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Senior BYU quarterback Riley Nelson has been through much adversity in his college football career. After transferring from Utah State to BYU, he was back up to the soon-to-be all-time winning-est quarterback in BYU history, Max Hall, with the expectations to become the starting gunslinger for the Cougars prior to Hall's departure from the program.
After much question, and a roller coaster of events in LaVell Edwards Stadium, he finally got his chance to be the guy without question last Saturday, as the Cougars hosted the Washington State Cougars from Pullman.
Traditionally, this BYU program fares well in its seasons when lead by a senior at quarterback. While head coach at BYU, in the last seven seasons, Bronco Mendenhall has lost 24 games (66-24 total). Since 1977, a BYU team led by a senior quarterback has lost just 23 games (117 wins, 2 ties). Also, the last senior quarterback to lose to the University of Utah was Kevin Feterik in 1999, as the Utes defeated the Cougars 20-17 in Provo. BYU finished that season 8-4 after a 21-3 loss to Marshall in the Motor City Bowl.
Coming into this season, there was much question from fans and media on just how good Riley is at quarterback. His arm strength was the most in question, as he's mostly known for his ability to be mobile in and out of the pocket and make things happen with his feet.
In 2011, he took over for Jake Heaps about halfway through the season, as he entered the game against his former school, Utah State. He led the Cougars on a 96-yard game-winning touchdown drive. He would start every game for the rest of the season. As a starter last year, he led this team to a 7-1 record to end the season. Amid the uncertainty of his arm strength, he has proven on multiple occasions that he has the ability to do what it takes to win football games.
Last Thursday night in Provo, for the first time in his college career, he began a season as the starting quarterback.
Game Notes- BYU (1-0) vs. Weber State (0-1)
- Date: Saturday Sep. 8, 2012
- Time: 1:00 p.m. MDT
- Site: LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, Utah
- TV: BYUtv
- Radio: KSL Radio 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and ksl.com
- Series Record: BYU leads 2-0
- Last Meeting: 1979 (BYU 48-3)
- Kickoff Weather: Mostly sunny, temps in the upper 80s
Fans were heavily anticipating what offensive coordinator Brandon Doman had in store for this offensive unit with Riley at the helm. The first drive of the game for this offense was stagnant. They drove 17 yards in nine plays, and ended up punting to the Cougars of Washington State, after taking just three and one-half minutes off the clock.
After the defensive caused a turnover, giving the ball back to BYU, the second drive was only one play more than the previous. Except they went 80 yards, scoring the first touchdown of the season, as Nelson threw a pass to junior Skyler Ridley in the southwest corner of the endzone. BYU wouldn't punt again until there were under 11 minutes in the game.
Nelson led this offense to six consecutive scoring drives, including three touchdowns and three field goals. The seventh drive after the initial punt, resulted in a missed field goal by Riley Stephensen, as they blew out the Pac-12- representing Cougars, 30-6.
The senior quarterback threw the football three times more than he ran it. He gained 18 yards on the ground on 12 carries, and he threw the ball 36 times, completing 25 of those passes, for 285 yards and two touchdowns. There were no turnovers for this BYU offensive unit. Nelson finished the game with a 154.28 efficiency rating.
The 2012 season started off in traditional fashion. Were there doubts? Sure. With weapons like Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman, there were no shots taken down the field. Some would have liked to see what Riley can do with two elite deep threats at wide receiver. So naturally, his overall arm strength remains in question. However, after a 24-point opening-day victory, there's not much negativity that can be taken away from the outcome of that performance.
Coach Mendenhall was pleased with Riley's performance: "He has great leadership and that suits him really well. He demands respect, and when it's hurry up, he gets everyone to the line and pushes the ball forward."
After the game, Riley mentioned some things his BYU team could improve on. "We are definitely leaving this game hungry because we feel like we left points and some yards out on the field," he said, referring to a few drives that stalled and forced the Cougars to settle for a field goal.
Next up, the Nelson-led Cougars host the Wildcats of Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on BYUtv. It looks to be a sure tune-up game before BYU heads to Salt Lake City the following week, in hopes to avenge a shellacking that happened in Provo last season. It will be the first time Nelson will be the starting quarterback against the Utes in his college career.
Jimmie Cheshire is an assistant account manager at National Benefit Services, assistant site manager for tornbysports.com and a singer/songwriter. His music can be found at jimmiechesh.com. Follow him on twitter @CheshSports and @JimmieChesh.
(Photo by Jonathan Hardy/BYU Photo)
