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PROVO — Saturday night marked the biggest win for BYU since their 14-13 win over No. 3 Oklahoma in 2009. This time, however, the Cougars didn't need to take out a Heisman Trophy winner to tough out a one-point win. No, no, they just needed 550 yards rushing and 40 points.
The game was interesting to watch to say the least. The big story line of the night was the 259 yards and three touchdowns quarterback Taysom Hill gained on the ground. That's an impressive stat considering the only other QB's to put up those kinds of numbers are former Michigan quarterback Dernard Robinson and Davey O'Brien Award winner and former Texas QB Vince Young.
Calm down everyone, I was just pointing out an interesting stat; I am not suggesting Hill should be an O'Brien Award winner.
While all of the focus is on the amazing ground game BYU churned out, or the horrible Texas performance if you're national media, there are two things everyone seems to be forgetting: First, BYU's defense is fantastic and could be better than last year; and second, BYU's pass game is frightening.
Let's start with the defense.
As hard as it may be to believe, Kyle Van Noy may be even better than he was last year. The senior linebacker finished the night with eight tackles, one sack and four quarterback hurries. If those numbers don't seem to impress you, they should. Just go back and watch the game and you'll realize KVN was in on almost every single defensive play. Maybe he didn't get the tackle, but he most likely is the one who forced Texas QB David Ash out of the pocket or made running back Johnathan Gray change directions. Van Noy proved he is an All-American in Provo Saturday.
LB Alani Fua also made a name for himself against No. 15 Texas with seven tackles and two sacks. Along with Fua, Skye PoVey and Daniel Sorensen had solid nights.
The defense owned the line and even the cornerbacks stepped up when needed. That was the weakest point in BYU's defense, but JC transfer Robertson Daniel made plays when he needed to.
The defense forced three and out and set up BYU's offense to have the night they had. While we marvel at the fact that BYU ran nearly a quarter mile over the Longhorns, it would be a travesty to forget the dominating performance the defense displayed.
Now on to the passing game.
I don't want to come down on the offense, because they did exactly what they needed to. They scored 40 points on a Texas defense and ran at will. However, the excitement of the run game still made us question the pass game.
Hill was just 9 for 26 for 129 yards with one interception and no TDs through the air. Granted, if the run game is working, there is no need to abandon it, but the moments when they tried to throw the ball left something to be desired.
Hill overthrew receivers all night just like he did against Virginia; and receivers continued to drop balls--two big ones coming from Ross Apo and Brett Thompson.
Having an efficient, even dominant run game is a wonderful thing to have. But if that's all you have, experienced coaches like Kyle Whittingham and Brian Kelly will game plan to shut you down. You need to be a threat through the air as well as on the ground, and BYU has yet to prove they can do that.
Cody Hoffman is one of the most talented receivers to ever don a BYU uniform and it feels as if his talents are going to waste. The senior had just two catches against Texas for 63 yards. One was for 32 yards and the other 31. Those are good numbers, but again it was just two catches, which he had to work for.
The BYU run game put on a show in LaVell Edwards Stadium against a top 15 team, but if they would like to continue to see this kind of success against teams like Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Utah State and Utah in two weeks, an air attack has to be implemented and executed.
Bronco Mendenhall and his Cougars should enjoy this win, savor it and remember it. It will go down in history as one of the greats, and it should. The team played hard and the coaches schemed well. But despite the big win, the Cougars have a lot of work to do before they take the field again.
