Brigham Young Football Makes Progress, but Reveals It Isn't at Pac-12 Level

BYU beat Oregon State 38-28 yesterday, although the game was not as close as the score indicates.

The score should really have been 44-14, except for an interception by Oregon State returned for a touchdown and a fourth-quarter Oregon State score with 23 seconds left, which was set up by an unnecessary and foolish penalty in the end zone.

Throw in a missed field goal and a blocked field goal and with a little execution, BYU would have romped over Oregon State.

And therein lies the problem. BYU showed in two Pac-12 games that it would be in the middle of the pack (if it was lucky), but would more likely be in the bottom third. 

As an avid BYU fan, I must admit that there are problems—big problems—that show up week after week. I keep hoping things will change. I say, "Next week, maybe next week, maybe they will learn from this week, maybe, maybe..."

It goes on and on. Year after year—full of promise, but little growth.

I revel in the wins and in the players' individual accomplishments, like the running of Michael Alisa. But I also wonder—with 84 yards rushing, couldn't they have given him the ball one or two more times so he could get a crack at 100? 

These kind of statistics are important to athletes—both personally and in the respect they earn from other teams. It is also the kind of statistic that sets up opposing teams for the future as they focus their defenses on a particular player or on the type of game that the 100 yards represent.

It seems that BYU just misses that.

It seems like they don't care if a guy gets 20 rushes or eight, or 87 yards or 26. But it does matter. Stars are made, not born. Confidence is gained in the measurements of such statistics—not just in a pat on the back.

It is part of the discipline of making the offensive line perform, not just taking what the defensive line will give you. It is part of practicing and perfecting the running aspect of your game, so you can then execute the play-action aspect. 

LaVell Edwards once said, "I run the ball to set up the pass." He had many variations of that statement, all of which said, "We discipline ourselves to perform well in one area, so we can take advantage of an opponent in another."

Sound philosophy. 

Week after week, game by game, you finally have to look at the facts. BYU is poorly coached. One of the manifestations of that is the poor discipline that dropped 79 penalty yards in Oregon State's lap. Those are penalties that led to two touchdowns instead of two punts. 

They have poor discipline in running routes, as the big tight ends accounted for a total of three passes. The most successful pass play for BYU is the roll-out throw into the flat, most of which is Riley Nelson scrambling for his life at the breakdown of discipline in the offensive line. 

Another manifestation of the lack of discipline is the team's poor self-image, with their shirt tails hanging out and grey undershirts hanging over bloated bellies. Leg and arm strength is lacking, as opposing players blow by, shed blocks and penetrate both the defensive and offensive line.

BYU was sacked twice by an inferior defense, yet only sacked Sean Mannion once with a superior defense. What's up with that?

Any army, team or organization knows that appearance is a reflection of self-esteem and self-image. As a team, BYU hasn't got it. They need to clean themselves up, get rid of the fat and muscle up, and that all comes down to coaching. 

As a team they have no brand identity. The Y on the mountain, the Y on their helmets, the Y in BYU, the Y in the end zone and the Y on BYU shirts are all different. Why is that?

It's because they haven't found themselves yet and are still borrowing from the past in bits and pieces. The team is reflecting that dysfunction in identity as well.

BYU (Get it, folks: BYU, not Y) needs to find an identity that they can promote, hold onto and merchandise in a way that the rest of the country can recognize who they are.

This lack of identity is playing itself out on the field. Are they the nice Christian missionary guys from Provo? Or are they the rompin' stompin' Mormons from the Mountains?

They still don't know. They seem to still be waiting to find out. It seems almost like they are asking the opposing team to allow them to win, asking nicely, "Can we beat you, please?  But we won't beat you by too much if we do!"

Along with the lack of discipline, there seems to be a lack of a killer instinct to put a team away, to keep the defense up and to score, score, score. 

Former BYU quarterback (and now Washington head coach) Steve Sarkisian has that attitude. The Huskies romped over Colorado 52-24. They made the clear statement, "We are here to win the Pac-12 and go to the Rose Bowl."

Boise State made a statement by tagging Colorado State 63-13, with 28 points in the third quarter when the Broncos were already ahead 35-13. They made the statement, "We are here to play for the national championship, and deserve to."

BYU still seems unable to formulate their mission statement of who they are or what they want. They don't seem to be able to make that statement on the field, in their dress, in the weight room or at the dinner table.

Put those together and you get poor discipline, and that is the coaches' fault—all of them.

Is it too soon to convene a search committee? If BYU is to be successful in independence, it needs to get disciplined and play like it—not just win walk-away games against opponents that are 1-4.