By Gregg Xenakes, College Football Staff Writer
GAME NOTES: Six weeks after crushing the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium, the BYU Cougars return to the scene of the crime one more time this season as they do battle with the California Golden Bears in the 14th annual Las Vegas Bowl from Sin City. The Cougars, who opened the season with three losses in four tries, didn't exactly have a banner year in the Mountain West Conference, but the squad recorded the requisite number of wins in order to be considered for a postseason bid nonetheless. Prior to falling to Utah in overtime (41-34) in the regular season finale, BYU had run off three straight victories and averaged just over 50 ppg in those triumphs. As for the Golden Bears, led by head coach Jeff Tedford, they opened the campaign on fire with five straight victories, even though a few of those dates were against teams like Sacramento State, Illinois and New Mexico State, the last of which failed to win a single game this year. A 27-3 blowout of Stanford in the final game of the season snapped a two-game slide for Cal and moved the team to 7-4 overall and 4-4 versus Pac-10 foes. BYU, which has won the only two meetings between these two schools previously, has lost three consecutive bowl appearances, the last of which was a 28-10 setback to Louisville in the 2001 Liberty Bowl. Since starting out in the Fiesta Bowl in 1974, the Cougars are just 7-15-1 in the postseason. Meanwhile the Bears, 6-8-1 in bowl engagements since starting with a 28-0 victory against Ohio State in the 1921 Rose Bowl, lost to Texas Tech (45-31) in last year's Holiday Bowl. This marks the fifth straight year in which the Las Vegas Bowl has pitted teams from the Pac-10 and the MWC, with Wyoming capturing a 24-21 win over UCLA last year. BYU has lost just once in eight all-time games in this stadium.
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall has gone straight from 16 years as an assistant coach to making it to the postseason with a BYU offense that was ranked eighth in the nation in passing when the final regular season numbers were tabulated. The Cougars generated 306.3 ypg through the air and recorded 24 touchdowns, against just 11 interceptions, which went a long way in explaining how the program placed second in the Mountain West and 22nd nationally in scoring with 33.5 ppg. Thanks to a rushing attack that was better than average, BYU finished 13th in the country in total offense with 463.9 ypg and was one of only two teams (Utah) in the MWC to average at least six yards per play. John Beck emerged as one of the top passers with 305.2 ypg for the unit, with his favorite target being Jonny Harline who reeled in 56 balls for 780 yards and four scores. Running back Curtis Brown tied for the league lead in rushing scores with 14, averaging five and a half yards per carry to take some of the weight off Beck's shoulders from time to time. Toss in another 409 yards receiving, and Brown was third in the league in all purpose yards with an average of more than 136 ypg.
While the BYU offense was off scoring points almost at while, particularly in the second half of the season, the defense was not exactly as tough as Mendenhall would have liked. The squad allowed 28.7 ppg this year, ranking them in the middle of the pack in the MWC and 78th nationally. The run defense was better than average as it permitted opponents 139.3 ypg, but the pass defense was another story altogether. In addition to watching opposing teams complete almost two-thirds of their pass attempts, the secondary surrendered 273.1 ypg through the air, last in the league and 105th in Division I-A. Perhaps even more troubling was the fact that the unit gave up a conference- high 23 touchdowns and was second to last in interceptions with only nine. Although he missed one of the team's 11 games, Cameron Jensen still set the pace in tackles with 74, recording a team-high 40 solo stops as well. Justin Luettgerodt (64 tackles) was first with three interceptions and three recovered fumbles, while Justin Maddox (28 stops) was tops with five sacks and made a quarter of his tackles behind the line of scrimmage for the Cougars.
California may not have been the top rushing team in the Pac-10 this season, that distinction went to USC, but there's no question that this offense revolves around what the backs can get done. The Bears were ranked 10th in the nation at the end of the regular season with an average of 234.7 ypg on the ground, able to produce almost six yards per carry on the average as well. The squad nearly had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers to boast of, but Justin Forsett fell just shy with 962 yards on 124 attempt. However, he did better Marshawn Lynch (1,052 yards) with an average of 7.8 ypc, compared to 6.1 ypc. The duo combined to record 13 of the team's 24 rushing scores, with another five coming from starting quarterback Joe Ayoob who was credited with just 58 yards rushing on 58 attempts this year. In the pocket Ayoob was responsible for 155.2 ypg through the air and 15 touchdowns, but his 14 interceptions were hard to overlook. DeSean Jackson led the way in the receiving department with 32 catches for 471 yards and five TDs, but he wasn't the sort of player that defenses had to plan against week-in and week-out.
Allowing 20.5 ppg this year, the Bears ranked first in the league, thanks mostly to a run defense that held opponents to just 121.5 ypg and an average of barely 3.3 yards per attempt on the ground. In terms of total defense, California was second behind only undefeated USC, permitting 351.7 ypg. However, even though they were second to the top team in the land, the Bears were the only squad in the conference to allow less than five yards per play overall. The pass defense permitted a league-low 11 touchdowns and managed to record 13 interceptions at the same time, perhaps a low number considering the number of passes defended, but nevertheless, still a strong total with the number of TDs given up. As one of the top pass defenders, Daymeion Hughes was responsible for four interceptions for the squad and also tied for third in total tackles with 59. At the top of the tackles list was Desmond Bishop with 81 takedowns, but he failed to have a single sack. The leader in that department was Brandon Mebane who tallied 6.5 sacks and was credited with eight TFLs as well.
Although they ended the regular season on a down note, the Cougars were just hitting their stride when it came to putting points on the board. Having a predominantly Mountain West Conference crowd to back them up and being familiar with the surrounding, expect BYU to come out on top against the Golden Bears.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: BYU 38, California 27
2 comments:
What jumps out is how Mebane knocked down a ball carrier in the backfield 14.5 times in limited playing time. If he's in the game, he'll be one of the top defenders in the country next year.
Well, as a BYU fan of a sort, I will be there to watch this debacle live. I am optimistic that the score will be as you have suggested but I have a few things that will be problematic for the Cougs in this one. Manaia Brown is a beast on the Cougar defensive line, but he is prone to injury and his absence has proven to be a killer for the Cougars who have given up big chunks on the ground at various times this year. Add to that a secondary that is, well, suspect in every facet and the Bears could put points on the board. Also, look for the Cougars to mix the run and the pass. If they don't mix it up, they have been less than inspiring inside the red zone. Should be interesting but the Cougs will get beat by the Bears by about that same 38-27 tally. I will be crying, but we've got next year to look forward to.
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