BYU Football: 3 takeaways from loss to Coastal Carolina in Week 14

2. BYU was beaten by a better team

This was not a bad performance by any means by BYU. However, they were outplayed for most of the ball game. Some may wonder if the any time, any where mentality came back to bite them in the end. But, BYU needed this game if they wanted a real chance at the playoff (which was slim to begin with)>

This was in fact a good performance in terms of evaluating Zach Wilson’s draft stock. Now you may look at the stats and wonder why a pedestrian looking afternoon can equal a good performance. Wilson on the day was 19 for 30 with 240 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Well this was the first time for this season that Wilson had to face on-field adversity. When scouts look to the tape, they will wonder what Wilson does when the game isn’t going his way. On Saturday, he showed that even on his bad days, he has the potential to lead his team back in the game. Wilson was great when the Cougars needed him most, finishing 5-for-7 with 89 yards on that final drive.

Just as Wilson did not have his best performance today, neither did the Cougars defense. They came in to today only allowing 88.4 rushing yards per game which was sixth-best in the nation. But on this day, there was no answer for the Chanticleer rushing attack.

Some questionable decision making also occurred at the end of the game. First it was a play by Chris Jackson, in which he reversed field off a reception, leading to a 16-yard loss on a second-and-10.

Then you had a call by head coach Kalani Sitake, in which the Cougars punted on a fourth-and-5 at their own 47-yard line with about five minutes left. This is not an egregious call by any means, but you have to wonder if he was better off trying to let his offense finish off the game in good field position.

All in all, BYU was simply outplayed by the better team. So where do they go from here?