Disagree. If it weren’t for his receivers making some really great catches, Tanner and the Cougars would have lost last night. When the rain let up, Tanner didn’t do any better. He got that really lucky touchdown pass tipped a couple of times. And a couple of really ugly duckling interceptions.
Your last comment is the one that really hits the spot. That second half D looked absolutely awful. Take out Langi and it drops from awful to pathetic. Our pass rush is really non existing. Do we even know how to set up stunts? I have not seen any evidence at all. We constantly just bull rush three or four guys and hope for something good to happen. Even when they do get the push, they are really, really bad at spotting the QB and actually catching him and putting him down. It’s all of them, not just one. I just don’t get it.
And our third and long “prevention” D just needs to go. The only thing it appears to prevent is us getting a third down stop. Third and 22 and our guys appear clueless as to where the first down marker is and don’t look for the receivers to cut on that line. I mean, get your head in the game men. You know what they need so think about that in 8 main coverage but don’t allow a 23 yard completion. This team does it over and over and over. This is as much a coaching issue as a player issue. People need to stay focused and think when playing. Just running around unaware of the situation doesn’t cut it, but that’s exactly what these guys appear to do (with possibly the exception of Nacua).
With all due consideration you would have thought the qbs would have had the advantage over the defense in the conditions as the defense has to react to what the offense is running thus the sloppy conditions slowing that reaction time down. This game did little to answer questions BYU has had all year. Protecting the quarterback, why the receivers can’t create space, critical drops, puzzling play calls, defensive pressure on the qb. Hill was able to negate the pass rush a good part of the time with his running ability, picking up key first downs. Tanner doesn’t have that luxury and he won’t have a great year with the opposition in his face all year.
I was thinking the same thing Glenn. That would have been a perfect game for Taysom to shine.
I’m not worried about Tanner. The conditions were bad, and both QB’s looked mediocre through three quarters. By the time they could start passing. BYU didn’t need to be cause they were trying to run out the clock, and Wyoming had to.
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I’m not worried about Tanner either. His performance in the bowl game wasn’t his best. I heard him interviewed after the game and he is fully aware of what he goofed up. One thing Detmer praised him for was the adjustments he was able to call at the line. That is a big part of Detmer’s offense and it helped Jamaal do as well as he did. Once this offense becomes second nature to him, I think he’ll thrive.
The other thing I want to highlight is the great season Sitake and his staff had in their first year. Sitake is the first BYU coach to win his first bowl game. I love the culture Sitake is creating at BYU. It is no wonder that he has been such a successful recruiter in his career. Sitake and his staff should be recognized for the great first year they had. If you had asked me at the beginning of the season how I would feel if we went 9-4, I would have said “ecstatic.” Yeah, we lost some close games but we were in every game this season; no blow-outs. I look at Bronco’s struggles in Virgina with only two wins and I realize how remarkable it is for a new coach (first time head coach) to do so well. I think there will be some great things in store for this program.
Finally, it has been really fun to see some outstanding players give outstanding performance this year including Jamall Williams, Taysom Hill, Kai Nacua, Harvey Langi and others. Its been a fun season!
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And to think that BYU lost 4 games by a total of 8 points is just mind blowing.
Yeah, I think BYU broke some record for having 7 games in a season decided by 3pts or less.
I hope the coaches learned from their mistakes that cost 3 of the 4 losses. Going for 2 points. Ugggg!!!