Second Guess Much...

I don't know what was the more emphatic story from today: Air Force playing so well or BYU playing so poorly.  Huge credit to Air Force, they took advantage of BYU's front 7 on D and the offense's inability to hold onto the ball.  They had the advantage of having all offseason to prepare for BYU, starting with a I-AA team last week, and they did a great job scouting them out.  I only recall one or two possessions the entire game where BYU stopped Air Force's offense.  They stopped themselves as many times as BYU stopped them (and it wasn't many).  They ran outside effectively until BYU started cheating, then they threw deep, then they ran inside, then back outside, and throw in a reverse every now and again for good measure.  Whatever they wanted to do, they did.  Defensively, Air Force got pressure, covered well, and went after the ball.  This was exactly what I thought was going to happen in this game until I let myself get swayed by BYU's win last week and Air Force's tough first half against NW State.  Alright, enough praising Air Force, that could go on all day.

First off, I understand Jake Heaps threw a pick.  I understand he didn't look comfortable.  I also understand that in 3 possessions in the 3rd quarter, Riley Nelson's offense got 26 total yards.  The playcalling was pathetic, mostly because of Nelson's limitations in the passing game.  They dared BYU to throw and Nelson was 8-19 and ran 20 times.  After playing well through one quarter, the offense was embarrassing the final 3 quarters.  I counted 7 or 8 dropped passes, 7 or 8 questionable throws by Nelson, and 4 bad throws by Heaps.  The defining moment of the game for me was 35-14, BYU 4th and 2 in Falcon territory in the 4th quarter, and BYU ran a QB sweep.  I don't blame the call, I blame the personnel: there's not a single person you could throw the ball to.  No TE was going to make a play.  Ashworth and Chambers looked like high schoolers out there.  Jacobson only got thrown to once the entire game.  You could argue DiLuigi was the only offensive player who had a good game, but he was the one that fumbled inside the 10-yard line that prevented BYU from taking command of the game early.  Nelson's legs were the only thing you could count on (although I would have like to see Heaps in that third drive in the third quarter).

BYU got out-hustled and out-toughed by an out-manned team.  Honestly, they should be embarrassed by their performance, no disrespect for Air Force, who was clearly the better team on the field today.

The defense looked like the D I was afraid of this game.  When you have young players and they stop Jake Locker, they aren't going to fear Air Force's offense.  They paid the proper lip service to the option attack, but you could tell they were not fully aware of how well you need to play to stop Air Force.  Again, this was embarrassing for the defense.  Giving up 409 rushing yards, when you know they are going to run it 85% of the time, is ridiculous!  And the reverse play, I can understand it working against you once, but twice, both in critical situations, one for a long touchdown, and one for a first down which extended the drive that iced the game.  They then force a fumble but the D was too busy with their heads up their butts to go get the ball.  The Air Force Center ran about 10 yards and grabbed the ball.  Pathetic performance.

The good news is next week they are playing a team that lost by 30 points today.  Bad news is it's the same team that beat them in Provo last year by 27...after today's performance by the Cougars, the score from New Mexico-Oregon is not out of play...it was a bad day to be a Cougar, but next Saturday might be worse.  Let's see some spine next week.  Let's see some heart.  Some fight.  Some effort.  And some coaching wouldn't hurt either, Coach Anae.