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BYU Football: How the Cougars can beat every team on the schedule

By Adam Gibby

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 9: Cody Barton #30 of the Utah Utes pressures quarterback Tanner Mangum #12 of the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 9: Cody Barton #30 of the Utah Utes pressures quarterback Tanner Mangum #12 of the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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WINSTON SALEM, NC – SEPTEMBER 16: Place kicker Dominik Eberle #62 of the Utah State Aggies kicks a field goal against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the football game at BB&T Field on September 16, 2017 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
WINSTON SALEM, NC – SEPTEMBER 16: Place kicker Dominik Eberle #62 of the Utah State Aggies kicks a field goal against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the football game at BB&T Field on September 16, 2017 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /

McNeese State

In this game, if things go according to preseason projections, the Cougars may be down coming into this game. The key to this game is composure, smart play, and execution.

Last season, BYU was unable to put Portland State away early in the game, giving the Vikings confidence to stay close with the Cougars the entire game.

BYU will be the bigger, faster, more athletic team, so the key will be to pound the Cowboys’ defense and score points. McNeese State actually held five opponents under 10 points last season, which is why it’s important to BYU to score quick and show they won’t fall victim to this trap game.

Washington

Here’s another game where things would have to go perfectly for the Cougars and terribly for the Huskies. The Huskies are a very balanced team, but they do sometimes struggle to keep opponents off the scoreboard.

The Cougars’ best chance will be to utilize the tight ends.

When the Cougars play Washington, the Huskies will have played a tough schedule including Auburn, Utah and Arizona State.  Of those three teams, last season the tight ends combined for 15 receptions all season.

On the other hand, BYU had 53 tight end catches last season. Expect that number to go up with Moroni Laulu-Pututau healthy this season. This may not be a weakness for the Huskies, but it will be a new look and could expose a weakness in the secondary.

Utah State

Keep the quarterback healthy. While that’s said half-jokingly, this needs to be a huge priority for BYU. In the last six years, BYU quarterbacks have been injured four times. BYU lost two of those games. Utah State doesn’t play particularly dirty, but they are very physical, and that has led to some injuries to BYU quarterbacks.

Besides staying healthy, the Aggies tend to get beat deep. With a hopefully better passing game this year, the long bomb should be thrown multiple times to force Utah State to cover deep. If the Cougars can execute on a few of these, they could get a big win.

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