BYU Football: Cougars lose, however were not beaten

Four turnovers by BYU Football led to them falling 26-17 to Boise State.

If you watch Alabama play football, even without seeing the scoreboard you can tell that the Crimson Tide are the superior team. This is the case most of time with any two teams. As I watched the Boise State vs BYU, had I not seen the score, I could honestly tell you that BYU was the better team.

The final statistics support this as well as BYU outgained the Broncos by 101 yards. They also averaged more yards per play than Boise State by quite a bit. The Cougars had more QB hurries, tackles for loss, and pass deflections.

In almost every single category that you could come up with, BYU was clearly the better team. Except in one category…Turnovers.

The Cougars coughed up the ball three times, twice inside their own 25 yard line and the third time in the red zone when the Cougars appeared to be gaining the momentum back in a big way. The Broncos were able to capitalize on the two short fields scoring two touchdowns, the only two touchdowns they scored all game.

While turnovers are absolutely part of the game, having two turnovers back to back inside the 25 yard line are extremely rare. The fact of the matter is, Boise State took advantage of the opportunities that BYU gave them.

So what does this mean?

The good news is that BYU was not dominated in statistics. If Boise State beat BYU and was the all around better team, there would be some serious concerns about the ceiling and potential of this BYU Football squad. Nine out of ten times however, the team that averages more than two yards per play more their opponent is the team that ends up winning.

This game was an anomaly. And that isn’t to take anything away from the Broncos. They played a great game and made the plays they needed to in order to get the win.

But make no mistake, BYU was the better team, and there is real reason to believe that the Cougars can still beat any team that remains on their schedule.