PROVO — BYU opened the season against rival Utah in Provo Thursday night, and much to the chagrin of Cougar fans the game went down the same way it has the previous eight times before it; BYU made costly mistakes, Utah capitalized and in-state bragging rights go the Utes yet again.

That makes nine games in a row the Cougars have given up to Utah and not one person on BYU’s roster knows the feeling of winning that game.

While Cougar fans are undoubtedly in the pit of sorrow with how the season began, it’s not all bad. There are some bright spots from Thursday night, a few question marks and several red flags.

Here are three lessons from BYU’s ninth straight loss to Utah:

Zach Wilson still has some growing up to do

Before Thursday night, the last time we’d seen Zach Wilson play was in the Idaho Potato Bowl where he went a staggering 18-of-18 for 317 yards. Cougar fans were excited to see him back in action with more practice and preparation, but we learned that he’s still young and is going to make some bad mistakes.

Wilson ended the night 21-of-33 for 208 yards. He had some really nice throws and managed to gain another 43 yards on the ground, including an impressive 26-yard scamper. Wilson is athletic and had a strong football mind, but his immaturity under center is still apparent.

Both of his picks went back for touchdowns and both were throws that never should have been made. The first was an attempt to not lose yards, but in that situation when you don’t have complete vision of the field take the sack and avoid giving up six. The second pick came after a scramble and then a ball to a well-covered receiver in traffic. The first defensive back tipped it right into his teammates hands. I’m not sure a BYU player ever got a finger tip on that ball.

Both throws were huge mistakes and cost BYU momentum and eventually the game, but let’s not jump on the “start Jaren Hall” bandwagon too quickly. Wilson showed some real promise and looked fantastic on their touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. I think Wilson has potential to be a great BYU quarterback, but right now he needs stronger coaching, an understanding on when to take a loss, and when you should and should not try to force a ball.

This defense has serious potential

The BYU defense gave up 368 yards and let Zack Moss run for 181 while Utah scored 30 points. Doesn’t sound too impressive, but there is a lot more going on in this defense.

BYU only gave up 106 yards through the air and the defense only allowed 17 points. The other 13 came off of Wilson’s errant throws that went for touchdowns. But to even say the defense gave up 17 points is a stretch.

The Moss touchdown came off a bad handoff, which pinned an already exhausted defense in their own red zone. Before that they had stifled a long drive by the Utes and forced them to kick a field goal, which they missed. I only hold the defense accountable for 10 of the 30 points the Utes scored.

Utah is a solid team with one of the nation’s best running backs and a veteran quarterback, but BYU came up with stops when they needed them and protected their end zone just like a defense needs to.

The defense looked well prepared, and according to Game 1 they will be the squad keeping the Cougars in games this season.

Ty’Son Williams needs the rock

Many fans were excited to see grand transfer Ty’Son Williams take the field in a BYU uniform, but we didn’t get the show we were hoping for. Williams only had 45 yards, but those came off of only seven carries. The back averaged nearly 7 yards a carry against one of the stingiest run defenses in the country.

So why on earth is he only getting the ball seven times? Feed that man the rock.

Williams ran hard, found holes and ran defenders over. The man is ready to play and he wants more opportunities, and I think we all learned last night that he should get them. He did have the fumble deep in BYU territory that led to a Utah score, but that came from a bad handoff and was an unfortunate mistake.

Williams is a seasoned college player and knows how to deal with adversity and will bounce back from an error like that. It was hard to watch him have success on drives and then see him get pulled on key third down situations.

Williams is a great player and he needs to be utilized.

Up next for the Cougars is a road trip to SEC country to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN.

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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