Tag Archives: ole miss football

by | September 9, 2011 · 12:32 pm

8 Questions: BYU @ Texas

By Adam Mangum
adam@loyalcougars.com
Twitter: @ajmangum

You can check out last week’s 9 Questions preview for Ole Miss. I’ve included some of the same questions for continuity’s sake, and also because I’m lazy.

1. Will Doman’s offense build on last week or remain mediocre?
Against what could be a pretty lousy defense with slow linebackers, BYU managed only 316 total yards. What really worries me are the 2.9 yards per rush*, and the 5.9 yards per pass attempt. Both are pretty anemic numbers (BYU was 106th in the nation in YPA a year ago at 6.0). This needs to improve, or this season could be defined by low-scoring games and frustrated fans.

* If you take out the two negative plays not by the RBs, the three RBs (and Riley Nelson) combined for a 111 yards on 27 carries (almost 4 yards a pop). Not great, but not as bad as the team stats would suggest.

2. Can Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman live up to the hype?
Last week I said one game was unlikely to stop the hype. Hoffman was a non-factor (statistically) with one catch for nine yards. Apo was targeted often, and finished at 4-46 with a TD. Again, one game does not a career (or season) make, but I thought Apo looked good, and that triple move he gave on the TD catch was a thing of beauty. I think Apo will be the team’s leading receiver this season, which is not something I believed a week ago.

3. Can Jake Heaps improve on a mediocre performance in week 1?
I’ve seen some apologists say Heaps played well. Not trying to come down on the guy, but he missed open receivers and seemed a little nervous after getting hit a time or two. I attribute this one to running a new offense and playing in a hostile environment, but things are only going to get hotter in Texas. The Longhorns have what should be a good defense, and I think it’s likely they come after Heaps. How he responds to the pressure may determine Saturday’s outcome.

4. Are any of the tight ends difference makers?
Austin Holt and Richard Wilson both caught two balls. I think the TEs will be good but unspectacular in 2011; the playmakers are at the WR and RB positions.

5. Where for art thou, JJ DiLuigi?
DiLuigi hardly had a bad game: he had 17 touches for 88 yards. But he seemed a little tentative as a runner, and though he caught five passes, it was dump-off type of stuff, not creative usage by Doman. I expect big things from the little guy on Saturday.

6. How good is Texas?
I covered this earlier this week, so I won’t get too repetitive here. Quick take: Yes, I think they’re a top 20 team.

7. Is the Cougar defense for real, or do they just dominate bad offenses?
After a 1-4 start to the 2010 season (including giving up 31 points to Utah State), Bronco Mendenhall fired defensive coordinator Jaime Hill, and Mendenhall has been calling the shots since. Before the change, BYU’s opponents averaged 433 yards per game, a stunning number. After the change: 265. The Cougars played only three good opponents* in their remaining 8 games (TCU, Utah, SDSU) and they gave up 31 points and almost 400 yards to the Horned Frogs. I love the speed of the defense and Bronco’s aggressive play calling. Are they for real? I think so, but they still need to prove it against good offenses.*

* Not entirely sure the Longhorns are a good offense. 500 yards against Rice? As Han Solo said, “Look, good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living? That’s something else.” 

8. How good are the Cougars?
The jury is, of course, still out. With Texas, Utah and UCF lined up on the road ahead, I think we’ll have a pretty good answer 3-4 weeks from now. My answer today: they’re a top 30 team with a stellar defense and an average offense. I hope I’m wrong about the offense, and I hope I’m right about the defense.

Prediction: 24-14 Texas. I think the Longhorns D will be too much, and costly turnovers will put the Cougars in too much of a hole.

For more on this week’s big game, check out Matt’s More or Less column about what he wants to see more or less of this week against the Longhorns, and of course download and listen to this week’s podcast with former BYU DB and current KSL sideline man Scott Johnson.

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by | · 9:15 am

More or Less

by Matt Mangum

matt@loyalcougars.com on twitter @matt_mangum

Last week’s game was both difficult to watch and also very exciting. As a defensive guy, I love the fact that the defense made the win happen. However, like many of you, there was a lot that I saw that also made me nervous. So those stirring emotions have inspired me to put together some thoughts on things I think we need to see more of and a few things we really need to see less of as the cougars head to the Lone Star State to fave the Texas Longhorns. Just to keep this clear: When I say I want to see more of something, I am saying that they did that well and they need to do keep on doing it. When I say I want to see less of something, I am saying that there was too much of it last week.

More:

Form Tackling. The defense looked great. A fundamental component of their performance was the form tackling, especially when a BYU defender had a ball carrier one on one in the backfield. This is not your grandaddy’s BYU defense. These guys hit hard and they wrap up the ball carrier. This has always been a pet peeve of mine when watching BYU football. The best form tackling in the past 20 years has been when Bronco Mendenhall is the DC. I’m glad he is back in that role, because arm tackling and trying to just knock ball carriers down had come back into vogue since he was not in that role. It may sometimes look cool on a highlight reel, but bad form will usually only get you into the opponent’s highlights.

Less:

Stalling on offense. I don’t think that BYU got into the red zone in the entire first half of last week’s game. If I am reading the box score correctly (because I have blocked out most of the offense performance), the closest they got was somewhere around the 34 yard line. That drive was killed by a penalty and then a 9 yard loss by Heaps. Apparently you can get away with that when playing Ole Miss. You can’t get away with that when playing a team like Texas.  This offense needs to put together a succession of plays that gets the ball down the field and into the endzone or through the uprights. Scoring early is going to be very important. It’s a confidence booster and it will keep BYU in the game. The offense needs to get into a real rhythm early and sustain drives.

More:

Swagger on Defense. The defense is good. I think they can compete with anybody in the country. There are some questions in the backfield but the play at safety was better than expected and even Corby Eason did not give up a game losing play. When an offense picks on you, you have to respond. Ole Miss was picking on Eason and Texas will too. UT brought Brian Harsin from Boise State to light a fire under this offense. They will be prepared. The defense needs to continue playing like they expect to dominate. If Eason gets pciked on, he can’t let them get in his head.

Less:

Hesitation from Heaps. He looked nervous out there. I guess he was a little shaken up early and he never seemed to recover. If the Texas defense smells blood in that water, they will come after him hard. I’d like to keep him off of the grass as much as possible, but I think it may be good for him to take a hit early and get it over with. The key is on how he responds to that. He can’t get timid. He needs to take the time to go through his reads and run the offense. It appeared to me that the shotgun was not originally planned to be such a large part of the offense approach. When Heaps got gun-shy, Doman pulled him back from the line of scrimmage. Doman needs to be able to run the offensive gameplan without worrying about Heaps’ psyche.

These are some of many things that I think are going to carry over into this game. If BYU can mange to take care of these four I think they will be in pretty good shape. Texas is a better team than Ole Miss and will require BYU o play a cleaner and more urgent style of football if  they expect to win. I think BYU has the pieces to make this happen, it all will come down to execution.

Go Cougars!

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by | September 8, 2011 · 10:06 pm

Podcast 31: Texas preview with Scott Johnson

Adam chats with former Cougar and current KSL sideline reporter Scott Johnson about the Ole Miss game and the big, big game against the Longhorns deep in the heart of Texas.

  • 2:50 – What would it be like to be a player for an independent team versus playing in a conference?
  • 5:15 – Scott thinks the defense showed great things against Ole Miss
  • 7:30 – The defensive backs played well and are going to be good.
  • 11:30 – Scott lets us know what it feels like to be a DB who gets burnt bad for a TD.
  • 14:40 – Scott’s keys to beating Texas.
  • 17:30 – The 2011 offense has the potential to be every bit as good as some of the offenses during Scott’s tenure.
Adam is then joined by his faithful sidekick Matt to preview the game and answer your questions from the TweetBag.
  • 26:30 – We play the most beloved game in Cougar Nation: Over/Under.
  • 27:25 – O/U 230 yards for Jake Heaps.
  • 31:00 – O/U 1.5 sacks for the Cougs.
  • 34:30 – O/U 90 total yards for JJ DiLuigi.
  • 38:15 – O/U 6 successful 3rd down conversions for BYU.
  • 40:05 – The TweetBag! We talk BBQ, Ross Apo, Bronco’s sense of fashion, and answer many more of your questions.
  • 52:45 – One TweetBag question sent us over the edge: it’s all about the Big 12 and Super Conferences.
That and so much more, including why Matt refuses to visit Adam for the Holidays. Download often! Tell your friends!

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by | September 3, 2011 · 9:00 pm

Podcast 30: BYU slips past Ole Miss

Matt and Adam discuss BYU’s tight 14-13 win over Mississippi. They talk the game’s big moments, how it aligned with their expectations, and what it means going forward.

 

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by | September 1, 2011 · 9:56 pm

Podcast 29: Ole Miss Preview

In Episode 29 of the Rise & Shout podcast, Matt and Adam go crazy previewing the big first game of independence on the road against Ole Miss.

  • 2:30 — They’re excited that BYU fans might be able to talk about something other than the Big 12/Independence debate for at least a few minutes.
  • 5:45 — Did you know that the University of Mississippi athletics department blew a chance to make Admiral Ackbar their official mascot? Adam is greatly disappointed.
  • 7:35 — Over/under on Jake Heaps yardage.
  • 11:25 — Over/under on rushing yards for the Rebels.
  • 16:45 — Over/under on Ross Apo touchdowns.
  • 20:10 — Over/under on QB sacks for the Cougar D .
  • 25:25 — They pick three key players for the Cougars.
  • 35:20 — Stunningly accurate game predictions.
  • 52:55 — To the TweetBag! Your Twitter questions are answered, including favorites cookies.

That and so very much more. Bring on the football!!!!!!!!!

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by | · 8:58 am

9 Questions: BYU @ Ole Miss

As a way to preview tomorrow’s big game against the Rebels of Ole Miss, here are nine questions will we get answered (partially in some cases) during the game.

1. What effect will the weather have on the game?
The forecast is 96 degrees with moderate humidity. It will be hot on the field, and though the Rebel players are more acclimated to that, it’s not like it’s been 65 in Utah. Still, the hot conditions favor Ole Miss. Look for several players on both sides to suffer for dehydration.

2. Will Brandon Doman’s new offense hit the ground running?
I am a huge fan of Brandon Doman dating back to his days as the back-up QB. He’s extremely smart and passionate, and I think he will bring a level of smart creativity to the Cougar offense that we have not seen in years. Still, I think there will be growing pains, though I’m not sure Ole Miss has the defensive chops to expose anything too big. This will be our first chance to check out the new offense and either get even more enthusiastic or grow a little nervous.

3. Is the speed of Ole Miss too much for the Cougars?
Matt and I talked a lot in the most recent podcast about ‘SEC speed.’ I don’t really know what that means. If we were playing Florida or Auburn, would I be worried about the speed of those teams being overwhelming for the Cougars? Absolutely, but I’d be more scared about the overall skill. Is Ole Miss ‘faster’ than BYU? Likely, but the Cougars have good speed at key positions and last time I checked, there is not extra credit for who wins pre-game sprints.

4. Can Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman live up to the hype?
Probably not tommorw, though I think they will eventually. I expect them to play well and be targeted often by QB Jake Heaps?

5. How will Jake Heaps play on the road?
Heaps started two roads games against ranked opponents last year, at TCU and at Utah. Those were not his finest games (though he did OK against Utah). Playing well on the road at this level is difficult. It’s likely we’ll see 2-3 big mistakes by the young signal caller, but I am extremely optimistic about him having a good day.

6. Will the Ole Miss offensive line just be too big (and too good) for the Cougars to handle?
You may have heard about the Rebels’ massive offensive line. It reads like the weight chart for an NFL line (or a contestant list for ‘The Biggest Loser’): 320-320-315-335-315. They’re also experienced. Senior Bradley Sowell is a monster, and this is a unit that led the SEC in fewest sacks allowed and fueled a powerful running attack last season. This really is the strength and heart of the Mississippi football team.

7. What tight end will emerge as a difference maker?
Austin Holt looks like the guy, but will Richard Wilson or any of the others make a big impact in the game? I think it’s very possible, especially since the Ole Miss defense will be highly focused on the talented trio of Apo/Hoffman/Di Luigi.

8. Is Ole Miss any good?
It’s difficult in college football to know who’s going to be any good year in and year out. Ole Miss was not a very good team last season — the defense was bad, finishing 81st in the country in total defense. But they made bowl games the two seasons previous to that (they were 21st in total defense in 2009), and the offensive line (see above) and running attack are good.

9. How good are the Cougars?
I don’t think we know. The last ranked team BYU beat was Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl in December 2009. So much has changed since then with both the players and the coaching staff that it seems like a lifetime ago. The Cougars finished strong in 2010 by beating up on lousy teams, and by losing a tough one to a ranked Utah team. If BYU sputters against Ole Miss, it may leave us all wondering if this season is going to go south (no pun intended) very quickly.

I made my prediction on the podcast, but I will repeat it here: I think BYU is a lot better than Ole Miss, and I think Heaps will play well after some early mistakes. The Cougars will roll over the Rebels, 21-10.

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