BYU Recap
As a long-time fan of football, I’ve learned that it’s never a good sign when you have to make some serious assumptions and stretch calculations for how your team can get back into a game. Especially after four straight touchdowns by the opponent to put you down 25. I was working through the scenarios in my head: touchdown here, quick stop, get another touchdown and two-point conversion, and you can start applying some pressure. Then, just as K-State was driving to score and maybe get back in the game, the holding call negated the touchdown, and K-State was forced to kick a field goal to salvage some confidence. It was that kind of night.
The crazy thing is I don’t think K-State took BYU lightly or were looking ahead. K-State dominated the first 28 minutes of the game before it all began to unravel. Sure, the penalties by the offense in the redzone, which led to kicking field goals rather than touchdowns, were not ideal, but the K-State offense dominated the line of scrimmage. Nobody could have seen the four straight disastrous possessions K-State was about to have.
The Middle Eight (Disaster Edition)
31 straight points by BYU, all within the middle eight minutes. Not going to win a ton of games with those sorts of performances.
Silver Lining
K-State dominated the line of scrimmage last night; they finished with 228 rushing yards while BYU was held to 93 (yes, I know they had the short field and lost out on two possessions from the punt return and fumble return).
BYU ran the ball 25 times; 11 of those were stopped for less than 2 yards.
There was a lot of ugly last night, but as long as K-State continues to be able to run the ball and stop the run, they should be okay the rest of the season.
By the Numbers
Rushing Yards: BYU: 92 ; K-State: 228
3rd Down Conversions: BYU: 33% (3/9) K-State: 47% (8/17)
Turnovers: BYU: 0; K-State: 3
Penalties: BYU: 2-20; K-State: 8-50
Final Drive
For K-State, the important thing is not to let last night go to waste. Every single coach and player needs to be held accountable for that performance. Avery has to develop a passing game over the middle of the field, or we will see teams replicate the BYU defensive game plan.
There are still 8 Big 12 games left, and a lot can happen over the next two months. There is no formula to win eight games in a single moment. It starts with one day, one game, and one play at a time. There is still a lot to like about this team, and coming out next week and beating Oklahoma State will be a good reset before the bye. Let’s see if they’re up for it.