Loyal Cougars

Statistical Analysis: BYU vs. Boise State

BYU Offense

Called Plays: 64; Called Passes: 42 (38 attempts, 1 scramble, 3 sacks); Called Runs: 22

 

Read Option:

BYU ran the read option 14 times against Boise State. Jamaal Williams was by far the most effective, gaining 46 yards and one touchdown on 8 carries. Paul Lasike got the ball 3 times for 4 yards and Nate Carter had 0 yards on 1 carry. Christian Stewart kept the ball twice: a keep which he ran for a 2-yard touchdown and a pass attempt that fell incomplete to Jordan Leslie.

1st Quarter: Give (Lasike 0), Give (Lasike 1)

2nd Quarter: Give (Carter 0), Give (Lasike 3), Give (Jamaal 17 TD), Give (Jamaal 15)

3rd Quarter: Give (Jamaal 2), Give (Jamaal 3), Pass (incomplete Leslie), Give (Jamaal -1), Give (Jamaal 2)

4th Quarter: Give (Jamaal 0), Give (Jamaal 8), Keep (2 yd TD)

 

Time in the Pocket:

Christian Stewart’s time in pocket on passes:

1st Quarter: 3.3 seconds

2nd Quarter: 3.5 seconds

3rd Quarter: 2.7 seconds

4th Quarter: 2.9 seconds

Game avg: 3.1 seconds

Result: 11.26 yards per completion

 

Christian Stewart’s time in pocket before scrambling:

1st Quarter: N/A

2nd Quarter: 4 seconds

3rd Quarter: 3.4 seconds

4th Quarter: N/A

Game avg: 3.55 seconds

Result: -3.75 yards per scramble

 

How many Boise State defenders rushed the QB?

On all Christian Stewart passes:

1st Quarter: (3 + 4 + 4 + 3)/4

2nd Quarter: (3 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5)/15

3rd Quarter: (4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 7 + 4)/11

4th Quarter: (3 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4)/8

Game avg: 4.05 man rush

 

On Christian Stewart Scrambles:

1st Quarter: N/A

2nd Quarter: 3

3rd Quarter: (4 + 4 + 4)/3

4th Quarter: N/A

Game avg: 3.75 man rush

 

Ball Distribution:

1st Quarter: Christian Stewart: 2/4 passing for 12 yards; Paul Lasike: 2 rushes for 1 yard; Mitch Mathews: 1 reception for 8 yards (2 targets); Devin Mahina: 1 reception for 4 yards (2 targets)

2nd Quarter: Christian Stewart: 8/15 passing for 132 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, 2 rushes for 1 yard; Jamaal Williams: 6 rushes for 49 yards, 1 reception for 1 yard (1 target); Paul Lasike: 1 rush for 3 yards, 1 reception for 9 yards (1 target); Nate Carter: 1 rush for 0 yards; Colby Pearson: 3 receptions for 95 yards (4 targets); Mitch Mathews: 1 reception for 14 yards (5 targets); Jordan Leslie: 1 reception for 8 yards (1 target); Terenn Houk: 1 reception for 5 yards (2 targets); Ross Apo: 1 drop (1 target)

3rd Quarter: Christian Stewart: 7/11 passing for 51 yards, 3 rushes for -14 yards; Jamaal Williams: 6 rushes for 14 yards, 1 reception for -3 yards (1 target); Paul Lasike: 2 receptions for 20 yards (2 targets); Jordan Leslie: 2 receptions for 12 yards (4 targets); Mitch Mathews: 1 reception for 13 yards (1 target); Colby Pearson: 1 reception for 9 yards (1 target); Devin Mahina: 1 drop (2 targets)

4th Quarter: Christian Stewart: 6/8 passing for 64 yards, 1 rush for 2 yards and 1 TD; Jamaal Williams: 4 rushes for 7 yards, 1 reception for 3 yards (1 target); Jordan Leslie: 2 receptions for 14 yards (2 targets); Mitchell Juergens: 1 reception for 23 yards (1 target); Mitch Mathews: 1 reception for 19 yards (1 target); Colby Pearson: 1 reception for 5 yards (2 targets); Devin Mahina: 1 target

 

Overall Offensive Analysis:

BYU’s offense was very inconsistent in this game. The line failed to set the tone by dominating the line of scrimmage. Boise State ran a lot of line stunts which the OL was unable to pick up. This cut down on the time that Christian had in the pocket as he was constantly pressured. Jamaal Williams came in and provided a spark on the offense, by scoring on his first series in the game. He only got 16 carries for the game which can be attributed to missing the last two games and possibly not being in shape to run the ball 20+ times. Interestingly, BYU ran a lot more straight gives than they have in past games. Almost all of the handoffs prior to this game were read option plays, but I noticed around 5 plays which were straight handoffs to the back without reading the defensive end. BYU only ran 6 plays in the 1st quarter and didn’t get a 1st down until the 2nd quarter. This slow start killed the team as they were down 20-7 by the time they scored their first touchdown.

 

BYU Defense

Statistical Leaders:

Craig Bills: 8 (6 solo-2 assisted) tackles; Skye PoVey: 8 (6 solo-2 assisted) tackles, 1 TFL for -2 yards; Bronson Kaufusi: 7 (5 solo-2 assisted) tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL for -8 yards, 1 PBU; Zac Stout: 7 (3 solo-4 assisted) tackles, 0.5 TFL for 0 yards; Manoa Pikula: 6 (4 solo-2 assisted) tackles, 1 PBU; Fred Warner: 4 (3 solo-1 assisted) tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD; Dallin Leavitt: 4 (2 solo-2 assisted) tackles, 0.5 sack, 0.5 TFL for -1 yard; Remington Peck: 3 (2 solo-1 assisted) tackles, 0.5 sack, 0.5 TFL for -1 yard; Logan Taele: 3 (1 solo-2 assisted) tackles, 1 TFL for -5 yards, 1 safety.

Coverage Targets:

Skye PoVey: 1/3 (complete, incomplete, incomplete)
Harvey Langi: 1/1 (complete)
Jordan Preator: 6/6 (complete, complete, complete, complete, complete, complete)
Manoa Pikula: 0/1, 1 PBU (PBU)
Craig Bills: 2/2, 1 TD allowed (complete TD, complete)
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere: 1/1, 1 TD allowed (complete TD)
Zac Stout: 0/1 (incomplete)
Michael Davis: 1/1 (complete)
Sae Tautu: 1/1 (complete)
Rob Daniel: 2/2, 1 TD allowed (complete, complete TD)
Fred Warner: 0/1, 1 INT (INT)
Michael Alisa: 0/1 (incomplete)
Bronson Kaufusi: 1/2, 1 PBU (PBU, complete)

Overall Defensive Analysis:

Nothing seemed to go right for BYU in this game. They were beat on long runs, long passes, shorts passes, you name it. The team lacked the fire to make plays. It is a completely different team than the one that flew around and laid people out like we saw in the first few weeks of the season. If BYU wants to be successful on defense again, they need to play with the passion they did to start the season. Boise State ran a lot of short passes out of the backfield, both shovel passes and screens. They ended up being extremely effective against BYU. Boise also killed BYU with the read option. Players failed to stick to their lane and the consequence was a number of long runs of 15+ yards. Two players who struggled this game in pass defense were Jordan Preator and Craig Bills. Craig struggled to help over the top and gave up 2 passes, including a 78-yard touchdown. Jordan struggled to keep tight coverage on his man as the Boise receivers had constant separation from him, creating easy targets for Hedrick to hit. Rob Daniel played tight coverage for the most part, but Hedrick made perfect throws that only his receiver could get to (the lone exception being the play on which Daniel was beat inside on a deep slant).

2 Comments

  1. Shane

    October 27, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    My question is, why run the read option if you are not going to let your quaterback carry the ball. I quit watching at the end of the third quarter, but was frustrated when he would not pull the ball and the defensive end was crashing down. It seemed they were not worried about him keeping it.

    • Zak Hicken

      October 27, 2014 at 10:00 pm

      I’ve noticed BYU runs the ball much better with the read option blocking scheme than the blocking scheme for a straight hand off. The defensive end crashing ended up going in BYU’s favor later in the game when Stew pulled it and scored a TD, the game was just out of hand for it to really matter.