Reality Bites

A little complacency. A sense of entitlement. Perhaps a bit of arrogance. When talented, experienced teams fall victim to those destructive tendencies, you get a let-down. If you're historically successful BYU, you get a 32-7 loss at TCU in 2008, or a 54-28 home loss to Florida State in 2009. You get games that serve as wake-up calls, after which you ideally see a renewed sense of commitment and preparation--a reminder that even 10- and 11-win teams have to earn their keep.

When less talented, less experienced teams have a slightly misplaced belief in their merits and abilities, you get what happened to BYU last night at Utah State.

The 31-16 loss in Logan is the ultimate comeuppance.

A BYU squad that had struggled to a 1-3 start maintained that progress was being made and that incremental improvements were being observed. The unspoken expectation was that a visit to Romney Stadium would cure many if not all ills; after all, BYU had beaten the Ags in ten straight and 20 of 21. Utah State was only 1-3 itself, and just been worked 41-7 at San Diego State. A BYU breakthrough was imminent, or so it was hoped.

Now that the Cougars have been knocked off their feet by by their perennial punching bag, perhaps now the real work of improvement can begin.

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In admitting that he "is responsible for the way the team performed," head coach Bronco Mendenhall acknowledged the eye-opening nature of Friday night's setback when he spoke with us on KSL Radio.

Mendenhall says an "almost dead-silent" post-game locker room included "a lot of players looking to each other, and committing to do better. I think (there was) a different resolve in terms of supporting each other, and team, as the support won't be from the outside now, it will be from the inside. I think the team is anxious to perform better, I think the team is anxious to have success, but now I think they're becoming realistic (about) exactly how much work they have to do. That in and of itself was sobering to them."

"Each game we play fills in more of the picture. If I were more skilled and could predict and show them exactly where they were, I'd try to paint that picture ahead of time, but I think what they're seeing now, is the volume of work and the amount of work that has to happen realistically to play competitively and to put ourselves in a situation to have success; that is what the team is leaving with tonight."

Earlier in our post-game conversation, the coach said that "realistically, (a 1-4 start) was a possibility," and that "it doesn't get easier from here."

In each of the above paragraphs, the words "realistic" or "realistically" are mentioned. At 1-4 on the year, the Cougars will need to "get real" about who they are and who they can become this season.

They are not any of the 10- or 11-win teams of the last four seasons. Despite the tradition of recent dominance and considerable carry-over from the coaching staff on down through the roster, they have not earned a sense of entitlement, and they have yet to justify optimistic preseason projections at a number of key positions on the field.

It took five full games, but the 2010 BYU Cougars may have finally gotten a good look at themselves in the mirror, free from the fog of past glories and comforting self-perception. The "sobering" reflection may be just what this team needs to see to salvage its season; the unanswered variable is the standard by which "salvage" will be measured.

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Quick hitters--

BYU QB Jake Heaps could sue his receiving corps for lack of support. The freshman has launched a few unwise passes through five games, but he has placed numerous throws exactly where they need to be for his pass-catchers to make a play, and those plays are not being made. BYU fans have been spoiled by receivers/tight ends who only required that the football be in the vicinity of their hands. The current targets are battling the ball, and losing that battle on a weekly basis.

J.D. Falslev has not only earned reps as a kickoff and punt returner, but it might not hurt to give him some offensive snaps, as well--he is a receiver, after all. The most excited the BYU bench was all night was when Falslev was winding up on a kickoff return and decided to blast a would-be tackler on the sideline. A player with that kind of quickness and that kind of toughness probably deserves a look on offense, especially when other skill players are failing to justify their playing time.

Insult to injury was added during two special teams plays that had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. BYU's last-minute PAT was blocked, followed by an onside kick on which BYU was both offside and playing with only ten players. Earlier, BYU was victimized by a special teams play that did affect the game's outcome. USU's Kerwynn Williams tore off a 67-yard kickoff return against a unit that led the nation in kickoff return yardage allowed coming into the game.

BYU squandered a chance to go into halftime on an up-note when it faced 2nd-and-1 on its own 41-yard line with less than a minute on the clock, and two timeouts remaining. Coming into the game, BYU was 5/6 when rushing on 3rd-and-2 or shorter, yet the Cougars passed twice; incomplete, incomplete, punt, opportunity for momentum squandered, with two unused timeouts on the board.

Mitch Payne has made six field goals this season, from 22, 29, 28, 27, 29 and 23 yards. Those numbers tell you all you need to know about BYU's blue zone woes. In 2009, BYU had 55 BZ scores: 48 TDs and 7 FGs. In 2010, BYU has 13 BZ scores: 7 TDs and 6 FGs. BYU led the nation in BZ TD% last season; this year, the inside-the-20 playbook is in tatters.

Payne mis-fired from 48 yards last night, leaving him under 50% for his career on field goals of 40+ yards (8/17). Eight field goals of 40-yards or longer is a low number for a four-year starter at PK.

BYU's defensive health/depth situation has gone from less-than-optimal, to critical. Already minus starting safety Steven Thomas (concussion, possibly season- or career-ending), NT Romney Fuga (knee, season), and LB Jameson Frazier (thumb, 3-4 weeks), BYU lost safety Andrew Rich (arm contusion, stinger) and LB Jordan Pendleton (knee) during the Utah State game. If you were to compile a list of BYU's top three defensive players, Fuga, Rich and Pendleton would be your guys.

Before the game, we learned that LB Aveni Leung-Wai had been moved from inside linebacker to the outside. I don't recall him playing a snap on defense last night, even after the injury to Pendleton; Leung-Wai remains an enigma. Previous mystery man Jadon Wagner saw a lot of OLB reps and ended up leading the team in solo tackles, with six (ten total), including two tackles for loss.

Look at who BYU has faced at quarterback in the first five weeks, and look who is coming next. BYU has lined up against UW's Jake Locker (senior), AFA's Tim Jefferson (junior), FSU's Christian Ponder (senior), UNR's Colin Kaepernick (senior), and USU's Diondre Borel (senior), with SDSU's Ryan Lindley (junior) and TCU's Andy Dalton (senior) on deck. BYU's final five games will likely feature four freshman or sophomores at opposing QB, but from games one through seven, it's a steady diet of experienced, and in most cases, productive signal-callers for the Cougars to confront.

Of the five QBs BYU has faced, all are as good with their feet as their arms, contributing to BYU's poor rush defense numbers (259.2 yards per game allowed). SDSU's Lindley is the first pure drop-back passer BYU will have faced; not that it will necessarily translate to a better overall defensive performance, as Lindley came into the week in the top 20 nationally in passing yards and total offense. His top two receivers (Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson) lead the MWC in receiving yards per game.

The last time BYU lost four consecutive games was in 1993. The fourth straight loss came at Utah State. The streak-busting win came next week, versus San Diego State. BYU hosts the Aztecs next week. Difference: the 1993 team averaged 35.5 points per game. The 2010 squad is averaging 15.2 points per contest, and this is the best SDSU team we have seen in a few years.

The last time BYU lost five consecutive games: 1970, which also represents the last time a BYU team played a season averaging fewer than BYU's current average of 15.2 points per game. The 1970 team scored 12.5 points per outing.

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