BYU-UCF Recap

BYU managed to come out with a big win, yesterday. I say big because I think it was an important win (like Bronco's win vs. New Mexico in 2005 that changed the momentum of his whole coaching career) in terms of morale and I also think UCF is a pretty good football team. I believe there were a lot of positives in this game and some things that hopefully we'll be able to fix against the lighter part of our schedule coming up.

Positives

Special Teams: Our special teams, were, well, "special." And I mean in that in a good way, this time. Riley Stephenson's punts were amazing. He was a huge difference maker in the game, pinning them deep all game. Cody Hoffman's return was also fantastic. Not only was his vision and his burst great (which annoyed the heck out of me when Chambers would return. He almost never had big returns because he would tip toe around until he got to the 22 and then he would lower his shoulder and get to the 24 and acted like it was the greatest play, ever) but the blocking was great. Hague totally powned the kicker on the return which is always hilarious. Finally, the team covered punts well and I actually loved the fact that they got a celebration penalty; it's about time they had some fun out there. 

Turnovers: We forced three of them and every single one of them was big. I would not want to meet Kaveinga down a dark alley because he looks frightening and plays like it. Also, I think Sampson should continue to play more and more. He played great and that interception saved the day after a good drive by UCF. Unfortunately, we gave up one that killed us (it gave them a score...again) but one is a lot better than seven. It's amazing how much different a game the Utah game would have been if we only coughed it up once.

QB pressure: BYU finally got some pressure on the QB. A lot of it. We got 4 sacks after not recording one all season. We got them all on a very quick QB which made me happy. We limited this extremely athletic QB's ground game, too (he did get two touchdowns but neither were long runs).  Random side not: why if a QB gets hit ten yards behind the line of scrimmage and fumbles it's not considered a sack? That's kind of dumb.

The running game: Not only did BYU run the ball pretty effectively, they stuck with it. Running the ball 32 times (compared to 35 passes) allowed BYU to not only start picking up yards but it also kept the defense honest and wore them out. DiLuigi's run to the corner was an amazing play call that utilized his strengths well. And big ups to Kairya for running like a beast in that drive where he scored the TD.

Room for improvement

The passing game: I have finally put a finger on what Heaps' problem is, thus far: accuracy. That came before I looked at any stats. He overthrew both Jacobsen and DiLuigi on sure TDs that all he needed to do was take some off of it. Not only did that cost us TDs but anyone that plays in a passing offense knows that if your QB is inaccurate it absolutely kills play calling. If you're going to try to run a slant on first down and your QB can't hit it, then all of a sudden you're at second and ten which hurts your running game. If your back picks up four yards (a respectable gain) all of a sudden you're at third and six and they're pulling everyone into coverage. As a passing team, if you can't keep the defense honest by having a throw on first down being a viable option, you're dead. I still think Heaps hasn't been the same since the hit he took at Ole Miss on the corner blitz. He seems skiddish in the pocket. The one thing I have liked about Doman's new offense is that it spreads the ball around very well. Max Hall was awful at that.

The secondary: We all knew this was the weak spot on our defense. These guys gave up quite a few big plays that looked just awful. We did ok against a run first QB but the backup (why hasn't Texas, Ole Miss or UCF figured out that their backups have much better arms than their starters?) killed us. An accurate passer can really beat these guys and we still haven't figured out in the secondary a read option play. Joe Sampson looked good but I think Corby Eason dropped the 6th or 7th interception he should have had this year (he has none. The guy can't catch. That's why he plays D).

Where's Juice?: Juice has been absolutely non-existent all season long. Through 4 games, he has 54 yards. Not average per game but total. That is totally unacceptable. I'm not sure what the deal is. Whether he's stuck behind two senior runners or if he's just not getting it done. It seems like he's a guy that needs to get enough carries to get in the flow and he is getting hardly any, right now. I think we need him to step up and get some more carries.

The man cut off all his hair just to play for us! Give him the ball!

Why Riley?: Overall, I actually felt like Doman called a good game. I think, as mentioned above, his hands have been tied a little bit with Heaps' inconsistency and inaccuracy (or against Utah, it's hard to do much when your guys turn it over 7 times). However, the one knock I have against him is that he seems pretty insistent on using Riley every game. I don't love that idea, period, but especially not when you PASS on 4th and 2. That was a call that I know he was thinking "they won't expect this" but that is too Crowton-esque and cute for me.  

I hate to say this because Riley seems like a great guy...but he really probably should've stayed at USU.

Overall, a good win. Now, let's not make Utah State's wildest fantasy come true by beating us twice in two years.