BYU Offense:
Called Plays: 62
Called Passes: 41 (37 pass, 3 sack, 1 scramble)
Called Runs: 21
Number of Read Options (kept/given/pass): 8 (8/0/0)
BYU didn’t have a ton of success running the ball against SJSU. The OL struggled to establish their physicality being down 3.5 starters (Ryker Mathews was limited to about 20 plays). They weren’t able to control the LOS and were being pushed backwards on a lot of plays that didn’t give the RB group a ton of holes to find. There was little success running the ball early on in the game, but as the game wore on the lack of depth on the OL really showed as they weren’t able to find any success at all in the 2nd Q.
1st:
Give (Bernard, 5)
2nd:
Give (Brown, 1), Give (Brown, 2), Give (Brown, 5, TD), Give (Hine, 1)
3rd:
N/A
4th:
Give (Brown, 0), Give (Bernard, 0), Give (Brown, 4)
Time Mangum had in pocket on passes:
1st Q: 33/9 = 3.67 seconds
2nd Q: 60.7/16 = 3.79 seconds
3rd Q: 20.9/4 = 4.18 seconds
4th Q: 31.3/7 = 4.47 seconds
Game: 3.83 seconds
Time Mangum had in pocket before scrambling (avg gain on scramble):
1st Q: 3.8 seconds (scramble, 7)
2nd Q: 7.1/2 = 3.55 seconds (sack, -7; sack, -3)
3rd Q: N/A
4th Q: 5.3 seconds (sack, -7)
Game: 4.05 seconds (-2.5 YPC)
How many man rush on scrambles:
1st Q: 4
2nd Q: (6 + 4)/2 = 5
3rd Q: N/A
4th Q: 4
Offensive Stats:
1st Q:
Tanner Mangum: 7/9 for 57 yds and 1 TD, 1 rush for 7 yds; Algernon Brown: 1 rush for 12 yds; Adam Hine: 1 rush for 7 yds Francis Bernard: 1 rush for 5 yds; Mitch Mathews: 3 rec for 28 yds and 1 TD, 3 tgts; Terren Houk: 3 receptions for 23 yds, 3 tgts; Nick Kurtz: 1 rec for 6 yds, 1 tgt; Devon Blackmon: 1 tgt; Remington Peck: 1 drop, 1 tgt;
2nd Q:
Tanner Mangum: 8/16 for 112 yds and 1 INT, 2 rushes for -10 yds; Algernon Brown: 5 rushes for 15 yds and 1 TD; Adam Hine: 2 rushes for 2 yds; Francis Bernard: 2 rec for 14 yds, 2 tgts; Devon Blackmon: 3 rec for 60 yds, 4 tgts; Remington Peck: 1 rec for 18 yds, 1 tgt; Nick Kurtz: 1 rec for 11 yds, 3 tgts; Terren Houk: 1 rec for 9 yds, 1 drop, 2 tgts; Mitch Juergens: 1 INT, 2 tgts; Mitch Mathews: 1 tgt; 1 Thrown Away;
3rd Q:
Tanner Mangum: 3/5 for 49 yds; Algernon Brown: 4 rushes for 10 yds; Mitch Mathews: 1 rec for 34 yds, 1 tgt; Colby Pearson: 1 rec for 8 yds, 1 tgt; Devon Blackmon: 1 rec for 7 yds, 2 tgts; Nick Kurtz: 1 tgt;
4th Q:
Tanner Mangum: 5/7 for 75 yds, 1 rush for -7 yds; Algernon Brown: 3 rushes for 4 yds, 1 rec for 5 yds, 1 tgt; Francis Bernard: 1 rec for 19 yds, 1 tgt; Devon Blackmon: 2 rec for 35 yds, 3 tgts; Nick Kurtz: 1 rec for 16 yds, 1 tgt; Mitch Juergens: 1 tgt;
Facing a number of challenges, including the loss of Tejan Koroma to suspension and two other starting OL to injury BYU eked out a close win against San Jose State University. After putting together two TD drives early in the game, BYU was up 14-3 with the potential to go up 21-3 until a pass was broken up in the EZ and the next play was a pick-6 by SJSU which put the score at 14-10 going into halftime which is a world of difference. The team struggled to establish themselves physically which killed any potential for the run game to have any success. The offense also struggled to sustain drives and run down the clock because they couldn’t rely on the run game to pick up chunk yardage. Because of the lack of rush attack, BYU had to rely on Tanner’s arm and big plays from their WR core to get the win. BYU finished with 36 yds on 25 carries and 293 yds through the air on 23 completions.
Tanner Mangum was able to get off to a good start throwing the ball. BYU threw a lot of quick, intermediate routes that allowed Tanner to get settled in with his rhythm and build some chemistry and trust with the OL. As the game progressed, BYU opened up the playbook and took more shots downfield which took more time to develop the routes so Tanner was exposed more with a less experienced OL so he had to adjust by rolling out and being mobile outside of the pocket because he wasn’t getting a ton of protection. He got a little bit flustered and had some happy feet when throwing. The issue that came from the lack of protection was that he now had to worry about protection and being aware of pressure which resulted in him not being able to properly read the defense, one example was when he threw a pick-6 because he didn’t read the coverage and make an adjustment to the route that was thrown while Mitch Juergens did.
The performance of the run game was abysmal at best. Some of the issues stem from the OL not dominating the LOS but on top of that, the running backs as a whole looked like they weren’t finding holes, lead blockers missed blocks, and weren’t hitting holes very hard. There was a lot of excitement about Adam Hine making his return after he sprained his ankle against Michigan and while he made his debut it was very noticeable that he was still hampered by his ankle injury. With the lack of services from a speed back and struggling to control the game with their physicality, BYU tried to utilize Bernard and Brown by stretching the field horizontally which isn’t their strength. BYU was only able to muster 36 yds on 25 carries against the 113th rush defense in the nation.
For as bad at the RB group struggled, the WR core made up for it. They were very physical against a talented SJSU secondary. They made huge plays on balls that weren’t thrown perfectly and won a lot of jump balls and battles. Devon Blackmon made a number of huge plays where he had tight coverage and he was able to win the battle with the DB, it seemed like all of his catches were contested and he was able to win the battle everytime. Mitch Mathews really stood out with this as well especially on two plays, his TD catch where he had to reach behind and get the ball and the 34 yd jump ball where he was interfered with and still came down with the ball. There was one play where a ball was stripped from him in the EZ but there wasn’t much that he could do as Cleveland Wallace was in a perfect position to make the play. BYU completed passes to 8 different players including the first catch by a TE and several passes to RBs out of the backfield which showed a few wrinkles which were added by the offense during the bye week.
As has been noted several times above, the OL really struggled being down 3.5 starters. Parker Dawe, Jaterrius Gulley, Jacob Jimenez, and JJ Nwigwe all got significant reps for the first time this season (they did play against Wagner, but SJSU was the first time they got a lot of PT against an FBS opponent). The biggest loss was probably that of Tejan Koroma who had started all 21 games prior to this. The reason it’s such a big loss was that it was Dawe’s first time playing C in a major game (he played LG in previous games this season) and all the calls and blitz pick ups are made through the C, Koroma also controls the chemistry and leadership on the OL, during fall camp Bronco and Anae both said that Tejan was the most important player for the offense to have success. On top of that, BYU was down their starting LG and RG in Kyle Johnson and Ului Lapuaho and Ryker Mathews was limited in his reps. This really affected BYU’s physicality on the inside. All 3 are expected to be available against Mizzou which will be huge for BYU against the talented SEC DL.
BYU Defense:
Defensive Stats:
Michael Wadsworth: 10 tackles (6-4), 1 PBU
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere: 9 tackles (4-5), .5 sacks, .5 TFL (-6 yds), 1 PBU
Harvey Langi: 8 tackles (4-4)
Fred Warner: 7 tackles (6-1), 2 sacks, 2 TFL (-13 yds), 1 FR
Kai Nacua: 6 tackles (2-4)
Bronson Kaufusi: 6 tackles (2-4), .5 sacks, 1 TFL (-8 yds)
Micah Hannemann: 4 tackles (3-1), 2 PBU
Sae Tautu: 4 tackles (2-2), .5 TFL (-1 yds), 1 QBH
Travis Tuiloma: 4 tackles (0-4), .5 TFL (-3 yds)
Logan Taele: 3 tackles (1-2), 1 TFL (-2 yds)
Michael Davis: 2 tackles (1-1), 1 PBU
Tomasi Laulile: 2 tackles (0-2), .5 TFL (-1 yds)
Most Targeted Player:
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere: 3/4, 1 PBU
PBU, complete zone, complete zone, complete zone
Kai Nacua: 2/4
complete zone, incomplete, incomplete, complete zone
Micah Hannemann: 1/3, 2 PBU
complete, PBU, PBU
Michael Wadsworth: 2/3, 1 PBU
complete zone, complete zone, PBU
Michael Davis: 0/2, 1 PBU
PBU, incomplete
Michael Shelton: 1/1
complete zone
Fred Warner: 1/1
complete zone
Sae Tautu: 1/1
complete zone
Swing/Screen/Dump Pass: 7/7
Swing: 4/4, Screen: 2/2, Dump: 1/1
Thrown Away Passes: 1
BYU’s defense did a good job holding off a dangerous SJSU run game and were constantly pressuring QB Kenny Potter. The team held SJSU to less than 300 yds of total offense and shut down Tyler Ervin allowing him only 80 yds on 23 carries. The biggest issue for the defense was allowing long drives that burned time off of the clock. SJSU did a good job with their tempo and controlled the game clock limiting the time that BYU was able to have the ball which was killer, especially in the 4th Q where SJSU wore down BYU’s defense after putting together two long drives, the latter which was a scoring drive which put them in position to tie before opting to go for two in a PAT.
BYU’s DL did a great job controlling the LOS. SJSU’s game plan was to establish the run game and they controlled the point of attack so that BYU could make plays. Tyler Ervin is a talented RB who is very explosive with good vision and BYU was able to control the OL so he couldn’t find any creases.
BYU’s LB core had a great job as well. They were assignment sound and were able to fill the holes that opened up after the DL executed their assignment. Fred Warner had the most complete game of his career finishing with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. He gained a lot of confidence against Wagner and was able to carry some of that swagger into the game against SJSU and make plays. While he had a great game, he wasn’t perfect. There was one play during SJSU’s final drive where he took a poor angle on his assignment which allowed Potter to pick up the first down on 4th & 1. Overall, the most important thing that BYU did was stay assignment sound and make tackles, there weren’t many that were missed which cut down the opportunities for Tyler Ervin to get YAC.
BYU’s secondary played really well and continues to improve week in and week out. Three players finished with four PBU’s (Hanneman: 2, Davis: 1, Wadsworth: 1) the most important being Wadsworth’s PBU on SJSU’s two-point attempt when going for the win. There were a few plays down the stretch that really killed BYU that were committed by the secondary. The first was an OOB hit by Wadsworth which was a bad move on his part, it put SJSU in scoring position which really hurt BYU. The second was a PI that was called on Kai Nacua which was kind of ticky tacky and it gave SJSU a new set of downs in the red zone which rejuvenated their offense. In the end, the secondary was able to win the game with a huge PBU that would’ve put SJSU up one with less than a minute left in the game.
