BYU focus on resiliency, hopes to bounce back against UConn


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — After months of preseason hype and anticipation, the month of September is in the books for the BYU Cougars.

BYU went 2-2 playing a slate of games that ranked among the most difficult opening-month schedules in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

BYU played three of its first four games on the road, and over the month of September the team has traveled nearly 5,700 miles and played in four different time zones.

"When you travel over two-hour time zones … the odds are stacked against you," said wide receiver coach Guy Holliday.

The Cougars are very much looking forward to playing again in Provo. With September behind them, BYU can now look ahead to a four-game home stretch.

Additionally, the Cougar's are 18.5-point favorites against UConn on Friday night, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers. This is the first time this season that BYU is favored to win a game.

So how does BYU maintain its focus and get back to winning?

According to BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae, the key lies in mental toughness.

"Our focus has been our ability to be resilient and our ability to bounce back. We are preparing for UConn with those thoughts in mind," Anae said.

BYU will also work on establishing a stronger physical tone in the run game. Anae said BYU's rush attack has been hurt by "soft blocking and soft running."

Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News
Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News

BYU will be hopeful to get a boost from freshman running back Francis Bernard. Bernard returned from a hand injury and rushed for 30 yards on four carries in his BYU debut against Michigan.

The Cougars are stretching their depth chart with expected starting running back Jamaal Williams out for the season. Running backs Adam Hine and Algie Brown have not practiced with the team this week due to injury, and their status for the UConn game is uncertain.

With the running game continually dinged up, the wide receivers will need to step up their game.

Holliday spoke about the effectiveness of Michigan's ability to jam BYU's receivers at the line.

"We have to play to our strengths," said Holliday. "We have to play big."

On top of physical offense, the Cougars will look to prey on a weaker UConn offense.

The Huskies are averaging just 16.5 points a game. That includes a season-low six-point outing against Missouri.

When asked about UConn's strengths, linebacker Jherremya Leuta-Douyere immediately praised quarterback Bryant Shirreffs.

"They have a good quarterback, he's able to make plays, and he's dual threat," the BYU linebacker said.

In order to shut down UConn's offense, the Cougars are focusing on working together and avoiding missed assignments.

The short week will test the mental toughness of the Cougars; can they refocus and win a game that they should, or will it reveal a team that isn't mentally prepared?

Being back home at LaVell Edwards Stadium could help.

"I'm hoping our student body shows up because our players are going to need that emotional encouragement and pull," Anae said. "I'm fired up because we have a huge student presence here, to come in and cheer on and bolster their peers."

Listen to interviews with Anae, Holliday and Leuta-Douyere in the "Cougar Cuts" section below. David Boyle is a student at Brigham Young University studying journalism. He is from Monticello, Utah, and is thrilled to be covering BYU football and basketball for fall 2015. Follow him on Twitter: @dboyle119

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
David Boyle

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast