The Brigham Young Cougars were a solid team last year, but they were hardly a great team. Bigger-name schools defeated them and prevented coach Bronco Mendenhall’s group from making more of an impact in college football. BYU doesn’t play in a conference, and it doesn’t have the stature Notre Dame enjoys as an independent. BYU has to be able to do more with what it has. That’s the goal for the program, and it’s the basis for judging how the Cougars do each season. If they don’t get to 10 wins in the regular season, they’re going to feel as though they’ve left something unaccomplished.
Strengths
The Cougars’ strength for the past several seasons has been their defense, coached by Mendenhall, a former defensive coordinator. This has always been where Mendenhall’s teams have planted their flag, a change from the 1980s and 1990s under former head coach LaVell Edwards, who guided the school to a national championship in 1984. This season, though, the Cougars might actually rely on their offense more than in the past.
Taysom Hill is a veteran quarterback who can make plays with his legs as well as with his arm. Hill has been inconsistent, but over time, he has become more powerful when he’s at his best. BYU has a run-first offense that can also strike with the passing game once it gets into a groove. This was the kind of offense that BYU was able to bring to the field when it ran right over Texas last season and chewed up Georgia Tech as well. The Cougars hope to be even more productive in 2014 with Hill hitting his stride and staying there.
Weaknesses
The Cougars will be weaker on defense because their best players have graduated and gone to the NFL. Last season, Ezekiel Ansah went to the Detroit Lions, and this past season, Kyle Van Noy went to Detroit as well. Ansah was a star defensive end, and Van Noy was one of the best linebackers in all of college football. These players are not easily replaceable, and BYU will probably go through an adjustment period as it tries to rework its defense and find the matchups that work. The Cougars’ linebackers are probably going to be solid, but the defensive line and the secondary will likely turn out to be points of noticeable concern before the season ends. Mendenhall is good about teaching his defensive players, but raw talent is probably going to need to be built back before BYU can say its defense is elite again.
Schedule
The Cougars visit Texas in week two, and that’s going to be their first huge test. Hosting Houston in week three won’t be easy, but getting that game at home should be a considerable advantage for them. A visit to UCF in early October is a significant challenge, since the Knights won the American Athletic Conference and later the Fiesta Bowl last season. A road trip to Boise State in late October is a game that a lot of people in the Rocky Mountains will talk about. The rest of the schedule is fairly easy.
Outlook
The Cougars have those three road trips to Texas, UCF, and Boise State. If they can win one of them, they’re going to hit the over. They’re not going to have an easy time in any of those games, but they’re probably good enough to win one of them and finish 10-2.
Pick: Over 9 at -155
