BYU Offense:
Called Plays: 61
Called Passes: 32 (29 pass, 0 sack, 0 scramble)
Called Runs: 29
Number of Read Options (kept/given/pass):
The Cougars only gave the read option look 4 times this game. They changed the offensive scheme because of Tanner’s hamstring injury, going with straight gives allows for the OL to match up 1-on-1 against blockers so BYU is ore effective in the run game which helps when you’re primary back is a power back like Algie Brown.
1st:
Give (Brown, -1), Give (Brown, 3)
2nd:
N/A
3rd:
Give (Bernard, 3), Give (Brown, 5)
4th:
N/A
Time Mangum had in pocket on passes:
1st Q: 19.9/5 = 3.98 seconds
2nd Q: 37.7/10 = 3.77 seconds
3rd Q: 49.3/13 = 3.79 seconds
4th Q: 15.5/4 = 3.86 seconds
Game: 3.81 seconds
Time Mangum had in pocket before scrambling (avg gain on scramble):
1st Q: N/A
2nd Q: N/A
3rd Q: N/A
4th Q: N/A
Game: N/A
How many man rush on scrambles:
1st Q: N/A
2nd Q: N/A
3rd Q: N/A
4th Q: N/A
Offensive Stats:
1st Q:
Tanner Mangum: 1/5 for 10 yds; Algernon Brown: 3 rushes for 9 yds; Terren Houk: 1 rec for 10 yds, 1 drop, 2 tgts; Mitch Mathews: 1 drop, 1 tgt; Mitch Juergens: 1 tgt; David Kessler: 1 tgt;
2nd Q:
Tanner Mangum: 4/10 for 70 yds and 1 INT; Riley Burt: 2 rushes for 48 yds; Algernon Brown: 3 rushes for 26 yds and 1 TD, 1 drop, 1 tgt; Mitch Mathews: 1 rec for 38 yds, 1 drop, 4 tgts; Nick Kurtz: 2 rec for 27 yds, 2 tgts; Colby Pearson: 1 rec for 5 yds, 1 tgt; Mitch Juergens: 1 drop, INT, 1 tgt; Terren Houk: 1 tgt;
3rd Q:
Tanner Mangum: 10/13 for 104 yds and 1 TD; Algernon Brown: 5 rushes for 19 yds, 2 rec for 17 yds, 2 tgts; Francis Bernard: 1 rush for 5 yds, 1 rec for 7 yds, 1 tgt; Trey Dye: 1 rush for -4 yds; Nick Kurtz: 3 rec for 39 yds and 1 TD, 3 tgts; Mitch Mathews: 1 rec for 12 yds, 2 tgts; Devon Blackmon: 1 rec for 9 yds, 1 drop, 2 tgts; Colby Pearson: 1 rec for 16 yds, 1 tgt; Mitch Juergens: 1 rec for 4 yds, 1 tgt; Nate Carter: 1 drop, 1 tgt;
4th Q:
Tanner Mangum: 4/4 for 68 yds and 1 TD; Algernon Brown: 9 rushes for 35 yds and 1 TD; Francis Bernard: 2 rushes for 51 yds and 1 TD, 1 rec for 0 yds, 1 tgt; Nate Carter: 2 rushes for 5 yds; Nick Kurtz: 1 rec for 53 yds and 1 TD, 1 tgt; Devon Blackmon: 1 rec for 11 yds, 1 tgt; Mitch Mathews: 1 rec for 4 yds, 1 tgt;
The Cougar offense got off to a slow start, but was able to put together a great performance overall. Tanner Mangum was hampered by his leg injury which affected his throwing ability in the first half going 5/15 for 80 yds and 1 INT. On top of that, his receivers struggled to catch balls which stalled the offense. He was able to bounce back in the second half going 14/17 for 172 yds and 2 TDs. The OL did a great job establishing a run game as well as protecting Mangum, giving up 0 sacks for the first time this season.
Mangum took a half of play to get settled in, but once he did he was on fire. He started off the game by overthrowing receivers, but didn’t get much help with 2 balls being dropped in the 1st Q, by the time he went into the locker room for halftime, 1/3 of his passes (15) had been dropped (5). Coming out of the locker room, the game plan changed letting Tanner complete short, quick routes to help move the ball. Once he was comfortable he was able to stretch the ball out. In the 2nd half, he had three incompletions, and two of those were dropped balls. Mangum did a great job playing aware in the pocket, reading the DL and his OL so he didn’t take any unnecessary hits and wasn’t sacked once in the game. He should have three weeks between games to get his hamstring recovered.
BYU had another good game out of Algernon Brown, tho we struggled to catch balls that were thrown to him. He tallied 88 yds on 20 carries and had 2 TDs. He impressed with his ability to follow blockers and wait for holes to open instead of just bursting through the line and getting dropped for only a yard or two. Riley Burt may have looked the most impressive out of the running back group with a 41 yd run where he made several cuts and made players miss, but the excitement was short lived as he had to leave the game soon after with a hamstring injury. Francis Bernard also looked impressive, he had one play where he broke an opponents ankles and punched in a TD and had the second longest run of the game for 40 yds where he dragged several defenders behind him.
The receivers performance on Friday was all over the place. While they would make an impressive play at one point, they would then make a big mistake, mostly in the form of dropped passes. Nick Kurtz had his turn as the stand out receiver and had his first two TD catches as a Cougar, one of which resulted as an SC Top 10 catch and the other may have been the most wide-open TD catch in BYU history. The Cougar WR group will need to be more consistent to live up to the preseason hype that they received beginning in spring ball. When a team’s QB is struggling with his consistency because of an injury, the ball needs to be caught when it hits the hands of a WR.
BYU’s OL was outstanding on Friday, despite being down two starters. The team gave up 0 sacks and was very physical at the point of attack and controlled Cincinnati’s DL throughout the game. BYU was able to establish and rely on the run game while Mangum was injured which took a large burden off of his shoulders. There were some penalties that could’ve been cleaned up by the OL which were ineligible receivers downfield, holding, and false starts. Other than that, they had a great performance when the team needed them to step up.
BYU Defense:
Defensive Stats:
Sione Takitaki: 9 tackles (4-5), .5 sack, 2 TFL (-5 yds)
Fred Warner: 7 tackles (7-0), 2 TFL (-4 yds)
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere: 7 tackles (4-3)
Manoa Pikula: 7 tackles (2-5), .5 TFL (-1 yd)
Bronson Kaufusi: 6 tackles (4-2), 3 sacks, 3 TFL (-12 yds), 1 FF, 1 Blk
Kai Nacua: 6 tackles (2-4), 2 PBU
Harvey Langi: 5 tackles (3-2), .5 sack, .5 TFL (-4 yds)
Sae Tautu: 3 tackles (3-0), 2 sack, 2 TFL (-5 yds)
Travis Tuiloma: 3 tackles (2-1), 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL (-4 yds)
Micah Hannemann: 3 tackles (2-1), 2 PBU
Tomasi Laulile: 3 tackles (1-2), .5 sack, 1.5 TFL (-4 yds)
Most Targeted Player:
Micah Hannemann: 2/7, 2 PBU
incomplete, incomplete, complete, incomplete, complete, PBU, PBU
Kai Nacua: 2/6, 2 PBU
PBU, incomplete, complete, complete, incomplete, PBU
Michael Wadsworth: 2/4
complete, complete zone, incomplete, incomplete
Harvey Langi: 2/3
complete zone, incomplete, complete
Mike Davis: 0/2, PBU
incomplete, PBU
Sione Takitaki: 1/1
complete zone
Matt Hadley: 0/1
incomplete
Manoa Pikula: 1/1
complete
Fred Warner: 1/1
complete zone
Swing/Screen/Dump Pass: 4/4
screen (2x), swing (1x), dump (1x)
BYU got off to a slow start on Friday night, but after several adjustments they played a great game. Against a team that averages around 600 YPG, they only gave up 341 yds and only 136 after the 1st Q. Bronco dialed up a great scheme against an offensive juggernaut and all three position groups on the defense played great, the DL dialed up great pressure, the LBs executed their assignments, and the DBs kept the ball in front of them and made big plays when it counted.
The DL was outstanding against Cincinnati. Coming into the game, the Bearcats had only given up 6 sacks on the whole season and BYU was able to finish the game with 8 sacks. When they weren’t getting sacks, they were providing pressure and moving the pocket. Moore, a very talented QB looked very uncomfortable and he was forced to carry the ball 20 times as a result of the pressure he received. Bronson Kaufusi had 3 sacks against the Cincinnati OL while Travis Tuiloma finished the game with 1.5 in his first game with substantial playing time since the Nebraska game. Kaufusi gave a lot of credit to both Laulile and Tuiloma for allowing holes to open up for him and set him up in 1-on-1 situations so he could win those match ups.
The LB core looked great as well against the Bearcats. It was MLB Harvey Langi’s first game back and he made several impressive plays and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat after missing three games with injury. The Cougars mostly went with a nickel package to put more athletes in coverage, leaving only 3 true LBs on the field at a time but they were able to get plenty of production out of those that played. Sione Takitaki, Fred Warner, JLD, and Manoa Pikula combined for 30 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and .5 sacks. Along with them, Langi had .5 TFL & sacks, and Sae Tautu who saw some time at DE finished the game with 2 TFL & sacks, dialing up pressure from the edge. This position group is extremely deep and has several reliable playmakers and this was a great game for them to get some confidence as they work through the back half of their schedule.
BYU’s secondary had a great game as well. After getting off to a slow start where they allowed 10/16 passing for 158 yds. They were able to finish the rest of the game allowing 6/15 for 62 yds and then in coverage they only allowed 11/26 passes to be completed with 5 PBU. Micah Hannemann and Mike Davis were lock down in coverage and only were beat downfield one or two times at the most. It was a huge step forward for the Cougars to shut down a high-octane air-raid attack like what the Bearcats boast, they’ve made plenty of strides every week but this has been the most impressive. The Cougars won’t face another passing attack like this for the rest of the season but they should be able to continue to play well as they head down the final stretch of 5 games.
