Well, it’s nice to get a win. Jake Heaps, congratulations on the TD pass. It was clear you weren’t really sure how to react. I am sure it was a huge relief to get that in there. I’m happy for you but that TD does not erase from anyone’s memory some of the other things that took place out there yesterday. While the scoreboard reflects 25 points for BYU’s offense they are really responsible for 33 points. I mean, I can’t give them credit for the safety, but I can give them credit for the 10 points that Wyoming scored in the second quarter. Unfortunately, those points won’t compute into their numbers for the season.
Seriously though, the offense did score 25 points today which put them well above their average performace on the season. They looked pretty good in the first quarter. In the second quarter they were lackluster. I return to the point I made earlier in the week. The Wyoming defensive staff figured out exactly what they needed to do in order to slow down the offense and Anae failed to adjust. Apparently Bronco Mendenhall sees Jake as potentially the greatest BYU QB of all time. I haven’t seen it yet. That INT in the second quarter was just ridiculous. Jake had at least one if not two better options on that play. He also continues to overthrow recievers on go routes. I’m not saying he won’t be great, I’m just saying that I am not giving him any credit for what he did in high school and I don’t get to watch him in practice. My opinion is based solely on game performance.
On third down the offense was their average 38% (almost the worst in the country on third down). They were 0-4 on third down in the second half. Anae continues to struggle in responding to defensive adjustments. He also continued to call plays on third down that did not make any sense. Running plays off tackle, slants that don’t go across the marker and “two step” draws. They only faced 13 third downs, which seems less than they have previously in the season. During portions of the game, they seemed to do better on first and second down. I don’t have anything empirical to back that up, but it seemed that way watching the game. The play action got a little ridiculous. It was nearly every pass. Play action does not do it’s job if you call it on every down. Anae also needs to stop all of this nonsense where Heaps is dancing and faking and tucking and shucking and jiving in an effort to confuse the defense. You’re confusing the bejeebers out of the kid. Just let him concentrate on throwing the football. All of that stepping around causes the plays to develop too slowly and the blocking schemes don’t withstand that kind of timing. As could have been expected, the offensive numbers looked better. It was Wyoming out there. I didn’t see anything that really showed signs of actual improvement of the system or the execution of the players. The BYU offense held the ball for 10:25 in the second quarter and came away with no points. However, I will note that I like the running back rotation of Quezada, DiLuigi and Kariya. They are all different styles of runners and can all make plays. I also loved hearing the crowd yell, “Juuuuuuice” Every time Quezada touched the ball.
I love defenses coached by Bronco Mendenhall. The defense is continuing to show signs of improvement. Wyoming was 2-12 on third down.They sacked a Wyoming QB 3 times for a loss of 18 yards. The defense appeared enthusiastic and they played with a sense of urgency. The players are sticking to their assignments and trusting their teamates. This is key when the opposing QB, Austin Carta-Samuels, specializes in making something out of broken plays. They contained him when he tried to improvise and they did just enought to shut Wyoming down on their final drive of the game. The two leading tacklers were Ogletree and Hunter. Linebackers should be making most of the tackles. This indicates that the change in defensive scheming and approach is working effectively. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Andrew Rich wreck people, but he can’t be expected to carry the entire defense all season. I think the linebackers are coming along nicely and have really improved the defense as a unit. The defense backs were very effective breaking up passes down field. Andrew Rich and Brian Logan had some text book pass defending moments. I thought those guys looked pretty good. The offense put the defense in some bad situations in the first half and eventually this allowed Wyoming to claw their way back into the game. This is a team sport and that is going to happen. Again, this was Wyoming, but there is some obvous improvement in the play of the defense and I expect that to conintue every week.
The return game doesn’t seem to miss Chambers at all. In fact, the loss of Chambers may get BYU a step closer to ending the return TD drought.
A win is a win and they all count. It’s good to get one and should help with momentum going into the week off. The rest of the schedule is very manageable and now the team has some confidence in that.
Go Cougs!
-Matt
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October 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am
It is amazing to consider that BYU’s defense held Wyoming to -18 yards in the entire first half. And yet, due to a couple of really poor turnovers, BYU still allowed ten points! I say kudos to the defensive effort for not allowing Wyoming to get a touchdown off of that very untimely fumble.
I’m just glad they won; I hope offensively they continue to improve in the next three games.
October 24th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Just a comment on the interception the fullback was open and he just under threw it by 5 yards. How do you know he had one if not two better options? An open fullback is a pretty good option. The hyperbole became too much and I didn’t finish, just wanted to put in my two cents.