BYU Football: 3 takeaways from Cougars loss at Mississippi State

2. BYU had no running game to speak of against the Bulldogs

Tanner Mangum cannot be expected to do everything for BYU on offense. The Cougars quarterback was 16-of-26 for 145 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to pull off an upset against an SEC opponent on the road. He threw a fourth-quarter interception, ending any glimmer of hope BYU had of a comeback.

But Mangum was already doomed to suffer yet another defeat in his first full year as a starter long before throwing that pick on a desperate fourth-down shot downfield. That was because he got absolutely no relief from a Cougars ground game that failed to generate any momentum running the ball.

Nobody managed to gain even 10 yards on a carry for the Cougars. Brayden El-Bakri led the way with 20 yards on five runs. Ula Toluatu was similarly ineffective, finishing with 15 yards on his eight carries. As a team, BYU finished with just 29 total yards rushing and averaged just 1.7 yards per carry.

The schedule eases up over the next month, and getting to a bowl game is still possible. No more games remain for the Cougars against Power Five competition. But even beating their remaining Group of Five opponents will be tough for BYU if they continue to struggle running the ball.