This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • If ever a season-ending game symbolized a football season for the BYU Cougars, it was last week's 55-48 loss in double overtime to the Memphis Tigers in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl.
There were highs, lows, an embarrassing post-game brawl and, as a somber coach Bronco Mendenhall said afterward, two or three critical plays that decided the outcome. Similarly, two or three pivotal games that didn't go BYU's way spelled a third-straight 8-5 record for the independent program that seems close to hitting its ceiling, if it hasn't already, in Mendenhall's 10th season.
"A lot of [squandered] opportunities, and a lot of growing and a lot of maturing. Ups, downs, and a swing of one or two plays and it changes the outcome," is how Mendenhall summed it up.
By far, the biggest season-changing play happened when the Cougars were 4-0, trailing Utah State 21-14 and driving near midfield. Quarterback Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending broken leg when he was tackled by USU's Brian Suite at the end of a 2-yard run, and dreams of a perfect season vanished in the early October air at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Prior to the 35-20 loss to the Aggies, the Cougars got by UConn, Texas, Houston and Virginia with just enough defense and Hill's remarkable play-making ability. The defense started to show signs of ineptitude in the wins over Houston and Virginia - no pass rush, shoddy tackling and coverage breakdowns and penalties in the secondary - but Hill's play masked the deficiencies.
Of course, the Cougars would lose their next three games - blowing two-touchdown leads in the fourth quarters against Central Florida and Nevada before the season hit rock bottom in a 55-30 loss at Boise State. Mendenhall took the defensive play-calling duties away from Nick Howell before that game, a misguided strategy that resulted in an embarrassing performance on national television.
Two days before the bowl game, Mendenhall called the "0-for-October" an "amazing experience" and said he learned more from this season than any other.
"We had an organizational model and a schematic model and a personnel model that carried us through four games," he said. "We were doing very well with a ton of momentum, and within one play that changed. It changed drastically. We needed to find a new identity. Our coaching organization needed to adapt, and we had to capture the hearts of our team. … It took probably two weeks longer than I would have liked."
Those two weeks, which included the losses to UCF and Nevada, were the difference between an acceptable season and a dismal one, given the lackluster November schedule.
Mendenhall acknowledged he "underestimated" the impact that Hill had on the team not only as a player, but as a leader and confidence-builder.
But while the offense eventually recovered - former walk-on Christian Stewart proved to be more than a capable backup and offensive coordinator Robert Anae was able to turn the Cougars into a more prolific passing team than they had been in years - the defense never really returned to respectability.
Wins over lightweights Middle Tennessee State, UNLV and Savannah State and a goal-line stand that preserved a 42-35 win at Cal might have provided a false sense of security. Then the Cougars gave up 55 points - 45 in regulation - to a mediocre Memphis offense and couldn't stop the Tigers from scoring an easy, game-winning touchdown in the second OT.
The Cougars finished the season, marked by injuries to key defenders such as safety Craig Bills and linebacker Alani Fua, by giving up more points per game, 27.5, than they had since allowing 29.3 per game in 2005, Mendenhall's first year.
Even with Hill's injury and the loss of star running back Jamaal Williams for the season in the MTSU game, the offense averaged 37.1 points, the 10th-most in school history and most since 44.1 in 2001.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Grading the 2014 Cougars
Coaching: D • From overestimating their talent and depth on defense before the season began, to not having players emotionally ready to handle Taysom Hill's season-ending injury, to playing Bronson Kaufusi out of position, to burning two timeouts in an odd attempt to ice a PAT kicker in the final minute of regulation in the bowl game, coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff made plenty of coaching blunders in 2014.
Offense: B • Despite the losses of stars Hill and Jamaal Williams to injuries in the fifth and ninth games, the Cougars adjusted relatively well behind former walk-on quarterback Christian Stewart and finished averaging 37.1 points per game, the 10th-best average in school history. Failures to score touchdowns in two overtime losses kept this grade from being even better.
Defense: D • Injuries left the Cougars at less than full strength, and backups and inexperienced players were exposed time and again by the better quarterbacks and offenses on the schedule. Mendenhall's wresting of the play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Nick Howell before the big Boise State loss was emblematic of the defense's ineptitude from coaching on down.
Special Teams: B • Scott Arellano's punting, Trevor Samson's field goal and PAT kicking and Adam Hine's kickoff returns were stellar and arguably won games for BYU, but the Cougars struggled all season to find a reliable punt returner, and their kick coverage teams allowed way too many field position-changing plays, as was evidenced in the bowl game.
Intangibles: D • The Cougars didn't immediately respond well to sudden change, especially after Hill suffered the season-ending injury against Utah State. They deserve credit for bouncing back after a four-game losing skid and winning on the road at Cal, but lost more than just a game in Miami, thanks to their involvement in an ugly postgame brawl with Memphis.