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PROVO — BYU’s 17-14 loss to UCLA in the 2016 home-opener at LaVell Edwards Stadium wasn’t all bad.
But there wasn’t a lot of good in one facet of the game, either.
Here’s how the squad breaks down after Josh Rosen’s visit to Provo.
Offense: D-
BYU’s offensive line got pushed around, and UCLA’s Rick Wade grabbed a massive 13-yard sack in the second quarter to push the Cougars out of field goal range after starting a first-quarter drive on the 33-yard line. Freshman kicker Jake Oldroyd has been good in his debut season, but he can’t do much if he doesn’t have a chance to get on the field.
Taysom Hill was sacked four times in the first half, more a function of the line’s inability to stave off pressure than the fifth-year senior’s dual-threat nature. Hill also accounted for 65 of BYU’s 79 first-half yards, and went on to throw a touchdown pass to Nick Kurtz in the final minute of the contest.
Jamaal Williams tried to take advantage of his 13 carries, adding a touchdown with 3:07 left in the third quarter to prevent the shutout. The fifth-year senior running back averaged just 2.0 yards per carry, but also caught two passes for 45 yards. UNLV running back Lexington Thomas ran for 112 yards and a touchdown a week ago against UCLA, so there should have been room for Williams to run, too.
In theory.
BYU piled up just 273 yards of total offense, including 23 net yards rushing. UCLA’s six tackles for loss for 30 yards hurt that number significantly, obviously.
Defense: B+
Let’s get this out of the way first: BYU allowed just 17 points on defense, which may be 17 more than the players want — but could’ve been enough to win in most scenarios.
It wasn’t a perfect night by the defense, but it wasn’t bad, either.
Butch Pau’u continued his remarkable start to his first season as the starting middle linebacker. For the third-straight game, Pau’u led the Cougars in tackles, this time notching a career-high 19 with 2.5 tackles for loss, as well. Pau’u’s total stops — that included 11 solo tackles — tied former BYU standout Uani Unga for the most in a single game since Derwin Gray in 1991.
Fred Warner forced the first big play of the night, yanking a tight end pass out of the air for an interception just 33 yards away from UCLA’s end zone. Warner left with an unspecified knock in the second half, but returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
Moses Kaumatule had a breakout night, combining with Harvey Langi on a sack and adding two tackles at defensive end. The Cougars forced six tackles for loss, but only got to Rosen once for a sack.
Even in the game’s late stages and needing a stop, BYU’s defense forced Rosen to beat them with his arm — and the sophomore did just that. “The Rosen One” finished with 307 yards passing, two touchdowns and one interception.
Special teams: A-
Even as BYU’s offense struggled early, the team’s defense and special teams kept UCLA from capitalizing. Dayan Lake, Eric Takenaka and the punt coverage was outstanding in the first quarter, and Jonny Linehan had a season-long 55-yard punt.
Linehan even booted a punt that was downed on the 4-yard line, and averaged 45.7 yards per punt on nine kicks.
Things weren’t perfect for BYU on the third unit: Oldroyd had a (distressingly long) field goal blocked to end the first half, for example. But compared to the offense, it wasn’t a bad night.
Coaching: C+
It’s hard to blame coaches for issues that can only be described as “poor execution,” and it certainly wasn’t Kalani Sitake’s fault when a receiver let a ball carom off his gloves or an offensive line failed to pick up a block.
This score could go up if Sitake releases video of his halftime speech, when the Cougars trailed 10-0 despite a strong overall performance by the defense.
But the team lacked urgency for much of the second half, and didn’t get things rolling on offense until the final two minutes. Players make plays, but coaches play a role, too.
Overall: C+
Again, this BYU team held the quick-strike offense led by Rosen to 17 points — but lost. In three games to open the 2016 season, the Cougars have scored 18, 19 and 14 points in a win over Arizona and losses to Utah and UCLA, respectively.
It doesn’t get any easier, either. The Cougars travel to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, for a 1:30 p.m. MDT kickoff next Saturday against West Virginia (2-0) — one of just two currently unbeaten teams in the Big 12.
