BYU Football: Takeaways from the loss at Washington

No. 20 BYU Football visited Seattle and got demolished by No. 11 Washington, getting beat in every facet of the game.

Can we just forget this game ever happened?

No. 20 BYU Football was completely manhandled by No. 11 Washington, losing 35-7 in a game that looked even more lopsided than that.

BYU made way too many mistakes (including one game-changing one) to beat another Top 15 team on the road, and they picked a bad game to play with sub-par discipline and focus.

Washington is the better team, and they showed it.

Some thoughts on the game:

Loss of Focus

BYU upset Wisconsin by playing a disciplined and focused game, limiting mistakes and taking advantage of the Badgers’ miscues.

This game was the exact opposite. The Cougars continually shot themselves in the foot with penalties, turnovers, and missed assignments.

It’s sad when BYU had more penalties in their second drive of the game (5) than they did in the entire game at Wisconsin (4).

Costly Turnover

Speaking of turnovers, the fumble by Lopini Katoa just before halftime was one of the costliest cough-ups you’ll ever see.

Instead of going into the half down 14-0 and getting the ball just after the break with a chance to cut it to a one-score deficit, the Cougars went down 21-0 and entered the locker room with a nearly insurmountable deficit.

The entire tone of the game shifted from there.

Injury Bug

The Cougars played without Dayan Ghanwoloku and Zayne Anderson, two of BYU’s better defenders. Plus Butch Pau’u played injured.

Would having those three fully healthy and playing made a difference in this game? Maybe not, but it certainly couldn’t have hurt.

And losing Moroni Laulu-Pututau early on wasn’t beneficial either, and it could be even worse if it’s a long-term injury.

All the Time in the World

On Washington’s first drive, BYU got pressure in the backfield twice, and it caused the Husky drive to stall.

After that, Jake Browning had all the time in the world, and he picked apart the Cougar defense. He went 23/25 for 277 yards and a touchdown. It was the Cougars’ worst passing game defense since last year’s Wisconsin game.

Washington picked key times to blitz, and it worked. BYU didn’t follow suit.

Secondary Woes

While a large majority of BYU’s defensive struggles came in their lack of backfield pressure, the secondary shoulders a lot of the blame too.

The Cougars played almost exclusively in a zone, and Washington found the holes way too easily. They couldn’t handle the Huskies’ speed.

A zone defense is predicated on making the quarterback throw quickly, but Browning had plenty of time and the secondary wasn’t sharp enough to make up for it.

Finally Passing

If there’s one bright spot from this game, the passing game finally looked decent. Tanner Mangum was sharp, and the addition of the shovel screen paid big dividends. He finished 18/21 for 160 yards.

Unfortunately, the passing game showed up on the same day that the running game disappeared…

Visions of Cal

The offense looked just like it did against Cal. In the first half they moved the ball well, but stalled drives with mistakes.

In the second half, the offense disappeared. Washington completely shut down the run game, allowing them to tee off on Tanner Mangum in obvious passing situations.

Speed Kills

Washington is a fast team. A very fast team. BYU struggles against speed. They have for a long, long time.

The Huskies ran the ball with ease, running through tackles that the Cougars usually make. BYU couldn’t adjust to that speed, and they didn’t adjust their scheme to make up for it.

Don’t Trust the Kickers

This wasn’t a good game for the kickers. The two teams went a combined 0-3 on field goals, with Skyler Southam missing one for BYU. Looked like half the NFL games last weekend…

Defeated Mentality

Just looking at body language and playcalling, most of the team looked defeated early in the second half, both players and coaches.

On the coaching side, the defense made few notable changes throughout the game, and any changes that were made were ineffective. Kalani Sitake’s decision not to go for it on fourth and short late in the game was a bad look for a team that was getting shut out.

With the players, body language looked eerily like it did all throughout 2017.

Let’s hope it doesn’t carry over into next week.

Goodbye Top 25

Had the Cougars lost a close one in Seattle, it’s very possible that they would have remained in the Top 25. With this blowout there’s no chance.

In fact, with a loss like this, BYU could likely win their next three games and not make it back in. It will take four straight wins (including Boise State) to crack the rankings again.

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