BYU football: Three things we learned from Portland State game

It wasn’t what most BYU football fans wanted, but the Cougars got the win over Portland State on Saturday. Here’s what we learned from the 20-6 victory.

Well, that sure was something. BYU football did get the win over Portland State, but the Cougars looked uninterested, sloppy and slow for most of the game.

It wasn’t what most expected for this week zero game.

But, at the end of the day, a win is a win. And that’s all that matters.

So with BYU football now 1-0 on the season, here are three things we learned from the win over FCS Portland State.

No. 1: The Cougar offense looks slow

First-game jitters? You bet. Hot in Provo? Absolutely (more than 100-degrees on the field). Portland State pretty solid at cornerback? Yup.

But even with all those things, BYU football still looks slow on offense. All spring, all summer and throughout fall camp we heard about the track stars on offense. How speed was going to be there, but game experience was needed.

That didn’t appear to be the case against Portland State – especially in the first half.

There were some bright spots – particularly Talon Shumway’s long reception that was nearly a touchdown – but they came few and far between.

It doesn’t bode well for a matchup with LSU. Or Utah. Or Wisconsin. We’ll have to see if things get better.

In the interest of fairness, this was a problem that wasn’t entirely one sided. The Cougar defense looked sluggish a lot as well. Here’s hoping it was mostly nerves and the heat.