Game Over, BYU defeats Lobos 21-3
Max Hall threw three touchdown passes, two to Andrew George and another to Austin Collie and David Tafuna had an interception and Jan Jorgensen jumped on a fumble to lead the Cougars to a key conference win over New Mexico.
Hall’s pass efficiency was 159.29 and Austin Collie recorded his fourth game of over 100 yards in receptions. I thought Harvey Unga actually took the offense on his back and should receive the game ball for his outstanding physcial running, 22 carries for 95 yards — none behind the line of scrimmage.
The 21-3 win was a spread of about 17 points less than I thought it would be. I thought the Cougar offense would convert more than 4 of 12 third downs and put more points on the board.
Perhaps Hall and Collie are succeeding but the offense is not as efficient. Or it could be that opponents, who are well coached and have great game plans, are catching on to this BYU offense and are doing a great job of stopping go-to guy Dennis Pitta with better coverage.
But one thing is certain, BYU’s scoring numbers and efficiency is not what it was against some less talented teams. The USU game was a warning.
Having said that, a 21-3 win over the Lobos is solid. UNM has been extremely competitive with BYU for the past decade. Other than Utah’s Ron McBride, Urban Meyer’s one appearance and the win by Kyle Whittingham in Whit versus Bronco Year I, Rocky Long has won more games in Provo than any other league coach.
He’s never won a BYU game in Albuquerque, but he’s pretty good in Provo.
I give UNM a ton of credit. Great game plan, solid execution. I do think BYU underachieved for the second game in a row.
From on now, however, league games are going to be tighter and tougher. It will be so at TCU, CSU, AFA and Utah.
I was surprised that UNM didn’t bring the head on Hall. They elected to drop back and even play some zone. What that tells me is teams don’t believe they can get to Hall, a tip of the hat to the protection and to him, because he gets rid of the ball so fast.
What this game tells me is BYU and TCU will be a very tough game. BYU has to play better, in particular on offense, if they are to have a chance of winning. Four of 12 third down conversions will not get it done in Fort Worth.