Washington State Falls in Mike Leach Debut, BYU Defense Stands Out
By Kyle Kensing
All the talk heading into the Washington State – BYU contest Thursday night centered around Mike Leach making his return to the sidelines after a two-year layoff, but Bronco Mendenhall’s team reminded the nation which was coming off a 10-win campaign. BYU won in a 30-6 romp that was more lopsided than the final score would indicate.
One side of Cougars disappointed, but the other exceeded expectations and looked very much like a top 25 team.
Leach’s spread offense was less swashbuckling pirate and more church mouse against one of the most underrated defenses in the nation. WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel never recovered from an opening drive interception thrown deep in BYU territory. He finished 30-45, a respectable figure, but threw a pair of picks. Most jarring was that Tuel had not a one touchdown. Graham Harrell-to-Michael Crabtree this wasn’t.
In fact, WSU was shut out of the end zone altogether.
BYU went through offensive growing pains in 2011, transitioning from Jake Heaps to Riley Nelson at quarterback before establishing a rhythm. What buoyed the Cougars was the nation’s No. 22 scoring defense, a deviation from the perception many have held of BYU football over the years. Even more surprising about his defensive renaissance is that less than two years ago at this time, the Cougars could stop no one.
The situation grew so dire, Mendenhall fired defensive coordinator Jamie Hill and assumed the duty himself. The decision’s proven to be the correct one. Before dismissing tonight’s performance as the result of a 10-win team dominating a 4-game winner, bear in mind that the six points WSU scored were fewer than any single game output it had in 2011 without the ballyhooed spread offense.
BYU also asserted it offensively, taking advantage of a weak WSU defense. Nelson had one of the best games of his career, completing more than 70 percent of his pass attempts for a hair below 300 yards, two touchdowns and most importantly, zero interceptions. The running game was the sole facet in which BYU didn’t look dominate, and the one red flag in Week 1. Only one ball carrier had more than 20 yards, Michael Alisa with 52. And he only averaged four yards per carry, below the average yield Wazzu allowed last season.
Otherwise, Thursday was about as perfect a debut as BYU fans could have sought.