BYU Cougars Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

Previewing the 2015 season for the BYU Cougars who are coming off an eight-win season and get quarterback Taysom Hill back from injury.

The BYU Cougars were led by one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in the nation last year in Taysom Hill who began the year as a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman Trophy.

Hill scored 13 total touchdowns through the air and with his rugged style of running the football through the first four games and BYU was the No. 18 ranked team in the nation. That was before Hill suffered a season-ending broken leg in the second quarter against Utah State. The Cougars lost that game and the next three before winning four straight to earn a berth in the Miami Bowl against Memphis that they lost 55-48 in double overtime.

Offensive Outlook

Getting Hill back is obviously a great start for Bronco Mendenhall’s team as they have an experienced signal-caller who has improved every year as a passer to complement his great rushing ability. Hill rushed for 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013 and had 460 yards and eight scores before the injury last year.

His passing ability has come under fire but he completed 66.7 percent of his passes before the injury and was on pace for his best passing season. If he can pick up where he left off and show no signs of hesitancy as a runner, BYU should remain one of the more prolific scoring offenses in the nation.

Wide receiver Mitch Mathews returns for his senior year after leading the team with 73 catches for 922 yards and nine touchdowns last year.

Running back Jamaal Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury in November last year after rushing for 518 yards on 109 carries and could challenge the school’s all-time rushing record as he’s 930 yards of the record.

Defensive Outlook

The last image we have of BYU was seeing them allow 55 points in the double overtime loss to Memphis in their bowl game loss and an ugly brawl that followed. That defensive effort was unacceptable and Mendenhall is taking over running the defense in an effort to get back to respectability.

BYU finished ranked 58th in total defense last year, allowing an average of 391.5 yards per game and ranked 73rd in scoring defense, allowing an average of 27.5 points per game.

Outside linebacker/end Bronson Kaufusi is an intriguing talent after leading the team with 11.5 tackles for loss but is he better served as an outside linebacker or at end? Another intriguing name to watch on this unit is former Utah transfer and converted running back Harvey Langi, linebacker Manoa Pikula and Jordan Preator.

Prediction

The schedule won’t do any favors for BYU as their first four games may be tougher than any other team in the country with a road game at Nebraska, home game vs Boise State and road games at UCLA and Michigan. A distinct possibility exists that BYU enters October with an 0-4 record regardless of how healthy Hill is at the start of the season.

It’s also very possible they take advantage of Nebraska and Michigan where new coaches are trying to install their offenses and determining who fits into their systems. UCLA will likely have a true freshman quarterback, albeit the nation’s No. 1 QB recruit in Josh Rosen, and could be forced into making some mistakes that BYU can take advantage of so a 3-1 scenario isn’t far-fetched in the least. Their season will be defined by their first month and if they escape relatively unscathed their November slate against Missouri, Fresno State and Utah State could determine whether BYU makes an 11th straight bowl game under Mendenhall.

Next: What Conference Realignment Should Look Like

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