BYU football: Three things we learned from the Utah game

Detmer needs to make a change, but may have his answer

Ty Detmer may have found his answer.

Tanner Mangum looked infinitely more comfortable in three, four or five wide receiver shotgun sets. Clearly he’s a much more confident player outside of the traditional pro-style offense.

The Cougars broke it out in flashes against Utah – and I thought it was much better than what we saw the last two games.

Now, the question is: Will the Cougars use it next week? Or the rest of the season?

If Detmer goes away from it, I think it will be a mistake. The best coaches in football either A) get the players necessary to run the desired scheme effectively, or B) change their scheme to optimize the talent on the roster.

So now it’s time for Detmer to make his money.

Make a change, adapt and get better. Otherwise, the Cougars will continue to be a mess offensively.

BYU football is still a bit of a mess offensively.

At this point, it seems like Ty Detmer’s original offensive plan only works when you have the school’s all-time leading rusher and one of the most athletic quarterbacks in school history.

We overlooked 20 points against Portland State. The shutout against LSU hurt, but we chalked it up to playing a top-end SEC team. Then Utah shut things down.

Jonah Trinnaman broke off a 45-yard kick return. Zero points. The Warner Bros. forced a turnover. Zero points.

That’s beyond bad.

Granted, Utah has a great defense. But guess what? To be a good Division-I football team, you have to beat talented defenses.

Next week, Wisconsin comes to Provo. Later, Boise State. A road game at Mississippi State.

Things won’t get easier for BYU football. So something needs to change. Fast.