BYU Football: Takeaways from the win at UMass

After another slow start, BYU Football took over against UMass, winning the game in convincing fashion and drawing one win closer to bowl eligibility.

BYU Football did what they were supposed to do on Saturday morning: take down an inferior team and do it convincingly.

Of course the convincingly part didn’t come until the second half, but the Cougars got their revenge on UMass, beating them at Gillette Stadium 35-16.

They won a game on the east coast. And one in the morning. That doesn’t happen very often, no matter how much more talented BYU is over the other team.

After a shaky start the defense dominated, and after an even shakier start the offense finally figured out where the end zone was.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the win:

Another Slow Start

Once again BYU dug themselves into a hole to start the game, letting the Minutemen drive the field for three points then fumbling the ball on the first Cougar offensive play of the game. UMass took advantage and punched it in, taking the early 10-0 lead.

Unlike other games though, especially last week’s loss at Boise State, the Cougars scored touchdowns rather than stalling for field goals to quickly get right back into it.

Dominating Defense

For some reason the Cougar defense seems to have a major lapse each game, either on the first defensive possession of the game or the first one of the second half.

This time they let UMass march downfield for the field goal on the first drive, but after that the defense was stifling.

Air Grounded

On that note, the Cougar defense did a marvelous job of containing the Minutemen through the air. UMass entered as the No. 14 passing team in the nation with more than 300 yards per game, but BYU held them to just 183 yards on 23/33 passing.

Andy Isabella, the top receiver by yards in the nation, was held to just 85 yards, and most of those came late once the game was already essentially over.

Backfield Pressure

This was arguably the best BYU has done this year at getting pressure in the backfield. They sacked UMass quarterback Ross Comis four times and had 10 tackles for loss. Comis wasn’t able to get comfortable in the pocket, and seldom had time to look for shots downfield.

End Zone Located

The difference between this week and the previous few?

BYU finished drives.

They found the end zone five times and were perfect in the red zone. Of course they actually passed the ball in the red zone this week…

No Huddle

The Cougars ran a lot more no-huddle this week, even when they weren’t in a hurry-up offense. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s a trend that continues.

Tricky, Tricky

BYU ran two trick plays in the second half, and both of them turned into big gains.

The flea flicker didn’t particularly fool the UMass defensive backs, but a great catch by Neil Pau’u sealed the 40-yard gain.

And the fake-handoff fly sweep worked just as well, allowing Gunner Romney to break off a 14-yard run.

Converting

For the first time this season the Cougars converted half of their third downs. Exactly half. 6-12. They also held the Minutemen to just 5-16 on third downs.

Eligibility Within Reach

The Cougars have now beaten their win total from last year, but more importantly they’re just one win away from bowl-eligibility. They can clinch it at Senior Day next week if they take down a lackluster New Mexico State squad, but if they drop another Senior Day game they’re going to have to win the Holy War to go bowling.

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