RECAP: BYU beats the refs...I mean Wyoming
Looking to rebound from last week's travesty of a game in Eugene, the #19 BYU Cougars returned to the friendly confines of LaVell Edwards Stadium for a matchup with former longtime conference rival Wyoming. This was just the second meeting between the two teams since BYU left the Mountain West Conference in 2011. The first was a 24-21 win over a Josh Allen-led Cowboys team in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl--a game where Allen's talent couldn't make up for the 'Pokes atrocious run defense as Jamaal Williams broke the 200-yard mark and earned bowl MVP honors. That game was relatively evenly-matched, while this one was not--at least from a pure talent perspective. Wyoming has some dudes (I was especially impressed with WR Joshua Cobbs), but the Cougars were favored by 21.5 for a reason. So how did it turn out?
Not bad, all things considered. The Cougars certainly looked like they resolved some of the issues that plagued them in last week's disaster, though this was partially thanks to a much lower caliber of competition--other than (inexplicably) Air Force, Wyoming isn't scaring anyone this year. Mostly, the game consisted of BYU playing well on offense and controlling the game, while Wyoming stayed within striking distance thanks to a couple fortunate plays and some truly appalling officiating.
And yes, it's time to talk about the refs. The spread for this game, as mentioned, was 21.5 points. Based on how the second half went, you're going to have a tough time convincing me the officiating crew didn't have some money on BYU failing to cover. From the weakest unsportsmanlike penalty I've ever seen live to a truly awful spot that handed the Cowboys a full extra two yards and a first down, the refs looked lost for much of the game. The officiating was poor-quality at best and blatantly slanted toward Wyoming at worst. The penalty stats are telling: Wyoming was penalized just twice for twenty yards, while BYU was penalized ELEVEN TIMES for 109 yards! As mentioned, several of those penalties were either weak interpretations of a 50/50 play or else phantom calls altogether. The impact on the field was obvious--despite being outgained by a whopping 247 yards, the Cowboys incredibly had three more first downs than the Cougars! The reason? They had SIX penalty first downs, compared to just one for BYU. The lopsidedness is almost cartoonish on paper.
Look, I don't literally think the refs have a gambling problem and I'm not accusing anyone of cheating. Refs, like players, are human and have off games. This officiating crew, like many who work BYU's home games, also were probably unfamiliar with one another, having been drawn from a pool of Pac-12, Big XII, and MWC officials. Still, this is the second time in as many recaps that I've mentioned the performance of the officials, and unlike last week, this performance actually had a significant impact on the game. I am, once again, so looking forward to joining the Big XII and no longer having to deal with cut-rate referee crews.
All right, no more about the refs. Let's talk about football instead. Here are my non-ref-related thoughts on the game:
The Good:
It could be argued that this was Jaren Hall's best performance at BYU thus far. His QBR of 210.96 is surpassed as his career best only by the 232.93 he recorded last year against Idaho State during what proved to be very limited action in a lopsided buy game blowout. It's hard to take any stats from a game like that at face value, so I don't think I'm going out too far on a limb when I say this is the most impressive Jaren Hall has ever looked. He was truly, completely in control of the game. He made quick decisions and looked in sync with his receivers, even as his receiving options seemed to change sometimes from drive to drive. He also detonated several unbelievable deep balls, finding receivers in stride or connecting on impossible-looking back shoulder throws. Particularly impressive once again was Hall's composure in the last couple of minutes of the first half. As he did against Baylor, he directed an impressive two-minute drill that marched the theretofore sputtering offense down the field with almost cavalier ease, resulting in a touchdown and total momentum control heading into halftime. Hall unquestionably has the physical and mental skillset of an NFL quarterback, and scouts are beginning to take notice.
Despite continued injuries and turmoil among Hall's cast of pass-catchers, the Cougars' passing game demonstrated just how deep that cast really is as Hall distributed the ball liberally among various targets, some of whom surfaced from a considerable distance down the depth chart. Keanu Hill was chief among Hall's connections, racking up five catches for a career-high 160 yards and two TD's, one of which showcased his strength in a big way as he dragged a defensive back a full ten yards to the end zone after catching a bomb from Hall. Kody Epps also had an effective game, both Miles Davis and Lopini Katoa had catches out of the backfield, and Brayden Cosper--practically the six million dollar man thanks to all of the injuries he's suffered during a tumultuous BYU tenure--caught a beautiful toe-tap TD, the first score of his career.
Tight ends Isaac Rex and Masen Wake made themselves useful throughout the game, catching passes and providing great protection for Jaren Hall. It can be lost in the glitz and glamour of his hurdling at times, but Masen Wake is fantastic in pass protection--he made a couple of Hall's most impressive throws possible with his excellent blocking. I don't want to spend too much time talking about Dallin Holker's decision to leave the program--it's been beaten to death by others--but his complaints about BYU failing to use TE's properly seem a little shallow to me. Of the Cougars' three primary TE's--Holker, Rex, and Wake--Holker was always the weakest by far in pass protection. That's a major reason why Rex won the starting job over him. A tight end isn't normally a glamorous primary receiving target--superstars like Gordon Hudson of old or Kyle Pitts more recently are rare. Part of a tight end's job is to be a sixth offensive lineman at times, and that's a role that Rex and Wake embraced better than Holker. He wanted to be a star more than he wanted to work within the Cougars' offense to the benefit of his team. That shows a certain degree of selfishness, but also a fundamental lack of understanding of the position he plays. Buyer beware wherever he decides to transfer. And with that, I won't say anything more about that particular controversy.
After initially looking uninspired to start the game, giving up large, gashing runs on the first three Wyoming possessions, the BYU defense made some great adjustments. Recognizing that Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley wasn't really a threat to throw the ball downfield, Ilaisa Tuiaki began sending in more four-man fronts and selling out to stop the run. This strategy largely shut down the Wyoming offense--the aforementioned raft of gift penalties helped the Cowboys make it close, but they never really threatened thanks to the defense's newfound effectiveness.
The Cougar run game was revitalized in the second half thanks to a heavy dose of Miles Davis. Somewhat buried in the depth chart behind the likes of Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa throughout his time at BYU, Davis got his chance on Saturday and was extremely impressive. He burst open several long runs and in general was effective at finding and hitting gaps in the offensive line. Granted, the offensive line naturally looked a lot better against Wyoming than it did against Oregon or Baylor, but as Kalani Sitake himself said in the postgame, you can only blame the line just so much for the Cougars' struggles running the ball to date. Chris Brooks was an incredibly exciting addition through the transfer portal given what he was able to do at Cal last year, but so far through four games, he has been a serious disappointment. He struggles to find all but the largest, most obvious holes and doesn't have the acceleration necessary to hit gaps at speed and break through tackles. Given that Katoa has always thrived as a change-of-pace back, I wouldn't be shocked to see Miles Davis take over the RB1 role if Brooks continues to have issues.
Finally, I have to shout out the general next-man-up attitude that the Cougars demonstrated in this game. The injuries are beginning to pile up for this BYU roster (as will be addressed later) and the Cougars were without several important defensive pieces against Wyoming. Micah Harper saw an increased role as a result of injuries in the secondary and he was extremely impressive, leading the team in tackles and making multiple big plays. Walk-on Hunter Greer, who made the team this offseason in a tryout but was pressed into extensive playing time due to the Cougars' decimated defensive front rotation, had a massive TFL that stalled a late Cowboy drive and was generally solid all game. Another walk-on, Bruce Mitchell, had a great pass breakup at the line. Kalani Sitake stated very clearly that so far, no Cougars have suffered season-ending injuries and that both Gabe Summers and Earl Tuioti-Mariner are expected to start against Utah State on Thursday. That will provide some welcome relief for the beleaguered rotation, but it was nice to see some of the younger guys step up and make big plays when it counted.
The Bad:
I mentioned injuries, and boy oh boy, the injury bug is starting to bite the Cougars in a big way. Heading into the game, the coaching staff presented a disheartening collection of questionable players--a euphemism, with this coaching staff, for "we're not going to play them but we don't want to let on until game time"--and multiple players listed as OUT. Max Tooley, Kaleb Hayes, Earl Tuioti-Mariner, Gabe Summers, and Gunner Romney were all pregame scratches. Meanwhile, Puka Nacua returned from his ankle injury...and suffered an apparent hamstring pull late in the game. Ugh. Adding to the Cougars' wide receiver woes, Chase Roberts left the game at halftime with an undisclosed issue and spent the second half on the sideline in street clothes. Malik Moore, Josh Larsen, Kingsley Suamataia, and Austin Riggs all left the game with injuries and didn't return. Moore and Riggs suffered nearly identical broken right hands and are out for the foreseeable future, though Coach Sitake indicated they would return within a few games. Suamataia's X-rays came back negative and he is expected to play soon--though probably not Thursday. Meanwhile, Payton Wilgar left the game with what appeared to be cramping at one point, but returned and was productive in the 4th quarter. He should be fine. It's worth noting that Tooley and Romney were apparently both ready to go for this game but were scratched because of the short turnaround between this game and Utah State on Thursday. They are both likely to play Thursday. It seems like injuries are a perennial problem for BYU, and this year the Cougars have been impacted severely.
While Coach Tuiaki's defensive adjustments after Wyoming's first three drives were impressive, I'm a little confused as to why they were necessary. The Cougars have repeatedly proven that a drop-8 scheme isn't sufficient for them to stop the run--instead of daring Wyoming to attack through the air, where the Cowboys were weaker, Tuiaki's initial scheme played directly into the stronger Wyoming run game. It's almost as if Tuiaki defaults to a drop-8 scheme and then adjusts if a team can beat it--the problem is that against any kind of competent offensive opponent, the time it takes to make those adjustments can be costly. I don't like drop-8 and I never have, but I recognize its usefulness against dynamic pass attacks (see: last year's Virginia game). The Cougars were lucky that the 'Pokes really weren't capable of seriously punishing Saturday's defensive indecisiveness, but unfortunately, Oregon clearly was. Particularly with so many injuries impacting his D-line, Coach Tuiaki might want to consider abandoning drop-8 against all but the most dangerous pass attacks until he has enough healthy first-teamers to get serious push at the line with three rushers.
What the heck happened to Chris Brooks? I mentioned, when talking about Miles Davis, that Brooks has been struggling so far. Other than a couple of big highlight runs against USF, he's had an absolutely miserable start to the season. He can't seem to get into any kind of rhythm or read the field well enough to find holes created by the O-line. Coming into the season, Brooks was supposed to be the Cougars' next great RB and a worthy, if not quite as capable, successor to Tyler Allgeier. So far, he hasn't come close. It's probably too early to label him as a bust, but he's precariously close to losing the starting job entirely.
I somewhat reluctantly opined last week that as a result of his three consecutive high-profile misses, it might be time to bench Jake Oldroyd. I didn't really expect it to happen, but it did...sort of. Oldroyd took--and made--all five of BYU's PAT attempts against Wyoming. He also handled all kickoffs. However, when the Cougars lined up to kick a 4th quarter field goal, backup kicker Justen Smith was given the nod. It was a weird arrangement and it's hard to read the coaches' intentions. Will Oldroyd and Smith alternate? Will they split kicking duties as happened Saturday? Or could this be the end for Oldroyd, with Smith gradually outperforming and then supplanting him in each role? Right now, it's hard to say. It's also hard to be confident in the Cougars' special teams (other than the perennially excellent Ryan Rehkow).
Well, enough about Wyoming. The Cougars didn't make it all that pretty, but they got a two-score win over a longtime rival and that had to feel good. Next up: a quick turnaround and a highly unusual Thursday game against Utah State. The Aggies are genuinely awful this season under second-year HC Blake Anderson. Anderson's an all-around good guy with a heart-rending but inspiring story and I respect him a lot, as do the Cougars. That respect can only go just so far, though, given that his team lost by two scores to UNLV and by four scores to Weber State--yes, FCS Weber State. The Aggies are a bad, bad team. They have no defense and even less offense. Thursday's game should be extremely lopsided. I'm predicting a 52-13 BYU win.
Tweets of the night:
A quartet of legends who know a great deal about beating Wyoming (and every other MWC team) showed up for the game
The fans had...strong opinions about the officiating
Meanwhile, Jaren Hall once again impressed both on and off the field