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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 22 BYU went into the Big House and emerged bloodied and battered after a humiliating 31-0 loss to Michigan to finish its September schedule at 2-2.
The Cougars are likely to tumble far out of the rankings with this dismal performance on national television, and there seems to be little — if any — chance of getting it back.
Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock completed 14 of 25 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 33 yards and two scores on 10 carries. He finished with a quarterback rating of a 134.4, a career-best at Michigan.
Here are a few quick thoughts on the game.
Shut out
BYU was in danger of its first shutout in the Bronco Mendenhall era, going scoreless through three quarters with only 75 yards of offense as Michigan jumped to a 31-0 lead. Even a scoreless third quarter did little to dampen the Wolverine offense.
The Cougars suffered their worst loss since a 54-10 rout by Utah in 2011. BYU was shut out for just the second time since 1975, and the first time since a 3-0 defeat to the Utes in 2003.
"Michigan seized the day," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said, "and we didn't."
BYU's tackling issues are real
Outside linebackers coach Kelly Poppinga called BYU's tackling performance at UCLA a week ago "embarrassing," and the coaching staff put the Cougars through a "blood bath" of full-tackle drills through the first few days of the week.
It didn't seem to help, though. BYU gave up 125 yards on 16 carries to De'Veon Smith, an average of 7.8 yards per carry before he missed the final quarter with an apparent ankle injury.
Michigan seized the day, and we didn't.
–BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall
Micah Hannemann and Michael Wadsworth led the Cougars in tackles with 10 apiece, and Kai Nacua and Harvey Langi each had seven. Langi also missed part of the second half with an apparent knee injury, along with Hannemann, running back Adam Hine, offensive lineman Kyle Johnson and lineman Ryker Mathews. The full extent of their injuries is unknown.
Tanner Mangum is a freshman quarterback
He didn't look like it in come-from-behind wins over Nebraska and Boise State, and he even looked poised in a 24-23 loss at UCLA. But the 22-year-old true freshman from Eagle, Idaho completed just 12 of 28 passes for 55 yards and showed inexperience at times in the Big House.
Mangum wasn't helped by an offensive line that struggled to hold off Michigan's physical front seven, giving up three sacks and six tackles for loss along with five quarterback hurries.
The first-year starter, who drew potential darkhorse Heisman reviews early in the season, settled back down to earth, ending a roller-coaster opening month of his BYU career. Mangum's career could still turn out to be very good. But on Saturday in the Big House, he was barely mediocre.
Francis Bernard sharp in debut, a rare solid performance
Bernard made his first appearance in a collegiate game of his career, and the Box Elder product made good use of it. The freshman fullback ran for 30 yards on four carries, averaging 7.5 yards per carry in an offense that sputtered to start the day and never got going.
He was one of the only positives on an afternoon that was at-best forgettable and at-worst dreadful. Punter Jonny Linehan was a bright spot, with 11 punts for 475 yards. But offensively, there was little to talk about — yet alone critique.
Bernard and Hine combined for 63 of the Cougars' 105 total yards of offense, the only significant blip on a historically poor day for that side of the ball.
