Virginia welcomes BYU to Charlottesville for both teams’ season opener on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. with the game being televised by ESPNU. What can the Cavaliers expect from the Cougars? Charles Kano of Loyal Cougars (loyalcougars.com) answered five questions about BYU to help preview the match-up.
Note: TheSabre.com’s Editor Kris Wright also answered five questions for the Loyal Cougars website. Read that article here.
Robert Anae returns to BYU to run the offense this season after a stint in Arizona. Are fans happy about this move? What style of offense will Anae bring back to BYU?
Loyal Cougars: After fan favorite Brandon Doman failed to return the BYU offense to national prominence, fans who had grown bored with Anae’s effective, but predictable, offense were very open to him returning to Provo. The prospect of Anae incorporating Rich Rodriguez’s offensive schemes into the playbook was also appealing to Cougar fans.
Anae began his second stint as offensive coordinator with a new “Go Fast, Go Hard” mantra that has been repeated throughout spring and fall camp. Anae’s new offense uses zone blocking up front, a smaller, shifty running back and a mobile quarterback in a read option offense. The goal is to have the Cougars running plays faster than any other team in the county. The question remains will this lead to defensive fatigue and errors or quick 3-and-out offensive possessions.
Protecting the quarterback was a challenge for the Cougars last season as the offense gave up a lot of sacks. This year’s projected starting five linemen are inexperienced. Do you think the new O-Line and new offense will help protect the pocket better?
Loyal Cougars: Offensive line play was simply abysmal last year and Anae knew this when he made former Cougar offensive lineman Garrret Tujague (pronounced TWO-jay) his first hire. Tujague came to BYU from College of the Canyons in California where he had served as head coach since 2007. The overwhelming hope among Cougar fans was that Tujague’s success with JC linemen at the two-year junior college level would translate into a quick turnaround of the BYU offensive line. Anae, who is also a former offensive line coach, has paid special attention to the development of the current squad.
While the offensive line is inexperienced, there are some very talented individual players including sophomore Ryker Mathews at left tackle. Mathews, who is returning from offseason hip surgery, is the most skilled and the clear leader of the unit. Solo Kafu is the team’s strongest player and played well last year despite little experience. BYU adds highly recruited Brayden Kearsley to the 2-deep too.
The change in Anae’s offense will have the QB in less of a traditional pocket passing role and may account for fewer sacks this year more than anything the offensive line might do as a unit.
BYU’s defense was ridiculously impressive statistically last season and figures to be good this time around. Is the defense an unpredictable 3-4 scheme with a lot of disguised looks or does the defense make plays by coming right at you?
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David Watford and the Hoos face a tough BYU defense in the opener. |
Loyal Cougars: Bronco Mendenhall’s defense is known for position mastery and total team effort. However, his success comes from his willingness to build his defense around the most talented players on defense regardless of position.
Mendenhall initially ran a 3-3-5 defense but quickly adapted to a 3-4 scheme when he realized his linebackers were his strongest group. Last season, he tweaked the defense again to allow players like Ziggy Ansah, the No. 5 overall pick in the NFL Draft, to flourish within their prescribed roles.
Spring and fall camp saw season-ending injuries for the projected starters at both corners for the Cougars. Virginia fans should expect to see Mendenhall adjust again and rely on his very physical and aggressive front seven to compensate for the losses at corner.
Senior linebacker Kyle Van Noy is a playmaker for the Cougars. With 22 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, he is disruptive in the backfield. Does BYU blitz Van Noy a lot or does he just have a nose for the football?
Loyal Cougars: Kyle is very naturally talented and an instinctive football player. Initially he took criticism from Mendenhall for trying to do more than he needed. Van Noy and Mendenhall learned to trust each over the last two years and he has put up statistics in almost every imaginable defensive category.
Casual fans watching Van Noy might think he is freelancing because he makes plays from a number of positions and angles. But in truth he is working within a framework that allows him to read the play and take any number of well-prepared approaches to stopping a given play. Despite which team you route for true football fans will enjoy watching his play.
Virginia fans have been talking about the injury bug biting BYU based on headlines from out west. Have there been any key losses that could have a big impact in the opener?
Loyal Cougars: In addition to the loss of both projected starters at corner, BYU lost freshman nose tackle Tuni Kanuch to a season-ending knee injury. Kanuch was vying for the starting role and his loss forces senior defensive end Eathyn Manumaleuna from his natural position at defensive end. On offense, senior running back starter Michael Alisa has struggled to return from a season-ending arm injury last season. Alisa’s delayed return has caused concern about depth at a spot currently occupied by 18-year old sophomore running back Jamaal Williams.
