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Ann Arbor, Mich. • Quarterback Tanner Mangum and the BYU receiving corps that is supposed to be among the best in the Bronco Mendenhall era learned quickly Saturday that it was going to be rough to get open against Michigan's talented defensive backs.

On BYU's first possession, Mangum dropped back to pass on 3rd-and-2, couldn't find anyone open, and ran 9 yards for a first down. The Cougars would get just seven more first downs in the game, and fell 31-0 at Michigan Stadium.

After that run, Mangum threw three straight incomplete passes, and the Cougars punted. He would throw three more blanks before Nick Kurtz caught a ball for a 2-yard gain.

The rest of the game, it was rinse, repeat, rinse. Mangum finished with just 55 passing yards.

"They shocked us and we weren't ready for it," said BYU receiver Mitchell Juergens. "We deserved that. It is going to be a big learning tool, what we can do to move on from here."

Juergens, Kurtz and Colby Pearson caught two passes each. Devon Blackmon, Terenn Houk, Moroni Lualu-Pututau and Mitch Mathews were all held to one catch.

"As a receiving corps, we have a lot to fix, and that is to be more physical, get open against man coverage," Juergens said. "Because that's what we saw the whole game, and that's what got us in trouble. We weren't as physical as we should have been, and they were able to cover us and not let us get loose."

In nine possessions after the second possession netted 41 yards, the Cougars picked up a grand total of 26 yards.

"That's a great question," offensive coordinator Robert Anae said when asked why the receivers couldn't get open. "Grit and determination are a part of that. While they are working on that, the protection part has got to shore up. So there are a lot of things in play there. And it wasn't just receivers. It was every single position. All 11. It didn't matter what personnel were shuffled through."

Mangum misfired on 16 of 28 throws, and many were throwaways when nobody was open. He was sacked three times and there was one bad snap. There were no dropped passes, partly because many balls were not catchable.

"We are, obviously, weighing too much on our quarterback," Anae said. "It was too much. So yeah, the other parts of the team are going to have to take up the slack until we bring Tanner back up to par."

Juergens credited Michigan's defenders, but said their approach was not different than what BYU has faced in the past.

"They played a lot of man," he said. "The only thing I can say it they were more disciplined. They weren't more athletic than any other team we've faced."

Twitter: @drewjay