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BYU Football: How much better are the Cougars in 2018 than 2017?

By Adam Gibby

PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 3: A dejected Brigham Young Cougars bench watches the clock tick down on their unbeaten season, as they lost to the Utah State Aggies 35-20 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 3, 2014 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images )
PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 3: A dejected Brigham Young Cougars bench watches the clock tick down on their unbeaten season, as they lost to the Utah State Aggies 35-20 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 3, 2014 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images ) /
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PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 12: Fred Warner #4 of the Brigham Young Cougars signals to the crowd as he and his team take the field before their game against the Boise State Broncos at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 12: Fred Warner #4 of the Brigham Young Cougars signals to the crowd as he and his team take the field before their game against the Boise State Broncos at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /

Roster

Last year’s starting roster featured a real lack of consistency. Four quarterbacks saw significant playing time, with none of them having more TD passes than interceptions. Their were eight running backs that saw playing time, but only scored a combined 12 rushing touchdowns. There was no receiver that stuck out, while freshman tight end Matt Bushman accounted for almost half of the receiving touchdowns (6).

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The defense also struggled in many aspects. The Cougars only sacked the quarterback 17 times all season, with Corbin Kaufusi leading the team with 6. The Cougars also struggled to force turnovers, with only 14 takeaways all season.

This year, there are a lot of freshmen playing, but they’re finding success. Tanner Mangum and Zach Wilson are the only quarterbacks to see significant playing time this season. Both quarterbacks have thrown for more TD’s than INT’s (combined 11 to 5).

The running game has seen only four running backs get significant playing time and have already scored 16 rushing touchdowns. There is more consistency with the receiving core, with nine different players catching a TD pass compared to only seven players all last season.

The defense also has seen improvements. They’ve already got 17 sacks, with Corbin Kaufusi again leading the team with 7.5. They’ve also matched last years turnover count with 14 takeaways.

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With these three areas, it’s become clear that after ten games, despite an up and down season, the BYU Football team is outperforming the team from last year. Combine that with the fact that fourteen freshmen/sophomores have seen significant playing time, and this team has a very promising future.

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