Sunday Morning QB: 3 lessons from BYU's win over McNeese State


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PROVO — The No. 25-ranked BYU Cougars were back in action Saturday as they took on the undefeated FCS team McNeese State in Provo.

The Cowboys from Louisiana are known for their speed and unforgiving defense and the 24-point underdogs didn’t care they were on the road against BYU; they came to play and wanted to win.

This was the exact definition of a trap game for the Cougars coming off a huge road win against Wisconsin, who was ranked No. 6 at the time, and getting excited about their matchup in Seattle next week against No. 10 Washington. BYU has a perfect record against FCS teams and if that streak were to end it seemed like McNeese was a perfect candidate to snap it.

The Cougars came out sluggish, had a monster second quarter and then the offense seemed to stall after that, but it was enough to win and BYU’s defense did exactly what it was supposed to against an FCS opponent.

Here are three lessons from BYU’s win over McNeese:

BYU’s leaving too many points on the field

BYU was at home against an FCS opponent, usually this means we get to see some fireworks from the offense and high numbers on the scoreboard and the stat sheet, but that wasn’t the case Saturday.

First things first, let’s give the defense for McNeese some credit. Their players are fast, determined and hard-nosed athletes who believe they can win every game they play. They’re well coached and fairly sound in their assignments, but even with all of that, the offensive performance from BYU left a lot to be desired.

The Cougars had just 291 total yards with 130 through the air and another 161 on the ground and amassing 30 total points. A win of 30-3 seems like a spanking, but when you watched the game it was anything but.

The first quarter was hard to watch as the Cowboys moved the ball in their first few drives and managed a field goal to take the lead 3-0. From there the BYU offense had no answers. The Cougars’ first quarter drives resulted in two punts and a lost fumble by Squally Canada.

Something clicked in the second quarter for the Cougars and they ripped off 24 unanswered points. Lopini Katoa ran hard and smart and got in the end zone twice on runs of four and 14 yards and Tanner Mangum threw a nice ball to Talon Shumway who made an even more impressive catch from 7 yards out. Then kicker Skyler Southam hit a 30-yard field goal and the Cougars were up 24-3 going into half time. Then things seemed to stop.

The defense continued to do their job, but the offense only managed 6 more points and never found the end zone again.

BYU scored 9 points off of field goals, but those 9 points could have easily been 17 and at the very least 13.

The first field goal in the second quarter came after the BYU defense caused a fumble at McNeese’s own 25-yard line. The offense then managed to get a total of 2 yards in four plays. The ball made it to the McNeese 15 thanks to a holding penalty by the Cowboys.

The first field goal in the third quarter came after the Cougars drove all the way to the McNeese five-yard line where Canada dropped a pass from Mangum that would have put him in the end zone. Instead of six, BYU settled for three.

The last field goal of the game for BYU was set up thanks to an interception from the defense. That offensive drive also stalled and BYU only managed to move the ball 7 yards before opting to kick.

This kind of play works against FCS McNeese, but leaving that many points on the field will not cut it against teams like Washington or Boise State. There needs to be a lot of clean up on the offensive side of the ball if the Cougars want to keep winning.

This defense will keep BYU in games

This seems like an obvious one, but BYU’s defense should keep them competitive in every game they play. The defense always seems to have a series or two during a game where they inexplicably let the opposing offense have their way with them, but they always seem to bounce back and remind the other team they won’t be pushed around.

Early in the first quarter against McNeese the Cowboys were moving the ball and if it weren’t for a missed field goal they would have led 6-0. But that was the end of the line for the Pokes offense.

BYU allowed just 207 yards of total offense and just 73 yards on the ground. They also forced two fumbles and two interceptions and special teams blocked a field goal and returned it setting the offense up for great field position and completely turned the game around.

I know special teams isn’t defense, but it was a defensive player who blocked the ball and another defensive player who scooped it up and made the return.

The BYU defense is the real deal and should make the Cougars at the very least competitive and in games for the rest of the season. But that may be a lot to ask if the offense can’t return the favor and give them a break while scoring some points.

BYU has a placekicker

It’s been too long since fans have been able to say this, but BYU has a place kicker.

Field goals have been a bit of a touchy subject for Cougar faithful for the last decade or so. It seems placekickers in Provo have been tough to come by. If it was ever an attempt of more than 20 yards fans would hold their breath and hope for the best, but it seems like those days may be behind them, for the time being at least.

Placekicker Sklyer Southam was three for three on Saturday against the Cowboys and registered kicks from 30 yards, 22 yards and 47 yards. That 47 yarder is the longest since Mitch Payne hit a 48-yard field goal back in 2010.

It’s nice for the Cougars to have that added security of a reliable place kicker that can get them points from distance, but the offense shouldn’t be relying on Southam as much as they did on Saturday and instead put the ball into the end zone.

Bonus thing: Who would have guessed BYU would start 3-1?

It’s easy to be critical of the Cougars and their performance on Saturday. It’s frustrating for fans to see points left on the field and the offense putting up low numbers, but the fact of the matter is that BYU is winning and are currently 3-1, something almost no one would have guessed. In fact a lot of people assumed the Cougars would currently be sitting at 1-3 with another loss coming on Saturday. Now the Cougars are 3-1, ranked in the top 25 and there is hope they could pull off an upset in Seattle next week.

While a lot needs to improve for BYU football to continue their winning ways they are playing well enough to win and should have a chance in their remaining games.

Up next for the Cougars is a trip to Seattle to take on the No. 10 ranked Washington Huskies Saturday night. John has grown up around movies and annoys friends and family with his movie facts and knowledge. John also has a passion for sports and pretty much anything awesome and it just so happens that these are the three things he writes about.

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