BYU Football: 5 keys for BYU to beat Utah

PROVO, UT - AUGUST 29 : Jaylen Dixon #25 of the Utah Utes is face masked as he is taken out of bounds by Mitchell Price #26, Jackson Kaufusi #38 and Dayan Ghanwoloku #5 of the BYU Cougars during their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on August 29, in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - AUGUST 29 : Jaylen Dixon #25 of the Utah Utes is face masked as he is taken out of bounds by Mitchell Price #26, Jackson Kaufusi #38 and Dayan Ghanwoloku #5 of the BYU Cougars during their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on August 29, in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
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PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 9: Zack Moss #2 of the Utah Utes leaps over the line of scrimmage with the ball during their game against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 9: Zack Moss #2 of the Utah Utes leaps over the line of scrimmage with the ball during their game against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)

Control the Line of Scrimmage

In most years, instead of saying “control the line of scrimmage” it would be “hold on for dear life and hope for the best”. For once, Utah does not have a great offensive line. Weber State was able to control Utah’s running game between the hashes for a majority of the first three quarters. BYU is much deeper on defense than Weber State, so the expectation has to be that the Cougars control the line of scrimmage the entire game.

On the BYU offensive side, they have to hold on and give Hall time to throw. While BYU’s offensive line is not as skilled as Utah’s defensive line, they are good enough to compete and if they play well, it is very possible that Hall is sacked only once or twice the entire game.

While this article has five things BYU needs to do to win, it is hard to see a way that BYU wins the game, regardless of the other four if they don’t succeed in this area.

Schedule

Schedule