For long-time followers of the blog, yes, all 4 of you, you'll recall on Tuesdays I usually put a stat out from BYU's previous game that I found telling in determining the outcome of the game, or just mildly interesting. Wednesday, I would waffle about something that Bronco or BYU did or did not do. Thursday, I would put out a thought about the upcoming game or weekend of games if BYU was on a bye that weekend. I'm a bit late to the party this week, so I'm combining all three into one.
Tuesday Tidbit
Many BYU fans were a bit disappointed with BYU's offensive output in the second half. It certainly was lacking, but the defense didn't do a great job getting off the field either. With that said, they only had 1 three and out the entire game on offense, which is a vast improvement from some road games from last season. In the first half, both sides did a much better job though.
In 7 first half drives, BYU's offense got at least 2 first downs in 6 drives. The lone holdout was the 1-play, 35-yard TD drive, which was a successful drive without needing any first downs. In four 2nd half drives (not counting the 5th drive that ended the game), BYU managed 2 first downs in only two, which isn't necessarily bad, except that they only had one drive yield any points. I don't expect BYU to have near the same success ratio against Texas as the Cougars did against UConn, but they can't move the ball less than 20 yards in 50% of its possessions against the Longhorns for a half. It does three things: one, it limits your opportunities to score; two, it limits your defense's opportunities to rest; and three, it kills you in the field position game, which often becomes a major factor in determining points and wins/losses, especially against higher level competition. If BYU gets 12 possessions against Texas, it needs to move the sticks twice in at least 7 or 8 of the drives. If BYU only manages to do it in 5 or 6, there better be points in nearly all of those drives.
Defensively, in Connecticut's 7 first half possessions, they managed two or more first downs in only 2. In the second half, UConn had 5 possessions and managed it in 4. UConn dominated time of possession and field position in the second half. If they were any good, they would have dominated the scoreboard as well. They had 4 drives inside BYU's red zone in the 2nd half, if they had scored one more touchdown, or kicked two field goals, especially in the 3rd quarter, the game might have gotten a little closer than BYU fans would want. Certainly, I wouldn't expect 4 red zone drives in the 2nd half against Texas to yield only 3 points. BYU can't have the same trends. Perhaps with guys back from injury and suspension, BYU will be better rested in the 2nd half.
Wednesday Waffle
I don't pretend to know anything about anything when it comes to suspensions, team discipline, etc. I have no inside source to the team. I don't follow every rumor (or even believe most any of them) on Cougar Board or Cougar Fan. But I do think it's a shame that Bronco held out Jordan Johnson for Connecticut. If you want to suspend him for a game, great, do it for Texas. Since Bronco isn't announcing reasons or details about discipline, no one would know the difference if Jordan had served a suspension one game later.
Jordan Johnson is from the northeast and he didn't seem to know he was going to be suspended from the game, based on comments during interviews last week. He traveled all the way across the country as a non-LDS African American to play for BYU, at a time when BYU had no minority coaches. He came back from a tough knee injury last season that cost him a full season of eligibility, where his play-making ability could have been the difference in a handful of tough losses. I think you have to reward a kid fighting hard like that by letting him play in front of his family and friends. Suspend him for two games, if you must, but I think Bronco made a mistake sitting him for UConn.
Again, I don't now the details surrounding the suspension, but it rubs me the wrong way. Coach Rose goes out of his way to get guys who travel a long way from home to play for BYU a chance for a game back home. I think that can help recruiting. I think Bronco's way might cost him a recruit or two down the line: I won't subscribe to the Blue Goggle philosophy that if they don't absolutely want BYU, they don't deserve BYU. These are 17 year old kids making these decisions, and for non-LDS kids especially, BYU is a very hard choice to make. And now we add the fact that there are dollar signs added to the recruiting process. Somewhere along the way, BYU has to recruit guys who can play, who didn't necessarily think about BYU at first. JJ was just such a guy and we're lucky to have him. Hold him accountable still, but there are better ways to punish a kid for making a mistake.
Thursday Thought
BYU fans often lament BYU's "struggles" against mobile quarterbacks. I have two thoughts about this: first, everyone struggles, to some degree, with (good) mobile QBs and second, BYU hasn't actually struggled against them, particularly in the last 5 years. Texas turns from a non-stationary passing QB to a much more mobile QB. The formula to beat a mobile QB is fairly simple, some is coaching and some is not. First, have very active, mobile, and smart LBs. BYU has a lot of experience and smarts in their OLBs. The ILBs are not as experienced, but certainly have the potential to be active. Second, play a lot of zone coverage. When was the last time BYU gave a team a steady diet of man coverage in the secondary? Third, convince your DL to not go sack crazy and focus on collapsing the pocket and containing the QB. BYU doesn't have any decent pass rushers on the DL anyway, so they'll be fine.
If Swoops is going to be truly a run-first QB, I have no doubt BYU can contain him. If his cannon/arm turns out to be precise and accompanied with good decision-making abilities, I worry a lot more about BYU's chances. I know mobile QBs can hurt you with more than just their rushing yards, they extend plays with their legs and can quickly pad passing stats in that way. However, I think it's important to note that while BYU has played a lot of mobile QBs the past 4 seasons, the last time one managed even 50 rushing yards was October 1, 2010, in probably one of the top 3 embarrassing losses of the Bronco era. Utah State's Diondre Borel rushed for 68 yards as Utah State demolished BYU 31-16, in a game that wasn't even that close.
Keep in mind, that is 50 yards, not 100. For some perspective, Taysom Hill has started 16 games for BYU and has rushed for over 50 yards in 14 of the 16, and has gone over 100 yards in 7 of them. He rushed for 72 yards in one QUARTER of play against Boise State 2 years ago (which doesn't even count in those 14/16 since he didn't start). If Swoops can't throw, Texas better get the RBs involved, no mobile QB is going to beat BYU by himself.
One final word about this: BYU fans, shut up about BYU's struggles against mobile QBs. Stop living in the distant past and get with the times. Very few teams have enjoyed the success BYU has against mobile QBs the past 5 seasons.
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