BYU overcame itself to pull out another thrilling come from behind win, edging Tulsa 24-21. After the Ole Miss game, which I attended with my brother and sister, there was a similar feeling of exhiliration. After that initial excitement died down, though, one was left asking questions about the poor play, which is the exact feeling BYU fans probably are experiencing now. BYU's offense looked downright pathetic for most of the game.
Nelson = Heaps?
Nelson looked a lot more like Heaps today than he ever has before. In his effort to prove he can be a pocket passer, he looked like a tentative QB with a so-so arm. He shied away from contact. He moved left when he should have moved right, stepped back when he should have stepped up, and managed to put himself in the path of blitzing LBs over and over again. The play-calling was very similar to a Heaps game: pass on first down (incomplete), run on second down (2-yard gain), and being in a tough passing situation on third down. With the exception of about two drives, it looked like the same offense from the first three games of the season all over again. However, when Tebow Time arrived, Tiny Tim stepped his game up. He deserves some props for stepping up on 3rd and 4th downs on the final drive, and the fake spike call was gutsy. The throw was perfect.
Line Got Worked...Again
As I pointed out in a post earlier this season (http://mo-knows-sports.blogspot.com/2011/09/thursday-thoughts-9152011.html) and described in my preview of BYU's O against Tulsa's D, BYU continues to struggle to block any half-decent front seven. Tulsa had some size, some speed, and some athleticism, but if BYU aspires to be a BCS contender, that type of performance will not get them there. BYU has to play at Utah, Boise State, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech next season. With this kind of offensive line play, that is, at best, a 1-3 record. Nelson was continually harrassed on passing plays. The RBs couldn't find holes to hit. Michael Alisa couldn't have found holes to hit either, it wasn't just that Quezada, Kariya, and DiLuigi are bad runners. The O-Line was bad, bad, bad: 2.5 yards per rush and 5 sacks allowed against, at best, an above average front seven. Rarely did Tulsa even put 8 in the box, so it wasn't even a numbers game, it was a "we can't block you" game.
Just Hit The Hole Already
The RBs and Riley Nelson all seemed indecisive in running the ball. They tried to juke to gain extra yards, but the Tulsa pursuit was fast, and the jukes completely ineffective. Finally, in the fourth quarter, they gave it to Kariya who just took the yards available to him. He didn't break any big gains, but he got 4 yards when only 3 were there to be had. DiLuigi and Nelson continued to try to dance around and only got 1 yard when 3 were there to be had. Nelson danced a lot while trying to throw, and it yielded him a 43% completion percentage.
Separate Yourself From The Crowd
The WRs weren't getting open, with the exception of Hoffman. Apo didn't catch a single ball b/c Apo couldn't get any separation. Falslev did nothing after a few early grabs. The entire offense was a little off. This wasn't a rust or timing issue, b/c that will settle down after a quarter, or a half, or, one would expect, 3.5 quarters. The WRs and TEs weren't open, when they were Nelson missed them or they didn't want the ball badly enough. Either way, excluding Hoffman, this was a pathetic performance by this group too! That was a theme for the offense today.
Bad-Looking Stats
8-21 on third down, less than 350 total yards, no running plays over 15 yards, only three passing plays over 20 yards, 2 turnovers, and 5 sacks. None of those are great numbers. Perhaps I have my expectations set too high, perhaps the easy November schedule made me forget that it isn't easy to put up points. Either way, I am looking ahead to next season, and I think BYU has a lot of improving to do. As Regular Tim and the Broncos have learned, comebacks are only possible when the game is close. Tiny Tim would do well to perform the first 3.5 quarters too to keep themselves in games against quality competition. Now, one might say they got the only stat that counts: scoreboard. Yes, thanks MOSTLY to the defense, they won the stat that matters most.
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