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Don’t call for a Cougar comeback

December 5, 2012

Riley Nelson

By Jacob Kendall

Don’t call for a Cougar comeback, one hasn’t happened this year. BYU’s 2 minute drill ain’t putting opponents in fear. BYU can’t knock you out, (when it comes to game winning drives that is).

BYU currently stands at a disappointing 7-5 for the 2012 season. There has been a lot of talk about the reasons for their under performing season. It really boils down to this. BYU is 0 for 4 on attempted game winning drives. In games decided by one score BYU is 1-4. And BYU has been ahead, tied or within one score in the 4th quarter in all five losses.

The question is why has BYU been unable to win the close games? And more specifically why have they been unable to score on potential game winning drives?

In 2011 BYU finished the season with a 10-3 record and were ranked 25th in the end of the year USA Today Coaches Poll. The 10 wins achieved in 2011 may not have satisfied all followers of Cougar football. But they did win 10 games. Those ten wins were made possible by a 4-1 record in games decided by one score or less.

A quick look at the 2011 close games

BYU 14, Ole Miss 13: BYU Trailed 13-0 in the 4th quarter. Jake Heaps 19 yard touchdown pass to Ross Apo made it 13-7. Then Kyle Van Noy had a strip-sack-fumble recovery touchdown for the game winning score.

Texas 17, BYU 16: BYU led 16-10 in the 4th quarter but surrendered a touchdown with just over 8 minutes left that was the difference in this loss. A Jake Heaps pass was intercepted on BYU’s last possession.

BYU 24, UCF 17: The special teams unit helped the Cougars pull out this win. Cody Hoffman’s 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown tied the game at 17 in the 3rd quarter. BYU recovered a muffed punt and Bryan Kariya ran in the winning touchdown from 6 yards out to break the tie and decide the game.

BYU 27, Utah State 24: Trailing 24-13 in the 4th quarter, Riley Nelson (who replaced ineffective starter Jake Heaps) hit Cody Hoffman for a 24 yard touchdown pass making in 24-20. Marcus Mathews caught a tipped ball in the end zone for the game winning touchdown from 13 yards out with only 11 seconds remaining in the game. The touchdown capped a 9 play 96 yard drive game winning drive.

BYU 24, Tulsa 21: BYU gained possession of the ball at the Tulsa 48 yard line trailing 21-17 with 4:18 left on the clock. Riley Nelson connected with Cody Hoffman for a 2 yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining for the game winning score.

In their close games in 2011 BYU found ways to win 4 out of 5 times. The Ole Miss game can be credited to the defense. The UCF game can be credited to the special teams. The wins over Utah State and Tulsa can be credited to the offense and Riley Nelson.

BYU did leave one winnable game on the table with the 17-16 loss to Texas. But they managed to win 4 out of 5 games that were decided in the 4th quarter. Those 4 games were the difference between a good season and a disappointing season.

In 2012 BYU is 1-4 in one-score games, the exact opposite of the 2011 season. BYU’s three units failed to make game winning plays and the coaching failed to make game winning decisions.

Special Teams

This area accounted for one 4th quarter victory in 2011 vs UCF. In 2012 BYU lost to Utah 24-21. The special teams sacked the punter setting up the offense on a short field for a touchdown that brought them within 3 at 24-21. But the special teams missed 2 field goal tries at the end of the game that could have sent the game into overtime.

Defense

In 2012 BYU has sported a top 10 defense in nearly every category. In losses of 3, 1, 3 and 6 points BYU had opportunities to win games with one more score. The defense failed to produce one score in the 4th quarter to win a close game, like they did in 2011.

Riley Nelson

In 2011 Riley Nelson led two game winning drives. He was not the starter in the close loss to Texas or in the 4th quarter wins over Ole Miss and UCF. Riley was 2 for 2 in game winning drive opportunities in 2011. In 2012 the close games with Riley under center all came up short.

Riley did get BYU into field goal range vs Utah but BYU missed two potential game tying field goals.

Riley coughed up 5 turnovers vs Boise State including a pick 6 that lost the game.

Against Oregon State BYU entered the 4th quarter tied 21-21. In their four 4th quarter possessions they had 1 punt, 1 field goal, and 2 interceptions, including a pick 6. That resulted in a 42-24 loss.

Against Notre Dame BYU took possession of the ball trailing 17-14. Riley drove the offense down the field only to stall out at the Notre Dame 34 yard line and punt. He threw to a spot when he had a wide open Cody Hoffman streaking down the field for a potential touchdown.

In the San Jose State game BYU trailed 20-7 in the 4th quarter. BYU only score 7 points in 4 possessions. BYU drove to the Spartan 24 yard line and Riley threw an interception. BYU then drove the ball to the Spartan 6 yard line where they turned the ball over on downs after three straight incomplete passes to the end zone. Riley did convert a 4th and 10 with a 20 yard touchdown pass to David Foote. BYU then recovered an onside kick and drove to the Spartan 21 yard line when Riley was sacked and fumbled the ball and San Jose State recovered it, ending the game.

Coaching

This is one area that may go unnoticed when things go well, but gets heavily criticized for bad decision making when things take a turn for the worse as is the case for the 2012 football season. Game decisions and management have to be questioned this season. I am not going to propose solutions, I am simply going to point out a few questionable coaching decisions.

The quarterback position is an area that the coaches have mismanaged this year. BYU felt confident in Riley Nelson coming into this year. He helped salvage the 2011 season and finished ranked number 16 nationally in passing efficiency at 153. In the 2nd game of the 2012 season vs Weber State Riley Nelson sustained an injury to his back. In the Utah game he was visibly different, he acted and moved like something was wrong. It became worse vs Boise State where he was benched and replaced by Taysom Hill. In 2012 Riley’s efficiency rating dropped to 120 good for 85th in the country.

Hill almost led a comeback vs Boise State. He ran in for what should have been a game tying score. But BYU attempted a 2 point conversion and missed it and thus lost the game 7-6. Most observers questioned why would you attempt a 2 point conversion in that situation. You have not allowed an offensive score all game so play for overtime. But BYU coaches stuck to their pre-game decision to go for the win. They also failed to acknowledge a poor decision after the game.

Against Utah State Hill ran a play instead of taking a knee. He got hit on the play and sustained a season ending injury. This again is a coaching mistake. If the quarterback is running the wrong play and formation call a timeout. Then get the right play personnel and formation.

After the Hill injury instead of turning to seemingly capable 3rd string senior James Lark, the decision was made to go back to Riley Nelson. His injury had improved but he was not 100%. BYU then finished the season 3-3 in Nelsons last 6 starts.

James Lark did not help the Coaches and their questionable handling of the quarterback situation. Lark may have played against the worst FBS team in the country, but in his one start he had a better game than Riley Nelson, Taysom Hill, or Jake Heaps ever had in a Cougar uniform. And those other quarterbacks played against awful competition as well. If Lark could have kept the turnovers to a minimum and score 21 or more points per game then BYU could have had an 11-1 season. Riley may have given BYU a better chance to win than Lark, but we will never know, and that is why it is a questionable decision.

Another knock against the coaches is their communication with the media and with the fans. At some point coaches speak does not give people what they want to hear. Failure to meet expectations will result in criticism and failure to own up to potential mistakes or shortcomings will result in criticism. I would diagnose this as Bronco Mendenhall’s biggest problem since becoming the head coach. It is doubtful that he will ever change how he deals with the media and fans. As long as the team puts a successful product on the field he should be ok but 1-4 in games decided by one score is not a successful season.

So just as the BYU football team cannot claim any comebacks in 2012. They may not be able to count on their head coach coming back for 2013. With news that Bronco has interviewed for the Colorado job there is increasing speculation that he will not be back next year. Whether it is Bronco or a new head coach in order to be a success the 2013 Cougar football team needs to figure a way to come back and knock some opponents out.

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BYU should flee the Big East-MWC love triangle

November 21, 2012

By Danny Holmgren

So you really thought that the conference re-alignment situation from 2011 had settled, did you? Not so fast there, my friend! After a relatively quiet 2012 season, conference shuffle-wise, the realignment talks are back in full swing this week.

Though nothing really happened immediately after it, the root cause of the 2012 version can be traced back to the BCS finally agreeing to a playoff. Under this playoff, the top 4 teams in the BCS rankings will be paired in a four team playoff with the winners squaring off in the National Championship Game. Under this re-structuring the Big East will no longer be defined as a “power conference” and will not have the automatic qualifying status it held under the previous 14 year reign of the BCS. How more Big East teams didn’t start abandoning ship before now is beyond me, but they’ve finally caught on and are on the move. With Rutgers officially announcing today that they are joining the Big 10 Conference, four of the Big East’s stronger football programs have now left he conference since last season. The Big East has scrambled to replace them, but frankly, adding San Diego State, SMU, and Memphis is hardly beefing up your resume. The Big East is hurting.

Meanwhile, BYU has just gone about it’s merry way in football independence. 2012 marked one of the toughest schedules that BYU has ever had and 2013 is even tougher. Nearly all games have been played on ESPN, who reports that ratings have been solid on the BYU broadcasts. That should bring hope to sweeten the $4M /year deal that BYU currently has with the worldwide leader.

Then the realignment fireworks started flying this weekend. Rutgers leaving the Big East and Maryland leaving the ACC normally wouldn’t have any impact on BYU, but in the case of the conferences fighting for survival, BYU suddenly has had itself voluntarily or involuntarily thrown back into the conference conundrum. Reports surfaced Monday afternoon that the Mountain West Conference has been in talks with BYU, SDSU, and Boise State to rejoin the conference, which would all but kill any hopes the Big East had of becoming a “power” conference again. After most BYU fans finished projectile vomiting over the idea of rejoining the dreaded MWC that they abandoned in 2011, they were left to wonder why the MWC would want them back and why BYU would ever even consider answering the call. Just last week BYU had scheduled a home-and-home with UNLV, many assumed as a sort of a slap in the face to MWC commissioner Craig Thompson. Does it make any sense to join any conference, much less rejoin the one that aggravated you to the point of secession?

That really depends on what the purpose of the BYU football program is and what the the conference can offer. To Coach Doman, the purpose of BYU football is to run pitch-option to the short side of the field on 3rd-and-long situations while wondering what might have been with Saint Heaps. To Coach Mendenhall, the purpose of the program is to be a missionary tool for the LDS Church, showing how young men can develop into men of character and integrity, while demonstrating a strong work ethic and commitment to team. To Athletic Director Tom Holmoe, BYU wants to be on the map as one of the elite football teams in the nation, a team that continuously recruits top talent, wins big games, is recognized and respected on a national level, and maybe even win a championship. In any of those situations, I can’t see how playing in the MWC is helpful in any way. Coach Mendenhall said it best when asked about the possibility after Monday night’s practice. “It’s about the same access we had before, the way I see it. We’ll still have to be undefeated, I think, to be considered.”

Re-joining the MWC does nothing for BYU in terms of TV contracts, TV revenue, scheduling, respect and recognition, competitiveness, or overall exposure to the program.What else is there? Beats me. I tend to think that the rumor of these discussions taking place are just that: rumor. If not, I hope that BYU will treat the MWC like the ex-girlfriend that you broke up with promising to stay friends, but really have no intention of ever speaking with again. Don’t take her calls, BYU. Don’t respond to her texts. If you see her walking across campus towards you, turn and walk the other way. You broke up with her for a reason.

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San Jose State 20, BYU 14

November 20, 2012

By Jacob Kendall

BYU was riding high heading into San Jose this weekend. They had won two games in a row: Georgia Tech and Idaho. Beating Georgia Tech on the road 41-7 was impressive because Georgia Tech will be representing the ACC Coastal Division in the ACC Title game. And then BYU became Bowl eligible by beating lowly Idaho 52-13 at home on senior night.

San Jose State scored first on a 51 yard touchdown pass from David Fales to Noel Grisby. After a blocked PAT the Spartans lead 6-0. BYU answered back quickly as a 9 play 79 yard drive was capped by a 16 yard Jamal Williams rushing touchdown. And for BYU it was down-hill from there. San Jose State scored touchdowns on their next two possessions capturing a 20-7 lead–a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game.

The Spartans’ fourth drive started out like the first three, that is to say, it started well. They marched 56 yards before Daniel Sorensen intercepted the ball at the BYU 20 yard line, ending the drive. From that point on the BYU defense would hold the Spartans to 7 consecutive punts and zero points.

The Cougar offense started to move the ball effectively at the end of the 3rd quarter. They drove the ball inside of San Jose State territory six times with five of those inside the 30 yard line. Two drives ended in fumbles, one on an interception, one in a punt, one turnover on downs and one touchdown (1 for 6 in Spartan territory in the 2nd half is the stat of the game.) BYU finally found the end zone on a 4th and 10 play from the 20 yard line where Riley eluded a sack and found David Foote for a catch and run touchdown. Following the touchdown BYU made the play of the game on a successful onside kick try recovered by Cody Hoffman. From there BYU moved to the Spartans 21 yard line. And then Riley hit by a blind side blitz fumbled and it was recovered by the Spartans. BYU’s comeback hopes stymied and Riley Nelsons legacy cemented on that single play.

The BYU defense again did enough to win the game. They held the Spartans scoreless in the second half, and they held them under their target of 24 points. But for the fourth time this season BYU held their opponent to 24 or fewer points and lost. It was another one-score loss with an opportunity to win the game at the end.

The BYU offense had 24 first downs, compared to just 17 for San Jose State. BYU gained 422 total yards (335 passing, 87 rushing), 0ut-gaining San Jose State in all categories: 364 total yards, 305 passing yards and 59 rushing yards. But BYU’s offense turned it over 3 times compared to just 1 turnover by San Jose State. The BYU offense moved the ball and gained first downs. But for yet another game their turnovers and inability to score cost the team the game.

The 2012 BYU football team will be remembered as one where the team could not pull out a close game. In 2011 they pulled out comeback wins against Ole Miss, Utah State and Tulsa. This year they add yet another “almost win” to the loss column.

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It Should’ve Been Utah

July 26, 2012

Last week it was announced that BYU and Wisconsin had finally gotten around to making an announcement about playing each other, and Wisconsin was added to an already tough 2013 season for BYU.

This was great news! It meant that one of the ‘big boys’ was willing to play BYU. Not only that, they were willing to do so on an equal, home and home type deal.

Speculation was that the game would land in September, but then something miraculous happened.

Wisconsin actually had a Big Ten conference game against Purdue moved to September so the Badgers could play BYU in November.

Read that again.

Bret Bielema and the Wisconsin Badgers felt like adding BYU to the schedule was a big enough priority that they actually went so far as to move a conference game with Purdue to make it happen. This is huge. It took a strong desire on the part of Wisconsin, and the cooperation of both the Big Ten and Purdue.

This is really great news, but something’s been bugging me about it since I heard the story break: it should have been done for BYU earlier, and it should have been Utah doing it.

Utah should have been the first member of one of the big 5 conferences to work out a deal to play BYU in November. It should’ve been Utah requesting that the Pac12 allow a conference game be moved to September to preserve the Holy War in November. It should’ve been Utah asking a fellow conference member to switch that game with them. It should’ve been Utah asking for an exception to the Pac12 non-conference scheduling rule. But it wasn’t.

I’ll be the first to admit that we don’t know what closed-door conversations have gone on between Chris Hill and Larry Scott. For all we know, this was already attempted by Utah, and they were turned down. After all, they’re new to the Pac12, and they probably don’t have the sway with the Pac12 that Wisconsin has with the Big Ten.

Maybe I’m wrong here. Utah did recently announce two more games with BYU (2013 and 2016), and that’s certainly a move toward continuance. But are we stuck in September because Utah isn’t pushing hard enough? Wisconsin tells me yes, but again, all we have to go on is what we observe. Actions speak to our priorities, and Wisconsin has made BYU a high priority.

Perhaps it’s because I really do love playing Utah that I care so much. Maybe it’s because I still feel strong ties to them, and I’d rather not see them go away. I’m really excited about playing Wisconsin, and I’m not saying I’d prefer to schedule Utah instead of them, but it’s weird to have a school with so few ties to BYU be the one that made scheduling BYU such a high priority.

It should’ve been Utah. At the very least, it should’ve been Utah first.

For more on the Wisconsin series, see my article for Examiner.com here.

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Week 6 Preview: San Jose State @ BYU

October 5, 2011

After a difficult opening schedule, the Cougars ought to be looking forward to facing a “less than elite” WAC team this week. But what should have been a ho-hum game has a certain degree of intrigue for Cougar fans and players alike, because of what happened against Utah State last week.

What we know about San Jose State (2-3, 1-1 WAC)San Jose State

San Jose State went 1-11 last season, 0-8 in the WAC. Let me repeat. 0-8 in THE WAC. Their lone win came in a close game against Southern Utah. On thing is certain regarding this team, they are getting better. After losing the first two games of the season to Pac 12 Stanford and UCLA, the Spartans improved in game three by being competitive with Nevada. The game still resulted in a loss, but the Spartans rebounded with wins against New Mexico State and Colorado State. They’ve already doubled their win total from last year, and they will be bringing their A-game for what appears to be a weakened BYU team.

What we know about BYU (3-2)

I don’t think anyone was feeling very good about the Cougars around halftime of the Utah State game, but those feelings were driven away when Riley Nelson engineered four drives late in the second half, two of which ended in touchdown passes. The last of those gave the Cougars the lead and the win with only 11 seconds remaining. This team is a hard-hitting, grind-it-out team. It is unknown who the starting quarterback will be next week, but the signs seem to be pointing to Riley Nelson. After a rough September, the Cougars will be happy to take on a less daunting October schedule, starting with SJSU.

Keys to the game

Doman. He stayed up in the box for the second game in a row, and it was also the second consecutive win for the team. I’m guessing that Doman will remain in the box for the rest of the season. From the box, he was able to read his quarterback enough to know that a change was needed, and made the call to put Riley in. Hopefully we can see the playbook open up against the Spartans.

Nelson (or Heaps). Riley entered the last game in the third quarter to relieve Jake Heaps. This was at a time when Jake had led the team to only 3 total points from the previous five drives. Riley came in and led the Cougars on four potential scoring drives. One resulted in a fumble (DiLuigi), one a missed FG, and two were for touchdown passes. Not all of his passes were pretty, but they were caught, and Riley proved that you can run up the middle in a two minute drill. It was amazing to watch, especially the final 96 yard game-winning drive. It will be interesting to see who starts, and how short of a leash they have. If either QB struggles, expect to see the other quickly.

Receivers. In the last game, eight different players recorded catches, and were led by Cody Hoffman, with 4 receptions for 68 yards and 1 TD from Nelson. I would love to see even more TE work, and some deep passes to the WRs. Hoffman and Apo should have an easier time of getting open, as this is the weakest defense they’ve seen so far.

The Rush Attack. Each of BYU’s three RBs had at least 40 yards in the game, and with Nelson, BYU rushed for 200 total yards in the game. SJSU opponents are averaging 186 rushing yards per game, so this should be a great team for the Cougar rushers to pile up the yards. At least one of them ought to rush for more than 100 yards this game.

Special Teams. Justin Sorensen missed what could have been a crucial field goal in game against Utah State – he went 2/3 overall. The miss was a 29 yarder. I know the guy’s got leg, but these short ones ought to be money in the bank. Cody Hoffman returned a kickoff for a touchdown against UCF, and if he gets a couple of opportunities for returns in this game, watch out, there just may be some fireworks.

Bronco D. By biggest complaint with the defense from last week? The 80 yard touchdown run they gave up on Utah State’s first play of the game. The San Jose State offense is simply overmatched here. The Spartans average 205 yards passing and 146 yards rushing. The BYU defense will, as usual, take away that running game, and force the Spartans to beat them through the air, and that will likely not get them very far. Prediction: The Cougar defense will cause 2 fumbles, get an interception, and injure at least one Spartan (clean hit).

Prediction

San Jose State is a team that’s improving, (and I hope BYU is too), but they are not on level to compete with BYU. The Cougars will run away with this game (first time this season!), and the final score will be 34-10. That would mean the highest offensive output, and the fewest points allowed in the whole season.

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