Saturday Morning QB: 3 lessons from BYU's in-state win against Utah State

LOGAN — The No. 13 BYU Cougars made the trek north to take on the Utah State Aggies for an in-state rivalry game for the Old Wagon Wheel.

It wasn't always pretty and it came at a price, but the Cougars walked away with a 34-20 win. There were some highs and lows from BYU, but the 5-0 team seems to be developing some patterns.

Here are three lessons from BYU's win over Utah State.

Defense needs to lock in on 3rd downs

The Cougars defense had a stronger showing against the Aggies than they did against South Florida. The Aggies offense came into the game racking up yards against teams, averaging nearly 200 rushing yards and 300 through the air per game. On Friday night, BYU held Utah State to just 31 rushing yards, but the Aggies still threw for 314.

Utah State's rush was nonexistent against the BYU front seven, but the Cougars could not get the Aggies off the field. The defense was locked down for the first few drives and forced punts and a turnover, but then things changed. Whether it was third-and-2 or third-and-11, BYU gave up the conversion.

Just like in the game against South Florida, BYU let the Aggies convert third downs to keep long drives alive and to keep the Cougars offense off the field.

BYU won the game, but there is a possibility the offense could have scored a couple more touchdowns if they had the chance to get on the field.

At the end of the night, Utah State converted 11-of-21 third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs. When it mattered at the end of the game, BYU made the stops, but they gave the Aggies hope and momentum by giving up big third downs.

This is the second week in a row where this has happened; and if the Cougars want to stay undefeated this season against the likes of Boise State and Baylor, they need to shore this up and get opposing offenses off the field.

QB depth is getting dangerously shallow

BYU had to bring in their third-string quarterback against the Aggies and the freshman Jacob Conover had some struggles. The young gunslinger was missing open receivers and waiting to make throws, which led to defenders getting a big jump on the route.

I am happy to cut Conover some slack considering he came into his first collegiate snaps unexpectedly Friday night. The freshman has talent, and with preparation could likely be strong in the pocket for BYU. I believe he can give the Cougars a chance to win. The question is, though, what will happen if Conover goes down?

After the game, head coach Kalani Sitake joked to a CBS Sports reporter that he needs to stop bragging about the depth of the team because it keeps getting challenged. Starting QB Jaren Hall has now missed two games to a rib injury suffered in the win over Arizona State; backup Baylor Romney, who had a great game against South Florida and played well in the first half against Utah State, went out with what appeared to be a concussion.

Players with concussions usually need to be sidelined for at least 7-10 days, which would put Romney out for the Boise State game. If Hall has broken ribs, those injuries can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks to heal. That means Hall could possibly be ready to go against the Broncos, but if his reps are limited in practice this week, Sitake likely won't play him.

Conover has potential, but can he do enough to beat a good Boise State team hungry for revenge against the Cougars? Only time will tell if he can or if he needs to. Either way, BYU has a strong stable of QB's, but it's running thin and that could put a hitch in what some are hoping could be a special season for BYU.

Tyler Allgeier will keep the Cougars in games

BYU had a heavy schedule to start the season, with three consecutive Pac-12 opponents, two of which were ranked at the time of the game. The last two weeks have been games the Cougars were expected to win. While there were moments in both games BYU struggled, they controlled both contests for the most part, but the season is far from over.

The toughest games on BYU's schedule are still to come. I have no doubt Boise State would love nothing more than to ruin BYU's undefeated streak and a top 15 ranking in Provo as vengeance. BYU handed the Broncos a 51-17 loss on the blue turf in 2020, and that did not sit well with Boise.

After that, BYU has a tough road game against a ranked Baylor team and then will travel to Pullman to take on Washington State. And that's all before Bronco Mendenhall makes his return to Provo with his Virginia Cavaliers, a game the former coach undoubtedly wants to win. And then the season concludes with a road contest against USC in the Coliseum.

The Cougars have a tough schedule to finish out the year, but there is one reason they have at least a shot in each game, and that is because of running back Tyler Allgeier.

Allgeier has had a fantastic season so far with 569 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He also has 43 yards receiving on seven receptions, and let us not forget a forced fumble. Allgeier has been the X-factor in every game this season and a spark for the team. His strip against Arizona State changed the outcome of that game; his ground game was the difference maker against South Florida; and his long runs in the second half changed momentum and the score against Utah State.

After the Aggies scored on a 14-play, 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter that took nearly four and a half minutes off the clock and cut the lead to seven, Allgeier ran for 67 yards to the Utah State 1-yard line and then punched it in for a touchdown two plays later. That took BYU a total of 1:08 and completely deflated the Aggies crowd and much of their team.

Give credit to the Cougars' offensive line for creating holes for Allgeier, but the man is a force when the ball is in his hands and gives the Cougars a shot in the arm with his explosive and powerful runs.

Whether it's Hall, Romney or Conover under center, the Cougars should have a chance to be competitive in their remaining games thanks to the 220 pound running back from Fontana, California.

Allgeier can't win the game by himself, but he can give life to the offense and breathe energy into the entire team and crowd with his play, and that can swing momentum in the Cougars' favor.

Next up, BYU will host Boise State in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9.

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