BYU Cougars: How the Cougars Found Their Lost Offense

Like Indiana Jones and one of his quests for a sacred and priceless archaeological artifact, BYU's football team has been on a desperate search for the lost Cougar offense in the early part of this 2011 season.

Prior to Riley Nelson's insertion in the lineup, the Cougars had averaged a paltry 15.4 points per game. They were on their way to a 2-3 record against the Aggies of Utah State until Nelson grabbed a whip and went to work, helping his team rally from a 24-13 deficit to a 27-24 wild finish that would've made Henry Jones Jr. himself, proud.

Since becoming the starter, his helmet has popped off about as often as Jones' famous fedora. Nelson's fire and toughness have brought an element of swagger to the offense that was lacking under Jake Heaps, who often looked like an elk in an open meadow on opening day of hunting season. The offense has put up 81 points in a little over nine quarters of play since Nelson took over. That's 36 points a game, more than double the early season output under Heaps.

Granted, the competition which Heaps played against, the likes of a solid Ole Miss defensive team and No. 24 ranked Texas may have been a little tougher than what Nelson has seen, but the offense just disappeared into a temple of doom with Heaps at the helm.

With Heaps at quarterback, the offense scored seven touchdowns through nearly five full games. With Nelson, it has scored 10 touchdowns in barely over two games. The Cougars are averaging 25 first downs and converting third downs at a rate of 76 percent, excluding the Aggies game. Under Heaps the offense managed 17.5 first downs a game and only converted 38 percent of their third downs minus the Aggies game.

With Heaps under center, the offense averaged a respectable 230 yards but only 68 yards rushing. With Nelson's ability to make plays on the move and to pick up yards with his legs, the offense has been exceptionally well balanced, averaging 218 yards passing and and a whopping 253 yards rushing in his two full games as a starter. Nelson's scrambling abilities bring another weapon to the offense that defenses have to worry about.

The emergence of Michael Alisa averaging roughly 90 yards a game, the past two weeks and Cody Hoffman becoming a favorite Nelson target have certainly helped Riley. But it's very clear that this Cougars offense needed more than a gunslinger; they needed a gritty, tough hero in the mold of an Indiana Jones to find the lost Cougar offense.