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BYU receivers coach Guy Holliday did not mince words on Tuesday. The three-year boss of the ball-catchers was disappointed with the way BYU's outside receivers played in the 31-0 loss to Michigan, and he blamed himself.

"Obviously, we didn't do enough to win," Holliday said. "We pride ourselves on providing a spark. We didn't do it. We couldn't do it. We weren't good enough. What can be done? We are going to figure it out. I thought they were really good athletically. I was disappointed with our physicality. We didn't play as physical as we can.

That's my fault. It is never the players' fault. It is the coach's fault, and I am going to get that right."

Holliday said BYU "won some battles" against Michigan's press-man coverage, but not nearly enough.

"What we allowed Michigan to do was play physical and to grab, and we didn't fight," Holliday said. "We have to address that. We have big guys, and we have to play big, so I think sometimes you all look at it [wrong]. When you are playing against press-man, the windows aren't going to be as great. And you can look around at any level. We have to go back and refine. We have to play to our strengths, and our strengths are to be physical. We aren't a bunch of 4.3 [speed] guys. So we gotta play to our strengths. Devon [Blackmon] is a little quicker, so he can play to that. Nick [Kurtz] and Mitch [Mathews] in particular, they are big, so they gotta play big. You can't be 6-6 and play 5-11. That doesn't work. We gotta play to our strengths and we will get that done."

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None of those outside receivers were brought up for interviews this week. Inside receivers Terenn Houk and Colby Pearson met with reporters, however, and Pearson said Michigan's defensive backs got away with holding. BYU's inside receivers — Houk, Pearson, Mitchell Juergens and Trey Dye — work more with offensive coordinator Robert Anae than they do with Holliday.

"I think we just got out-physicaled," said Pearson, who caught two passes. "They were good, and what I think is that they were professional holders. They got their hands good on us, and held on to us well, and it was hard for us. We haven't seen that kind of physicality yet, and they were coached up really well. But yeah, we went back and watched it. We came up with some new things to beat that man-press stuff."

When Houk was asked what the meeting was like with Anae on Monday, he quipped, "We definitely learned a lot."

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Holliday said the lackluster play was his fault. The Cougars had just 55 passing yards and ran just 50 plays.

"Obviously, I missed the boat," he said. "We haven't been a team or a group that hadn't played physical. There are some things I will tweak and that I need to do better. The first person you have to look at in any defeat is yourself. And you can't place blame anywhere. I place blame on myself. I think that is my responsibility. Players win games; Coaches lose games."

Immediately after the loss, Anae said the offense lacked leadership and the older guys didn't show the younger guys how to battle harder in a difficult environment. Holliday agreed.

"It surprises me any time a person doesn't fight. It is not just my players. It is a physical game, and you have to show up," Holliday said. "We are in college football, and sometimes people can't appreciate that these guys are still 18, and in our case 22 year olds. But man, you gotta prepare. … We played a good football team. We got our butts kicked. I am not going to make any excuses for that. But it is all going to be about this week. I am moving on and you know I will let all the people sit back and observe. They have their opinions, I have mine. That's what life is. It is my job to fix it, and it is everybody else's to give me advice on how to do it. I am going to do it my way, and that is to get it right, and we will be successful."

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Holliday said fans need to crawl back off the ledge and realize that these are big-time opponents the Cougars have faced.

"Let's not fool ourselves: We've played the toughest schedule in September, and we've traveled some miles," he said. "So I expect my guys to go in and really evaluate what they did, how they did it, and prepare mentally, and then help one another. That's what leadership is. Leadership is not criticizing another player. Leadership is pulling a brother up and helping him along, and that's what I expect my guys to do."

Pearson said BYU's receivers weren't ready for what they faced from Michigan's defensive backs.

"We weren't quite ready for their man-press, and it kind showed," he said. "We should have been ready for it, and stuff. They came out and punched us in the mouth at the beginning of the game, and we just kind of folded after that, I feel. … If we play like we did [vs. Michigan] we would probably lose to anybody left on our schedule. We just got to stay more prepared and come out and deliver the first blow I feel, is a big part of how we play and how we gain momentum."