The Sampler is back for a bye week edition. The Cavaliers enter that bye with 1-3 record after an ugly 56-14 loss to Boise State. Let’s take a look at some of the tidbits from the game, starting with some quick film study.

Mizzell Touchdown Reception

One of precious few highlights in the game, Taquan Mizzell took a second quarter pass 45 yards for a touchdown. That marked the third time in four games that Mizzell snared a touchdown pass and the second straight game with a TD catch of 45 yards or more. He has a reception in 25 straight games.

If you’ve been reading the EDGE for a few years, you know that one of my favorites is the angle route. The running back or receiver shows an outside route and then plants for an explosive angle cut back to the middle of the field. If you get your better playmakers in space with this route and a favorable matchup, it can pay big dividends. Against Boise State, the big touchdown play came on that route.

It caught my eye for a reason other than that, though. The touchdown play was set up by a similar pattern one play earlier. Mizzell aligned in the backfield and ran a route into the flats in combination with two underneath routes from Canaan Severin and Keeon Johnson. On the play, Chanceller James bit hard on the outside route and pursued downhill toward Mizzell. The pass went to Severin on the other side, but a potential piece of the game plan revealed itself for Boise against Mizzell – close hard on quick throws to the outside. Here was the moment where Mizzell turned outside with James closing in:

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