BYU football: The curious case of Beau Hoge

Beau Hoge made his first career start for BYU football against Wisconsin. But no one really knows what to make of his performance though.

Silence. Awkwardness. Pauses.

These are some of the words that best describe BYU football fans’ reaction to the performance of sophomore Beau Hoge in his starting quarterback debut last Saturday versus Wisconsin. People don’t seem to really be for or against his performance for a few reasons.

Granted, had BYU football come into the game 2-1, or if Tanner Mangum had been passing the ball for 300+ yards, then obviously Hoge’s performance would be viewed as terrible.

However, given the current circumstances with the Cougars, his performance was… well, even I don’t know how to put it.

Interceptions

Beau Hoge threw two interceptions during the game. The first came on his very first passing attempt of the game. It was a terribly thrown ball that probably would have been intercepted by the second defender if somehow the first defender missed it.

The second came early in the fourth quarter. Watching the play, it’s unclear whether Hoge threw the ball too early or if the receiver broke out of his route too late. Either way, it was a miscommunication that ended in worst way.

Offense

For the first time all season, the BYU offense had a heartbeat. On the second drive for the Cougars, Beau Hoge and Ula Toloutua ran the ball 70 yards down the field. The Cougars were flashy, quick and aggressive.

For the first time all season, fans were feeling excited for the next play and expecting good things. It was a lot of fun. And it didn’t just happen one time. Hoge led BYU football to three drives that had three or more first downs.

Also, Wisconsin is known for having a defense as good, if not better than LSU’s. Against LSU, the Cougars did not cross the 50 yard line once. Against the Badgers, BYU football was able to cross the fifty twice and get close to it another two times.

Negative 14-yard safety

This play is being compared to the Jake Heaps backwards pass into the endzone play against Utah in 2011.

This play on paper looks ugly and terrible. And it was, mostly.

Next: Just How Bad Is BYU's Offense?

Had Hoge been able to hold onto the ball, he actually had a lot of green grass ahead of him. He made three Wisconsin players miss, but the third defender was able to do  just enough to hit the ball out of his hands.

The bomb

Right before halftime, Hoge scrambled and was able to hit Micah Simon for a 50-yard gain. It was the longest play of the year up to this point and it was the first time that a long pass has been completed all season. Despite being down 24-3 and out of the game already, this brought BYU football fans to their feet and brought energy to sidelines.

Overall analysis

Beau Hoge was put in a very tough position. His last game action was against a struggling Wagner team nearly two years ago. Hoge only had one week to prepare for being the starting quarterback, and overall he played acceptably.

The first interception was a nervous play. The second interception was a timing issue. An issue that can be easily fixed with more practice. The coaches have said that the backup quarterback does not get a lot of snaps in practice. So the timing was not as good as it should have been and that is probably due to lack of practice.

The safety was a rookie mistake. There are two reasons why I believe he did not throw the ball away. The first is that he did not want to get called for intentional grounding. Being in the endzone, if it was called it would have been a safety. Not having game experience can lead to doubts about these kind of rules and odd scenarios.

Secondly, I think he was just trying to make something out of nothing. It ended in with fans shaking their heads, but really he was very close to making a play. Experience will teach him that living for another down is sometimes the best option.

Hoge’s running was fun to watch. Whether it was scrambling or trying to pick up a first down, seeing him run around was a lot of fun.

The passes were accurate as well. Outside of the first interception, every single one of Hoge’s pass attempts (throwing the ball away doesn’t count) was on target and catchable.

Given the circumstances, I believe that Hoge played well. He struggled with common rookie mistakes but showed energy, speed and accuracy. I believe that against Utah State he will look much better and make smarter decisions.