2011 BYU Football Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall took over a BYU football program in 2005 that was coming off three consecutive losing seasons. He guided them to a 6-6 record that year, and the Cougars went on to produce four straight 10-win seasons from 2006 to ‘09. BYU fell to 7-6 last season in a rebuilding year, but finished strong with a 5-1 record over their final six contests in 2010. Their lone loss during that time was a 16-17 setback at then-No. 23 Utah. Mendenhall now owns a 56-21 record in his six seasons at BYU.

With 15 starters and 60 lettermen returning, the Cougars are in great shape heading into the 2011 season. They have officially become an Independent and will want to make some noise in their first season amongst Notre Dame, Navy and Army. They have a 6-game series lined up with the Irish which starts in 2012. Here is a look at what BYU has in store on both offense and defense for the 2011 season, as well as my prediction on where they will finish among the other Independent schools.

Offense:

The BYU offense had average at least 30 points and more than 400 total yards in each of Mendenhall’s first five seasons on the job. They fell to 26.2 points and 366 total yards/game last year, which was a big reason why they couldn’t put together a fifth straight 10-win campaign. With 10 returning starters and how strong they finished last season, the offense is ready to get back to putting up monster numbers again in 2011. The Cougars scored 40 or more points in four of their final five contests last season, averaging 42.4/game during that span.

The play of QB Jake Heaps was the biggest reason for their resurgence at the end of 2010. Heaps, now a sophomore, finished with 2,316 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. He had a 1-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his first seven games last year, but posted a 14-3 ratio during their 5-1 run to close out the season. He will have his top two weapons back at wide receiver in sophomore Cody Hoffman (42 catches, 527 yards, 7 TD) and senior McKay Jacobson (37, 410, 1). Sophomore TE Devin Mahina (11, 118, 0) returns to his starting role as well. They also add redshirt freshman Ross Apo, who originally committed to Texas and is one of the top WR recruits in the country.

The Cougars welcome back a talented stable of running backs, led by senior JJ Di Luigi. He carried the team on his shoulders for much of last season, leading all backs with 917 rushing yards on 5.2/carry with 8 touchdowns. They also return their No. 2 and No. 3 rushers in senior Bryan Kariya (537 yards, 6 TD) and sophomore Josh “Juice” Quezada (505 yards, 5 TD). Mendenhall loves using his backs in the passing game as well. Di Luigi (45 receptions, 443 yards, 1 TD) finished second on the team in receiving, while Kariya (21 catches, 122 yards) was sixth.

The offensive line paved the way for 168 rushing yards/game on 4.2/carry last season. They were bruisers down the stretch as the Cougars rushed for 210 yards/game on 4.5/carry while the O-line allowed just 4 sacks over their final six games. They lose second-team All-MWC RG Jason Speredon, but their other four starters return up front. Senior LT Matt Reynolds is a two-time first-team All-MWC selection, and fortunately for the Cougars he turned down a spot in the NFL Draft. Junior RT Braden Brown and junior LG Braden Hansen each earned second-team All-MWC last year, while senior C Terence Brown was honorable mention all-conference. This figures to be one of the most dominant offensive lines in the country with 107 career starts returning.

Defense:

Mendenhall has fielded a defense that has allowed less than 22 points/game in five straight seasons. The 2010 version gave up just 21.6 points and 331 total yards/game while registering 24 sacks. Only five starters are back on this side of the ball, and the Cougars lose their top three tacklers from last season. Their run defense suffered a drop in production at 139 rushing yards/game on 3.9/carry last year. That can mostly be attributed to their defensive line play, where they had only one returning starter and he was lost for the season.

Along the D-line the Cougars are going to be much better as they get back both Romney Fuga and Jordan Richardson, who were both lost last season with ACL injuries. Senior DE Matt Putnam (31 tackles, 5 for loss, 7 pass break-ups) and junior DE Eathyn Manumaleuna (27 tackles, 3 for loss) each return to their starting positions. BYU does lose first-team All-MWC DE Vic So’oto (45 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 5 sacks), but they bring in talented USC transfer NG Hebron Fangupo and also get back Ian Dulan (17 starts from 2006-’08) from a mission trip. They have a lot of depth here so despite the loss of their top guy, the Cougars will be much more experienced up front.

BYU loses two starters at linebacker for their 3-4 scheme in third-team All-MWC MLB Shane Hunter (#2 tackler, 85 tackles, 3.5 for loss) and Jadon Wagner (38 tackles, 7 for loss). They bring back junior BLB Brandon Ogletree (#4 tackler, 49 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 INT) and senior SLB Jordan Pendleton (38 tackles, 3.5 for loss). Sophomore Kyle Van Noy (35 tackles, 7.5 for loss) steps in at WLB. In all, they bring back six linebackers who started last year and add in USC transfer Uona Kaveinga, who is expected to start at MLB.

The secondary was certainly a team strength a year ago as the Cougars surrendered just 192 passing yards/game on 53.4% completions. BYU loses three very talented starters in first-team All-MWC KAT Andrew Rich (#1 tackler, 110 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 5 INT), third-team All-MWC CB Brian Logan (51 tackles, 7 pass break-ups, 2 INT) and CB Brandon Bradley (40 tackles, 1 INT). Their lone returning starter is senior FS Travis Uale (42 tackles, 1 pass break-up). They are expected to start JUCO transfer Preston Hadley and junior Robbie Buckner at cornerback, while sophomore Daniel Sorenson steps in at strong safety. With such little experience here, this unit is easily the biggest concern on the entire team.

Independents Prediction: 2nd Place – The Cougars certainly have the toughest schedule of the Independents with five road games against the likes of Ole Miss, Texas, Oregon State, TCU and Hawai’i. While I believe they are going to be greatly improved on offense, the defense is a big concern. They have a very inexperienced secondary and lose their top three tacklers, and seven of their top ten overall from a year ago. I do foresee the Cougars posting a perfect 7-0 record in Provo with a very easy home schedule, but they will have to somehow find a couple victories in that brutal road schedule to get back to a 10-win season. The Cougars will come to play every Saturday, and it’s certainly not wise to bet against Mendenhall.

Independent Team Predictions
Notre Dame Football Predictions	BYU Football Predictions
Army Football Predictions	Navy Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

Comments

Got something to say?