In BYU's 5 losses last year (My Soapbox)

[Mars]

1st Quarters:
BYU 10, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 31. Outscored by 21 points.

2nd Quarters:
BYU 23, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 40. Outscored by 17 points.

(combined 1st Halfs:
BYU 33, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 71. Outscored by 38 points.)

3rd Quarters:
BYU 19, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 22. Outscored by 3 points.

4th Quarters:
BYU 23, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 27. Outscored by 4 points.

((combined 2nd Halfs:
BYU 42, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 49. Outscored by 7 points.))

<Total Games combined:
BYU 75, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 120. Outscored by 45 points.>

"The Average Quarter":
BYU 3.75, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 6. Outscored by 2.25 points.

"The Average Half":
BYU 7.5, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 12. Outscored by 4.5 points.

"The Average Loss":
BYU 15, Virginia/Utah/Wisconsin/Notre Dame/Washington 24. Outscored by 9 points.


Conclusions (based on the small sample size above):
1- BYU's Offense got better as it wore down opponents. 2nd and 4th quarters better than 1st and 3rd, and the 2nd half better that the 1st. The 1st quarter was the worst, and the 2nd/4th quarters tied for the best.
2- BYU's Defense wore down during each half, but improved overall as adjustments were made. 1st and 3rd quarters better than 2nd and 4th, but the 2nd half was better than the 1st half. The 3rd quarter was the best, and the 2nd quarter was the worst.

Questions:
1- BYU's Offense struggles the most in the 1st Half. Is it better to receive the ball in the 1st Half, to try to help kick-start the offense, or is it better to receive the ball in the 2nd half, when the offense recently seems to have more success?
2- It is natural for a defense to get tired the longer it plays. If an offense snaps the ball at a faster rate, the opposing defense should tire faster. But the shorter time of possession your offense is on the field, the less time your own defense has to rest. Which wears down faster due to the Cougars' "Go Fast Go Hard" Offense, the Opponent's defense, or BYU's?

Opinions (personal):
1- BYU football's toughest individual games partially mirror their overall seasons, in that the first quarter of play seems to be BYU's toughest to score/win (reference: too-frequent 1-2 records to start the season). One key to a great game and a great season are similar- You need to start out hot. It is very difficult to get enough momentum back to make up ground once you have put yourself in a hole (reference: lack of conference play for an Independent). Despite the mounting injuries of a season and the increasing soreness during games, BYU always seems to actually play better later as they warm up and begin to get into a flow. Getting into a groove seems to be much more critical to BYU's success on the field than injuries and overall fatigue appear to be a detriment.
2- Setting the tone in a game and to a season both seem to be very important, but too often BYU comes out flat. This is why I *personally* feel that long, intense, hard-hitting practices (especially early on in the season, and again later during the lull before bowl games) help give players the right mindset to come out and punch the other team in the mouth, thus keeping themselves from being the ones getting hit and looking stunned instead (references: TCU, Florida State). Emotional, pump-up pre-game and half-time speeches might not hurt either (reference: Oklahoma), anything to come out fearless, with a little bit of swagger and a bit of a mean streak. Injured players can be replaced with back-ups, but lackadaisical attitudes can negatively affect every player and coach within a program.
3- I would love to see BYU receive the ball in the first quarter as often as possible. Robert Anae, despite his many strengths, was not created by our great Creator to specialize in coming back from behind once BYU has given up the lead. So get the ball to the offense as early as possible and go score, relying on the team strength- "Bronco D!"- to do their part and more come kickoff in the 3rd quarter.
4- Realize that the GFGH system is a mindset, not a religion. Deviation can be healthy and beneficial from time to time. Those times include When you Have the Lead and Near the End of Quarters. Always play to WIN, NEVER play to Not Lose, but do use each situation to the best possible advantage, whether that be running out the clock, not settling for field goals, going for it down late in the game, or even getting the back-ups into the game in a blowout win to get practice running the same exact system (and not just a watered down vomit of wasteful handoffs).

Suggestions:
1- You can't win them all. Enjoy the wins, because the other team wants them desperately, and few come easy. Appreciate your opponents and show them respect, in wins and in losses. (Unless they are yewts)
2- Appreciate all the good things that are accomplished, even in the losses. The players fight their guts out, and they are the ones beneath the stadium recuperating in ice baths after the game is over. Reference: YOU SHALL NOT PASS! (Boise State 2012)
3- Have fun. College football may be the greatest game on Earth, but it's just a game. Involve your family. Hug your kids after every game- regardless of the outcome. Kiss your wife and thank her for not being Michelle Peralta.

Go Cougars

[Brayden Green]

Good post. My soapbox from a coaching standpoint has been preparation and adjustments from the offensive side of the ball.

Adjustments, and then counter adjustments. The hot-button (on this board) Houston 2013 game is actually a prime example of that. Anae had a wonderful gameplan, and it really killed the Houston Cougars out of the gate, amassing over 300 yards of offense in just one quarter and 24 points. A couple key mistakes by THill (one pick 6, and another INT in the opponent's endzone could have put us up more!)

Then in the second quarter Houston started blitzing. Watch what happens to our offense when we continue to run the same plays against an all out blitz.

1st quarter: 37 plays for 300+ yards. 3 TDs, 1 FG 2 INTS (one in the endzone)
2nd quarter: 29 plays for 176 yards. 1 TD, 1 FG 0 INTS
3rd quarter: 25 plays for ~70 yards. 0TD 0 FG 1 INT 1 SAFETY against.
4th quarter: 29 plays for 180 yards. 2TD 0 FG 0 INT

Almost anyone knows that the easiest way to counter against an all out blitz is either some type of screen (HB screen is the most common. Throw ahead to a releasing Oline and hback behind blitzing Dlineman and/or linebackers and safeties) or a quick slant against man coverage to the middle of the field WHERE THE LINEBACKERS and SAFETIES USED TO BE!

Instead of taking what is given, and coasting to the easy win, Anae made no adjustment and continued to do long developing read-option plays, and slow developing qb rollouts to receivers going down field deep (not good % plays to run).

A more detailed breakdown would show you that not only are we not moving the chains and scoring, we are leaving our defense out on the field without a break by going fast, going hard, and going 3 and out. When they start blitzing you see a ton of 3 and outs pop up, because of improper counter-adjusting and taking what is being given us.

1st quarter drive summaries:

3 plays, 41 yards, 0:39, TOUCHDOWN
8 plays, 68 yards, 1:27, Field Goal
7 plays, 75 yards, 1:37, TOUCHDOWN
3 plays, 7 yards, 1:05 INT returned for a pick 6.
9 plays, 75 yards, 2:44 TOUCHDOWN
7 plays, 19 yards, 1:55 INT (in the endzone)

2nd - 4th qtr summaries (post all out blitz):
3 plays, 7 yards, 0:57 3 and out, PUNT
3 plays, 3 yards, 0:42 3 and out, PUNT
5 plays, 17 yards, 2:04 PUNT
10 plays, 76 yards, 2:38 TOUCHDOWN
8 plays, 73 yards, 1:31 Field Goal
HALFTIME
6 plays, 19 yards, 1:56 Turnover on Downs
4 plays, 4 yards, 1:20 INT
9 plays, 22 yards, 3:29 PUNT
3 plays, -9 yards, 0:55 Safety against
9 plays, 97 yards, 2:17 TOUCHDOWN
3 plays, 2 yards, 1:40 PUNT
3 plays, -2 yards 0:49 PUNT
6 plays, 25 yards, 1:54 PUNT
3 plays, 48 yards, 0:42 PUNT
5 plays, 23 yards, 1:01 End of Game

Anyone that doesn't think that we didn't eke out a win because we didn't make a counter adjustment to their defensive adjustment needs to talk to their bishop about possible word of wisdom violation(s).

EL FIN. Go Cougars!!!

[Cougarbib]

Blue

We eked out a win because our defense gave up 46 points. It is that simple. You brought up cyclical in another thread. You want to anoint the Houston DC as superior to Anae because he adjusted and held Anae to 176 yards and 10 points in the 2nd quarter. Defensive coordinators get fired for giving up 176 yards and 10 points per quarter. See 4th quarter - same story. The Houston DC got his Cougar Tail kicked for 3 quarters. He sucked. Anae did great.

3rd quarter. Sure. Anae sucked and the Houston DC looked like a genius. One freaking quarter of not getting man handled by Anae.

176 to 180 yards per quarter gets you to about 720 per game at that clip. 24 points in two quarters gets you to 48 points in 4 quarters at that clip.

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[Cougarbib]

My Soap Box

Scheduling and timing.

BYU scheduled at least 4 of the 5 losses. UVA was bad timing, too, location, and jet lag. Smart teams do not travel this far for games other than Bowl games. BYU also was not ready. Too much new coaches, new scheme, inexperienced players including QB and OL, and too many injured DBs.

The other 4 losses were to very good teams. Also, like UVA, all but Utah were road games.

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[Florwood]

How quickly we want to forget, Cougarbib. The second loss was at home, to eventual 5-7 Utah.

[Cougarbib]

How quickly we want to forget, Cougarbib. The second loss was at home, to eventual 5-7 Utah.

If BYU played that schedule, BYU would likely have also been 5-7 or worse. Seems like BYU played them before they lost the our starting QB for the rest of the season. Utah was dangerous. Ask Stanford.

I edited the original post. I should have said even LES is a road game when playing Utah. I was at that game. Sold my two extra seats for about $200 each. After that loss, BYU ticket prices plummeted.

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[Florwood]

If BYU played that schedule, BYU would likely have also been 5-7 or worse. Seems like BYU played them before they lost the our starting QB for the rest of the season. Utah was dangerous. Ask Stanford.

I agree their schedule would have been very difficult for BYU. But my point was 'very good' teams' don't go 5-7.

[Cougarbib]

If BYU played that schedule, BYU would likely have also been 5-7 or worse. Seems like BYU played them before they lost the our starting QB for the rest of the season. Utah was dangerous. Ask Stanford.

I agree their schedule would have been very difficult for BYU. But my point was 'very good' teams' don't go 5-7.

This is normally true. Now - give a very good team an unforgiving schedule and take out the starting QB early enough in the season, and you find the exceptions to the rule.

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[mormonrasta]

Talent.

All 5 teams that beat us out recruited us over the last 5 years and don't send 75% of their players on missions. They all had more NFL draft picks than us last year.

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