We finally have a real BYU football game to talk about, ladies and gentlemen, and it feels so good. Lets dive into it.
Sam Houston Game Review
This is EXACTLY how I feel after watching that BYU game. If you dont follow me or live under a rock, BYU won their first football game against Sam Houston St, 14-0. Yes, you read that correctly and no that is not the halftime score. It was BYUs first shutout win in 9 years. Yes, I predicted BYU to win this game, but no I did not predict the offense to be this bad.
The defense was as advertised though. Physical, fast, and putting pressure on the QB. Props to Jay Hill on his first game with BYU as the defensive coordinator. He was phenomenal. Eddie Heckard, a transfer corner from Weber St, had his first INT with BYU and a huge hit. Jakob Robinson had 2 INTs, one of them coming in the end zone to stop a game tying drive and he got UP. Look at his video below of the INT. BYU also racked up 1 sack and 6 tackles for loss. They looked VERY good.
The offense on the other hand…was…there. They played in the game and put up some points but did not look good. Kedon Slovis, who had earned a lot of praise coming out of Fall Camp and leading up to the season, threw for 145 yards and ran for 2 TDs. He looked out of sync and nervous. He was last years Pitt Kedon Slovis. Aidan Robbins, who was supposed to be our go to lead back had 7 carries for 23 yards. The offensive line struggled and was giving up constant pressure on Slovis forcing him to throw it away or make forced throws. It just didnt look good. There was no flow, no nothing.
The only bright spot from the game and on offense was LJ Martin, a freshman from El Paso, Texas, and one of the top recruits from the 2023 class. People were shocked when he got the 3rd spot on the depth chart and he gained a lot of praise from Kalani who said that he will be used throughout the season. Well, we got to see him in game 1 and he did not disappoint. LJ had 16 carries for 91 yards and came 1 yard short from getting his first collegiate touchdown.
Can BYU improve next week against Southern Utah? Absolutely. But it needs to come quick before we play Arkansas the week after and then on to the Big 12.
Southern Utah Game Preview
BYU Football gets another warm up game against Southern Utah and it is much needed. BYU will be favored by more than 20 points and should coast in this game. But, everyone, hold on. The offense struggled mightily last week and Southern Utah almost beat Arizona St last week, only losing by 3. BYU needs to come prepared and with some adjustments on offense or they are in danger of losing this game.
Southern Utah capitalized on a blocked punt and many turnovers from Arizona St. BYU needs to make sure they are sharp on special teams with no blocked punts or field goals. They also need to play clean. BYU had a lot of penalties, especially on offense. BYU needs wipe those away to make sure the game doesn’t stay close and gives the offense to work their magic.
As for who is Southern Utah? Well they dont really pass the ball a lot. They only threw the ball 18 times against Arizona St compared to the 30 times that they ran the ball. Their main workhorse at RB is Braedon Wissler, a sophomore, who rushed 15 times for 45 yards. They also have a couple of good WRs in Zack Mitchell, a freshman, and Isaiah Wooden, a senior. Both receivers are smaller, quicker type of guys. BYU will need to contain those guys and force them to run the ball like Arizona St did to have a shot at winning the game. My prediction is 28-7, BYU.
BYU Misc. News
The #7 BYU womens soccer team beat #1 UCLA in Provo over the weekend earning themselves the #1 spot in the nation for the first time ever.
BYU Football is also rocking some new helmets for game 2 at home against Southern Utah. They are doing the all navy color rush with new helmets speckled with royal. Looks pretty sweet if you ask me!
Coming at you with some BYU Basketball news as well. BYU has landed Marcus Adams Jr., a 4 start top 50 rated recruit in the nation. He was previously committed to Kansas and even enrolled there before decommitting and committing to Gonzaga and then decommitting and committing to BYU. Its a mess and a lot, and he may decommit tomorrow, but hes with BYU and doesn’t seem to be leaving any time soon.
Because he enrolled at Kansas earlier in the year, he has to get a waiver to be able to play in the 2023 basketball season. That waiver has been submitted and supposedly has about a 50 50 chance of going through. Would love to see him suit up for BYU in year one of the Big 12 though and would be a welcome sight and help in the frontcourt.
Lastly, here are the updated Big 12 football standings. A couple of upsets happend this past week as Texas Tech lost to Wyoming in double OT, TCU lost to Colorado, and Baylor lost to Texas St.
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