I didn’t create a post for last week because my wife was in London and I was on work and baby duty for the whole week. You could imagine, I barely had time to breathe. But with that being said, we have two games to recap! One very, very bad game vs TCU and one very, very fun game vs Texas Tech.
Quick BYU vs TCU Game Recap
Since this was two weeks ago, I want to do a quick TCU game recap. BYU got throttled, losing 44-11. It was a day game on the road, and we know how that typically goes for BYU. BYU is like a vampire, they play better at night, and who doesn’t play better at home? BYU was never really in the game. 5 minutes into the game, it was 14-0. First drive of the game for BYU, it was an INT touchdown. Slovis looked rattled. BYU punted on their next drive, and then TCU drove down the field for a 40 yard TD and it was over from there.
Slovis had 152 passing yards and 1 INT good for a QB rating of 8.3. TCU’s backup QB started his first collegiate came and he torched BYU. He threw for 439 yards with 4 TDs and 2 Ints. That was the difference in the game. BYU never got going and was outmatched and outcoached.
BYU vs Texas Tech Game Recap
Now fast forward to this last week. BYU took on Texas Tech in Provo for Homecoming and came away with the win, 27-14. BYUs defense was frankly embarrassed giving up 44 points to TCU the previous week. They responded with 5 turnovers, 3 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries. BYU turned those turnovers into 27 points and held Texas Tech to 14 points. It was great showing for them.
The biggest difference in the game was BYUs running game. They showed up for probably the first time this year. They had 150 total rushing yards. LJ Martin had 93 yards and Aidan Robbins returned, contributing 49 more yards. The run game looked better. The offense overall, still had its ups and downs. Slovis has not looked great lately. He was 15/27 for 127 yards. Thats a 4.7 average per pass. Does Aaron Roderick not trust Slovis to throw down field? Is Slovis just not throwing a lot downfield because he usually gets intercepted when he does? Both could be true.
But BYU won the game. Of course every game wont be like this and the offense will need to click and go, especially this weekend against #7 Texas. But I want to highlight the defense. They were great! We still had no sacks and dont get a lot of pressure on the QB, but we had a lot of deflections and our corners played great. To get a win against a staple Big 12 team in Texas Tech was key for this team.
BYU vs #7 Texas Game Preview
Yes, you read that right. Texas is ranked as the 7th best team in the nation. They are GOOD. There are a lot of storylines here that I want to hit on.
Playing Against a former BYU Great QB
First, BYU is taking on their former QB, Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian was the BYU QB for 2 years. He transferred to BYU in 1995 and took over the starting position. He went on to throw for over 3,000 yards and 20 TDs while getting All-WAC Conference honors. In 1996, he opened the season throwing for 536 yards and 6 TDs. 536 yards is the most ever against Texas A&M. BYU went 13-1 and won the WAC Championship. Sarkisian had over 4,000 passing yards and 33 TDs on the season. BYU finished the season with a win against Kansas St in the Cotton Bowl. Sarkisians 1996 passer efficiency rating of 162 for the whole season is 18th all time on the NCAA list. It will be fun to play against a former great BYU QB.
Top 10 Team Brings A Huge Opportunity
Second, Texas is top 10 in the nation. Its always fun to play against a top team. The Texas offense is ranked 15th in yards per game. Their passing offense is ranked 24th in passing yards per game. But, their star QB, Quinn Ewers, injured his shoulder last week when he took hit while trying to scramble. He is out for multiple weeks with a sprained ACL joint. So BYU will play against ANOTHER backup QB, their third straight game facing a backup QB. That should give BYU a slightly better chance.
For the Texas defense, they are ranked 36th overall in total yards allowed per game. Their pride and joy is their rushing defense. Texas is ranked 16th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game. That could shut down BYUs overall flow on offense as we like to use our run to set up the pass, but again, look for BYU to try and throw the ball quick and often.
BYU is a HUGE underdog
Lastly, Texas is favored by 17 points and ESPN Analytics only gives BYU a 5% chance to win the game. But hey, we have a chance right? BYU likes to play as the underdog and typically does much better in these games anyway.
You will never see me predict BYU to lose, its just not in my blood, but this will be maybe the hardest game BYU will have this season. BYU does have a winning record overall against Texas, 4-1, and are on a 2 game win streak against Texas. And Texas’ win was only by one point. So to say that Texas is happy to leave the Big 12 and not play BYU in conference is probably true. I think BYU pulls off the upset, especially with Quinn Ewers, the star QB for Texas, not playing. I am calling it like 28-24, BYU.
Other BYU Notes for Texas Game
Ben Bywater is undergoing season ending shoulder surgery. This is sad as he had shoulder surgery on his other shoulder over this past offseason. Bywater is a Junior, so he could technically come back next year, but that doesn’t seem likely as he is getting a lot of attention at the NFL level.
BYU is also going to rock navy vs Texas. They are going with their Navy “oreo” uniforms; navy helmet with white face mask, white jerseys with navy trim, and navy pants. BYU has always done well against Texas wearing Navy so heres to hoping that the trend continues!
BYU Misc.
If you are feeling a little down on Kedon Slovis because of his play the last two weeks, watch his BYU Deep Blue episode. They dive into him and his family and his football career. Its a good one!
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