BYU football: 3 things to know for UCLA
The BYU football team is preparing for a clash with the UCLA Bruins. A loss drops the Cougars below .500 on the season and a victory gives the team a winning record against the Pac-12 on the season. Here are three things to expect when UCLA comes to Provo.
The “Rosen One” hasn’t been great (at least not yet)
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen – while widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and an excellent pro prospect – hasn’t exactly set the world on fire.
Through two games, Rosen is completing 58 percent of his passes and has 610 yards. Those numbers are good, but he’s not scoring much for the Bruins. He has just two touchdowns and three interceptions.
He’s also not commanding a particularly explosive passing attack.
Rosen is averaging 7.26 yards per attempt (Troy Williams of Utah is averaging 8.03 yards per attempt).
This might be because the Bruins have found plenty of success on the ground (we’ll get to that in a bit), but Ilaisa Tuiaki’s defense attempts to limit big plays and keep everything in front of them. It bodes well for BYU that Rosen isn’t particularly mobile (so he can’t extend plays like Williams did) and that UCLA is tearing the top off defenses.
That being said, a talent like Rosen is due for a big game. But yards will be hard to come by in Provo on Saturday, so he might need to wait another week to get his season on track.
Watch out for Soso Jamabo
Besides having one of the best names in college football, Soso Jamabo also possesses power and finesse.
Nate Starks was expected to have a large role in the Bruins’ backfield, but wasn’t in uniform last week against UNLV and didn’t play against Texas A&M in Week One.
In the meantime, Jamabo has established himself as a true feature back.
He racked up 132 total yards against Texas A&M and averaged four yards per carry. Last week he rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. His six receptions are tied for the second-most on the team.
This worries me because the Cougar defense couldn’t stop Utah on the Utes’ 11+ minute drive last week where the Utes essentially ran three plays (a counter and two variations of a read option). The defensive line got gassed and couldn’t establish a push.
If UCLA is planning on giving Jamabo 30 or so touches on Saturday, the Bruins might gash the Cougars just like the Utes did.
Offense needs to be better for BYU football
The BYU football team has trouble scoring.
And that’s an understatement.
The Cougars are averaging just two touchdowns per game. They’re averaging 18.5 points per game, which is fewer than schools like Boston College, UNLV, Eastern Michigan, UTEP and many others. In fact, 18.5 points per game ranks them in the No. 90 spot nationally.
That’s not going to cut it.
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It’s especially troubling when considering the turnovers the defense is creating for BYU football. The Cougars are +5 in the turnover margin in 2016, but the offense can’t punish opponents.
The offensive line is struggling and was completely over matched at Utah. Granted, Utah’s defensive line will do that to a lot of opposing lines, but the Cougars need to be better up front.
At the same time, Taysom Hill needs to play better. Hill is at his most dangerous when he’s using his arm first and his legs second. Right now, he’s struggling to pass the ball downfield and his inaccuracy will let defenses stack the box to protect the run.
UCLA will be no different. They’ll be daring him to throw the ball. Now it’s up to him to make them pay.