BYU Football: Cougars' Struggling Offense Will Doom Season

BYU had the Longhorns on the ropes. Then their offense disappeared, and it cost them the game. This is going to be a reoccurring theme for the Cougars, and it is going to derail their season early. 

It was vital for BYU to get off to a strong start this season, and it is now clear this is something they are ill prepared to do.

There is no shame in the Cougars one-point loss to the 24th ranked Longhorns. That in and of itself, actually points to positive things for the Cougars. However, it is the way they lost.

BYU jumped out to a 13-0 lead in this game, and that is when their offense forgot how to work. At the center of these problems is sophomore QB Jake Heaps.

Heaps finished this game 22/38 with 192 yards. He also threw one touchdown and two interceptions. Heaps looked good early. He finished the first half with 158 of his 192 yards.

The second half was a far different story. Texas made a couple of adjustments and Heaps was a disaster. He threw for only 39 yards and tossed up two INTs. These kinds of struggles against a good opponent are not uncommon for a sophomore QB.

BYU cannot afford the struggles. BYU is set to play their rival Utah next week, and Heaps is not ready to pick up this kind of win. He is struggling to read defenses. This causes him to force the ball into coverage with high-risk passes.

As a result, he is also growing a little gun shy. Heaps is hesitant and eager to check down. He is getting little production out of his passing attempts. This was obvious in their first game as well.

Heaps threw 38 passes against Ole Miss but totaled only 225 yards. Teams can quickly adjust to this dink and dunk gameplan. Especially considering BYU's lack of a dominant run game.

These are certainly things that Heaps and BYU can progress out of but not before they start 1-2 with a loss to their hated Utah rivals.