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BYU Football: Final Report Card for the Cougars in 2018

By Shaun Gordon

BOISE, ID - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars takes a Powerade shower during second half action against the Western Michigan Broncos at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 21, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. BYU won the game 49-18. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars takes a Powerade shower during second half action against the Western Michigan Broncos at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 21, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. BYU won the game 49-18. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars celebrates with Sione Takitaki #16 after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars celebrates with Sione Takitaki #16 after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Coaching

Just like the football team as a whole, the coaching staff had their ups and downs this year.

Here are some of the highs for the staff:

  • Great gameplanning and playcalling at Arizona.
  • Great gameplanning and playcalling at Wisconsin.
  • An offensive explosion against Hawaii.
  • Shutdown defense against Northern Illinois and Boise State.
  • Two-and-a-half great quarters against Utah.

And some of the Lows:

  • Anemic offenses against Cal, Washington, and Northern Illinois.
  • Disastrous defenses against Washington and Utah State.
  • Red Zone struggles against Boise State.
  • A miserable quarter-and-a-half against Utah.

For all of those ups and downs, though, the defense quietly put together a great season, finishing No. 18 in total defense and No. 25 in scoring defense. Backfield pressure was a problem, and BYU’s prevent defense prevented absolutely nothing, but the defensive staff deserves a lot of credit for the job they did in 2018.

The offense, on the other hand, progressed much more slowly. While we saw improvement over 2017, it wasn’t a drastic jump. BYU finished No. 101 in total offense and No. 93 in scoring offense. There were schematic problems and playcalling problems throughout the season.

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But give credit to a young offensive staff. They learned from their mistakes and improved as the season progressed. They stopped trying to establish the power run game and started using the pass to open up the rushing game. They fixed the red zone playcalling after the Boise State disaster. They let Zach Wilson come out firing after halftime in the bowl game.

One adjustment we’ll have to wait until next year to see is the conservative playcalling with a lead. Against Utah both the offensive and defensive playcalling became too conservative too early, allowing the Utes to come storming back.

The coaching staff succeeded in making other adjustments, so there’s no reason to believe they won’t learn from that debacle going into 2019.

And then there’s the head coach. When it came to making key in-game decisions, Kalani Sitake did well. His kick-icing strategy was brilliant against Wisconsin, and he pulled the right lever most of the time. His late-game strategy against Northern Illinois may be his biggest miscue.

More than anything else, though, he seems to have put the locker room back in order. The disciplinary problems that plagued the Cougars in 2017 disappeared in 2018, and the team played with an energy and focus that wasn’t there last season.

Coaching Grade – B

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