BYU Photo
BYU vs. SUU will be a fun one to watch on Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds will take a three-hour trip north to take on the Cougars. Game number two will hopefully have more offense and BYU fans can get a real taste of what the offensive side of the ball can do. The last time these two teams met BYU came away with the win in 2016.
BYU
Offense
The offense struggled last week against Sam Houston Hopefully they can move on from that and put up more production this week. The production can’t just come from the run game or the passing game both have to make a difference for the Cougars to continue to win games. BYU has to figure it out on the offensive line and not kill drives from that aspect as there were a lot of penalties this past week. So they need to limit penalties and help Slovis out at the same time. Lastly, they need to mesh a little better as an offense most of these players have never played together before so learning each other’s ways is huge.
Defense
This Cougar defense played a nearly flawless game last week. That win and shutout showed us that the defense is headed in the right direction under this new coaching staff. For the Cougars to do it again, they must continue to fly around on defense. This means getting to the ball and disrupting whatever the Thunderbirds have planned on offense. They also need to continue to make big plays and give the offense the ball back any chance they get. Finally, they can’t let up and can’t back down to a challenge this will be huge as BYU gets ready for conference play in two weeks.
Special Teams
The special teams played a huge role in the win last week. The kicking game was great and got some points on the board after the offense did their job and put it in the endzone. Ryan Rehkow had a huge game and ultimately helped the Cougars win that game. He needs to do that again and keep SUU pinned deep. The return game needs to continue to have those big returns and also give the offense a better field position.
SUU
Let’s get to know the Thunderbirds from Cedar City, Utah. Just a three-hour drive south from Provo. This FCS foe will make its second trip to Provo to take on the Cougars.
Offense
The SUU offense will be very pass-heavy and has a great air raid. They will be led by Justin Miller who is a dual-threat quarterback. The BYU defense will need to account for his run abilities and have a spy on him to keep him from getting too many rushing yards. They don’t have a great run game so this will give BYU more chances to get to the quarterback.
Defense
This is an experienced defense the Cougar offense will take on. Some of them could go on to play in the NFL one day so the line has to be on top of their game. Slovis will need to leave the pocket to make throws under pressure and will need to be accurate or he will throw an interception or two.
