The Pulse of Cougar Nation: Receivers/Tight Ends

Associated Press

2010 was a transition year for BYU. A quarterback controversy delayed the development of both QBs involved, and BYU's overall team passing attack suffered, even with the strong finish by former BYU QB Jake Heaps.

Because of the strong finish and the addition of Heaps' favorite target Ross Apo, many expected great things from Heaps in 2011, so a slow start, magnified by a turnover-laden 54-10 loss to rival Utah, frustrated fans (and probably coaches). After another slow start against Utah State forced coaches to throw Riley Nelson into the game. Nelson rallied BYU to a victory in the closing seconds, and he won the job for the rest of the year.

Nelson formed a very strong connection with Cody Hoffman, who finished the season strong with three TD catches in the bowl game against Tulsa. Throughout the second half of the season, Hoffman seemed to be on the receiving end of a lot of Riley improv.

A lot of BYU receivers return for 2012, including four of the top 5 from last season. Hoffman, Apo, JD Falslev and Marcus Matthews all were solid contributors in 2011, and fans are excited at the potential of BYU's air attack in 2011.

Here's what Cougar Nation thought:

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 3,300 yards

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 2.3 receivers

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 7.3 TD catches

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 24.2 TD catches

REACTION
BYU's receivers and tight ends don't appear to be lacking in chemistry with Riley Nelson, so there's optimism among Cougar fans. While Cody Hoffman was the only receiver with more than 500 yards receiving last year, the vast majority of fans believe that won't be the case in 2012. 2011 played out like that partially because of the lack of health/inconsistency among BYU tight ends and running backs. This caused an increase in playing time among other potential targets for Riley, which helped spread the passing yardage around.

It's not even a little bit surprising to see Cody Hoffman as the almost-unanimous selection for top 2012 receiving. Not even a little bit.

When BYU tight ends are clicking with the QB and scoring TDs, the offense is functioning soooo much better. Last year's four TDs (including the game-winning one against Utah State) were an improvement over 2010 (zero), but BYU will definitely needs more production from that position for BYU's offense to go to the next level, whatever that means. Most fans seem to think it will happen, as nearly 70 percent of the respondents expect tight ends to score anywhere from six to nine TDs.

While 22 TDs is nothing to sneeze at, most BYU fans expect the wide receivers to improve their TD numbers in 2012. It could happen, but I expect most of the improvement in TD catches to come from the tight ends.

The Pulse of Cougar Nation: Running Backs

Photo by Mark Philbrick/BYU Photo

Ever since Lavell Edwards arrived at BYU as head football coach in 1972, the Cougars' team rushing attack has only managed to gain more than 2,000 yards in seven seasons out of 40. Two of those seasons were 2010 and 2011. Much to the dismay of some Cougar fans, that feat has been accomplished during the last two years despite the use of a true feature back (like a Harvey Unga, Curtis Brown, etc.).  BYU has used a running-back-by-committee approach as of late.

2012 brings us another running-back-by-committee team. In fact, with a mobile QB like Riley Nelson as the full-time starter, the committee gets another member to help out. 

Here's what the fans thought of the rushing game for 2012 (based on 163 responses for each question):

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 2,130 yards

AVERAGE RESPONSE:  2.17 RBs

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 773 yards

REACTION
In spite of the fact BYU has gained over 2,000 rushing yards in only seven of the last 40 years, 73.5 percent of the respondents believe BYU will reach that goal for the eighth time in that span, which would also be the third season in a row. I was a tad surprised 23 percent felt the Cougars would gain over 2,300 yards rushing this year, considering it has only happened three times in the last 40 seasons. Not to say it couldn't happen again, but I was surprised it was the answer with the most votes for that survey question. To me, the average response of about 2,130 is probably more likely.

I'd guess the main reasons for that is the excitement around mobile QB Riley Nelson and what he was able to accomplish. What Michael Alisa brought to the team in the second half of last season probably factored in what fans thought. Alisa got over 68 percent of the votes for the 2012 leading rusher. Josh Quezada had a down year in 2011, battling injuries and whatnot, but fans may believe in a comeback season in 2012 for him, since 27 percent of the participants believe he will be the leading rusher for BYU this season. It will be interesting to see how the offensive line, once again touted as "great" (I feel like we've heard that before), holds up and what Iona Pritchard, who missed all of last season with an injury, will bring to the running game.

While DiLuigi had only 584 yards last season as the leading rusher, he was able to gain 917 yards rushing in 2010, so it's hard to put the leading rusher at a specific number of yards. The average response for how many yards the leading rusher will gain was 773 yards. However, 38.7 percent of the survey believe it will be more than 800 yards.

BYU should be able to run the ball this year. They've done it successfully the last two seasons, and going off the remaining personnel, Cougar fans should be able to expect a 2,000+ yard season on the ground.

NEXT UP: WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS

The Pulse of Cougar Nation: Riley Nelson

Sarah Glenn/Getty Images

***From May 20 to June 18, we polled BYU fans on Twitter and Cougarboard to find out what they were thinking about the upcoming season. We received a total of 160 responses from 5 different countries, although not every participant answered every question. The survey results will be posted through a series of posts. This is the first post. Enjoy!

I think if you had polled BYU fans a year ago and told them Riley Nelson was going to be THE quarterback option for the 2012 season, some would have called you a liar and some would not have had high hopes for the upcoming season. Some, on the other hand, would have immediately liquidated all of their assets and gone into hiding, fearing the worst was near.

Despite the backlash from the time of Riley's 2011 emergence to Jake Heaps transfer to Kansas, I think most of Cougar Nation has settled down to a feeling of acceptance and optimism. While some might already be clamoring for the unknown potential of a backup QB, most are ready to go with Riley.

But what do BYU fans really expect from Riley this year? Here's what they had to say:

• PASSING YARDS (158 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 2,970 yards

• COMPLETION PERCENTAGE (157 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 60 percent

• TOUCHDOWN PASSES (158 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 26-27 touchdown passes

• INTERCEPTIONS THROWN (158 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 11-12 INTs

• 2012 QB RATING (158 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: 155.8 QB Rating

• QB RUSHING YARDS (156 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 520 rushing yards

• QB RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS (157 responses)

AVERAGE RESPONSE: About 4.75 rushing TDs

So, based on the survey responses, the average stat line for Riley Nelson is the following:

• 2,970 passing yards
• 60% completion percentage
• 26-27 TD passes
• 11-12 INTs
• 155.8 QB Rating
• 520 rushing yards
• 4.75 rushing TDs

Not a bad season if it happened this way. We could do a lot worse (and have recently, if I'm not mistaken) than 3,500 total yards of offense and more than 30 total TDs from the QB position.

With the exception of rushing touchdowns, the survey responses didn't seem to reflect any major increases or decreases in production from Riley Nelson. I expect improvement from him, and it will be interesting to see how Riley does now that he has and will continue to get the majority of practice reps.

• BACKUP QUARTERBACK? (157 responses)

I'm not sure if it has officially been announced yet, but I think James Lark is the favorite to backup Nelson. Really, the only other option is Taysom Hill. Although I did think it was cute that people thought anyone else had a chance at the job.

NEXT POST: THE RUNNING BACKS

The Return of Cougaracity (the Blog) and a Survey!

As you may or may not have noticed, it's been over six months since we've posted anything on here. While the Cougaracity twitter feed has remained active, not enough time has been dedicated to producing an actual blog post.

I could tell you I've been digging through Mack Brown and Boone T. Pickens' garbage to see if BYU is going to the Big 12, but that - like most information regarding Big 12 expansion - would be complete bull. The fact is I've just been lazy.

Now that we got that out of the way, I want to also mention a project we are working on. Some of you may remember us taking the temperature of Cougar Nation last year. We'd like to do it again, but we'll be pushing that thermometer even farther down to get a more in-depth look (depending on how you traditionally take temperatures, this could be remarkably uncomfortable - we apologize).

Yesterday, we released "The 2012 Pulse of BYU Fans" survey (pulse, not temperature), and we'd like to encourage you to take a few minutes to fill it out, if you haven't already. It can be found here:

http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/902031/The-Pulse-of-BYU-Fans-2012

Thanks!

Roundtable Predictions - BYU @ Oregon State

Jake
BYU 24, OSU 13
BYU sticks with their "high risk, high reward" option at quarterback with Riley Nelson, and it works well for the Cougars in the end. The offense won't put up huge numbers, but they will control field position, helping out the defense. We will see more of Michael Alisa in the running game, but don't expect another 96-yard performance. OSU quarterback Sean Mannion will start strong but in the end will show his freshman colors.

Daniel

BYU 28, OSU 24

I have now reached a new level of irrationality in my prediction. I now longer use any sort of analysis to make my predictions, just the warped belief that BYU has to play better than how they're playing (they just have to). I know a lot has been said about Oregon State's poor play so far this year, but if we're being honest, BYU hasn't been that much better. Nelson alternated between brilliant and "what the crap?" against San Jose State, leaving Cougar Nation a little bit schizophrenic with our positions in the Great QB Debate of 2011. And with the Beavers getting one more week to gameplan against Nelson than the Spartans had, things could get ugly. Fast.

Here's where I (perhaps mistakenly) tell myself our defense keeps us in this one and then drink still more kool-aid by saying surely this is the week our QBs get it together for good. Fingers crossed.

Scott
BYU 34, OSU 24
I'm not convinced Riley Nelson is the better option at QB right now. He essentially had one good half against SJSU, which is what Heaps did against far better competition. However, certain players do seem to play better with Nelson in at QB. Nelson is more mature, and I can see him eliminating some of the mistakes from last week (probably won't toss the ball up as though he was playing a game of "500"). I think the defense will be solid, but the offense may put them in a bad position a couple times. Our run game continues to improve - especially Juice Quezada. BYU leaves Corvallis with a win, but the Cougars, once again, fail to impress.

Preston
BYU 27, OSU 21
It scares me that BYU opened as 1.5 point favorites and now are 3 point underdogs going into this game at Oregon St. As inconsistent as the BYU offense has been so far this season, Riley Nelson has provided a spark, and right now, the team is better with him at quarterback. Oregon St., on the other hand, despite getting a win at home against Arizona, has not looked good at any point this season. They are a young team, starting 7 freshman, and I find it hard to believe that the Beavers have any advantage in this game other than home field. I expect Riley Nelson and the offense to be as effective as they were against San Jose St. and limit the turnovers this time around. Remember that last Saturday night was the first game Riley had started in over a year. The defense will be solid and make plays like they have all year and give BYU the chance to win the game.

Special Guest: Garth, Oregon State Alumnus
OSU 35, BYU 13
Two Facts:
Fact #1: You may have heard that Bronco Mendenhall used to play and coach at Oregon State. He didn't win very often in either capacity while in Corvallis posting a 13-53 record.

Fact #2: BYU  is 0-2 against teams from BCS conferences whose campus is located west of the Mississippi this year, losing by an average score of 35-13.

Expect both trends to continue: OSU 35, BYU 13.

Dear Riley Nelson...

Dear Riley Nelson,

I wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to you. I have been drinking the Riley-flavored Hate-orade all season, and I can clearly see I was unfair to you. What you brought to the field against Utah State, as we were down by 11, was confidence and an ability to get the team to believe in you. The team worked harder and made plays they just weren't making with Jake Heaps as the quarterback. You put this team on your back and carried us to a 4th-quarter comeback. Utah State had no answer for your scrambling ability. After the game, when you could have said you should be the starter, you didn't. You took the high road. I don't know how the rest of the season will play out, but I am glad you had the opportunity to beat Utah State.

Sincerely,
Scott Gower
Cougaracity Contributor

Roundtable Predictions: USU Edition

Here are the Roundtable Predictions from Cougaracity contributors. I apologize for the lack of content this week. These Friday-night games throw me off. We'll be better next week and in the future:

Preston - BYU 24, Utah St. 13
If we have learned anything in the first four games of this season it is that the BYU defense is for real.  They have risen to the occasion time after time and bailed out the inept offense to steal wins at Ole Miss and last Friday night at home to Central Florida.  I expect to see more of the same from the BYU defense, and maybe, just maybe... some life from Jake Heaps and the offense as they look for a little revenge from last seasons embarrassment against Utah St.

Daniel - BYU 38, Utah St. 17

Most of the sparkle of Utah State's surprising performance against Auburn in week 1 has faded, since Auburn's defense has been exposed as downright bad. BYU, I think, poses the best defense the aggies have/will see all season. Expect Chuckie "Wonder Boy" Keeton to look his age (if he didn't already against Colorado State). Also, don't be shocked if this is the week Jake Heaps FINALLY gets his head on straight--last year's game gainst USU was far and away the low point for the 2010 Cougars, and discussion in the offseason indicates they haven't forgotten. Factor in the revenge narrative, and I think the Cougars run away with this one.

Scott - BYU 34, Utah St. 13

From all of the talk Utah State seems to be getting from BYU fans, you probably wouldn't think the Aggies were 1-2 this year. People have been talking up USU since the Auburn game, but is everybody blind to the fact that Auburn actually plays awful defense? They give up about 530 yards a game. And did USU's defense make a statement? No, sir. The other games were against Weber St. (an FCS team) and Colorado St. (a team BYU destroyed last year). CSU was the best defense USU faced, and the Rams would be the worst BYU has faced. I'm not saying USU's offensive numbers should be ignored, but they ought to be taken with a salt shaker at least. USU has not faced a defense even close to the Cougars. BYU's defense will make Turbin look considerably worse and will contain Chuckie Keeton. As the eternal optimist, I think Jake Heaps will have a solid game against the worst defense he's played so far, and the running game builds on last week's progress.

Ben S. - BYU 33, Utah St. 17

Firstlys, I think Gary Andersen has been prepping this game for 2 weeks. 2 things worry him- Kyle Van Noy, and #3... both on defense for BYU. I expect trickeration out of USU.  They are desperate for the first back to back victory versus BYU in a LONG time, and the first win in LES since the 70's.  Normally, USU sports a 3 man rush, with Turbin leading the way, and their freshman QB running a spread read attack.  They also employ several screen type plays. When USU is on offense, I would expect a rush/screen attack until BYU's defensive backfield starts to cheat up, then some trickeration to take place out of the safeties being up field.  BYU will counter this by trying to leave Uale and Sorensen in a 2 deep.  Blitz packages from P Hadley, Sampson, Pendleton, and KVN spying the QB will be used to stop the Aggie offense (which was very offensive last week, by the way). The Cougar offense will dial the passing back to about 30 passes per game. BYU will try to overpower USU's defensive line with multiple Karyia runs up to middle, and some outside runs to DiLuigi. Of note, one this that Jake Heaps needs to do is stay in the pocket with the ball longer.  2 seconds isn't cutting it.  In watching other very successful QBs this year, they are averaging a second or more longer in the pocket than Heaps.  The O line needs to give him time, and he needs to get comfortable in a D-I game.