Utah State vs. BYU Football: Report Card Grades After Cougars' Win

The Cougars played their second straight Friday night game on ESPN in a similar manner to the previous—with a flare for the dramatic.

In last Friday's case, the drama was even greater than against UCF, as the Cougars needed a last-minute score following a 96-yard two-minute drill to beat the Utah State Aggies 27-24.

However, the storylines in the game have been as much a topic of discussion as the actual game, with a quarterback controversy brewing and threat of a divided sideline looming.

In the midst of the turmoil, we grade the performances against the Aggies.

Quarterback: C-/B

Dual quarterbacks call for dual grades.

It’s hard to say Jake Heaps looked awful in the first half. He didn’t look good, but he didn’t have any help at all. There were still a ton of timing issues on routes, and it appears these issues are as much on the receivers as the QB.

And Heaps’ receivers dropped balls they should have caught. But in the end, Heaps didn’t lead the team to points and success against a Utah State team that isn’t exactly a stonewall, thus earning him a C-.

Riley Nelson, on the other hand, earns a B. Watch the film and you’ll see he didn’t make any great passes, got very lucky on at least three occasions and had players make plays they didn’t make for Heaps.

But he also moved the ball and showed that he can extend drives on his own with his elusiveness and sheer determination.

Running Backs: B+

A good effort from this group which was constantly seen fighting hard for extra yards. It didn’t matter whether it was Bryan Kariya, JJ Di Luigi or Josh Quezada—these guys’ legs were constantly chugging forward and keeping drives alive.

Only a fumble on a critical drive kept this from being an A.

In fact, the running backs' success actually make Jake Heaps look worse, as the table was set perfectly for lots of play-action, which BYU was mostly unable to take advantage of.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: C

Cody Hoffman reminded us why we like him. McKay Jacobson made a couple key catches. But there were still major timing issues with Jake Heaps as receivers didn’t appear to be in the right places, and they didn’t seem to be trying very hard to bring down tough catches.

What saved this group was the emergence of the tight ends. Marcus Matthews and Austin Holt combined for eight key catches on crucial downs, bringing back the flavor BYU fans have become so accustomed to over the years.

Offensive Line: B+

This group was pretty solid all night. The holes for backs were open, the quarterbacks weren’t overly rushed or pressured and the pocket held.

But there remain lingering issues with the shotgun snap which are frightening. Watch how Boise State’s Kellen Moore gets the snap from his center and compare it to what BYU C/QBs have. Major disparity.

Defensive Line and Linebackers: C

Earning their first poor grade of the season, this group seemed unable to tackle after being so dominant for most of the season.

Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton is certainly elusive, but not overly so. And the Cougars had issues stopping the run all night, from the opening 91-yard touchdown run by Robert Turbin.

As a team, the Aggies racked up close to 300 yards on the ground against the Cougars. Utah State should never move the ball like that on BYU.

Secondary: B

Keeton only managed 122 yards passing on 25 attempts against a unit that had trouble against Central Florida a week ago.

But the secondary struggled with poor tackling right along with the linebackers and D-line and on many occasions watched Turbin run right over them.

Special Teams: B

Stephenson did a nice job punting again, many times leaving Utah State with long fields.

But Justin Sorensen completely shanked what could have been a critical field goal.

Coaching and Intangibles: C

It’s painful that we’re five games into the 2011 season and we have yet to see a good coaching job from the Cougar staff.

While Brandon Doman did a good job calling plays for Riley Nelson, there were questionable moves from Bronco and Co. throughout the game.

Clock management was brutal at various points, and luck helped the Cougars avoid getting killed by it. The decision not to go for two points after the Cougars' last touchdown was confusing, and the continual calling of timing routes for Heaps in the first half, despite them not working all year, was likewise questionable.