From the Archive: Thoughts on BYU's stunning 28-25 win over #14 Boise State

Originally published November 2, 2019.

We know one thing for sure about BYU football through seven games—the Cougars are unbelievably inconsistent.  After gritty wins over Tennessee and USC were followed by a blowout loss to Washington and letdowns against Toledo and South Florida, the Cougars took the field with—get this—their third-string quarterback, four reserve offensive linemen, and their third and fourth-string running backs to take on the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the nation.  The Cougars were underdogs by more than a touchdown, and even that seemed like it was probably generous.

And yet, after Boise State put together an impressive drive to open the game, the next three quarters or so were pretty much dictated by the Cougars.  On defense, BYU was dominant from the Broncos’ second possession to the middle of the fourth quarter—a stretch where Boise State’s offense produced few notable plays and only three points.  Meanwhile, the BYU offense took over the third quarter, putting up three quick touchdowns and digging the Broncos into a hole out of which they didn’t have time to climb.  Here are some impressions from the game:

1. The BYU defense played with some urgency.  This has been a problem for the Cougars all season.  Some of the blame for their defensive struggles has been on the coaching staff, as the game plans drawn up for the Toledo and USF games seemed to be especially lacking in aggression.  No such trouble was evident against Boise State.  Ilaisa Tuiaki and company served up a delicious buffet of various blitz and coverage packages that confused the Broncos’ young quarterback and produced two interceptions, two sacks, and three additional tackles for loss while allowing only 185 yards through the air.  Boise State made a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the BYU defense played a perfect prevent game, keeping the offense in front of them and forcing the Broncos to use too much clock on their two scoring drives.

2. The Cougars have the best kind of quarterback problem.  Lack of viable, healthy quarterback options has been an Achilles heel of the BYU offense over the previous two seasons.  When starter Zach Wilson went down against Toledo, it looked for all the world like the same vicious injured quarterback cycle might repeat itself…until it didn’t.  In spite of the Cougars’ losing effort against USF, Jaren Hall had a great game.  Then, with Hall lost to a concussion, Baylor Romney took over as the Cougars’ starter and torched Boise State with a line of 15-26 for two touchdowns and no picks, producing an impressive passer rating of 154.48.  Romney didn’t look like a redshirt freshman walk-on.  He made mature, gutsy decisions, executed difficult throws, and refused to be intimidated by the Broncos’ formidable defense.  The only hard decision QB coach Aaron Roderick has to make for the Cougars’ November 2nd matchup with Utah State is who will get the start—and with Hall and Romney both playing at a high level, that’s not a bad problem to have.  The Aggies will have their hands full with either.

3. Sione Finau had a great day.  The freshman running back was with Baylor Romney on the Cougars’ scout team last year, and like Romney, had little game-time experience going into this one.  Like Romney, he didn’t play like it.  Finau showed remarkable speed, nice footwork, and impressive athleticism, ringing up 89 yards on 11 carries. These included an explosive 43-yard TD on a well-designed option play to open the third quarter.  Most impressive to me, though, was this gem of a stat: Finau didn’t have a single negative play from scrimmage.  Finau’s speed and shiftiness allowed him to keep positive yardage coming for the Cougars on the ground.  With RB1 Ty’Son Williams out for the season and RB2 Emmanuel Esupka sidelined for the Boise State game, Finau got the bulk of the Cougars’ rushing workload and rose magnificently to the occasion.  Esukpa is likely to play in the Utah State game, especially with a bye week to get healthier, but Finau is likely to continue getting carries.

Now, on to Utah State.  The Aggies have somewhat underperformed this year, with preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Love playing inconsistent and sometimes sloppy football.  Impressive wins over now-ranked Wake Forest and San Diego State aren’t looking quite so convincing after a disappointing blowout loss to Air Force last week.  The Utah State defense is really struggling against the run, although that may just serve to balance out and cancel the Cougars’ mediocre rushing attack.  This is a winnable game for the Cougars, but it won’t be an easy victory.  Utah State will be motivated and angry coming into this game.  If the Cougars want to win, they will need a combination of strong defensive line play and consistency in the run game on offense.  Whoever gets the start at quarterback will need to make smart decisions as well (it’s worth note, by the way, that neither Jaren Hall nor Baylor Romney has yet thrown an interception in their respective starts).  Most importantly, the Cougars will need to have one heck of a game plan that accounts for the Aggies’ strengths in ways the game plans against Toledo and USF didn’t.

If the Cougars lose this one, it will hurt Kalani Sitake’s job security immensely.  BYU football traditionally has no business losing to Utah State, and with the last two consecutive Old Wagon Wheel contests ending in BYU losses by embarrassing scores, the expectation for the Cougars has to be one of total dominance in this game.  Anything less than a convincing win could be indicative that the program is headed firmly in the wrong direction.  A win, on the other hand, puts the Cougars in great shape going into a stretch of relatively easy games against Liberty, Idaho State, and UMass, and allows Coach Sitake to breathe a little easier.  A lot is riding on this game.  The time for consistency from the Cougars is right now.