Cougars prep for Keeton, Aggies


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Having won 12 of the last 13 meetings with their Cache Valley counterparts, the BYU Cougars visit Utah State on Friday night. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall calls the contest "a great instate matchup...it should be an exciting game."

Asked to contrast the game with BYU's other historical instate rivalry, Mendenhall on Monday said "it's a different kind of rivalry" than the one with the Utah Utes.

"I'm not saying it's better or worse," Mendenhall noted after his team's late afternoon practice, "but it's just different, and I think it should be. Different teams, a little bit more distance, but still I think (it's) a great game, and it has been the past number of years--it has gone right down to the end."

Since recording four straight wins over BYU from 1971 through 1974, Utah State has won only four of the ensuing 32 meetings over 38 years--in 1978, 1982, 1993 and 2010. The 2010 get-together (won by the Aggies 31-16) was also the last time BYU played in Logan, and resulted in Mendenhall firing his defensive coordinator Jaime Hill the next day.

BYU's defense hasn't looked back since Mendenhall reclaimed play-calling duties, proving to be one of the nation's stingiest units since the middle of 2010.

Utah State head coach Matt Wells said Monday that "I have a lot of respect for (Mendenhall) and his defensive staff."

"I've played against him at Tulsa, at New Mexico and every year here," said Wells. "Some things don't change. Schematically, they're very sound in what they do. They run to the football, they tackle well in space, and they play with high-level energy. They're high-effort guys."

"That is stuff that I don't believe is born into players, it's coached into them. I've got a lot of respect for them and what they do on defense. It's always been a challenge and a tough defense to go find points, find seams, and find advantages. I think they do a great job."

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BYU has done a particularly nice job against Aggie quarterback Chuckie Keeton, one of the country's most dynamic signal-callers.

Mendenhall says the junior dual-threat "is really hard to get on the ground, and then he can extend plays for a long time, and if your coverage happens to hold, then he's a scramble threat."

Nose tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna says Keeton "is a great athlete; I think he's one of the great ones in the nation. He's got the speed, he's got the experience now and he can pass. I think he's growing and he's becoming a better quarterback each game."

Mendenhall said "I'm not sure how many times we've played against him, but seems like he's been there a long time."

In actuality, BYU has faced Keeton just twice, and both times in Provo--in 2011 and 2012. BYU won both games by narrow margins, coming back for a 27-24 victory two seasons ago, and then holding on for a 6-3 decision last year. The 2012 meeting was Taysom Hill's second start for BYU, and his final game of last season, as a left leg injury in the closing moments ended his freshman campaign.

Hill has many of the same attributes as Keeton, and actually outplayed the Utah State QB last season at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Although he has played in only one of the last two meetings between the two programs, Hill's numbers compare favorably with one of the more exciting play-makers in college football.

Keeton v. BYU and Hill v. Utah State, 2011-2012

PlayerGamesResultCompAttYds/gmComp %TDINTPass Eff.RushYdsYds/carryTDs
Chuckie Keeton20-23563162.055.6%20109.216452.80
Taysom Hill11-02436235.066.7%11125.119804.20

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While Hill's passing numbers are playing catch-up with his ground-game stats, the Idaho native is putting up some eye-popping rush numbers, only six starts into his BYU career.

Hill needs only 99 more rush yards to hit the thousand-yard plateau as a Cougar, and his career 7.4 yards/carry average already places him atop the BYU career charts for players with 100+ carries or 900+ career rush yards.

This season, Hill is 15th nationally in total offense, 9th in rush yards per game, and leads all FBS QBs in rushing yardage (141.2 yds/game) and rushing touchdowns (6). He is tied for the national lead in runs from scrimmage of 10+ yards, with 24--eight more than the QB in second place (Michigan's Devin Gardner).

Of BYU's 29 third-down conversions, Hill has accounted for 14 of them with his legs, including four rushing conversions on 3rd downs with 10 or more yards to go.

USU's Wells says Hill "is strong, he's physical, he's very confident. He's a good athlete. He's really fast."

"They do a good job of scheming quarterback runs from a schematic standpoint," Wells says. "There's some stuff just like with Chuckie that you can't coach and you can't scheme. When it's man-to-man a lot of times he makes those guys miss or he runs through arm tackles."

"He'll be a load to stop."

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BYU would like to stop a couple of troubling trends on Friday night: too many pre-snap penalties against the offense, and too negative a turnover margin.

Of BYU's 31 infractions this season, 12 are pre-snap offensive fouls, including 10 false starts. While a higher number of offensive plays could account for a higher number of penalties, BYU's false start rate is ahead of last year, when BYU false-started 24 times--the highest number in the last six seasons.

Mendenhall said a raucous Romney Stadium will test the Cougar's concentration up front.

"I think we've had too many (false starts) already this year, and so, we're focusing on it," Mendenhall said Monday, "but yeah, a more hostile crowd...louder crowd, that certainly will have an influence."

Meantime, BYU's turnover margin of minus-six ranks the Cougars 118th (of 123 FBS teams); BYU turned it over five times (-4) in last week's win over Middle Tennessee--the first time BYU won a game in the Mendenhall era while giving the ball away five times or more.

Mendenhall said ever since Robert Anae took over as offensive coordinator, every practice "starts with ball security" emphasis.

"We don't practice until we do that, and we'll continue to do that," says Mendenhall. "We need a little more work, it looks like."

Running back Michael Alisa, who fumbled a ball inside the Middle Tennessee five-yard line last week said it's "two hands on the ball at all times; even if it's like a stretch to the outside."

"It looks kind of funny to have two hands on the ball but that's necessary," Alisa says. "Like Coach Mendenhall said, you cannot be having turnovers - especially in a game like this (at Utah State)."

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Notes and quotes:

There are positive reports on the injury front, especially as they relate to running back Jamaal Williams, who suffered a concussion and stinger against Utah, then missed the Middle Tennessee game.

Head trainer Jeff Hurst said Williams "is doing very well. He practiced today, and looked really good through everything; didn't have any repeat symptoms, or any increase in problems. He should be good to go on Friday. Jamaal looks great."

Hurst said running back Adam Hine, who left the Middle Tennessee game with a concussion, "looks much better than he did on Friday. He went through the beginning stages of the (concussion) protocol today, and is improving significantly. If he can make it through the protocol, we'll get him there. If we have time, we'll have time, but if not, with a short week, it's tough."

Hurst on--

Linebacker Tyler Beck (hamstring): "Wasn't out at practice...he's improving. We'll see where he's at tomorrow and make some decisions based on how he looks, functionally."

Offensive lineman Ryker Mathews (hip aggravation): "Ryker practiced today and looked really good. He didn't do everything at practice, but he was a lot more active than he's been able to be the last week or so. Returning, day-to-day."

Offensive lineman Brock Stringham (shoulder): "He'll be another day-to-day guy. Didn't go today, but he's going to try and go tomorrow, see how he does. He's still somewhat limited in that shoulder. He has improved considerably since last week."

Offensive lineman De'Ondre Wesley (concussion): "We'll see how he does through protocol. He did not practice today."

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BYU will get wide receiver Cody Hoffman back after a one-game suspension; Hill says having his top target and Williams back for Friday night's game will be a significant benefit.

"It's huge," said Hill of Williams' return. "Jamaal's a guy that a defense has to prepare for; and the same thing for Cody. Even if we're not getting the ball regularly, the defense is going to have to account for them; that's really big."

"It's good to have them back, but at the same time I was really impressed with the way Ross (Apo) played, with the way Mitch (Mathews) played, and those guys stepped up. I expect them to continue to do those things whether or not Cody is in the lineup."

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You can hear post-practice interviews with Mendenhall, Manumaleuna, Hill, Hoffman, Alisa, wide receiver JD Falslev and defensive lineman Marques Johnson, in "Cougar Cuts," top left.

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Greg Wrubell

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