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PROVO — After a disastrous game against the Michigan Wolverines, BYU football is looking to get back into the win column. The Cougars' next opponent is the UConn Huskies. Here are three keys for the Cougs to win tonight.
Establish the run
The Huskies' defense has been stout through the first four games of the season. In three of their four contests, UConn has allowed 17 or fewer points. This includes a near upset of Missouri. In that game, the Huskies gave up only nine points but couldn't capitalize on offense. So far, UConn's defense is giving up a meager 17.2 points a game.
The one team that has had moderate success against the team from Storrs, Connecticut, is Navy. The Midshipmen ran for 303 yards and three touchdowns against the Huskies. Of course, it's worth noting that Navy is an option team and primarily runs the ball on every down. But their success suggests that UConn can be run on.
The Cougars, regardless of who is playing running back, need to take pressure off Tanner Mangum, especially given that the Huskies are giving up a stingy 124.8 passing yards a game.
Pick up chunks of yards and first and second down
The Cougars have struggled mightily on third downs, thus far this season. In total, the Y is converting on only 34.85 percent of the time on third down. There are various reasons for that. It could be argued that the loss of Taysom Hill is a big factor. No doubt Hill gave BYU a major advantage on third and short situations. The bigger problem, however, is the Cougs' average distance to go on third down is 8.11 yards. Not many teams can consistently move the sticks in that position.
It should come as no surprise that BYU has only gotten a first down four times out of 29 attempts when faced with third and eight or more. The Cougars need to establish a run game and short passing game on first and second down in order to make more manageable third downs. Doing so will give offensive coordinator Robert Anae more options on third down.
Create turnovers
Against Michigan, BYUs offense was anemic. The Cougs mustered only eight first downs and 105 total yards. Likewise, the defense was bad against the Wolverines. One thing the Cougars did not do in Ann Arbor that they had done well in the first games was forcing turnovers. While BYU never gave the ball away, they also did not have any takeaways. In the first three contests, the Y forced eight turnovers. These turnovers often resulted in major momentum shifts or gave the offense a short field to work with.
If the Cougs wants to win tonight, they will need to get some takeaways. Kai Nacua still leads the nation with four interceptions, and forcing at least one or two will help boost BYU's chance at going 2-0 at home in 2015.
Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11. Listen to his weekly podcast, "Cougar Talk," on YouTube.
