BYU football: Why the Portland State game was perfect to prepare for LSU

BYU football didn’t play up to their expectations for most fans. But what if I told you that the Cougars win against Portland State was near perfect?

After the last whistle blew on Saturday, there was immediate panic among BYU football fans. How could the Cougars only beat FCS Portland State by 14 and expect to be even competitive with SEC powerhouse LSU this week?

After rewatching the game and analyzing the stats, I have come to the conclusion that the way that the BYU football game ended was the perfect ending to prepare for LSU. Here are three reasons why the Cougars are in the best position that they could be in.

1. The Penalties/Careless Focus

The BYU offense can be blamed for the loss of 10-13 points due to penalties and carelessness.

No I’m not talking about the o-line giving Tanner Mangum more time in the pocket, I am talking about things that actually did happen but were taken away because of penalties and carelessness.

Kavika Fonua had a long run that put the Cougars inside the 10-yard yard line. However, there was a holding called that took all of that away. BYU football would have at least scored a field goal off of that, but likely a touchdown.

Later in the game, Fonua once again had a big run that went for a touchdown. Once again there was a penalty that took away those points. That cost the Cougars four points because they had to later settle for a field goal.

Finally, when BYU lined up for a field goal in the second half, only 10 players were on the field. Kalani Sitake wisely called a timeout just before the snap. Nobody heard the timeout however, and the kick went through the uprights. The referees called off the field goal and gave BYU the timeout. After the timeout, the field goal was missed.

Leaving 10-13 points off the board for avoidable situations is unacceptable. You better believe that the coaches are going to be on the offensive line and receivers this week about those penalties and being on the field at the right time. I can almost guarantee that BYU football is not going to lose ten to thirteen points this week because of penalties. And if the coaches don’t get on onto the players enough, I am sure that Kavika Fonua will have something to say to them.

2. The Score

If BYU football had beaten the Vikings 40-6 or even 35-6, the Cougars may be going into the next game a little bit prideful. Also, the Tigers would have gained a lot of respect for the Cougars had they had a score like that. Here’s the secret though, BYU “actually did” score more than 20 points.

Next: BYU Offense Cause For Concern, Not Panic

Going back to the last point, if you add those 10-13 points that were taken away due to penalties and being aware of who is on the field, the score suddenly goes from 20-6 to 30-6 or 33-6.  Both of those scores look like a very convincing win compared to the 20-6 score. So yes it was a good thing those penalties happened because now LSU is expecting less and the Cougars are more focused.

By winning by 14 however, the Cougars don’t feel like they lost. It was a slap in the face to refocus, but not a knockout punch that should damage the rest of their season. Also, with that score, LSU is probably viewing this more as a cupcake game. There have already been multiple reports of LSU admitting that their game with BYU is scrimmage.

3. The Play Calling

Both offensively and defensively the Cougars ran a very basic game plan.

There were no more than a handful of plays that could be considered aggressive calls. No fourth down conversions, no read options, no trick plays or crazy blitzes. Just basic fundamental football. The Cougars ran the same seven to ten plays the whole entire game. The only differences would be the direction or the players in the game at the time.

So imagine that you are the LSU coaches or players watching the game. Danny Etling even told Nola.com the following about watching the Cougars:

“Obviously it gives us an advantage…we get to see them play. They don’t get to see us play. They still won’t know how we’ll run our offense.”

Do you really think that LSU is going to have their scout team run the same seven plays and expect that they know the BYU playbook?

No, no they will not.