BYU Football: Midseason Report Card for the Cougars

The first half of the 2011 season is in the books.

Luckily for BYU, there is no way possible that the second half can be as ugly as the first. Utah is not on the schedule in the second portion of 2011.

The Cougars will not be able to turn the ball over seven times and lose by 44 points at home to a bitter rival again this year.

Phew!

Since hitting rock bottom, BYU's momentum has shifted on the upswing. Also fortunate for the Cougars is the long list of patsy teams from here through the end of the season.

Brigham Young coaches hyped this year to be special.

Grading the Cougars' performance in measure to the standard set at preseason does not make for a pretty report card. BYU has underwhelmed on almost every level.

Offense Grade: D+

The plus on that D is for putting up 38 points at Oregon State.

BYU coaches and media outlets predicted an impressive offense this year. They practically guaranteed an improvement from last season’s offensive sputters.

Instead, the Cougars rank 87^th in the nation with 22.6 points per game and the average of two offensive TD’s a game ranks BYU 91^st in that statistic. One of BYU's better offensive categories is yards per game. Their average of  365.4 yards ranks BYU 77^th.

These are well below the numbers fans were promised. Coach Mendenhall raved about offensive execution in fall camp. His story regarding team execution changed quickly as the season progressed.

Surprisingly, BYU’s red zone scoring percentage is high at 88.88%, and the team is ranked 36^th in the country in the time possession battle, eating 31:12 off the clock on average.

Nelson replacing Heaps was the only hope this unit had of turning the ship around this year.

Quarterbacks Grade: F

In a gift of mercy to Jake Heaps, I’ll look at the quarterback statistics for both he and Riley Nelson combined.

BYU ranks 92^nd in the country in the average team passer rating with 114.7.

BYU is supposed to be strong at quarterback every single year. Cougar tradition is built on the shoulders of quarterbacks of the past. BYU is a QB place. Period.

Epic fail, Brigham Young.

To Nelson's defense, the team passer rating has improved drastically since he has taken over the position.

The 55.6 completion percentage ranks BYU 90^th and the 225.7 passing yards per game ranks the Cougars 61^st.

These numbers are just not good enough at BYU.

Running Backs Grade: C

Josh Quezada has disappointed. In camp, the hype was that “Juice” was going to be an impact player this season. He impressed last year. What happened this year?

The 139.7 yards per game and four yards per rush attempt rank the BYU rushing attack at 66^th in the country.

Yes, this BYU team is more efficient at running the ball than passing the ball.

Michael Alisa has been a welcomed contributor the past two weeks. QB Riley Nelson is pretty good at running the ball as well.

Defense Grade: B-

The minus after the B is for the unforgivable loss to Utah.

Otherwise, the BYU defense has been solid.

The win at Ole Miss would not have been a win without solid play by the defense. The same goes for the wins over Central Florida and Utah State.

The defense ranks 41^st in the country allowing 24.1 points per game, and ranks 36^th in the country allowing 353 yards per game.

Linebackers Grade: B

BYU is ranked 47^th in rushing yards allowed per game. On average, the Cougars have given up 138 yards a game on the ground.

Jordan Pendleton and Uona Kaveinga have not quite performed on the level of preseason hype that surrounded both of them. They have been solid, yes. But the buzz was that they would be more than solid. The buzz was that they would be monsters.

Kyle Van Noy and Brandon Oggletree have been just that.

Oggletree has forced two fumbles, intercepted one pass and has 20 solo tackles, 43 total.

Van Noy has returned three interceptions for 79 yards, has recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and has 20 solo tackles (32 total).

Defensive Secondary Grade: B+

BYU is ranked 44^th in passing yards allowed per game. On average, the Cougars have allowed 215.3 yards through the air.

This unit was supposed to be the weakest point of the team this year. The word in the preseason was that these guys were inexperienced and it would show on the field.

And at times, it has.

BYU has given up some big plays with frustrating blown assignments by the safeties. For the most part, though, the defensive secondary has been solid.

This may be the only group of the entire BYU team that has exceeded expectations in the first half of 2011. 

Coaching: C-

Word from practices was that this group of coaches were united. This group of coaches had vision. The old had been tossed away and the new fresh coaching staff was teaming together to change BYU football forever.

Ho hum.

That has not happened.

If Brandon Doman were not in his first season as Offensive Coordinator most BYU fans would be screaming for his removal. Some are doing just that, first season or not.

Doman's decision to call plays from the sidelines was a big mistake. The Cougars nearly lost at Ole Miss solely because of poor offensive execution in the red zone. Doman's complicated ideas almost cost the Cougars the win.

Poor time management can be blamed on the coaches in the loss at Texas.

The loss to Utah? Do not get me started.

The best and most difficult decision the coaches have made this season was to bench Jake Heaps.

Overall Grade: C

The Cougars are improving.

The second half of the schedule is an early Christmas present wrapped in paper with the Armed Forces Bowl logo on the top.

I would not be surprised to see BYU run the table from here.

Yes, Gary Patterson, I am predicting another loss for the sacred purple. Try not to pop a vein on the sidelines, okay?

The first half of the season would not be graded this harshly if it were not for BYU coaches running their mouths in the preseason about team unity, impeccable talent and execution, and the reality of the goal to play for a national championship.

National championship, Cougars?

You are not even the best team in the state of Utah.