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Freshman RB Harvey Unga is the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He had 194 total yards (67 rushing, 127 receiving) in the season-opening win over Arizona--the third highest total by a freshman in the Football Bowl Subdivision this past week. He also had two touchdowns in the opener.
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Interestingly, Harvey's yardage total matches that of UCLA RB Kahlil Bell, who had 195 yards rushing and -1 yards receiving in the win over Stanford.
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Unga is tied for 20th nationally in all-purpose yardage, tied for 9th in receptions per game, and tied for 11th in receiving yards per game.
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After Saturday, it's now 8 of the last 9 seasons BYU has opened with a pass play. Against Arizona, the first play of the day was a 9-yard pass to Michael Reed.
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In 2006, BYU's average halftime lead was 16 points. BYU led Arizona by 13 at the break on Saturday.
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In the last 14 games, BYU has allowed a total of 15 points in the 1st quarter.
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BYU has held 5 of its last 8 opponents to 8 points or fewer.
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BYU's missed 36-yard field goal Saturday was the first field goal miss inside 40 yards since November 13, 2004. That's right--in 2005 and 2006, BYU PK Jared McLaughlin was 21 for 21 from 40 yards in. Matter of fact, McLaughlin quietly ended up as the most accurate field goal kicker in BYU history. Jared hit 28 of his 37 field goal attempts for 76% (over 2 years). Owen Pochman had the previous record of 74% (over 4 seasons).
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It would not have been his primary motivation, but had Bronco decided to kick a field goal instead of the QB sneak from the Arizona 1 1/2 yard line on Saturday, he would have given Payne a chance to see a ball go through the uprights--something he needs to see as frequently as possible, and something he didn't see enough of on Saturday. For the record, I thought going for it on 4th down was the right play at the time. On the post-game show, Bronco said the play call was a mistake, and he should have kicked the field goal.
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QB Jason Munns tore his ACL in practice last Thursday, and will be lost for the season. He was already projected to reshirt this season, but obviously, this removes him from any travel rosters this season. James Lark will likely assume the #3 quarterback spot. Munns' mission plans are undecided.
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