Originally published October 20, 2015.
I saw that phrase—the ‘Cardiac Cougars’—on a postgame recap, and I loved it. Tanner Mangum was visibly in pain all game against Cincinnati. Thankfully for the Cougars, the defense wasn’t. Aside from giving up two early drives, the D was astounding. Cincy quarterback Hunter Moore, starting in place of injured Gunner Kiel, was sacked eight times. EIGHT SACKS. BYU hasn’t had that kind of production since their 30-7 win over San Diego State in 1999. Here are some takeaways from the game:
First, Tanner Mangum is not only a miracle worker; he is a gritty, hard-core winner. It seems like teams can’t just believe themselves to victory outside of movies—unless they happen to be BYU. The Cougars trailed 17-3 in the second quarter and 17-10 at the hallf, with Mangum completing a miserable 5 of 15 passes with an interception. To be fair, several of those incomplete passes came on dropped balls, and his one interception bounced off a receiver’s hands and into a defender’s. Still, Mangum wasn’t Mangum. This was quite likely due to the hamstring injury he suffered last week against East Carolina. Then, suddenly, something snapped, and Mangum became unstoppable. He completed 14 of 17 passes after intermission, and doubled his first half yardage midway through the third quarter. The Cougars finally began taking advantage of Cincy’s infamously poor pass defense. The game-tying score came on a spectacular leaping-diving-pirouetting SC Top 10-quality grab in the corner of the end zone by Nick Kurtz. Although Cincy scored another touchdown and led 24-17 going into the fourth, the Bearcats were running out of steam. BYU just had to bury them, which they did by scoring 21 unanswered points in the final fifteen minutes.
One area which contributed immensely to BYU’s success was the play of the offensive line. The big boys up front didn’t give up a single sack, providing the injured Mangum with what amounted to a police escort. This allowed Mangum to stay in the pocket and make easy throws. It also opened up the run game, as Francis Bernard and Algernon Brown both played well.
The BYU defense, meanwhile, was playing on a whole new level. Bronson Kaufusi, Travis Tuiloma and friends looked utterly bloodthirsty, tossing offensive linemen backwards and sacking Cincinnati QB Hunter Moore eight times! Against Memphis in his first real playing time as a college quarterback, Moore threw for 557 yards without even playing the entire game. It’s hard to throw for 557 yards with that group of defensive linemen crashing in on you every play.
BYU’s receiving corps has been the crowning jewel of the offensive crown this season. Up until this game (with the exception of the Michigan disaster), the Cougar receivers have been dependable, solid targets for Tanner Mangum—crucial to the success of the true freshman QB. This game showed that even the glowing receivers have their faults; when the quarterback is heroically playing hurt, and the offensive line is blocking like their lives depend on it, the one thing that ruins the play is if the receiver can’t hang on to the ball! BYU’s wideouts had several drops on key plays. Nick Kurtz made matters worse with a second quarter unsportsmanlike penalty. He, at least, redeemed himself well—his spectacular third-quarter TD grab got BYU back into the game, and, in quarter number four, he got ridiculously wide open on a 53-yard touchdown grab which, regardless of how his time at BYU plays out, will undoubtedly be the easiest score of his career.
The BYU special teams unit continued its resurgence. Jonny Linehan averaged a decent 47.4 yards per punt, but it would be punt returner Garrett Juergens who gave the Cougar special teams a spark with a 39-yard punt return—his first really good one of the season. Trevor Sampson kicks PAT’s with the consistency of an automatic tennis ball launcher, and nailed his only field goal attempt from 29 yards out.
Overall, BYU gets a C- for the first three quarters and an A+ for the fourth. The Cougars were in better shape than the Bearcats on the whole, and simply waited for them to get tired. Then, as so many times this season, the Cougars pounced, and sent Cincy home.
Looking ahead to next week’s matchup: BYU plays their fourth consecutive home game, this one against 0-5 FCS foe Wagner College. The Seahawks are still looking for their first win, and it doesn’t seem likely they’ll get it in LaVell Edwards Stadium. With their speed, size, and endurance, coupled with Tanner Mangum healthier, the Cougars will dominate the Seahawks and Tanner likely won’t play in the second half. My prediction: BYU defeats Wagner 73-0.
Bold Prediction: Micah Hannemann and Devon Blackmon each have a punt return of 15+ yards, and one of them scores a touchdown on a return.