BYU's difficulties

Because the Daily Universe does not allow it's beat writers to publish anything that has opinion in it, for reasons nobody seems to know, I submit this piece to my personal collection that might add some depth to your assessment of the 2010 BYU football team.

And Because I signed a letter of nondisclosure, I am not permitted to say anything ill of the paper I write for.

But I'll have you know...I just want to write opinion sometimes. So here:


Following the Utah State game Friday, many fans began to wonder who is to be held accountable, if anyone, for the losses and embarrassment of this year. And although Cougar Board will be flooded with calls for the heads of the Offensive Coordinator, the Defensive Coordinator, and (heaven forbid) Coach Mendenhall, I’m not yet buying that it’s entirely any of these persons fault.

That said, there is a small cause for concern in a certain number of areas with this current BYU team.

For example, fans often attribute youthfulness of the team to future success. As we’ve seen with countless other programs that are rebuilding or reloading, youth doesn’t always translate into success. Sure, some of the freshmen on this team are promising. Jake Heaps, for one, is touted as a quarterback projected to start in the NFL, and he’s only yet completed one touchdown reception. Kyle Van Noy, Cody Hoffman, Joshua Quezada, and many others have seen significant playing time. While each has been recruited based upon his talent, it is easy for fan’s to believe that they are just getting reps to be ready to be the next Halls, Ungas, Pittas, and Collie’s of the world. However, this isn’t always the case.

While it sure is entertaining and reassuring to watch this young team and think of brighter days ahead, there must be caution in doing so. I’m not saying they won’t be a good team in the future, I’m just saying that they haven’t done anything yet.

And with what we’ve seen with these freshmen, there is still no reason to believe they will perform up to expectations. The sample size is extremely small, and we must factor in the time it takes to develop into a contributing player. But even Mendenhall is waiting for someone, anyone, to step up at the tight-end position and stand out. So far, the young one’s haven’t shown anything yet.

Also, I’ve heard some mention that Bronco Mendenhall doesn’t ‘pump’ his team up enough before games. Many talk about Mendenhall’s lack of emotion before, during, and after games.

After standing in on interviews and press conferences, it is easy for me to agree with this sediment. But is his lack of visible emotion a true factor in winning ballgames? There’s really no way to measure that. But it is remarkable to note that when a Bronco Mendenhall team looses a football game, they generally lose by a lot of points.

There are many factors that could contribute to this fact. First, perhaps the teams they lose to vastly overmatch BYU. Or perhaps when BYU is down, they play ‘homerun’ ball to catch up to opponents—they go for big, quick plays that are high-risk, high-reward. By doing so, they allow the other team more opportunities (and time) to move the ball downfield and rack up the score.

But on further look, one might conclude that Mendenhall lacks the power to motivate his team on the sideline. Surely, these lopsided losses aren’t all coincidence.

Lets examine the evidence:

Last year, the Cougars fell to Florida State at home by a score of 54-28, a 26 point spread. They also lost to TCU by a score of 38-7, a 31-point spread.

The previous year, BYU suffered losses to TCU, Utah, and Arizona. The combined score of opponents was 111-52, with BYU’s closest loss being 10 points against an 8-5 Arizona squad.

In 2007, Bronco’s squad only lost two games. The first they lost by ten to UCLA, and the second by 8 to Tulsa.

In 2006, BYU only lost two games by a total of 10 points. Again, Arizona, who finished 6-6 that year, beat BYU by a field goal, and Boston College beat BYU by a touchdown.

In 2005, BYU opponents outscored BYU 220-148 in losses that year.

Overall, the disparity of points in losses in Bronco Mendenhall coached teams is fascinating. Including the losses this year, opponents that have beaten BYU have outscored Mendenhall coached teams by a score of 678-388. Which is a remarkable statistic.

Utah, a comparable team, has only been outscored 499-294 in the same time period. Meaning, their opponent scores about 59% more than them in losses.

BYU gets outscored by 67%.

Kyle Wittingham seems to be more emotional, while Mendenhall seems more static. Is there any weight to this theory? Maybe not. Do college athletes need to be ‘pumped up’ to perform better? Perhaps some of them.

But still, Mendenhall teams seem to lack the ability to come back when down by two touchdowns. Even with the Utah State game, it was hard to imagine the Cougars could overcome the first half deficit.

So let’s hold out on calling for Mendenhall’s head, as there are many things left to figure out with this team. But that said, there are a few things to examine when assessing the 2010 Cougars and the future of this team.