So sorry about last week and not getting a post out. I was traveling and and busy and unable to get this out. But this week is a new week. I love this time of the year. Its the best time of the year – holidays, family gatherings, good food, and exciting plans! Aside from the weather in Utah, this time is my favorite. Its made even sweeter due to both BYU basketball and football playing right now. I love when basketball and football are playing at the same time. Its sports heaven. Sadly, we only get it for about 3 months, so we have to enjoy it!
Game Recap vs Utah
If you live under a rock, you might have not seen that BYU beat Utah, 22-21. And a ton of controversy came along with the game. With about 1:30 left in the game, BYU was at about the 10 yard line with no timeouts and needed a FG to win. It was 4th and 10 and BYU had one last shot, one last play, to get a first down. Utah ended sacking Retzlaff and the game appeared over. However, there was a holding call on BYUs WR that gave BYU a first down. BYU still had to go about 50 yards with no timeouts to win the game and BYU did it. They drove down the field and hit a game winning field goal with 3 seconds left!
Now, about the holding call, people are still talking about that, and its been about 4 days since the game happened. Here are my 2 cents on the call. Was it a weak hold? Yes. Was it a ticky tack hold? Yes. Was it a hold? Yes. It was a pretty weak call, but a hold nonetheless. But that call didnt win BYU the game. It didnt give them a touchdown or give them points. BYU still had to drive down 50 yards to get the FG, with no timeouts. Utah had a chance to stop them and they didnt. Utah also didnt score in the second half at all. So while the call did give BYU a first down after Utah sacked Retzlaff on 4th down, Utah had many chances to score earlier and stop BYU in that moment.
BYU Offense
BYUs offense was not great during this game. They only had 1 touchdown the whole game and it came after converting a 4th down. Needless to say, they had to fight and claw for every single yard. Retzlaff was 15/33 for 219 yards, with 0 TDs and 0 INTs. Not a great game, but he didnt turn the ball over. LJ Martin had 11 carries for 68 yards. Hinckley Ropati had 8 carries for 38 yards. Personally, I think BYU should have given the ball MORE to Martin. He had some good runs. Roberts was the leading receiver with 91 yards. He made some huge catches. Including one for a 20 yard gain in the final drive to set up the game winning field goal.
BYU Defense
The defense looked bad in the first half. Brandon Rose, Utah’s QB, was making plays both in the pass game and the run game. Utah was able to run all over BYU. The second half was a different story. Utah didnt score a single point in the second half. BYU was also able to force 3 turnovers, 2 INTs and 1 fumble. Those turnovers helped keep BYU in the game! BYU didnt have any sacks but they did have 5 tackles for loss, getting in the backfield mostly during run plays.
Game Preview vs Kansas
BYU takes on the Kansas Jayhawks this Saturday at 8:15pm MT on ESPN. The game will be in Provo at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This game is going to be close. Kansas is coming off of a big win against #17 Iowa St. The game was in Kansas, so that did help pull of the upset, but still, Kansas played well last week. They are 3-6 but are much better than their record, in my opinion.
Kansas Offense
The offense for Kansas is what wins them games. They havent scored less than 27 in all of their Big 12 conference games and they have scored more than 40 twice. QB Jalon Daniels is what makes this team go. He was preseason all Big 12 and one of the favorites to win Big 12 Player of the Year. Last week, he had 295 passing yards and 2 TDs with 0 INTs. He also had 68 rushing yards for 1 TD. He is a dual threat QB that BYU will have to contain. BYU needs to be able to contain the QB runs.
The next monster for Kansas is Devin Neal. He is one of the best RBs in the country. Last week, he had 116 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Overall, Kansas had 237 rushing yards last week vs Iowa St. That number needs to be cut in half in order for BYU to win. If the run all over BYU, it will run the clock, and put pressure on BYU. BYU will have to force Kansas to throw the ball and contain Daniels when he tries to scramble. Which is easier said than done.
Kansas Defense
The defense on the other hand, is not the best. The lowest they have kept a team in scoring is 14, and that was Houston, which is second to last in the Big 12. Other than Houston, every team in the Big 12 has scored 29 or more points against them. One of the playmakers for Kansas is LB JB Brown. He leads the team in tackles and has 4 sacks on the year. Cobee Bryant is another playmaker. He is a good CB than I would image would guard Roberts or Lassiter. He is tied for the lead on the team with 4 INTs. So Kansas does have some playmakers, but if they can play a well rounded game and establish the run, that should open up the pass game.
Last week, Iowa St had 383 passing yards. So I imagine BYU to pass early and mix in some run plays. But the run game is still huge for BYU to establish as it keeps the defense off balance. The other side note is that former OC Jeff Grimes is the OC for Kansas. He knows what the BYU offense wants to do and will for sure help this Kansas defense out.
BYU Basketball
JJ Mandaquit, from Utah Prep in Hurricane, who visited with #1 recruit AJ Dybantsa, made his commitment announcement yesterday. He is a 4 star, top 50 recruit. He committed to Washington. I was REALLY hoping that BYU could get the 3 tandem of AJ, JJ, and Xavion, but it looks like JJ is going somewhere else. From what people have said around the situation, BYU was in the lead, and then Washington swooped in with a HUGE NIL offer that JJ could not turn down.
In the most recent ESPN mock draft, BYU has 2 first rounders in Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings. Its only viewable through ESPN+, but it has Demin going #7 and Catchings going #23.
BYU Basketball has cruised through their first 2 games beating Central Arkansas, 88-50, and UC Riverside, 86-80. UC Riverside was pretty pesky and wouldnt fold down the stretch. I think that was a good test to play in a close game like that. Against Central Arkansas, BYU had 3 guys with 15+ points. Demin led the team with 18, Catchings had 17, and Saunders had 16. Demin also had 11 assists, giving him his first career double double in his very first career game. BYU didnt shoot great from the 3 point line or the FT line but still played well, not turning the ball over a ton.
Against UC Riverside, Demin led the team again in scoring with 20 points. Keita had 14 and Saunders had 12. Keita knotched his first double double with 10 rebounds. He is a rebounding machine. In both games, he was able to get double digit rebounds. Fouss came off the bench and contributed 13 points. BYU shot awfully from 3, at 27%. They also were even worse from the FT compared to their first game, shooting 54% from the line. BYU has to improve these numbers if they are going to compete in the Big 12.
BYU has another game tonight at 7pm MT on ESPN+ against Queens. They will also play on Saturday, against Idaho, at 1pm, on ESPN+.
