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PROVO — BYU’s 2018 football season that opened with promise is back to spinning its wheels.
The Cougars have been outscored 80-27 since an AP Top 25 ranking rose as high as No. 20 two weeks ago, including a 45-20 rout by visiting Utah State on Friday night.
BYU (3-3) moved to 1-6 in their last seven home games against FBS competition. The Cougars are just 1-2 at home in 2018, with the lone victory coming against FCS McNeese State.
Here are three thoughts on the Cougars’ worst loss to the Aggies since losing 34-8 in 1968.
Win the turnover battle
BYU’s first mistake led to its last.
Tanner Mangum threw an interception right to Tipa Galeai on fourth-and-one at midfield, and the 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior rumbled into the end zone to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Before the snowball was done, Utah State held a 21-7 lead at halftime — and three turnovers later, the Aggies had their much-coveted back-to-back wins over BYU for the first time since 1974.
“As a team, that’s frustrating to see,” said linebacker Zayne Anderson, who had eight tackles in his first game since Sept. 15 at Wisconsin. “But we have to have the mindset where we get one, too.
“I feel like we lost a bit of energy after that … and as a team, we need to keep that mindset up.”
If the offense commits the turnover, BYU’s defense can even the score with a takeaway of their own. That hasn’t happened since the Cougars forced a pair of interceptions in a 30-3 home win over FCS McNeese State.
The defense had enough problems just tackling Friday night, head coach Kalani Sitake said. And let's not forget, the Cougars' best offensive boost early on were Aggie penalties. Utah State had 12 penalties for 125 yards in the blowout win.
“We missed a lot of tackles,” Sitake said. “That’s not going to help you, when you are missing tackles, in our defensive scheme. I think Utah State did a good job of getting their guys in space, and we failed to tackle them consistently. It allowed them to keep drives going.”
What balance?
BYU had just 14 rushing yards in the first three quarters, when Utah State held its commanding 35-13 lead.
Mangum wasn’t the problem for BYU's offense; he completed 27-of-46 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, though he did commit two giveaways via a 56-yard pick-six and a fumble to set up the final period.
“I think in every game, you come in with a game plan. Some games are run-heavy, some are pass-heavy,” said tight end Matt Bushman, who caught four passes for 78 yards. “But when you go down 21-0 in the first half, you’ve got to start throwing the ball. You’ve got to take shots, and you’ve got to take a step back and not run the ball as much. That’s what we had to do.”
“We’ve got to figure that out. We can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The senior signal caller needs to get help from his ground game. BYU’s allotment of four ball carriers averaged just 1.0 yards per carry in the first three quarters, and the formerly successful jet sweep was ran just twice for six yards through Aleva Hifo and Micah Simon.
Lopini time
BYU needs to find a run game, but the Cougars’ best bet might be redshirt freshman Lopini Katoa.
The running back formerly known as Zach had a pedestrian night, with just eight carries for 24 yards. Backup quarterback Zach Wilson officially led all ball carriers with 25 yards on two touches, but he had all of it on a 26-yard scramble in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.
Katoa carried the load on a night when Squally Canada was limited and left the game early after battling an ankle injury all season. Canada finished with negative yardage on three carries.
“We really didn’t help ourselves in the run game, either. But the truth is, they stuffed us,” Sitake said. “I felt like in three games, we had an identity of running the ball, and we’ll evaluate everything and find out what we are about.”
Katoa will likely struggle early in his career. But it’s time for the Cougars to prepare him to be the main running back for 2018-21 after the running back also had 21 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
Could the move come with a change at quarterback, too? Sitake was non-committal about Mangum or Wilson going forward.
“There were a lot of things that we have to evaluate, and every position and scheme will be broken down,” he said.
