PROVO — With its 28-10 victory over Utah State Saturday, the BYU football team finished up this year’s regular season slate. Here are some thoughts about the squad’s 2016 campaign.

The Cougars won (almost) all of the games they were supposed to win

On paper, BYU won (almost) all of the games it was supposed to win. The Cougars beat all of the truly bad teams they played: Arizona (3-9), Michigan State (3-9), Cincinnati (4-8), FCS foe Southern Utah (6-5), UMass (2-10) and Utah State (3-9). Those games account for six of the Y’s eight wins on the season. While there is not much satisfaction in beating a team you are expected to beat, it is a positive that the Cougars were able to avoid any lapses that led to upsets.

As for the other two wins, it can be argued that the victory over Toledo (9-3) was a strong win over a good group-of-five squad and that Mississippi State (5-7) was a decent SEC team that the Cougars beat in double overtime. After all the games played out, those appear to be BYU’s best two wins on the season. Neither are overwhelming by any means but both are solid victories.

The only loss that looks a bit unsightly came at the hands of UCLA. The Bruins (4-8) had a very disappointing season. Much of their struggles can be blamed on major injuries to key performers, however, including star quarterback Josh Rosen. The Cougars played UCLA at the start of the year before the injuries began to mount and the Bruins were a very different squad when they rolled into Provo than at the end of the season.

BYU was a few plays short of a magical season

While the Cougars won (almost) all the games they were supposed to win on paper, that is not to say that things could not have been radically different if BYU players had made some big plays at crucial moments in the team’s four losses. The Y lost its four games by a combined eight points, including two contests by a single point.

In Salt Lake City, the Cougars were a completed two-point conversion away from breaking a drought against their rival up north that has lasted since 2010. It should have never even had to come to that, however, as the Y’s defense created six turnovers that the offense absolutely wasted.

Against West Virginia, BYU was in field-goal range down just three points with plenty of time left on the clock when senior quarterback Taysom Hill got perhaps too aggressive and threw for the end zone. The pass was broken up and intercepted to effectively end the game.

On the smurf turf in Boise, Idaho, the Y had a chance to win when it had a long field goal blocked. The Cougars retained possession and attempted a Hail Mary on the next play but could not recreate the magic from last year as the ball fell harmlessly to the ground. Similar to the game against the Utes, the offense could not capitalize on a wealth of turnovers generated by the D — including two pick-sixes — and lost another heartbreaker in a series that has become well-acquainted with them.

All three of these losses easily could have been wins for the boys in navy and white. Had they won one or two of them, the season could have been a very memorable one in Provo.

Kalani Sitake and Ilaisa Tuiaki pass their first test

Coming into the season, there were a lot of unknowns about the BYU football program. Prior to the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl in 2015, longtime head coach Bronco Mendenhall shocked Cougar nation and announced that he was accepting the same job at Virginia. Athletic director Tom Holmoe told the team immediately following the bowl loss that Kalani Sitake would take over the reins.

Sitake, who was previously the defensive coordinator at Oregon State, had no head coaching experience at the college level and fans were unsure of what to expect from the new guy in charge. By most accounts, Sitake handled Year 1 very well. He is very good with the media, something that Mendenhall struggled mightily with. He comes across as approachable and genuine to his players, and they seem to have bought into what he is trying to do. He has also reached back out to former coaches and players who felt pushed aside by the previous regime. Most importantly, though, Sitake won more games than most prognosticators predicted (except for me. Here’s proof).

Likewise, first-time defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki impressed in his rookie season. Many Cougar faithful were worried when Tuiaki shared his vision of having BYU play primarily man-press defense and switch to a 4-3 front. Other than a hiccup against Toledo (53 points and 692 yards allowed), his defense was strong as it forced the second-most turnovers in the nation (29) and gave up just 19.4 points a game (17th best in the nation).

Ty Detmer still has something to prove

First-year offensive coordinator Ty Detmer was another new addition to the staff. The Heisman winner came to Provo with a lot of hype after an illustrious four seasons at the Y and a lengthy NFL career. Touted as an offensive genius by LaVell Edwards and others, Detmer installed a pro-style offense after the Cougars ran three years of the “Go Fast, Go Hard” spread system favored by former coordinator Robert Anae.

To say that Detmer’s offense had an up-and-down season would be a bit of an understatement. The Cougars’ offense limped out of the gates, failing to score 20 points in any of its first three contests. The team looked like it was picking up the new scheme and put up solid games against West Virginia, Toledo and Michigan State before struggling profoundly against Mississippi State, Boise State and Cincinnati. In its last three games, BYU averaged almost 39 points a contest but that was against particularly bad competition. So, the jury is still out on Detmer’s offense and whether or not it can be effective in Provo. For my part, I think the O will look much better next year given time and with the right pieces in place. Which brings us to our next point.

Did the Cougars have the wrong guy at quarterback?

This is not a knock on Taysom Hill. The kid gave up so much for the program, overcoming three nasty leg injuries to get back on the field. He again showed his dedication to the team against Utah State when he laid out trying to get in the end zone on Saturday and ended up injuring his elbow. However, it is fair to question whether he was the right guy at quarterback this year.

The fact is, Hill is a spread quarterback. He is a dynamic athlete who has made most of his explosive plays via the ground in his career. His ability to pass the ball hinged a lot on the threat that he could tuck the ball and run at any time. Unfortunately, he has not consistently proven throughout his career at the Y that he is an accurate passer. Detmer’s system requires more of a prototypical drop-back passer who puts the ball where it is supposed to be. That description is much more fitting of Tanner Mangum, last year’s starter after Hill went down.

That’s not to say Hill did not try valiantly. He ran less frequently this season and tried to stay in the pocket and be what Detmer needed. He struggled to be that guy, however, and it also appeared that his most recent injury against Nebraska last season had sapped him of some of his next-level speed. It is impossible to say conclusively that BYU’s offense would have been better this season had Mangum been picked as the starter. Fans will get a glimpse of what might have been when he takes over for the injured Hill in the Poinsettia Bowl.

The biggest loss came outside of football

While all four of BYU's losses on the field were heartbreaking, none of them come anywhere close to the one that Cougar nation, the Mahe family, in particular, is dealing with after running backs coach, Reno Mahe’s 3-year-old daughter Elsie’s tragic accident that left her with significant brain damage.

The family recently has had to come to the painful decision of taking the young girl off of life support. As Theoden poignantly says to Gandalf in the second “Lord of the Rings” movie, “no parent should have to bury their child.” It is impossible to put into words how horrific it must be to lose a child. To the Mahe family, we can only say our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

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