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PROVO — Following blowout road wins at UConn and Texas to open the season, No. 25 BYU makes its home debut at LaVell Edwards Stadium Thursday at 7 p.m. with the University of Houston with confidence in the possibility of an undefeated season.
Last season, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's team tied an FBS record for most plays in a game (115) while capturing a wild 47-46 shootout victory at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Heisman Trophy candidate Taysom Hill is bringing a lot of national attention to the team, and his performance in last year's contest against Houston drew plenty of praise. The dual-threat quarterback threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions, while adding 128 yards rushing.
In a lackluster first half in last week's 41-7 road win over the Longhorns, BYU couldn't capitalize with touchdowns on trips into Texas territory. Sometimes that can cause a play-caller to lose faith in the game plan and air it out more. The Cougars stayed patient, though, and they should remember that it paid off against the Longhorns. BYU's plethora of ball carriers helped the Cougars move inside the 20 and into the end zone with ease after halftime.
UTSA wore down Houston (1-1) in its opener with 50 attempts for 142 yards. BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae will certainly want to get Hill in a passing rhythm to free up the ground game, but BYU should try to keep its streak alive of consecutive games (2) with more than 200 rushing yards.
As a freshman last year, Houston quarterback John O'Korn had one of the best games of his young career against a start-studded BYU defense. Part of that had to do with the lack of pressure BYU applied. The Houston offense succeeded in quickly getting the ball out of the youngster's hands, and he was sacked only three times on 45 throws. Only two starters return to the Houston offensive line from last year, and it showed in its 27-7 loss to UTSA. The Roadrunners recorded at least two of their four sacks while fielding just a three-man rush. Their pass rush, combined with a number of deceptive looks from the secondary, also forced O'Korn into four interceptions. BYU defensive coordinator Nick Howell should continue to disguise the blitzes he calls and how his secondary lines up to keep O'Korn off balance.
Outside of some holding calls in the 35-10 season-opening win at UConn, BYU's front five have been solid. To avoid a repeat of Hill being sacked eight times for minus-66 yards like he was at Houston last year, BYU offensive line coach Garett Tujague's rotation needs to remain disciplined and continue to block as a unit. Houston will bring the heat to test the host Cougars again.
Through two games, BYU has four running backs with 10 carries or more average at least four yards per carry in Algernon Brown (5.3), Paul Lasike (5.1), Jamaal Williams (4.7) and Adam Hine (4.4). Fans have seen what Hill can do (5.4), and Williams didn't miss a beat in his return after sitting out the season opener due to a suspension in picking up 89 yards against the Longhorns. Brown and Hine, who ran for two scores last Saturday, were less involved against the Longhorns. Brown showed his strength while carrying multiple defenders on an 11-yard run and continues to provide versatility in the passing game. Hine's burst in space offers a change of pace. If the Cougars can continue to execute on the ground, there's no reason that at least three running backs shouldn't be getting somewhere near 10 carries each. There are plenty of weapons to utilize in the passing game, but if the backs can maintain their production, it would be a mistake to not feature them heavily.
Defensive back Robertson Daniel encapsulated this ideal in his first game back from suspension by forcing a fumble and recovering two at Texas. Last year, Houston looked like it might pull away from BYU at stages during the second half, but BYU's three interceptions gave them life. O'Korn has shown he's going to take risks, and the BYU secondary, as well as the linebacker corps, should be ready to step in front of his receivers. Mendenhall's team has already tripled the amount of turnovers (6) it had at this point in 2013. There's no reason BYU shouldn't replicate what UTSA did and force mistakes while the Houston has the ball.
