BYU football: Should OC Ty Detmer be on the hot seat?
On Monday, BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake said the Cougars are searching for their offensive identity. Should Ty Detmer be on the hot seat?
BYU football’s shutout loss to LSU wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Granted, I had expected the Cougars to score once, but I never figured they’d muster fewer than 100 total yards.
But at the same time, that’s what great SEC defenses do – they suffocate opponents.
What the loss did illustrate, however, is a trouble with the BYU football offense. A problem that stretches back to last season.
Frankly, the Cougars aren’t scaring anyone offensively. After scoring just 20 total points through two games in 2017, the question has to be asked:
Should offensive coordinator Ty Detmer be on the hot seat?
The Numbers Aren’t Pretty
Since the beginning of 2016, Detmer has called 15 games for BYU football. In those 15 games, the Cougars are averaging 26.9 points per game.
If you remove the outliers – UMass and Toledo – where the Cougars scored a combined 106 points, that average falls to 22.9 points per game.
Now, I know that it’s risky to just eliminate games. After all, those games happened. But in a year where BYU football eclipsed 35 points just three times, it feels safe to say that the 55 and 51 point outbursts aren’t the norm.
Of course, we could say the same for the LSU contest. If you remove that, along with the UMass and Toledo games, BYU football is averaging 24.8 points per game.
For reference, that would’ve ranked the Cougars 88th in the nation a season ago.
That’s not great.
What does it mean?
Granted, some struggles are to be expected in the first season. And I don’t think it’s time to start clamoring for Detmer’s departure.
Let me repeat that, just so we’re all clear: I don’t think it’s time to start clamoring for Detmer’s departure.
That being said, I do think it’s time to start questioning things. He’s now worked with two quarterbacks, both of which put up disappointing numbers.
Next: What To Know For BYU vs Utah
Last year, the Cougars had Jamaal Williams to bail them out offensively. You don’t replace a guy like Williams easily, which we’re seeing now.
Squally Canada and Kavika Fonua are fine backs who are perfectly competent. But neither of them has that “it” factor. Riley Burt, despite being at the top of the depth chart in early August, hasn’t received a carry yet.
Maybe Burt can provide a spark.
Of course, there are questions at wide receiver, too.
We knew that entering the season BYU football would have a largely unknown group at wide out. Through two games, they haven’t been great. More often than not, they struggle to create separation with press coverage.
The QB Conundrum
But certainly, the biggest issue thus far is the play of quarterback Tanner Mangum.
After setting the world on fire in 2015, Mangum has been a shell of his former self. Perhaps we underplayed the difficulty of switching from a spread offense designed on one read to a pro-style offense that requires a talented o-line, competent run game and quarterback reads.
Maybe the hype skewed all our expectations of Mangum.
But I never thought he’d be this bad.
Dating back to last season, over his last three games here are Mangum’s numbers:
Wyoming: 8-for-15, 96 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Portland State: 16-for-27, 194 yards, 1 TD
LSU: 12-for-24, 102 yards, 1 INT
Total: 36-for-55, 392 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Those numbers aren’t just bad, they’re borderline putrid. I know that the Poinsettia Bowl was played in heavy rain, that Portland State has talented cornerbacks and that LSU is one of the best defenses in the country.
But guess what?
Utah and Wisconsin come to Provo the next two weeks. So things aren’t getting any easier. If BYU football wants to get some wins, the offense needs to play better. Maybe it means finding some new players, maybe it means changing some things schematically.
Whatever the answer, hopefully Detmer has it. Because if he doesn’t, not only will it be a long year for BYU football, but it will put the former Heisman winner squarely into the hot seat.