BYU Football vs. Utah State Wrapup

Taysom's working that arm now!
From www.desnews.com.

So far, my predictions for the 2013 BYU football season have been radically wrong. In fact, the only game I've even correctly predicted the winner of was last week's matchup with Middle Tennessee State. While I'm obviously disappointed in the loss to Utah, I'm pleasantly surprised with the Utah State win. I guess we'll never know what would have happened if Chuckie Keeton hadn't left the game (and ultimately ended his season) at the end of the first quarter with a torn MCL and ACL. Poor guy. But overall, I saw improvement over the last 2 games, especially in Taysom Hill.

Taysom's pass efficiency rating shot up in the MTSU game (14 of 19 for 177 yards) and went up even more in the USU game (17 of 31 for 278 yards, his new career high). And the USU defense is definitely not one to laugh at, making it even more impressive. Now I've always been sympathetic toward Hill and have definitely NOT been one of his many critics this year. I don't know why some people have been laying 100% of the blame on his shoulders for the losses this season. It takes a lot more than a good quarterback to complete a pass-- it also takes a good call from the offensive coordinator, adequate protection from the offensive line, and a catch from a receiver, and in my opinion, all 3 of those positions have been really shaky this year. But thankfully, all of those people, plus Taysom, have seen improvement in the last 2 games, resulting in more completed passes and better ratings.

One thing I did predict correctly was the potential of Mitch Matthews. He finally ran into the spotlight in the USU game, catching 5 passes for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns. Considering he has never scored a touchdown at BYU before, that's amazing! I'm glad he's finally stepping it up.

I'm not quite sure what's happened to Cody Hoffman-- he just doesn't seem like himself this season. He was suspended for the MTSU game, and apparently there was a scare this week in practice, when they thought he might have broken his leg, but I guess it just turned out to be a bad bruise. He played pretty well in the Utah game, but in the USU game, he just didn't seem like Cody. Then again, he totally got robbed on the pass he almost caught in the endzone. Since when is it an interception when the ball gets ripped out of his hands after falling out of bounds? Worst call ever! It wasn't a TD, either, but they should have at least gotten another shot at it . . . Anyway, I hope he steps it up and comes back to be the Cody we all know and love in the second half of the season because right now, something's just not right.

I've also gotta give a shoutout to KVN for that awesome pick six, which happened only 10 seconds into the game. I think that gave BYU a huge shot of confidence that lasted throughout the entire game, especially since Taysom fumbled it and gave USU a TD on their first offensive drive. Kyle's TD made that a lot less painful. Way to go, KVN. You're my hero.

I'm not sure how the rest of the season is going to go, honestly. It could totally go either way. If they can keep up the momentum, they could win a lot more games. Or if they get more suspensions or injuries (the concussions for Jamaal Williams and Adam Hine were really scary, and unfortunately, Michael Alisa is now out for the season . . . I really hope no one else joins him), they could lose a lot more games and not even become bowl eligible. But if the trend continues with my predictions being the opposite of the truth, I guess that means we have a shot at beating Boise State, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame. But of course we've gotta start with Georgia Tech and the Homecoming game. Fingers crossed! Go Cougs!