Posts Tagged ‘hoffman’

h1

BYU 38, Oregon State 28

October 18, 2011

It seems to be another one of those Bronco Mendenhall-led BYU teams: start slow (1-2) and then get very good as the season progresses. The Cougars are now riding a four game winning streak, after cruising through Corvallis on their way to a 38-28 victory over the Beavers of Oregon State, that was not as close as the score indicates. Indeed, the cougars were up 38-21 with just 30 seconds to go. The Beavers had to rely on lucky breaks to keep things even at halftime, but the Cougars really blew things open in the second half and ended up having an easy victory. I will happily admit that I was wrong – I guessed a close, low-scoring game at 23-16. Here’s a look at what went right, and wrong for the Cougars in their big win.

The return of "power" running to BYU

Keys to the game

Doman. I keep expecting opposing teams to be able to adjust to Riley’s style of play and shut him down late in the game, but it’s not happening. I’ll give partial credit to Doman on this – he’s obviously been able to more fully implement his offense under Riley, and has been able to keep defenses from keying on Riley because of the variety of ways he has to get rid of the ball.

Nelson. Riley had another solid game: 17/27 for 217 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Oh and an additional 87 yards rushing, good enough to lead the team in that category. He averaged nearly 13 yards per completion, and more than 7 yards per carry. Under his leadership, the team went 11/14 on third downs, and came up with nearly 500 yards of offense (217 passing and 282 rushing).

Receivers. In the last two games, Cody Hoffman has emerged (once again) as the leader of this group. He had 9 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown – that’s 18 yards per catch. Falslev added three catches for 18 yards and a TD, and TE Kaneakua Friel also recorded a receiving touchdown. That marks three straight games that TEs have caught a pass for a touchdown.

The Rush Attack. Mike Alisa, like Hoffman, had another great game, to match his performance against San Jose State. Alisa rushed for 84 yards, and constantly seemed to be running over or through the first and sometimes second tacklers. He and DiLuigi each had a rushing touchdown, though Mike had a second, long rushing touchdown called back on a holding penalty. DiLuigi added 74 yards of his own, including a 41 yard scramble.

Special Teams. Justin Sorenson had an off day. I don’t recall a touchback in the game, and he only managed to connect on 1/3 field goals, one of them being blocked right before the end of the first half. He was a perfect 5/5 on PATs. The Nelson-led offense led to another slow day for Riley Stephenson, who only punted once. The Beavers missed on both of their field goal attempts as well.

Bronco D. The final score doesn’t tell the whole story here. This defense was really great against the Beavers. The Beaver O was held to just 59 rushing yards on 23 attempts (that’s a measly 2.6 yards per carry), and completed only 27/43 pass attempts. The Cougars caused and recovered two fumbles, and Brandon Ogletree and Kyle Van Noy each recorded an interception. Van Noy returned his 43 yards before being tripped up. Probably the best time of the game for the Cougar defense was the beginning of the third quarter, where three consecutive Beaver drives ended like this: interception, fumble, fumble.

What we know about Oregon State (1-5, 1-2 Pac12)

The Beavers had been hopeful about building on their win over Arizona, and reaching bowl eligibility. At this point, that dream is all but over, as OSU has three ranked teams left on its Pac 12 schedule. Next week they are going on the road to take on the Cougars of Washington State. Typically, one would have a W already penciled in on the schedule next to WSU, but the Cougars are already 3-3 this year, and they even beat the Beavers down in Corvallis last season.

What we know about BYU (5-2)

Perhaps my favorite stat through all of this is that BYU has more Pac12 wins than Utah does. :) The season looked bleak around midway through the Utah State game, as it looked like the Cougars were headed to a 2-3 record with consecutive losses to Utah State. Jake Heaps was benched in favor of Riley Nelson, and that has either been or has coincided with a revitalization of the BYU team and season – now the Cougars are 5-2, and are seriously looking at what could be a 10 win season. This week the Cougars face off against FCS (the “c” is for cupcake) Idaho State. It comes at a good time though, as BYU will be playing TCU the week after.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

BYU 24, UCF 17

September 25, 2011

After the blowout loss to Utah last week, the Cougars were hoping to use this game as a turning point – something to build on – to define the rest of the season. BYU was able to accomplish that goal by pulling out a win against a tough UCF team – reigning C-USA champs who went 11-3 last season. While the Knights outgained the Cougars by nearly 140 yards, BYU won the game as I called it: on strong plays by the defense and by winning the turnover battle. Here’s a look at what went right and what didn’t, as we review our keys to the game.

Hoffman takes it to the house!

Doman. The BYU OC moved up to the box for this game. I won’t say that was why they won, but it certainly can’t hurt to be able to see the whole field of play, and thus be better able to identify the strengths and weaknesses that the opposing defense is showing you. Credit Doman for not losing the second half battle – as was the case the previous two weeks. The Cougars overcame deficits of 10-3 and 17-10 to eventually win the game.

Heaps. Jake continues to be a work in progress. His accuracy was below 50% this week, at 16/34 for a mere 133 yards and an INT. He was competent enough to win the game. One really encouraging piece, the leading receiver in the game was TE Marcus Mathews, who caught 4 passes for 35 yards.

The Rush Attack. BYU’s rushing crew had a much better night this week, combining (less the Heaps sack) for 137 yards. Kariya rushed for 52, DiLuigi for 38, and Quezada for 26 yards. Kariya and DiLuigi each scored a touchdown on the ground as well. After the game, Bronco said that they had simplified some of the running game. Whatever they did, I hope they do it again, and that it continues to be effective.

Special Teams. Special teams! From an abysmal game last week to saving the game this week! I cannot fully express how big an impact special teams had on this game. In the second half, BYU was finally able to put together a touchdown drive, only to have that be followed by a UCF touchdown drive, which put the game right back where it was. On the ensuing kickoff, Cody Hoffman accomplished what no other Cougar had done in 13 years: he returned that ball for a touchdown. 93 yards, and all he needed was one monster block as he ran the ball all the way back, untouched. It was an amazing moment for the team and for the fans. It also demoralized the UCF team who had just scored what would be their last points of the night.

Again, in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 17, UCF’s JJ Worton muffed a Riley Stephenson punt, which was recovered by BYU’s Michael Alisa. Michael ran it into the endzone and the entire team gathered around him to celebrate. It was something these guys needed to help ease the pain of the week before, when nothing went the Cougars’ way. They got flagged for a celebration penalty, and the touchdown didn’t count because you can’t advance a muff, but 3 Bryan Kariya rushes later, BYU had that touchdown and the winning score 24-17. Further, 4/5 Sorenson kickoffs were for touchbacks, and Riley Stephenson averaged 45 yards per punt on 6 punts, with a long of 67. It was really an amazing night for Cougar special teams.

Bronco D. The defense really had a great game. UCF came in averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground, and the BYU defense was able to hold them to just 81. They were also held to just about half of their usual points per game, at just 17. The defense, like the offense this week, did not fall behind due to poor halftime adjustments, as they allowed only one scoring drive in the second half. Standout performances by Joe Sampson (impressive Sack early on, and an INT to seal the game), Uona Kaveinga (who continues to force fumbles and just be plain nasty), and Kyle Van Noy (who showed off a wicked vertical leap to tip the ball that Sampson intercepted).

The biggest weakness for the defense continues to be Corby Eason. He dropped a potential INT that hit him in the numbers, and the UCF quarterbacks were targeting (and having success against) his side of the field all game long.

What we know about UCF (2-2, 0-0 C-USA)

UCF expected to come in and win against BYU this week. Their players were frustrated by the loss, especially when they were able to dominate the offensive statistics. UCF has a bye this week, so they will have plenty of time to dwell on the loss, and prepare to open C-USA play on October 8th against 1-3 Marshall. The following week will be a rematch of last year’s C-USA championship game at SMU.

What we know about BYU (2-2)

This game felt much like last year’s game against San Diego State. It was a close, hard-fought game, which I felt helped to define the season. I applaud the fact that the players were able to come together to win a tough, close game, just one week after having so much go wrong against Utah. Hopefully the Cougars can build on what they did in this game as they take on Utah State next week.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

h1

Week 2 Preview – BYU @ Texas

September 8, 2011

It’s week 2 of college football! This weekend’s matchup will pit the Cougars against the Texas Longhorns. The Cougars are 2-0 against Texas, from a two game deal that was played in 1987 and 1988.

What we know about Texas

Texas, not unlike Ole Miss, was down last year. They only managed a record of 5-7, despite starting out 3-0. It was also strange to note which games the Longhorns did win – as they beat up on cupcakes like Rice and FAU, and even took down then #5 Nebraska, but failed to beat the likes of Kansas State and UCLA. Texas will never be down for long though, and they are hoping to be back on track this year. They started out the year with a more impressive win over Rice than they had last year. While the score was similar, Texas’ offense managed to roll up about 200 yards more than last year, while the Texas D held rice to one less touchdown. Still, the Texas QB, Garrett Gilbert, didn’t look very sharp, only going 13/23 passing.

What we know about BYU

BYU of course, opened the season with a win against Ole Miss. It was a come-from-behind win; in fact, the greatest come from behind win since Bronco Mendenhall became the head coach in 2005. BYU’s defense was dominant throughout the game, and especially in the fourth quarter, as the Ole Miss offense grew tired, the BYU defense was still sharp and had the ability to make the plays necessary to win the game. Not only did the defense score a touchdown, but they held the Ole Miss offense to a pair of field goals. The Cougar offense was shaky. Many plays were broken or hurried because of bad snaps, and Heaps threw many passes that were not on target, including a pick-6 that was a half a second away from being a BYU touchdown. Hopefully having the first game done with will have worked out some of the quirks for the new offense – they should look much better this Saturday.

Keys to the game

Domanation. The offense appeared to lack energy, and much of that had to do with the tempo of the play calling. BYU averaged more than 30 seconds between plays against Ole Miss. Brandon Doman admitted that he needs to step it up – and he does. Look for the Cougars to have quicker play calling, which should translate to keeping Heaps in rhythm, and keeping the defense more on its heels.

Jake Heaps. Texas is a better team than Ole Miss, and while the Texas offense may be somewhat of a question mark, the defense is not. Heaps will have to make more accurate throws than he did last week, and he may have less time to do it. Hoffman and Apo will need to do better at getting open – wherever they happen to be on the field.

The Rush Attack. JJ DiLuigi and Bryan Kariya made up most of the yards last week, because Josh Quezada had a migraine. I do hope the “Juice” is back this week, because he is a dynamic runner that could really break out some big plays. Having three guys capable of carrying the ball each play also helps keep each of them more fresh for later in the game.

Special Teams. Last week, Jacobsen and Hague averaged 26 yards per kick return, and Falslev returned one punt for 27 yards. It’s amazing to watch, and I will be excited to see if these guys can pull off some more big plays against Texas. A concern on special teams is the short to mid range kicking game. Justin Sorensen has the ability to boot the ball 60+ yards accurately, but he is very inconsistent in the short range. Last week he missed a 31 yarder. Honestly, if the game were on the line and we were in range for a short kick, I’d rather have Heaps in there throwing the ball to win the game. If Sorensen can’t improve quickly, BYU will have to look elsewhere for their short range field goals.

Bronco D. This is the area I am not worried about at all. The defense has been truly amazing since Bronco fired Jaime Hill after the Utah State game last year. Even the top rushing teams in the country struggle to reach 100 yards rushing against this defense. BYU will shut down the Texas run game and force the Longhorns to beat them through the air. There will be plenty of pressure on Garrett Gilbert though, and how he deals with that pressure will make or break the game for Texas.

Prediction

This game is a toss-up. I did choose it as one of two BYU losses on my season preview, but I do feel that it could go either way. I think it will be a close game, with a big play being the deciding factor. I think Texas will be surprised at how difficult this game is for them, but I think Texas will win the game 23-17.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Week 1 Preview – BYU @ Ole Miss

August 28, 2011

It’s time for football! For the second summer in a row we’ve been inundated with conference realignment talk. While it is all very exciting to speculate who may end up where in the next few years…I am relieved to offer you my first weekly preview of the season, and to welcome everyone back to football. Saturday can’t come soon enough.

What we know about Ole Miss

Ole Miss is coming off an abysmal year that started with a home loss to FCS Jacksonville State. In that game, Ole Miss started quickly and had jumped out to a 31-10 lead at halftime. Jacksonville State rallied in the second half to tie the game at 34 apiece, and two overtimes and one two point conversion later, the game was over. The Rebels ended up with a 4-8 record, with wins over Tulane, Fresno State, Kentucky, and UL Lafayette. The 2010 Rebels would frequently start strong, but allow opponents to score major points in the second half. The defense is only returning three starters, so it is difficult to say if they will have a similar tendency this year. The rebel defense gave up nearly 400 yards and more than 35 points per game. The offense did manage 30 points per game relying on the nation’s 18th best rushing attack, at 207 yards per game, while only coming up with 190 passing yards per game. Many analysts have chosen Ole Miss to finish last in the SEC West this year, and there is no real indication that this year will be any better for the Rebels than last year.

What we know about BYU

BYU is entering their first year of football independence, and will have the opportunity to make a splash with an early schedule that includes Ole Miss, Texas, Utah, and UCF. Last year the Cougars started 1-4 and ended up 7-6, finishing the season in dominating fashion with a blowout bowl win over UTEP. The season turned around when Jaime Hill was fired as defensive coordinator and Bronco stepped back into his dual role as head coach and DC. The Cougars of 2011 will look different than the Cougars of 2010. Anae and Hill are out, Doman and Bronco are in. Add in Dupaix for the running backs and Cahoon for the receivers, and you’ve got yourself an exciting group of coaches that are energetic and talented. Plenty of returning starters, and some amazing new talent should allow BYU to dominate many teams on both sides of the ball.

Keys to the game

Enter the Doman O. Offensive coordinator/quarterback’s coach Brandon Doman has installed a Pro-Style offense this year. It’s an offense that is meant to rely on the run to play-action pass combination, and with multiple plays run from the same formation, defenses will be kept guessing all game long. Doman isn’t afraid to have Heaps throw the deep ball, and BYU has the receivers to run out and get them. This is a huge change from the offense run by Robert Anae, which was usually as predictable as the sun coming up in the East.

Jake Heaps and the Receivers. Jake Heaps had an amazing season as a freshman, and he peaked at the end of the season, throwing four touchdown passes in the New Mexico Bowl. Heaps will have amazing targets in Cody Hoffman (who caught three of the touchdowns in the bowl game), McKay Jacobson, and Ross Apo. Apo was one of the other guys to commit to BYU in the same press conference as Heaps, and he was expected to play last year, but had a nasty broken finger. Add to these three the other capable receivers, tight ends, and running backs that will join in the passing game, and Jake Heaps will have an amazing array of targets to choose from.

The Rush Attack. JJ DiLuigi, Bryan Kariya, and Josh Quezada were a three-headed beast of running backs last year, and they are all back again this season. DiLuigi had more than 900 rushing yards, and Kariya and Quezada each added 500 yards. Their important role will continue this year in the pro-style offense, which will depend on these experienced rushers to make the play-action believable.

Special Teams. Special teams were given special attention in fall camp, and the Cougars will be wearing black shoes and socks all season to remind them of the emphasis. Justin Sorensen returns from his mission with a booming kick – he’s been hitting field goals of up to 57 yards in camp, despite struggling somewhat with shorter kicks. It will be exciting to see what kind of impact the extra dedication to special teams will have on the gameplay.

Bronco D. Let’s be honest.  Since Bronco took over as coordinator, the Defense has been amazing. Bronco’s D returns an experienced line, but is especially stacked at linebacker. The Cougar front seven will be deadly against the run this year, forcing teams to be one-dimensional, having to rely on the pass. This will be difficult for teams like Ole Miss, who rely on the strength of their run game. Player to watch: USC transfer Uona Kaveinga.

Prediction

Ole Miss is an SEC team, but they are not a good one. This game will be close near the beginning (0-0, right?) but the Cougars will pull away from the Rebels and win the game handily, 35-13.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

New Mexico Bowl Final: BYU 52, UTEP 24

December 18, 2010

The New Mexico Bowl has concluded, and Jake Heaps and Andrew Rich took Offensive and Defensive MVP honors, respectively, as the BYU Cougars rolled to an easy win over the Miners of UTEP, 52-14.

Heaps to Hoffman. If today was any indication, this will go down as one of the great QB-receiver tandems in the history of BYU.  Neither player looked like a freshman as they dominated the UTEP secondary together.  Jake Heaps was 25/34 for 264 yards, 4 touchdowns and only one interception.  Cody Hoffman had 8 catches for 137 yards and three touchdown.  Heaps four touchdown day helped him break Ty Detmer’s record for touchdown passes as a freshman, and Heaps also tied Jim McMahon and John Walsh for most touchdown passes in a bowl game.

Juice and JJ BYU running backs combined for more than 200 yards on the ground.  Josh “Juice” Quezada led the way with 101 yards and one touchdown, and JJ DiLuigi had 98 yards with a touchdown as well.  Juice is a freshman, and JJ will be back next year as well.  With the performance today, BYU has three RB’s that topped 500 yards on the season, a first in BYU history.

Special Teams. JD Falslev and Cody Hoffman had great punt and kick returns, but the special teams ball has to go to Mitch Payne, who became BYU’s all-time top scorer, adding a field goal and 7 PAT’s to raise his total to 336 points, 3 more than Owen Pochman.  (It should be noted that when Pochman played, stats from bowl games were not counted with career stats, and he would still have the lead if that were the case.)

Bronco D. The defense started out especially strong, as they have tended to do since Bronco took over as DC.  In the first quarter, UTEP was held to -5 yards of total offense, and just three points, as the Cougars jumped out to a 17-3 lead.  The Miners were able to find some success, especially with Vittatoe to Adams, who connected three times for three touchdowns, averaging 51 yards each.  Andrew Rich earned Defensive MVP honors, as he tallied two interceptions and a sack for the Cougars. Overall, the Miners were held to -12 yards rushing, and 245 yards passing.

Records. Bronco Mendenhall is now 4-2 in bowl games as BYU’s head coach, and the school’s all-time bowl record is 11-17-1.  Bronco owns more than 1/3 of BYU’s bowl wins.  All-time.

Here are some other BYU school bowl records that were tied or broken in this game (via Jay Drew and to him via the BYU sports information department):

* Most points: 52
* Most PATs Made: 7, Mitch Payne
* Most Touchdown Passes: 4 (tied), Jake Heaps
* Best Completion Percentage: 73.5, Jake Heaps
* Most Touchdown Receptions: 3 (tied), Cody Hoffman
* Most Interceptions: 2 (tied), Andrew Rich
* Longest Punt: 60 yards, Riley Stephenson
* Most Rushing Attempts: 52
* Most Rushing Yards: 219

What we know about UTEP

UTEP, now (6-7), showed some fight this game, mostly in the form of their senior quarterback, Trevor Vittatoe, who owns most of UTEP’s career passing records.  He’s been playing on what was described as a “shredded” ankle for the last half of the season.  Despite the injury, he was able to be effective throwing the ball.  Unfortunately for UTEP, he, and his TD target, Kris Adams, are both graduating.

What we know about BYU

This BYU team is special.  They orchestrated an amazing mid-season turnaround, became bowl-eligible, and came into this game and dominated from start to finish.  For me, the biggest story of the day is just how many freshmen stood out on the stats page, and on the field:  Heaps, Hoffman, Falslev, Van Noy, Quezada.  Next year, BYU could return as many as 19/22 starters, and of course, all of those I just named will be just Sophomores.  The future is bright for BYU, and with the move to football independence, the stage could not be bigger.  The potential for this group of players is greater perhaps than for any previous BYU football team.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

%d bloggers like this: