The final score was worse than the Air Force game last week, but it sure felt better watching it. Perhaps that is what lowered expectations will do. The 10 points and less than 200 yards offense was disappointing, but at least it felt like BYU COULD move the ball more. Heaps was slinging it around, with some bad throws and some poor decisions, but at least he forced the defense to react to him, instead of the other way around. Defensively, it was very reminiscent of last season's game against FSU: too many missed tackles and third down conversions. They seemed to get FSU right where they wanted them, but nobody ever actually made the play.
Offensive issues:
The passing game is ineffective because the pass catchers are not doing their job. Jacobson was rarely targeted again, but dropped one (again). Ashworth is a good 5th or 6th option, but he seems to be one of the top targets after DiLuigi. Chambers continues to not live up to the hype. Hoffman is the new Ashworth, 3 yards/reception and a couple of drops. And when was the last time BYU went an entire game without a TE making a catch? I don't recall a single throw even going to a TE (though I did miss much of the first quarter). This just isn't the pass-catching group BYU fans have become accustomed to. There is no go-to guy. There's not even a guy you trust on first and 10, let alone 3rd and got-to-have-it.
Heaps has a cannon, but he has not proven to be an effective game-manager yet, i.e. he lacks experience. He doesn't have a great feel for the pocket right now and doesn't feel the rush very well. He has a tendency to fade backwards in the pocket, which makes the throw a yard farther and take that much longer. He doesn't know when to leave the pocket, or when to step up in it. He still can't find the touch on the short passes. He seems to throw into coverage when there are open receivers. If there was a stud WR he was targeting in traffic, that's one thing, but it's often Ashworth or Chambers that he's threading a needle to. He played a lot better in the first half, but didn't respond to the adjustments FSU made at halftime. That's just inexperience (and bad play-calling, Coach Anae! Are you noticing that theme yet?).
The O-Line did OK this game. They opened holes for the ground game, 29 carries for 137 yards (not counting sacks) is very good. On most passing plays they allowed Heaps time to throw. Heaps got sacked 6 times, but I would say 3 or 4 of them were more of Heaps' fault than the OL.
DiLuigi and Kariya had lots of lanes when Heaps came into the game. They both played well. Kariya had a couple of nice blitz pickups. DiLuigi led the team in rushing and receiving yards. He looks like the only good player on offense, and would be a great player if he could hang on to the ball a little better.
The most interesting thing to me is the coaches were saying the QB position would be situational. I have a hard time believing there wasn't a single "situation" that favored Nelson starting mid-2nd quarter. I am not vying for a two-QB system. But in 3rd and short or goalline situations, why not put Nelson in? Given that they were running the ball in those situations anyway, why not put an extra running threat in the game, or at least give the defense something else to think about? Heaps played great (for a freshman) considering the situation and opponent. But he needs to play like a redshirt or sophomore...
I continue to misread the BYU offense, giving them more credit than they deserve in my predictions. They can't finish drives, make big plays, or even catch the simple passes. Next week, they will need to eat some more clock with fewer three and outs and longer drives. Most importantly, they will need to put some points on the board, like 31 or more.
Defensive issues:
Tackling, tackling, tackling. BYU gave up 280 rushing yards. I would guess 180 of it came after a defender made contact with the back. I recognize that Florida State has athletes that make a lot of people miss, but this has been a consistent theme through three games for BYU. DL are arm-tackling. LBs are not wrapping up, hoping the big hit is enough. DBs are just whiffing entirely. When a back gets to the second level, unless it's Pendleton there (and most plays Rich), you just get the feeling that any play could be a big play. FSU had more rushing plays for more than 20 yards than they did passing plays.
The secondary did a good job in pass defense today. Given the speed and escapability of the FSU WRs, holding them down like they did was pretty good: the WRs had 147 yards on 13 catches. However, their run support continues to be a liability. They take a lot of bad angles. They don't get off blocks very well. And when they do actually make contact with a back, they usually only slow him down enough for a LB to complete the play instead of finishing it themselves.
The LBs missed Ponder way too much. They had their shots at him behind the line of scrimmage, at the line of scrimmage, and downfield. He was able to extend too many plays and drives with his legs. Colin Kaepernick (Nevada) and Andy Dalton (TCU) are going to be better runners than he is. That doesn't bode too well for them going into next week. However, the LBs were very active. They were running sideline to sideline, chasing down faster players. They just didn't tackle well, except for Pendleton. Frazier, Hunter, and Leung-Wei continue to show flashes of brilliance, but not consistent flashes.
The DL got good push most of the game. I would say they actually controlled the line of scrimmage quite well. But, given that the 8 guys behind them aren't making tackles, they need to finish the play upfront. Manumaleuna, Fuga, So'oto eat up blockers well, but haven't been making the tackles the back 8 apparently needs them to make. 278 rushing yards after over 400 given up last week is just not good. You have to say it starts upfront, even though I see this BYU Defensive Front doing the same things last year's Front did.
BYU clearly has good players on the field, but it definitely does not have a good team on the field. Football is the ultimate team sport: it takes 11 guys doing their job in order to work. With the youth BYU has right now on both sides of the ball, it seems that 8 or 9 guys will have a good play, but the other 2 or 3 are making costly mistakes that opponents are taking advantage of. There is hope for this team yet, but they have a long way to go. This feels, to me, a lot like John Beck's junior year, with a slightly less fundamentally sound defense, and with an inability to stretch the field vertically on offense. That team went 6-5, and then lost in the Vegas Bowl to Cal and DeSean Jackson to finish 6-6. I still think there is a chance for them to go 8-4, but if the turnaround doesn't happen next weekend in Provo, this thing could get out of hand in a hurry. The first month of the season was going to be rough, but if they can get out with a 2-2 record, they will be in good shape heading into the rest of the season. At 1-3, it could unravel quickly. At this point, 10 wins is a longshot, at best, and would certainly require a bowl victory.
Looking ahead, it doesn't get much easier. They head home to take on a Nevada team that just dropped 52 points and 316 rushing yards on a potential Pac 10 contender, beating them by 3 TDs. BYU will need to get that rushing number around 200, or less, and the points down around 24, or less. Then they play at Utah State. Then they host SDSU. They have got to go 3-0 there to save their season. Somebody on the offense has to step up and lead this team into the end zone. Right now, DiLuigi looks like the only one capable of being that leader. Here's looking at you, JJ.
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