Rise And Shout, Cougars Actually Came Out

This was the game that BYU fans have been waiting for.  BYU dominated UNLV in all facets of the game.

Defense
The BYU defense held UNLV to 11 first downs (3 came on the final drive), 7 points (scored on the final drive), and 144 total yards (70 came on the final drive).  The starters and backups allowed 8 first downs, 0 points, and 74 yards in 3.5 quarters.

Offense
The BYU offense had 516 total yards, 300 passing, 216 rushing, 0 turnovers, and 55 points.  BYU's previous high in points scored was 25.  They had 28 points just five minutes into the second quarter after a 2-play 58-yard scoring drive.  Heaps was 2-2 with a TD on that drive.

Special Teams
The field position battle was not even a battle.  UNLV averaged starting with the ball at their 27-yard line.  6 of their 13 possessions started at or inside their own 20.  BYU had 6 possessions starting at the 50 or inside UNLV territory.  BYU had 2 possessions started at or inside their 20 (and they scored on one of those).

Miscellaneous
BYU converted 11 of 17 on third downs.  UNLV was 3 for 14.  BYU was +2 in turnovers.  UNLV averaged less than 1 yard/rush.  UNLV was under 50% completion percentage.  BYU dominated time of possession.  Like I said: BYU dominated in every facet of the game.

Heaps of Improvement
There were a few things that really impressed me about BYU's team today.  The improvement in the passing game was definitely one of them.  Heaps was 19 of 31 (with 3 or 4 drops still, including what would have been a 40-yard TD to Jacobson) with 294 yards and 2 TDs.  He was efficient and making all of the throws.  He threw short, medium, and long with great precision.  He was throwing over the middle, on the outside, and hitting the check-down routes.  Heaps hit 8 different WRs, TEs, and RBs.  The O-Line didn't allow a single sack.  The WRs were gaining yardage after the catch.  These are all things BYU's passing game has been able to do over the years.  All of them have been absent since the Washington game this season.  The only complaint about the passing game would be the drops.

The Juice is Definitely Loose
Another thing that really impressed me was the ability of Joshua "The Juice" Quezada.  Quezada looked like a young, slightly less powerful Harvey Unga.  If he stays healthy and stays for 4 years, he will probably pass Unga as the all-time rushing leader in BYU history.  Mo predicts that right now.  When the guy makes up his mind to hit a hole, he hits the hole and nobody wants to be on the other side.  On two of his three TD runs, a UNLV player or two could have tackled him, but he made a decisive move and his burst of speed was ridiculous.  The stiffarm wasn't bad either.  I know it's against a 1-8 UNLV team, but neither Kariya nor DiLuigi would have scored on those plays.

What a Good D Looks Like
No one could say enough about how passionate the defense played from start to finish.  They were in the backfield all day.  And it wasn't just one guy.  Whether it was sacking the QB, hitting/rushing the QB, forcing the QB out of the pocket, taking away rushing lanes for RBs, the front 7 did it all extremely well.  The secondary did a good job in coverage, especially on covering UNLV's main WRs.  Really, the defense set the stage for the offense, with an interception on the very first play of the game.  Then, after the BYU offense went three and out, they forced UNLV to punt after minus 7 yards in 3 plays.  UNLV started the game with 4 consecutive drives of 3 plays or less.  On 9 of the 13 UNLV possessions, they gained less than 10 yards.  8 of their 13 drives were 3 plays and punt, or a turnover prior to gaining a first down.  BYU's defense completed dominated.

Next Up
BYU takes its newly found momentum on the road to Fort Collins to take on Colorado State.  CSU is 3-6, and losing to SDSU right now.  They will be coming back after a late Saturday night game on the West Coast.  They are a young team, whose only wins have come at home to teams at the bottom of the standings.  BYU currently resides in the middle of the standings, so they should be safe.  What today's game highlighted was the disparity between the top (or middle) of the MWC and the bottom.  BYU has struggled all season but dominated a bottom-third MWC team.  CSU falls in that same category.