BYU Football: Can Cougs Survive Rest of 2014 Season Without QB Taysom Hill?

For BYU fans, Friday night was an evening that few will quickly forget.

Taysom Hill started the home game against Utah State by shredding the Aggies, completing eight of 11 passes for 99 yards. He hurdled over two defenders for the game's first touchdown and seemed to be on his way to a great game.

But when he got up after a seemingly normal tackle, everyone in the stadium knew something was wrong. He waved over a teammate and coach and was practically carried to the trainer's table. Within minutes, he had a blow-up cast on his leg and was sent on a cart out of the stadium.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall confirmed on Monday that Hill underwent surgery over the weekend, but his injury was worse than expected—he shredded every major ligament. He will not be able to play for the remainder of the season.

So, what is next for the Cougars? Senior quarterback Christian Stewart played the second half against USU after Hill was injured and will start against UCF on Thursday. He is primarily a pocket passer—he can run when needed, though—and has a strong arm. He definitely tended to overthrow his receivers in the Utah State game, but that may just be a lack of in-game experience. 

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Stewart had this to say, according to the Deseret News' Jeff Call: 

"

It’s a terrible thing that Taysom went down. No one wanted to see that. But if there’s a guy ready to step up to the challenge, it’s me. That’s why I came here, that’s what I’m about. I’m a leader. I’m a confident guy in my ability and I know my teammates have that same confidence in me and I could feel it. ... Going forward, we’re going to do some special things this season.

"

Stewart has no shortage of confidence in himself and his team, which is a good thing coming from a quarterback. But is the upcoming schedule favorable enough for him to actually carry BYU to a double-digit season?

Central Florida is next up for the Cougs, who travel to Orlando for the game on ESPN. The Knights defense has allowed less than 230 yards per game on average and ranks in the top 20 in sacks.

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UCF safety Clayton Geathers may be the best defensive back in the American Athletic Conference and is one of the most underrated in the nation. Statistically, Geathers and the Knight secondary is the best BYU faces for the rest of the season.

After the trip to Florida, BYU plays Mountain West teams Nevada and Boise State. The Broncos lead the nation in passes intercepted and have a feisty pass rush. Nevada's defense isn't as strong on paper, but they did hold the FBS leader in passing touchdowns, Wazzu's Conner Halliday, to only one score.

BYU's next three games aren't too dangerous—the Cougs travel to Middle Tennessee State and then host UNLV and Savannah State. MTSU could be the toughest of the three, but the latter duo should be fairly easy games for Stewart and the Cougar offense.

The season finale at Cal is arguably the biggest game remaining on the schedule. The Golden Bears would be 5-0 if it weren't for a miraculous game-ending touchdown by Arizona and are currently first in the PAC-12 South.

Despite its outstanding offense, Cal's passing defense isn't extraordinary. It ranks dead last in the FBS in passing yards allowed and has given up at least 400 passing yards to every team except Northwestern and Sacramento State. Heck, they gave up 734 yards to Halliday and Washington State, which is—by far—his best total of the season.

BYU's schedule definitely looks tougher now that Taysom Hill is out, but the Cougs could still have a strong finish to the year. UCF, Boise State and Nevada will pose the biggest problems for Stewart and the offense, but if they can overcome that, it will be up to the defense to secure games.

Cal, MTSU and Boise have high-powered offenses that BYU will need to stop, but when it comes down to it, the Cougars are still talented enough to win the majority of their remaining games. Should they reach six wins (which is very likely), they will play an AAC team in the Miami Beach Bowl. It will be tough, but the Cougs could reach double-digit wins.

Besides, if anyone is up for the challenge, it's Christian Stewart.

“A game is a night and day difference than a practice,” said Stewart, per Call. “I’m not making any excuses. … But I’m definitely encouraged and I feel confident that going into Thursday against Central Florida we’re going to put up big numbers, we’re going to score touchdowns, and we’re going to win games.”