BYU Football 2013 Bowl Capsule


BYU Cougars
Independent

 

There were not many easy wins this year for BYU, but Coach Bronco Mendenhall managed to lead his squad to an eight win season. That included wins over Texas, Georgia Tech and Boise State at home. Even the losses were not that bad. The Cougars fell at Virginia in the season opener by three points. A couple weeks later they lost their only home game of the year to Utah by a touchdown. Later in the 2013 campaign, BYU fell at Wisconsin and at Notre Dame by just ten points apiece.

2013 Record: 8-4
Coach: Bronco Mendenhall
Coach Bowl Record: 6-2

Big Wins: 9/7 Texas (40-21), 10/25 Boise State (37-20)
Bad Losses: 8/31 at Virginia (16-19), 9/21 Utah (13-20)

Strengths:
On the offensive side of the ball, BYU has superstars at every position. Sophomore signal caller Taysom Hill had an amazing season. He threw for 2,645 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,211 yards and another nine touchdowns. Hill did make some mistakes and completed just 54.1 percent of his pass attempts and threw 13 touchdowns. However, Hill’s ability to make plays with his feet makes up for his occasional mistake. With receivers like Cody Hoffman, Skyler Ridley and JD Falslev, Hill can put up some big passing numbers. Hoffman is a big 6-4 target who caught 45 passes 727 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Jamaal Williams joined Hill as a 1,200 yard rusher. Williams has had some huge games. Against Nevada in the last game of the season Williams rushed for 219 yards.

Weaknesses:
The BYU defense has played pretty well throughout the year. For the most part the defense kept the Cougars in their losses and it was the offense that could not get over the hump. Linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Uani’ Unga lead the way. Van Noy totaled 4.0 sacks, 16.0 tackles-for-loss and 13 quarterback hurries. When a Cougar is in the opposing backfield, it is usually #3. Unga, another senior, hangs back and stuffs the run. He tallied an impressive 136 tackles. Daniel Sorensen leads the secondary. However, the back four for BYU were not tested all that often. They did play Houston, and won 47-46, but did allow 435 passing yards.

Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Tysom Hill, QB, 1,211 yards
Passing: Tysom Hill, QB, 2,645 yards
Receiving: Cody Hoffman, WR, 727 yards
Tackles: Uani’ Unga, LB, 136
Sacks: Bronson Kaufusi, DE, 4.0; Kyle Van Noy, LB, 4.0
Interceptions: 4 tied with 2

2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 274.6 (10th in nation, 3rd of independents)
Passing Offense: 220.8 (74, 4)
Total Offense: 495.3 (13, 1)
Scoring Offense: 31.3 (52, 2)
Rushing Defense: 157.4 (55, 1)
Pass Defense: 226.4 (59, 3)
Total Defense: 383.8 (51, 2)
Scoring Defense: 21.3 (24, 1)
Turnover Margin: 0.2 (51, 3)
Sacks: 2.00 (62, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 2.75 (103, 5)

Recent Bowl Appearances:
2012    Poinsettia Bowl    San Diego State (23-6)
2011    Armed Forces Bowl    Tulsa (24-21)
2010    New Mexico Bowl    UTEP (52-24)
2009    Las Vegas Bowl    Oregon State (44-20)
2008    Las Vegas Bowl    Arizona (21-31)
2008    Las Vegas Bowl    UCLA (17-16)

*all team stats through 11/30

 

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