 BYU men's rugby team finds themselves on top and looking forward to next semester.
The Cougars (8-0) played several teams, a couple of them nationally ranked, and came away with the same outcome every time: a convincing win.
On Oct. 9, BYU was the one doing the pounding when they slaughtered Utah State 115-3. The Cougars ran in 16 tries during the 80-minute game, which is equivalent to a try every five minutes.
'We were able to execute a lot more during this game,' Fijian-born Pate Tuilevuka said. 'Utah State wasn't as tough as we thought, but we still give them credit for putting up a good fight.'
The team then hosted the first BYU Invitational. Although no trophies were handed out, BYU came out victorious with a 50-15 win against Colorado and a 75-11 win against Texas.
Grade: A
ICECATS HOCKEY
In September, the IceCats were optimistic about the season they had ahead of them. They made a team goal to 'Make it to Michigan' where this year's national tournament will be held.
Now midway through the season, the Cats find themselves with a record of 9-5-1 and an American Collegiate Hockey Association West Region ranking of No. 5, one spot out of qualifying for the national tournament.
Head coach Matt Beaudry said the Cats are right where they want to be going into the break.
'We are in a good spot,' Beaudry said. 'We got to come back after the break and walk right through San Jose State into No. 4.'
The IceCats have continued to progress toward their goal throughout their season, and they have now put themselves into position to accomplish their goal, especially with their 4-2 win over Utah State last Saturday.
Grade: B+
GOLF
The men's golf team rode the momentum of two dominating performances as they closed out the fall season ranked No. 19 in the nation.
The high point of the season for the Cougars was their back-to-back tournament victories at the Fresno Lexus Classic and the Barona Collegiate Cup.
BYU dominated both tournaments, winning the Fresno Classic by 20 strokes and performed nearly as well at Barona as they finished with a 19-stroke advantage over second place University of Denver.
Oscar Alvarez and Greg Machtaler had excellent fall seasons for BYU as both finished with three top-5 finishes, including one first-place finish for each.
Grade: B+
TENNIS
This fall, the men's tennis team got a much-needed boost from younger players who helped them finish off their season in a big way.
They put on a strong showing at the International Tennis Association regionals in October, with six players reaching the third round and two others - Nima Roshan and Dominik Kaufhold - reaching the quarterfinals in singles. In doubles, Roshan and Jose Lechuga teamed up again to make the quarterfinals in doubles.
In November, the Cougars played in their biggest tournament of the season at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, where head coach Brad Pierce won as a player for UCLA. Against some of the toughest competition in the country, the team gave what was arguably its best performance of the season. Kaufhold and James Ludlow nearly met Roshan and Lechuga in the doubles finals, with each falling a close 9-7 and 9-8, respectively, in the semifinals. Jeff Daas made the quarterfinals in singles after beating the 34th ranked player in the country, while Roshan came close to upsetting the tournament's top seed in the round of 16.
The winter season is more challenging, with dual meets scheduled nearly every week. From what the team has shown so far, there is good reason for optimism.
Grade: B
BASKETBALL
The men's basketball team has gotten off to a shaky 1-5 start largely due to a lack of experienced players and also what coach Steve Cleveland has said is possibly the most difficult schedule in school history.
One of BYU's strengths this season was supposed to be its outside shooting, but the Cougars have struggled to find their shooting rhythm in many of their games thus far. Most recently however, against USC, the team had one of its best offensive outings of the season, shooting .473 from the field and hitting 13 of its 25 three-pointers.
Senior guard Mike Hall has been one of the formidable leaders of the team so far. He has packed the most offensive punch for BYU as he leads the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game and has also shown why he was selected as the Mountain West Conference's best defender last year, leading the team in steals with 1.8 per game.
Grade: C+
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Although it's still early in the season, BYU's men's swimming and diving team is off to a good start with victories in each of its dual meets.
Mark Chay, Kenny Carpenter and John Malfatt have been key to the Cougars' success so far this season. Also diver Scott Randall has gained critical points for the team. He has already been selected as Mountain West Conference Diver of the Week twice this season.
The weakness for the Cougars this season is distance. Head coach Tim Powers said he decided to not worry about that spot this season because he has a strong group ready for next year.
Grade: A-