BYU Football: Offensive balance and two more keys to beating Washinton

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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: The Brigham Young Cougars huddle up around quarterback Tanner Mangum #12 during the second half of the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

No. 20 BYU Football takes on No. 11 Washington this weekend. Here are three keys for the Cougars to knock off their second Top 15 team of the season.

It’s deja vu all over again.

This weekend the Cougars face another road test against a Top 15 team, taking on No. 11 Washington up in Seattle.

Just two weeks ago BYU upended the college football landscape by taking down No. 6 Wisconsin on the road.

Can they take down another top team on the road? Yes they can. They proved that it’s possible with their win over the Badgers.

Will they? That remains to be seen.

Against Wisconsin they played a nearly mistake-free game. They didn’t turn the ball over and limited penalties, and they took advantage of the mistakes that Wisconsin made.

That’s the recipe for an upset, and that’s what the Cougars are going to have to do again to take down the Huskies.

Here are three keys for BYU in their upset bid:

Offensive Balance

250 passing yards.

That’s just a little bit more than an average college quarterback throws for in a game.

That’s how many yards Tanner Mangum has passed for in his last two games.

Combined.

While BYU has established a very good running game, the passing game has remained sub-par. The Cougars have done just enough through the air to keep defenses honest, but just barely enough.

If the Cougars can’t bring the passing game up to passable levels (pardon the pun), teams will start loading the box to shut down the run and dare BYU to beat them through the air.

Washington has an elite secondary. They’re 11th in the nation in passing defense, giving up only 154 yards per game. Their overall defense isn’t far behind, giving up just 302.8 total yards per game, good for 17th in the country.

Just for reference, Cal currently sits at No. 16 in total defense, while Wisconsin sits at No. 18.

Expect to see the Huskies sell out to stop BYU’s run game, and rely on their secondary to stymie the passing game.

This game will rest on Tanner Mangum’s arm. If he can make plays in the passing game, especially early on, it’ll open up the field and give the team a chance to establish the run.

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