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CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Several things stood out Saturday afternoon for both BYu and Oregon State. Here are a few impressions leftover from BYU's 38-28 win:
BYU offense shines: Despite a few hiccups (see below) the BYU offense performed the best it has all year. It scored 38 points (9 more than its previous high) and collected almost 500 yards (499 to be exact). Nelson threw for 217 yards and the running game dominated: 282 yards on 48 carries (a 5.9 average), led by Nelson (87 yards), Michael Alisa (84 yards) and JJ Di Luigi (74 yards). Cody Hoffman was fantastic, making several acrobatic catches. He finished with nine catches for 162 yards and a score.
Penalties: BYU killed or stalled several drives and extended several Beaver drives because of, pardon me, stupid penalties. The Cougars committed 10 fouls for 79 yards; seven on the offensive side of the ball. Two negated touchdown runs by Michael Alisa. And I can only imagine how annoying it is to celebrate in the end zone only to realize it didn't count. All three defensive penalties were pass interference calls, which gives the opponent an automatic first down. The last penalty came on 4th down and the next play Oregon State scored its final touchdown.
Turnovers: While the Cougars are moving the ball, they had 499 yards of total offense, they are still turning the ball over too often and putting their defense in horrible positions. The first turnover came at BYU's own 27-yard line. The defense held and forced a missed field goal, however in BYU's next series Nelson threw a pick-6. Positive note: BYU didn't turn the ball over in the second half and put 24 points on the board.
Missed Opportunities: BYU scored 10 points in the third quarter, but could only turn three consecutive Oregon State turnovers into three points. A holding call forced a long field goal, which Justin Sorensen missed from 53 yards. A dropped pass and another penalty forced the Cougars to punt. Against a better opponent, those missed opportunities likely would have doomed the Cougars.
OSU has talent, lacks consistency: Oregon State has play-makers (Mannion, Wheaton, Rodgers, Stevenson), but they struggled to establish any sort of rhythm or running game to balance a passing game that ended with 305 yards. This team is young, Mannion is only a freshman, Stevenson is a sophomore and Wheaton is a junior, and their defense needs better players, but this team will be better before the season is over and stronger in the coming years.
