Last week I listed five reasons BYU’s offense looked funky compared to last year. One was the lack of designed rushing plays for Jaren Hall. As of last Friday BYU had called only 16 designed runs for Hall all season. Those runs had netted 73 yards, which was less than half the designed rushing yards he produced in 2021. And then the Boise game happened.
BYU ran Hall not like a cautious team that was tracking for an undefeated season but rather like a team that was reeling and desperate, which, yeah that’s exactly what BYU is. So after running for 73 yards all season, Hall ran for 75 against Boise. After calling Hall’s number only 16 times through the first 10 games of the season, Arod called for Hall to run 9 times.
Asking your QB to do it all may not work every game. But it worked this time.
Does Arod read this blog? Part II
Another reason BYU’s offense looks weird compared to last year? The traditional screen game went away. I pointed out last week that screen plays to our running backs and Masen Wake had totaled a combined 23 yards all season. That was 11% of the production we had in 2021. And then the Boise game happened.
Thanks to those two awesome screens to Ropati BYU basically tripled their season production in one game. But overall screen usage to the backs and tight ends is down significantly. BYU threw 27 such passes in 2021; they’ve thrown 12 this year.
Curiously, screens to receivers are up from 25 attempts in 2021 to 32 attempts in 2022. As you’d expect much of that is driven by Puka, who is averaging one more screen per game this year compared to last, but BYU has gotten the ball into Epps and Roberts hands a bunch too.
I continue to fear that the further we distance ourselves from Grimes, the more our screen game to the running backs will deteriorate.
Boise’s QB got the short straw
If I were a Boise State fan I would be so mad about this game. Not about the refs or even the loss. I’d be mad that BYU chose my team for their annual bizzaro game where their defense throws all trends out the window and brings pressure like crazy. Let me explain what I mean in numbers.
Does Arod read this blog? Part II
Another reason BYU’s offense looks weird compared to last year? The traditional screen game went away. I pointed out last week that screen plays to our running backs and Masen Wake had totaled a combined 23 yards all season. That was 11% of the production we had in 2021. And then the Boise game happened.
Thanks to those two awesome screens to Ropati BYU basically tripled their season production in one game. But overall screen usage to the backs and tight ends is down significantly. BYU threw 27 such passes in 2021; they’ve thrown 12 this year.
Curiously, screens to receivers are up from 25 attempts in 2021 to 32 attempts in 2022. As you’d expect much of that is driven by Puka, who is averaging one more screen per game this year compared to last, but BYU has gotten the ball into Epps and Roberts hands a bunch too.
I continue to fear that the further we distance ourselves from Grimes, the more our screen game to the running backs will deteriorate.
Boise’s QB got the short straw
If I were a Boise State fan I would be so mad about this game. Not about the refs or even the loss. I’d be mad that BYU chose my team for their annual bizzaro game where their defense throws all trends out the window and brings pressure like crazy. Let me explain what I mean in numbers.
Do you know how many times BYU blitzed Liberty? Three times on 35 dropbacks. Do you know how many times BYU blitzed ECU? Once on 22 dropbacks. How about Arkansas? 5 blitzes on 40 dropbacks. Collectively over the last three games BYU blitzed 9 times, or once every ten pass plays.
Against Boise the Cougars got aggressive, blitzing once every three passes (8 times on 26 dropbacks). Putting it another way, BYU basically blitzed as much against Boise as they did Liberty, Arkansas, and ECU combined.
Imagine how disappointed Boise’s QB must have been. No doubt he was anticipating the usual calm, preventative BYU defense. Instead he had to react to guys coming at him.
Did it work? Maybe. Green’s passing numbers when blitzed were fine so I wouldn’t say the pressure was perfect. But the blitzing generated one sack and one throw away. And what about the mental impact? BYU’s defenders looked more lively than any time in the last five or six games. Did the thought of attacking instead of backpedaling get some blood pumping? It did for me and I wasn’t even on the field.
Why has BYU stopped using their linebackers as pass rushers this season?
In an abbreviated 2021 campaign Keenan Pili rushed the passer seven times per game.11. Keep in mind these "rushes" don't necessarily mean blitzes. A pass rush could be from a blitzing linebacker or from a linebacker who was deployed in a defensive end alignment. This year BYU has rushed him less than twice per game.
In 2021 Tooley rushed 29 times. In 2022 he’s rushed only 8 times.
Wilgar? Similar story. He rushed 82 times in 2021. He’s at 15 this year.
Bywater? 44 rushes in 2021. He’s at 21 this year.
Most of these backers were average or above average when rushing from the defensive end position or as a blitzing linebacker. So why has their usage dropped this year? Is it because we have more defensive lineman we can use instead? Because they’ve excelled in coverage? Because of injury concerns? Because we want to break trends? A schematic change? Unfortunately I have no idea. Don’t get mad at me. The blog is called PFF curiosities not PFF answers.
Against Boise the Cougars got aggressive, blitzing once every three passes (8 times on 26 dropbacks). Putting it another way, BYU basically blitzed as much against Boise as they did Liberty, Arkansas, and ECU combined.
Imagine how disappointed Boise’s QB must have been. No doubt he was anticipating the usual calm, preventative BYU defense. Instead he had to react to guys coming at him.
Did it work? Maybe. Green’s passing numbers when blitzed were fine so I wouldn’t say the pressure was perfect. But the blitzing generated one sack and one throw away. And what about the mental impact? BYU’s defenders looked more lively than any time in the last five or six games. Did the thought of attacking instead of backpedaling get some blood pumping? It did for me and I wasn’t even on the field.
Why has BYU stopped using their linebackers as pass rushers this season?
In an abbreviated 2021 campaign Keenan Pili rushed the passer seven times per game.11. Keep in mind these "rushes" don't necessarily mean blitzes. A pass rush could be from a blitzing linebacker or from a linebacker who was deployed in a defensive end alignment. This year BYU has rushed him less than twice per game.
In 2021 Tooley rushed 29 times. In 2022 he’s rushed only 8 times.
Wilgar? Similar story. He rushed 82 times in 2021. He’s at 15 this year.
Bywater? 44 rushes in 2021. He’s at 21 this year.
Most of these backers were average or above average when rushing from the defensive end position or as a blitzing linebacker. So why has their usage dropped this year? Is it because we have more defensive lineman we can use instead? Because they’ve excelled in coverage? Because of injury concerns? Because we want to break trends? A schematic change? Unfortunately I have no idea. Don’t get mad at me. The blog is called PFF curiosities not PFF answers.
Let Keenan Pili attack
Speaking of linebackers rushing the passer, Keenan Pili lined up as a defensive end on 23% of his snaps in 2021. I know he only played three games but it seems clear from this deployment that BYU thought he had a particular set of skills that he could use to pressure the quarterback. They were right!
Speaking of linebackers rushing the passer, Keenan Pili lined up as a defensive end on 23% of his snaps in 2021. I know he only played three games but it seems clear from this deployment that BYU thought he had a particular set of skills that he could use to pressure the quarterback. They were right!
In limited action Keenan generated two sacks, two quarterback hits, and two hurries. BY PFF’s win metric he was the team’s most effective rusher. So it’s been a bummer that through the first eight weeks of the season BYU put Pili on the edge on only 3% of his snaps.
But here’s the good news. Either because he’s healthier or Kalani has taken over or because BYU has gotten desperate or because of defensive line injuries or something mysterious BYU is back to placing Pili closer to the line of scrimmage. In the last two games he’s been at his 2021 levels, playing on the line on 21% of his snaps. Has it worked?
But here’s the good news. Either because he’s healthier or Kalani has taken over or because BYU has gotten desperate or because of defensive line injuries or something mysterious BYU is back to placing Pili closer to the line of scrimmage. In the last two games he’s been at his 2021 levels, playing on the line on 21% of his snaps. Has it worked?
Ehhhhh … maybe not yet. His pass rushing stats in the last two games don’t jump off the page, but certainly the defense has looked better the last two games. Maybe Pili’s deployment is a factor.
The short-distance runs are scary bad
In the history of football I wonder if there has ever been a team that went from being so good at critical short-yardage runs to so bad over the course of one season. Last week we pointed out the incredible year-over-year swing in BYU’s success running on 3rd or 4th downs of two yards or less but we have to look at it again.
The short-distance runs are scary bad
In the history of football I wonder if there has ever been a team that went from being so good at critical short-yardage runs to so bad over the course of one season. Last week we pointed out the incredible year-over-year swing in BYU’s success running on 3rd or 4th downs of two yards or less but we have to look at it again.
In 2021 BYU converted 82% of runs on 3rd or 4th down of 2 yards or less. This year BYU is at 48%. And that was before going one for four on these downs against Boise! Throw the Boise numbers in and BYU is converting 44% of these runs! They’re almost 40% worse than last season.
That likely explains why BYU passed a whopping three times on 3rd or 4th and short against Boise. All three of the passes worked. If even one of those passes failed the outcome of this game may be different.
I’m curious what the success rate for these types of runs is supposed to look like on average. 2021 seems like an extreme outlier on the positive side. Tyler Allgeier was ridiculous converting 22 of 24 runs singlehandedly. BYU was unstoppable against Pac-12 opponents, converting 14 of 15 runs.
That likely explains why BYU passed a whopping three times on 3rd or 4th and short against Boise. All three of the passes worked. If even one of those passes failed the outcome of this game may be different.
I’m curious what the success rate for these types of runs is supposed to look like on average. 2021 seems like an extreme outlier on the positive side. Tyler Allgeier was ridiculous converting 22 of 24 runs singlehandedly. BYU was unstoppable against Pac-12 opponents, converting 14 of 15 runs.
This year also seems like an outlier, just in the opposite direction. I wonder if 2023 will bring a return to normal.
Short yardage runs on the defensive side
If BYU had lost this game there would be so much to complain about (looking at you replay officials). One biggie for me would have been the defensive alignment on this Boise 4th and 1. Look at this picture and realize the ball is snapped about half a second later.
Short yardage runs on the defensive side
If BYU had lost this game there would be so much to complain about (looking at you replay officials). One biggie for me would have been the defensive alignment on this Boise 4th and 1. Look at this picture and realize the ball is snapped about half a second later.
That’s a lot of confusion and a lot of dudes away from the line of scrimmage for a 4th and 1.
The war of attrition
Football is a brutal sport. Of the 11 starters22. In this context I consider starters to be the 11 players who get the most snaps over the course of the game. on BYU’s defense from the Baylor game, only 5 started against Boise. Maybe that’s part of the reason for the confusion in the image above.
Putting Puka's big game in perspective
Puka had 14 receptions against Boise. BYU’s leading receiver from the 2018 season had 29 catches.
For the entire year.
Puka accomplished half that in one game.
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