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AUSTIN, TX -- Last week started off with a bunch of questions regarding the 2011 BYU football team and most of them were answered in Oxford, Miss.
Here is what we learned:
- The defense is ready to play.
- The Pendelton/Van Noy tandem will be a treat to watch for weeks to come.
- Ross Apo can win a one-on-one battle and go up and get the ball in traffic.
- Even though he didn't have the greatest game, I did see huge growth in Heaps. He made great decisions throughout the game. Even the pick he threw was a good decision, just a little late. His struggles came more from being a little jittery and letting the ball sail or come in kind of hot. He settled down in the second half and every time the Cougar offense came on the field, they moved the ball.
This Saturday is no time to try to clean things up, they better be fine-tuned and ready to go by the time the team reaches Austin. Here are my Top 5 storylines leading up to Saturday:
- BYU defense vs. Bryan Harsin
Harsin was the quarterbacks coach then offensive coordinator at Boise State for the past ten years and has been one of the most creative coaches to watch in the past decade. Not only has he led one of the most prolific offenses in the country, he did it at a non-automatic qualifying (AQ) school against AQ teams in big games. It's not that Boise State didn't have great athletes; he just has a whole lot more at his disposal. - Doman's Domain
Now I know that there are a lot of concerns about the BYU offense and their inability to put points on the board in week 1. However, I am super excited to watch Doman's offense again. I loved the play calling and feel like he got them into a great rhythm on multiple drives. Just have to clean up drive-stalling mistakes and punch the ball in the end zone.
- 3-0 against Texas?
BYU has never lost to the University of Texas. 3-0 against one of the most storied teams in the country sounds pretty good right now. - Protecting Heaps
I think BYU's offensive line will find Texas' Front 7 to be a little bit more physical and difficult to push around. Now that teams have BYU's naked bootleg on film, and once Heaps has to drop back multiple times in a row, can they keep the phenomenal Longhorn pass rushers away from #9? - Secondary Pressure
I think that the position group with the biggest challenge this week will be the corners, specifically the field corner. Pretty soon, teams will find as Ole Miss did, that BYU's Front 7 is a tough bunch to run against. The remedy? 7- or 8-man protection and throw a two-man route down the field. The only spark Ole Miss had was taking shots down the field and I expect a lot more of the same from Texas.
