BYU blows it

Against the Broncos, Bronco Mendenhall made one of the dumbest coaching moves of the year in the BYU vs. Boise State football game Thursday night.

Offensively, BYU was terrible all night. The Cougars gained 95 yards on their last drive of the game, and that was equal to what they gained the whole rest of the game. They turned the ball over 5 times in the game. The starting quarterback was benched in the third quarter and replaced by a freshman quarterback, a quarterback who probably couldn’t throw better than I could.

And yet in the middle of the fourth quarter they trailed by only one touchdown as the Cougar defense stifled the Boise State team. The Broncos only score came on an interception return. They have a kicker they couldn’t trust, who missed a 33 yard chip-in field goal earlier in the game. In the second half Boise State couldn’t buy a yard.

Now like I said, BYU trailed by 7 points in the fourth quarter. Miraculously, the Cougars put a drive together led by the legs of freshman Taysom Hill, and scored a touchdown. With 4:40 left and no time outs. And BYU coach went for 2. WHAT?! For the first time BYU finally had some momentum and Bronco put the entire game into the hands of a freshman, a freshman who was missing wide open receivers 5 yards away repeatedly. Overthrowing, underthrowing, not seeing other guys wide open. He can run and made some plays that last drive but come on, he was painful to watch. And with a chance to tie the game against a team who can’t move the ball and can’t kick, the coach gives the freshman the ball to win it. Hill rolls out, here comes the pressure, there is nowhere to run, he throws a bad pass to a covered receiver, and the ball falls incomplete.

Why on earth would you go for 2? There was NO WAY that Boise State give Hill any chance to run. That play had ZERO chance to work. Why would you put so much pressure on a freshman backup quarterback, and how could you trust him to come through against a defense that only allowed 200 yards the whole game?

BYU had no timeouts; they were not going to get the ball again in regulation. And the way Boise State could not do anything on offense, I felt pretty comfortable going into overtime.

I could sort of understand the choice had the game been 38-37 and you haven’t been able to stop the other team the whole game, but here? Kick the point after. Tie the game. Give your whole team (offense, defense, special teams) a chance to win the game and beat a Top 25 team on the road. BYU’s defense was the best unit the whole game and has been stellar all year. Instead, Bronco put the whole game into the hands of Taysom Hill, a kid who won’t even play next week, to roll out and make a pass that is difficult for even experienced quarterbacks to make, and BYU lost 7-6. If you trust Hill so much, why would you then defend Riley Nelson after the game, saying that he will be your quarterback the next game? Bronco Mendenhall let down his team and the entire BYU population around the country with that decision.