PROVO — The BYU Cougars hosted the Cal Bears at LaVell Edwards Stadium Saturday night in their home opener, but heading back home wasn’t all the Cougars were hoping for.

The Cougar offense couldn’t get into the end zone until there were just 51 seconds left in the game, and as you can imagine, it was too little too late. The Bears outplayed BYU in virtually every category except for twhen the clock hit zeros and BYU lost 21-18 to fall to 1-1 for the season.

There were a few things to be learned in BYU’s week one win against Arizona, but we may have learned even more about the Cougars in their week two loss to Cal.

Here are three takeaways from the BYU/Cal game:

The offense in back (not in a good way)

The big story of the night was one that Cougar fans were hoping wouldn’t come up this season: the offense can’t contribute.

In week one, the Cougars’ offense looked pretty solid owning the line of scrimmage and dominating the run game. Quarterback Tanner Mangum seemed to be gaining some lost ground and hopes were high for week two against Cal. But instead of building on the momentum they gained against Arizona, BYU seemed to revert back to last season when gaining yards was just too much to ask for and scoring touchdowns was a pipe dream.

Mangum was just 22-of-41 with 196 yards. The senior couldn’t manage 200 yards, threw two interceptions and only one touchdown that didn’t come until there was less than a minute left in the game. Mangum had moments where he looked fantastic, threading the needle and making strong throws that players make on Sundays. But then he had those interceptions that were bad decisions from the start and seemed to be gift the defense.

Another big discrepancy from last week was the run game. The Cougars only managed 91 yards on the ground and starting running back Squally Canada only had 49 yards on nine carries. The run game was inept, which made the passing game impossible. It all added up to the offense only scoring 11 points and racking up just 287 yards.

The offense, especially in the first half, would start drives off well, move the ball and then kill themselves with penalties, dropped balls or missed assignments, forcing them to punt and give Cal yet another chance.

By the time the third quarter came around it felt like a game from the 2017 season where fans had no confidence in the offense and hoped BYU could even cross midfield, because asking for a touchdown was just too much.

Where’s the pressure?

The defense didn’t play terrible by any means, but they also weren't the dominant force they needed to be, especially if their offense is going to continue to play the way they are.

Holding a team to 21 points will usually give your team a chance to win, but the defense still gave up 387 yards and let the Bears' backfield average nearly five yards a carry. But that wasn’t the biggest issue. The biggest issue was that the defense cannot get any pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Over the last two weeks, BYU has only one sack, and that came from Corbin Kaufusi in the Arizona game. Against Cal, their multiple quatrerbacks could have sat in lawn chairs and waited for receivers to break free. That’s an exaggeration, but there was next to no pressure on the quarterbacks all night and the pocket stayed intact for most of the game.

Without pressure, receivers have time to shake the defensive backs and gain yards. Lack of pressure also meant the defensive line was getting pushed off the line and that’s why Cal ran at will on the Cougars.

The defense managed to force a fumble and score a touchdown while also getting an interception, but it didn’t count for much because the offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnovers and the defense still gave up three touchdowns.

It’s still too early

We found out on Saturday that Arizona doesn’t seem to be a great team after Houston blew them out 45-18, so BYU’s win in the desert last week isn’t as shiny as it once was. But even with Zona’s 0-2 record, BYU showed some real improvement in the win and gave us a peek into what a well-coached and executed offense can look like.

Then in week two against Cal, the offense laid a big egg and couldn't find the end zone against a team that’s not bad but also isn’t going to be great in the Pac-12.

So, what does that tell us? That it’s still really early in the year and we’re not really sure who the 2018 Cougars are.

At this point, it seems like losses to Washington, Wisconsin, Boise State and Utah are almost guarantees, which means their biggest win this season could possibly be Arizona. But it also seems like BYU has talent on the field and could surprise a team or two as the season wears on. What that equates to is a big question mark, or at least a very small question mark with some optimism hiding behind it.

Up next for the Cougars is a tall order as they face off against No. 5 Wisconsin in Camp Randall. The Badgers are 2-0, averaging nearly 530 yards a game with 325 of those coming on the ground.

From what we’ve seen in the first two weeks, it would seem the Cougars would need a miracle, the likes they’ve never seen, to beat Wisconsin. But I guess crazier things have happened.

The game kicks off at 1:30 PM MT on Saturday, Sept. 15. John has grown up around movies and annoys friends and family with his movie facts and knowledge. John also has a passion for sports and pretty much anything awesome and it just so happens that these are the three things he writes about.

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