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Five questions: BYU-FSU
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Florida State Seminoles Examiner Corey Dowlar and I discussed the upcoming game between FSU and BYU earlier this week.
We decided to exchange five questions in regards to each others teams to see if we could shed some light on our team for each others’ readership.
Here’s how I answered Corey’s questions:
Florida State’s secondary was just sliced and diced by Miami on Labor Day as the Canes nearly threw for 400 yards. Will there be a temptation for the Cougars to abandon the running game altogether?
If the running game doesn’t manifest itself early on, it is a safe bet that BYU will rely heavily on its passing game.
You’ve got to remember that the passing game is BYU’s bread and butter. It has proven it can win without a good running game, so long as the passing game is putting enough points on the board.
For instance, against Oklahoma, the Cougars tallied just 28 yards rushing on 33 carries, but still pulled off the huge upset. Max Hall’s 329 yards passing provided the Cougars all the offensive fire power they needed.
That’s not to say BYU doesn’t ever benefit from its ground game.
Against Tulane, the Cougars ran for 206 yards on 45 carries and had four rushing touchdowns. Sophomore J.J. DiLuigi ran for 71 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns while sophomore Bryan Karia had 63 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.
Granted, this rushing explosion came against Tulane, a perennial Conference USA doormat. But, the Cougars have shown that if the opportunity presents itself, the running game will be used often.
Harvey Unga, BYU’s leading rusher in 2008, has been battling a hamstring injury and played sparingly against Tulane after sitting out the season opener. Unga is expected to play against FSU, but how effective he’ll be is in question.
If the running game isn’t working, look for Hall to pass, pass, pass.
BYU has lost several starters off the offensive line from last year. How good will the Cougars’ offensive line do?
The Cougars’ offensive line is doing very well this season, helping BYU average 442 yards of total offense per game.
FSU seems to be doing okay with its pass rush so far this season, compiling eight sacks in two games.
BYU’s offensive line has allowed four sacks this season – all against Oklahoma. So, it should be interesting to see how the Cougar offensive line handles the Seminole pass rush.
Injuries have really impacted the BYU offensive line this season. Since the start of fall practices, the Cougars have had four offensive linemen go down with injuries: Matt Reynolds, Houston Reynolds, Jason Speredon and Braden Hansen.
Hansen is a recent injury, straining his ACL against Tulane. Matt Reynolds returned from an injury in time for the season opener against Oklahoma and is back in the swing of things.
As a result of the injuries, offensive line coach Mark Weber has been working with two Cougar players that have never played offensive line before: tight end Braden Brown and former nose tackle Jordan Richardson.
My prediction is that the BYU offensive line will do well against an FSU defense that is giving up 393 yards of total offense per game this season.
Defensively, the Cougars will have their hands full with a balanced offense that looks like it is firing on all cylinders early in the season. What will BYU do defensively to contain quarterback Christian Ponder who seems to be coming into his own?
Easy. Do what it’s been doing.
BYU’s defense has performed very well so far this season. It held Oklahoma’s high-powered offense to just 265 yards of total offense. On the season, the Cougars are allowing 213.5 total offensive yards per game and are especially stingy against the rush, giving up just 77.5 yards per game.
FSU may be racking up the yards offensively, but the Seminoles had trouble putting the ball in the end zone against Championship Subdivision Jacksonville State – not to mention their offensive woes late in the Miami game.
Ponder is averaging 309 yards per game passing, but he will be facing a BYU defense that is allowing just 136 passing yards per game and has surrendered just one touchdown this season. That one touchdown pass was thrown by the reigning Heisman Trophy winner – a guy named Bradford.
Florida State likes to spread the ball around to a wealth of wide receivers with seven pass catchers against Miami and eight against Jacksonville State. Is the BYU secondary capable of limiting the playmaking ability of Taiwain Easterling, Richard Goodman, Bert Reed and others?
Definitely.
With two games under its belt, the Cougars secondary is doing a great job of controlling opponents’ passing games in spite of both Oklahoma and Tulane spreading the passes around.
Against Oklahoma, seven Sooners caught passes while Tulane spread the ball around to eight. Considering the fact that the Cougars are allowing just 136 passing yards per game, it seems it doesn’t matter if their opponents spread the ball around.
What kind of atmosphere do you expect in Provo on Saturday?
Electric.
Cougar fans have been waiting a long time for this home season opener. With an 18-game home winning streak on the line, Cougar fans expect to win in their house.
The crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium will be loud and easily excited. Cougar home crowds definitely give the team a psychological boost.
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