What we learned...BYU looks good against really bad competition. Idaho St. did what they were supposed to do: collect a paycheck for getting their butts kicked and making us look good. We played so well that Jake Heaps and Matt Edwards got into the game!
What we learned...Jake is definitely not our guy this year; if ever. I know we kept the offense very simple for him and weren't looking to throw downfield. But, every single pass he threw was an out (one of which was terrible for an interception). We all know he can throw an out. There are two real questions I have with Jake: is he afraid to get hit and can he utilize the whole field? Against the Bengals, he still rushed his throws (even his completions he was throwing way before his receivers were out of their break) suggesting that he's got happy feet. And, again, there was no indication that he can successfully use the whole field.
What we learned...Kyle Van Noy is a freak. Add a punt block to his stats. Is their any stat he hasn't accumulated this year that I'm unaware of? Put him in as a quarterback and then do a trick play pass to him. That always seems to get Heisman voters' attention (for whatever reason). If we were 8-0, he'd be an All-American.
What we learned...Cody Hoffman continues to separate himself as our go-to receiver. McKay Jacobson again has disappointed me (he might be the biggest disappointment at WR that I've seen at the Y). Ross Apo had a solid game but it's apparent he's still learning the game and getting a feel for it. With Riley in, Hoffman has been unstoppable. I hope by next year he breaks out as a 100 yard a game WR. He has the potential.
What we learned...Riley Nelson as the quarterback makes us a lot more dangerous on first down. Our yardage gained per first down yards has drastically increased with Riley. This leads to much more manageable second and third downs (if we even need them). This obviously helps our offense but it also keeps our defense a lot more fresh.
What we don't know...Can Riley beat a team with his arm? I've got a feeling TCU isn't going to let him run wild like he has against everyone else. While their D is a little down, it's still TCU and it's still Gary Patterson. Riley has thrown plenty of TDS (11; 3 each game as a starter), relatively few picks (only 3 even though all were pretty ugly), has a very solid yard per attempt (9.3 compared to Jake's 5.8) which has lead to a very good 174.5 QB Rating (which would be 6th best in the NCAA if he had enough attempts). However, this has come against bad competition and his 61% completion percentage is still worrisome to me. That's not terrible but against our competition, it still implies that he is not a fantastically accurate quarterback. This could hurt us against TCU if it doesn't improve.
What we don't know...Can our secondary shut anyone down? My answer is no. Thus far, we've banked on keeping teams in front of us and getting the occasional turnover. It's worked against bad teams, but a smart QB isn't going to throw 3 picks to our guys. We need to figure something out or make some adjustments for a better team.
What we don't know...Is BYU a good 6-2 team? Or has the recent run of bad competition (though Oregon St. looks like it may knock off the U) made us look like we've got it figured out? Hopefully the confidence we've gained in this 5 win stretch carries over.
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