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Saturday, October 27, 2012

All-Around Improvement Translates to Big Win for Cougars

Jamaal Williams and the BYU defense are rightly getting most of the praise for today's big win at Georgia Tech, but it was a great all-around performance that gave BYU it's most impressive win of the season. I saw improvement on almost every front.

First, Brandon Doman's play calling has consistently improved this year, and the Georgia Tech game was the best so far. The ESPNU commentator even exclaimed "gorgeous call!" as Riley Nelson dumped ball down to Williams as Georgia Tech's blitz came storming in from the edge. That play resulted in a 39 yard touchdown, William's fourth of the day. Doman did a good job of making Nelson's job as easy as possible, riding the back of Williams and mainly calling short passes and screens for Nelson. However, BYU broke two plays for 35+ yards, something the Cougars have struggled to do. Most importantly, Doman limited the called rushes for Nelson.

Second, and most surprisingly, the inexperienced offensive line held its own. Nelson looked relatively comfortable in the pocket and he was much more accurate without defensive ends breathing down his throat.

Third, Justin Sorensen missed a 25 yarder, but he made 2, which these days seems like gold.

Finally, Nelson himself seemed more collected, probably because he had more time thanks to the offensive line. Sure, he made his obligatory stupid play that resulted in a pick-6, but he settled in nicely and only ran out of the pocket only when absolutely necessary. 19/28 and 204 yards is not a bad night for him.

This game will probably be remembered as the Cougars' best showing of the season. And while this kind of improvement would have been useful in the close games BYU has lost, this was a badly needed win for a fan base frustrated by close losses.

2 comments:

  1. It's easy to get excited about Jamaal Williams, but remember how excited we all were about Josh Quezada. He had a couple of big games also.

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  2. But he did not show the promise I think Jamaal Williams has. Not to mention on a week to week basis. He has gotten better each and every game

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