- I have never seen a BYU team less prepared defensively or schematically. It’s like Bronco had no idea that Michigan would run power and then PA to the TE, even though that’s all they ever do. Instead of containing and tackling, we went back to all the psycho blitz schemes, and it appeared no one had any idea who was responsible for the TE. Ever.
- Mangum looked scared. And terrible. And panicked. He didn’t command the field for a single play, and his team felt it. Bubble burst. He played 60 minutes and did not throw a single accurate ball more than 5 yards. Worst BYU QB performance I’ve ever seen–not exaggerating–by far.
- It was OBVIOUS from the beginning the officials would let the D hold the outside receivers. Instead of using our inside receivers, we kept doing 5 step drops and running a bunch of long routes, which was obviously hopeless and looked really stupid on TV. We never adjusted at all. For this I credit Harbaugh and blame Bronco, who looked utterly out coached.
- I thought the officiating was fair. Yes, the corners were all holding, but the rules were the same for both teams. Michigan played tough man press D on the outside, and took what the officials let them have. We couldn’t take advantage of the relaxed holding rules, because we never had a defender close enough to the receiver to make a difference anyway.
- Davis’ pathetic effort on the long TD run was the worst posterization in sports history. Even little kids know that little guys have to go for the legs to tackle big guys, but Davis looked like he knew the game was already over so why bother diving at his legs and risking getting kneed in the side. Our tackling stinks. Still.
- Bronco should be ashamed that, on national TV, the ABC announcers several times questioned whether BYU had quit on the field. I thought we quit–not quit trying, or quit wanting to win, but they quit THINKING they could win, midway through the second quarter. I think it was obvious to our players that our game plan was garbage, that we had no backup plan, and that we had zero chance to ever come back.
- We are not as good as I thought. I thought Mangum would be good, but he regressed back to square 1, and I don’t think our D can get much better this year until Bronco admits that he can do all that blitzing when he has an NFL safety (DS) and NFL linebackers (Kaveinga/KVN/Unga/Hadley/Fua/Tree) and NFL lineman (Ziggy/Fangupo), but that he has to back off when he has no NFL talent at LB or DB.
- I appreciate that the D made some plays in the 2nd half, so A for effort there, but Michigan was rolling up the sidewalks and packing up to go home by then.
- Bernard showed me very good athleticism, and great size for a back. I think he has good potential.
- I’M AS BIG A BYU FAN TODAY AS I WAS FRIDAY, but it’s unacceptable to me that a BYU team that is talented enough to beat BSU and Nebraska and take UCLA to the mat could be so utterly, embarrassingly unprepared to play a big game. That was the worst “game plan” ever—and I think Bronco’s a really smart guy.
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you forgot to add that the special teams were a disaster. Our rugby player has only one gear and when we could have pinned them down inside the 10, he showed no touch. Same with our return teams…no once did we run it out to the 30.
I too saw the only bright spot of the game was both of our full backs and their futures.
I have to disagree with you on Mangum. The MU rush was a thing of beauty…He had 0 time to get a ball off. Our receivers were being held and Anae refuses to run a slant or use TEs. When this happens again, and it will, Tanner has to throw the ball in the WRs direction and hope they flag the holding.
Tom… are you in the KC camp that this is all on Bronco?
I happen to think he deserves a good portion of the blame, more than 50% because he is the DC as well as the head coach. But what would you suggest he do on the offense side? Is it all on him because he rehired Anae? Is there some underlying reason why that happened? The game was a fiasco yes, but the offense was a lot worse than the defense in my opinion. Mangum was terrible but the game plan was a disaster and never changed. I mean they made no effort to try anything different than what WASN’T working.
What is next?
Jim, my belief that Anae deserves a lot of the discredit but Bronco as the HC is responsible for it all. Also, why has Bronco not gone to Anae and DEMANDED something to the order of: “Dude, get your backside in gear and DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!”
On a team of bad tacklers, Davis is the worst. Every game there have been plays where he avoided tackling people. He may be fast, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t tackle.
As far as Mangum, I would rather have him at his worse (only playing in his 4th game), than Riley Nelson any day.
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Agreed. If the offense had moved the ball and scored some, Michigan wouldn’t have had twice the time we had to score 31 points. With the half time defensive adjustments we could have beat them. But, the offense was horrible!
I’d almost forgotten about the Nelson debacle and the fact that Bronco was so enamored with him that he couldn’t think clearly about that bad decision to put him in as the starting QB.
Thanks for putting that burr back in my saddle… 
I don’t think this is all on Bronco. However, I think it is unwise to be a HC AND a coordinator. I’m only an 8th grade coach and I think it’s too hard even at our middle school, much less in D1. When Mike Riley made himself the OC at Oregon State, it almost cost him his job; total disaster and he quickly admitted his mistake and got a new OC. I think Bronco has to get a DC who can do the job, so that he can focus on the overall picture. My guess is that as DC he gives Anae essentially 100% free reign on the O, because Bronco simply doesn’t have the time to get involved. I think Anae could do the job, but he is too stubborn to be left unsupervised by the HC, because he will kick a dead horse until the cows come home (pretty sweet mixed metaphor there :-)); yet our HC is AWOL when it comes to the O. My solution is NOT to fire Bronco, because I believe the list of potential BYU HC is very short and none stand out as being so great that we have to fire a guy with a 70% career WP and who is also a great guy. I just wish Bronco would hire a real DC.
Davis will NEVER live down that play Saturday…locker room fodder, forever.
perspective
We are playing a true freshman matched up with a 5th year senior in the Michigan game. We also have about 70 RMs on the team, guys that are somewhere from going, returning and getting back into football shape while the rest of the football world is focused on just getting better. If Hill and Williams were here would we even be having this conversation?
Having pointed out the obvious…Anae needs to go. He is an old dog without a hint of imagination.
Lastly, I have said this on many occasions: BYU wins with veteran leadership, so while next season we will suffer our flat tires, BYU will have some amazing years once Tanner gets the experience.
I saw all I needed to see from Taysom in one half vs Nebraska, and any chance of a great season went down with him. A true generational talent and it’s a shame his career never could enjoy any stability at BYU. Jamal is my favorite BYU back ever, because no one, and I mean NO ONE plays harder. He is an inspiration to me. I love my BYU Cougars, but the season got a lot less fun in a hurry without those two. The rest of our team is just not good enough to beat the big boys without those two warhorses.
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Luke Staley tried hard too! Too bad he was easily get injured.
Luke Staley…wow…200 pounds of muscle in HS and ran an 11 flat 100. He made good HS players look absolutely stupid. Those of us who follow HS football here in Oregon still remember his incredible run in the state playoffs, where he averaged over 300 yards rushing per game and ran for about 400 in the championship game. EVERY person in the stadium knew he was getting the ball and the D was powerless to do a thing about it. The only HS RB in Oregon I’ve ever seen who was as dominant was Thomas Tyner, who as a 5 star recruit went to UofO a couple years ago, but, like Staley, has been plagued by injuries ever since. It’s a shame when a kid as talented as Staley can’t realize his full potential. Incidentally, Luke’s older brother and family are in our ward, and they are a great family. Humble, quiet, hard workers with a son on a mission in Germany and a lovely daughter leaving for BYUH next month.
I agree Chris but then I disagree.
If Anae is still here, what difference does it make whether Mangum is experienced or not?
Remember,