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Quick-strike Cougars efficient on offense |
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JaredCowley | Wednesday, October 25, 2006, 1:17 pm
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Brandon Judd
DAILY HERALD
While Halloween is still almost a week away, it’s been a nightmare for several teams trying to keep up with the BYU offense in 2006.
This year’s Cougar squad is proficient at scoring, and it likes to strike early.
BYU is outscoring its opposition 143-41 in the first half through seven games this season. That includes a 75-12 advantage in the first quarter after the Cougars scored three touchdowns in the opening period in wins over San Diego State and UNLV in their last two contests. BYU has never trailed at the half in ’06.
“We like to start fast against any opponent,” said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, whose team is currently ranked eighth in the country in scoring with an average of 36.14 points per game.
Up next for the Cougars (5-2, 3-0 MWC) is a road contest with Air Force on Saturday, a game that looked like it would be between two undefeated Mountain West Conference teams until the Falcons fell to the previously winless Aztecs, 19-12, on Saturday.
“Since we stubbed our toe last week and lost our first conference game, this is a huge game this weekend,” said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry. “We can’t afford to lose another conference game.”
Mendenhall is still expecting a stiff contest with the Falcons, despite Air Force’s loss.
“By no means are we expecting anything to be easy, and we expect every week to be an excellent test,” he said.
Unlike BYU, Air Force has struggled out of the gate, scoring-wise, in its past two games, tallying a total of three points against Colorado State and San Diego State in the first half. While the Falcons (3-3, 3-1) were able to rally in the second half to beat the Rams, they couldn’t find the necessary offense to defeat the Aztecs.
Air Force also had troubles with containing the BYU offense last year in a 62-41 Cougar win at LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYU led 41-7 before a wild fourth quarter in which the two teams combined for 48 points.
“It gave them a good cushion. It really put us behind the ball,” DeBerry said.
But the Falcons also have a weapon that could at least slow down the Cougar offensive attack: An effective option offense that leads the conference in time of possession. Want an example of the Falcons’ ball-control capabilities? Against Wyoming earlier this season, Air Force held the ball for 10:15 in the second quarter on an 18-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a 1-yard Sean Carney TD run and put the Falcons up for good. Air Force held the ball for more than 40 minutes in the 31-24 win.
Even though the Falcons are almost assured to win the time of possession battle on Saturday, Mendenhall said his team’s focus on the offensive side of the ball is efficiency.
“A stat that I think is relevant is we’re last in the league in time of possession, but we’re first in scoring,” he said. “What we are considering more is what we can do when we have the ball.”
Leading the way for a senior-laden Cougar offense is quarterback John Beck, who is sixth in the country in pass efficiency (170.33) and who has thrown 16 touchdown passes to just three interceptions this year.
“This is a player that will get plenty of time playing on Sundays in the future,” DeBerry said. “He’s got a good supporting cast around him. They’re executing like the BYU teams of old, but now they are running some different concepts.”
“You’ve got to certainly control their scoring, and nobody has done that yet.”
Injuries: The Cougars suffered a setback on the defensive line Tuesday. Freshman Ian Dulan, a 17-year-old lineman from Hilo, Hawaii, broke his leg during practice and will be lost for the season. He will have surgery later this week.
Dulan was coming off his best game as a Cougar. In BYU’s 52-7 victory over UNLV on Saturday, he had four tackles and forced a fumble. Dulan played in five games for BYU this season, starting all of them. He finished this year with seven tackles, including one for a loss.
Staying with an investment: For Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, the questions of ‘what if’ have returned with the Utes (4-4, 2-2) dropping two straight MWC contests.
In December of 2004, he chose to take over Utah’s head coaching position after Urban Meyer bolted to coach Florida, instead of deciding to replace a resigning Gary Crowton at BYU, Whittingham’s alma mater.
Whittingham said he has no regrets of the decision he made, even with the Utes’ recent struggles.
“The allure of going back to your alma mater is intriguing,” he said. “It’s the investment I’ve had in this program for so many years (that kept me at Utah).
“I knew there would be some rough times. … You’ve got to weather the storm the first couple of years. … Bottom line, we got spoiled in ’03 and particularly in ’04. But we feel we have some solid recruiting classes.”
In other action …: In addition to the Cougar-Falcons game on Saturday, another intriguing contest to keep on eye on is Wyoming traveling to Fort Worth to take on TCU. The Cowboys, picked by the media in the preseason to finish last in the league, have won three straight and are sitting behind only BYU at 3-1 in MWC play.
The Horned Frogs, however, are 0-2 in conference action with losses to the Cougars and Utes just one season after winning the league with a perfect 8-0 record.
It could be a defensive struggle on Saturday, as TCU is fourth in the nation in rush defense (66.67 yards allowed per game) while Wyoming is third in the country in total defense (227.0 ypg).
“That’s kind of the way things are shaking out,” said Wyoming coach Joe Glenn on a possible low-scoring defensive battle. “If we can protect the ball, our defense will keep us in the ball game.”
They said it: “I’ve got circles under my eyes, and I’ve stayed up late. It’s like playing a Thursday game preparing for them.” — BYU’s Mendenhall about preparing this week to defend Air Force’s option attack.
Brandon Judd can be reached at 344-2571 or
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