Posts Tagged ‘spartans’

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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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BYU 29, San Jose State 16

October 10, 2011

I predicted this game would end at 34-10 in favor of the Cougars. One more score in favor of BYU and one less in favor of San Jose State and I’d have been pretty close. A safety will blow the spread every time anyway. The 29 points scored is a season high for the Cougars, while the 16 allowed are the fewest given up by the defense since the first game against Ole Miss, when the Cougars gave up just 13.

Here’s a look back at our keys to the game:

Doman. I think that Coach Doman is maturing as a play-caller. It helps that for this game he planned to play Nelson, who plays the QB position much like Doman did. The easier competition doesn’t hurt either, but I was happy with the play calls, and felt that the team was more than a match for the Spartans D. The Cougars were nearly balanced as well, gaining 219 passing yards and 224 rushing yards. Another note: the team was driving well on their last possession, reaching the San Jose State 25 yard line, but ended the game by taking a knee twice.

Nelson (or Heaps). Riley continued his success from the Utah State game through the first half against San Jose State. At one point, Riley had 4 consecutive completions, and 3 of those four were touchdown passes. He topped out at a QB rating of 334 in the first half. Nelson did fumble the ball on the SJSU 3 yard line after driving for 51 yards. The next play was a safety, as SJSU hiked the ball out of the back of the endzone. Riley also threw two interceptions during the game. In the end, the Cougars did not punt, and were forced to attempt (and make) field goals on only 2 of 5 scoring drives. With Nelson at the helm, the offense continued to make gains. Probably the play of the night for Nelson was the play immediately following a Kyle Van Noy interception, when Riley threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to a McKay Jacobson, who caught the ball without having to break stride. It was the best pass of the season by either quarterback.

Receivers. The tight ends continue to get more and more involved in the game – and this time Richard Wilson led all receivers with 3 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. McKay Jacobson had 2 receptions for 63 yards (and the aforementioned TD), and Ross Apo added another 41 yards on 3 receptions. This game marks two in a row that tight ends have a TD reception after having gone 17 games in a row without scoring. The more the TEs get involved, the better off this offense will be.

The Rush Attack. For the second game in a row, the Cougars have gained more than 200 yards rushing. They were led by a surprising figure, Mike Alisa, who carried 16 times for 91 yards! Nelson and Quezada each had 9 carries, for 65 and 47 yards, respectively. DiLuigi had a diminished role in this game, recording only one reception and 5 carries.

Special Teams. Justin Sorensen was perfect in the kicking game today, going 2/2 on field goals of 42 and 45 yards, as well as hitting all three PATs. Nothing special happened on our kick returns, but Hoffman averaged 24.3 yards on three returns.

Bronco D. I really thought the defense would come up with a fumble, which they did not, but they did come up with two interceptions. Kyle Van Noy and Travis Uale each made a pick, and Van Noy ran his back 31 yards before being stopped. That set up the Nelson to Jacobson 40 yard TD play. The defense was stingy on the ground, only allowing 70 yards rushing on 26 attempts (that’s 2.7 yards per attempt). The Spartans were never penalized in the game, but the Cougars kept a couple of SJSU drives alive with penalties. All in all, it was a good-not-great day for the defense.

What we know about San Jose State (2-4, 1-1 WAC)

San Jose State came into this game on a two game win-streak, after dropping their first three games in a row. The Spartans will continue on with their conference (WAC) schedule next weekend, as they will face Hawaii at home. Last year they lost 41-7 at Hawaii. Bowl eligibility is not expected at this point, but on the bright side, the Spartans already have won twice as many games as last year.

What we know about BYU (4-2)

BYU fans probably hoped this game would be a little more lopsided in favor of the Cougars. In fact, if just one or two more plays had swung in their favor, the scoreboard would have read quite differently. In the end, it was a good win for a team that needs something to build on. There is still room for improvement in each aspect of the game. The Cougars will test their skills next week against Oregon State, who has been off to a rough start at 1-4.

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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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2011 BYU Season Preview

August 22, 2011

Independence is upon us, and it is a new beginning for the team, school, and fans alike. Last year at this time, Jaime Hill was the defensive coordinator. He was fired after the loss to Utah State during the 2010 season, and Bronco Mendenhall re-assumed the dual role of Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. Robert Anae was released as offensive coordinator at the conclusion of the 2010 season, and was replaced by Brandon Doman, who had been the quarterbacks coach. Joe DuPaix has come over from Navy to coach the running backs, and Ben Cahoon retired from the CFL and became the Cougars’ wide receivers coach. The coaching staff is now defined by young, energetic leaders.

The rocket-man himself

Offense

Under the direction of new offensive coordinator Brandon Doman, the Cougars are introducing a pro-style offense, which will feature Jake Heaps more under-center, with drop back and play-action passes.  This will allow the Cougars to use a few formations to run many plays, making it harder for the defenses to read the play.

The offense is stacked, returning 4 of 5 offensive linemen, the top 3 passers, receivers, and rushers from 2010.

Jake Heaps threw for 2316 yards, 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, with a completion percentage of 57.2. Compared to previous years, the yardage is quite low: between 2005 and 2009, John Beck and Max Hall threw between 3,500 and 3,900 yards each season. But when you consider that Heaps threw for 2300 yards as a freshman, we should be able to expect great things from him this year, and for the next two as well.

In 2010, the Cougars had to find a replacement for the receiving yards vacated by tight-ends Dennis Pitta and Andrew George. That replacement didn’t come, and the passing game really suffered for it. The Cougars leading receiver last season was Cody Hoffman, with just 527 yards. Prior to that season, BYU’s leading receiver had caught between 800 and 1500 yards for at least 5 seasons. Hoffman  was closely followed by DiLuigi and Mckay Jacobson, who each had more than 400 receiving yards. These three will be joined by freshman Ross Apo, who missed last season due to a broken finger. These four players will be an amazing group to watch.

For each of the five years prior to 2010, BYU had a 1,000 yard rusher. Curtis Brown broke the mark in 2005 and 2006, and Harvey Unga did so in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Last year, JJ DiLuigi came up just short, reaching 917 yards. Bryan Kariya and Josh Quezada added more than 500 yards each, though, and with all three backs returning, this will be an impressive group once again.

Defense

Kaveinga the Beast

The best thing to ever happen to this defense was the firing of Jaime Hill halfway through last season. The change was immediate. The defense played with energy and purpose, and the results were seen on the field the very next week as BYU was able to beat a tough San Diego State team. The biggest difference between the Bronco D and the Hill D was run defense. Hill’s defense gave up 242 rushing yards to Utah State. Against SDSU, the very next week, only 53 were given up. Even TCU, who averaged nearly 250 rushing yards per game en-route to a perfect season, only managed 108 yards against Bronco’s defense. And this season, Bronco has had these players under his immediate direction since Spring camp.

The defense lost an amazing leader in Andrew Rich (S), who led the team in both tackles and interceptions, and Vic So’oto who led the team in sacks. This year, the strength of Bronco’s defense will likely be at the linebacker position, where we will see Uona Kaveinga, Brandon Ogletree, Kyle Van Noy, Jameson Frazier, and Jordan Pendleton. Kaveinga is a USC transfer who had previously committed to BYU, went to USC instead, and came back to the Y last year. Reports out of camp have been amazing, and all signs point to him having an amazing year for the Cougar D. Up front, the Cougars will have a talented, experienced trio, led by Eathyn Manumaleuna, Romney Fuga, and Matt Putnam. If there is a weakness in the defense, it will be in the secondary, which graduated most of its starters.

Bronco’s defense will take away the run. They will force your team to become one-dimensional. The front 7 are experienced and have an amazing amount of talent. Teams that rely on the run, teams with inexperienced quarterbacks, will be driven from their comfort zone, and they are likely to flounder against this stout D.

Special Teams

Special Teams was a focus during fall camp. The coaches wore black retro Cosmo shirts, and the players will be wearing black shoes and socks to remind them of the special teams focus this season. Riley Nelson will reportedly be taking a leading role on the special teams this season, and it will be exciting to see his contribution there. Justin Sorensen has returned from his mission, and will resume his kicking duties. He fills the void left by Mitch Payne, who left BYU as the all-time leading scorer. Sorensen has amazing range, easily making field goals of 40-59 yards, but he struggles a bit with the shorter kicks of 20-39 yards.

Bronco has chosen to emphasize special teams this year, and because of that we’re going to see some great plays from these units. Watch out for blocked kicks, more yardage on on kick and punt returns, and (hopefully) more consistency from our kicker.

Season Prediction – 11-2 overall (including bowl)

Last year, I was overly optimistic regarding what the program would achieve, but honestly, who picked BYU to lose to Utah State? Anybody? Bueller? I do feel that a few adjustments earlier in the season would have netted more wins. 1. Heaps as starter from day one. 2. Bronco leads defense from day one. 3. Robert Anae listens to Doman more.

But that was last year. This year, we have another year that has a few difficult games and several cupcakes, and once again a schedule that is front-heavy. The difficulty with picking the wins and losses this season is picking the losses. I feel that we have a very talented team, and they truly could win any game on the schedule. That said, I don’t think BYU goes undefeated this year. I would be overjoyed if they did, but I don’t see it happening. My best guess for losses are @ Texas and the “neutral” game against TCU. I chose Texas because, down or not, winning in Austin is not an easy thing to do. I chose TCU because somehow, Gary Patterson just has Bronco figured out. The short week leading up to TCU doesn’t help either.

Some people have BYU losing to Ole Miss and Hawaii. I don’t think these will be losses because Bronco has shown us that when he has extra time to prepare for a team, he delivers the W. BYU has won four straight season-openers, including Oklahoma in 2009. I also think the two weeks to prepare for Hawaii will be enough for the Cougars to get the W on the islands.

BYU is contracted to play in the Armed Forces Bowl this year, assuming bowl eligibility. They play the #3 team in C-USA. I think that will end up being Houston or Southern Miss (Behind SMU and UCF). For the purposes of the pick, I chose Houston.

Sept. 3 – @ Ole Miss – W

Sept. 10 – @ Texas – L

Sept. 17 – Utah – W

Sept. 23 – UCF – W

Sept. 30 – Utah State – W

Oct. 8 – San Jose State – W

Oct. 15 – @ Oregon State – W

Oct. 22 – Idaho State – W

Oct. 28 – @ TCU – L

Nov. 12 – Idaho – W

Nov. 19 – New Mexico State – W

Dec. 3 – @ Hawaii – W

Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 30 – Houston – W 

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