BYU football: Ty Detmer’s job may be in Joe Critchlow’s hands
By Adam Gibby
Ty Detmer’s performance as BYU football’s offensive coordinator has been sub-par. The only thing that may save his job is the fourth string quarterback.
On December 24, 2015, BYU football seemed to get its Christmas present a little bit early.
Ty Detmer had just accepted an offer to be BYU football’s new offensive coordinator. Immediately, fans began to imagine an offense that would match the excitement of the LaVell Edwards era.
After all, Detmer was the 1990 Heisman Trophy winner, a year where Detmer set 42 NCAA records and threw for 5,188 yards.
So far that hasn’t happened.
In Detmer’s first season as OC, fans gave him a pass. The coaching style was new, the coaches perhaps did not have enough time to change the whole playbook and there was no doubt that the starting quarterback, Taysom Hill, was not a pro-style quarterback. It also didn’t hurt that the Cougars finished the season 9-4 including a bowl game victory over Wyoming.
This season though, fans are not as forgiving. Through the first ten games, the Cougars for the most part were ranked in the bottom ten in just about every offensive category. (Out of 130 teams).
No. 122 in total yards per game
No. 108 in pass yards per game
No. 112 in rush yards per game
No. 129 in 4th down conversion efficiency
No. 127 in points per game
2-8 record
By all means, this should equal an immediate firing, especially because it’s BYU, the school who historically is known for being an offensive team. I really believe that if the Cougars finish with these kind of rankings at the end of the season, Detmer will be fired. The only thing that could help Detmer may be the fourth-string quarterback, Joe Critchlow.
Critchlow brought energy and offense to BYU
Against UNLV, a slightly above average group of five team, BYU had its best offensive game of the season. UNLV was 4-5 coming off a big win against 7-2 Fresno State and appeared to be in a good position to beat the Cougars.
Joe Critchlow, however, changed all of that. For the first time all season, the BYU pass game appeared to have a flow to it. Critchlow completed 14-of-22 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He never seemed rattled or out of control of the game. With his efficient passing, it opened up the run game. In the second half, the Cougars almost never had to throw the ball. If they had, I think realistically, Critchlow would have thrown for 250+ yards.
For the first time this season, with an exception to the San Jose State game, I felt as a fan that the Cougars should score on every possession. The offense looked good. The routes looked well run and the blocking was excellent. Ty Detmer’s offense looked very efficient. It made me question whether letting go of Detmer would be a good idea after all.
Finish out with two more wins
If Critchlow can keep up his good performance and get two wins against UMass and Hawaii, I find it pretty difficult to see Tom Holmoe letting Ty Detmer go. Yes, I realize that 5-8 is a terrible record, especially for BYU, however to be 1-7 and then finish 5-8 is respectable.
If the Cougars can score an average of 30 points per game and throw 250 yards, then the overall stats will not be as atrocious as things looked a few weeks ago.
If that doesn’t happen, then I think Detmer is out.
Who would have thought that the Heisman trophy quarterback turned coach would be relying on a fourth-string quarterback to save his job less than two years after arriving in Provo?
Personally, I’d like to see it happen.