S
SpiffCougWeek Two is in the books. I want to toot my own horn and say that I predicted 38-10 which was awfully close to the final score of 41-7 and I also had 42 points in the prediction game, which as far as I could tell was the most by anyone.
So let's get on to the nitty gritty from this week's trouncing of Texas!
- Texas, surprisingly enough, won the PER battle 116.40 to 115.57. The "loss" dropped the team with the better PER to 26-2 (.929) in the last 28 BYU games.
- BYU also last year's PER battle to Texas, 66.06 to 129.30. And in 2011, Texas - in their victory - lost the PER battle 91.66 to 98.49. So for whatever reason, the PER policy doesn't seem to apply to the current BYU-Texas series.
- 62 of Bronco's 84 career victories (73.8%) have now been by double digits.
- BYU did improve to 36-3 (.923) when rushing for 200+ yards under Bronco.
- With an interception, BYU extended their streak to 12 straight games. They have one interception in 11 of those games and three in another (game 4 of the streak). BYU has forced 27 turnovers in those 12 games and is +6 in turnover margin.
- BYU's 4 forced turnovers was the 18th game with at least 4 forced turnovers under Bronco. BYU is 17-1 (.944) when forcing 4 turnovers, losing only to Boston College in 2006. Interestingly, BYU scored 0 points off those 4 BC turnovers (one at the end of 1st half and 3 missed FGs).
- BYU had 15 rushing 1st downs. That makes five straight games with double digit rushing first downs. The longest streak since going six games in 2010.
- Taysom Hill already has 46 completions on the season. A mark he didn't reach until the Middle Tennessee game last year.
- Hill threw an interception for the 13th time in 17 starts. He now has more TD pass-less games (5) than interception-less games (4). But BYU is 3-2 in his TD-less games.
- BYU is 10-7 (.588) against the spread with Hill starting.
- With the win over Texas, Bronco improved to 20-4 (.833) against teams with a white helmet. This bodes well for games against UCF and, potentially, Nevada and Boise should they elect to wear their white helmets.
- The 34 point margin of victory was the 2nd greatest for a Bronco-coached BYU squad over a BCS/P5 team. Trailing only the 59 point spread vs UCLA.
- It was also the largest margin of victory on the road against a BCS/P5 team. The previous best was a 10-pt win at Oregon St in 2011.
- BYU's 17 points off of turnovers were the most since Kyle Van Noy beat San Deigo St in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2012.
- The Cougars were phenomenal on 2nd down. They faced 19 2nd and 7 or longer, but just 5 3rd and 7 or longer.
- BYU has seven sacks through two games. The 2nd most under Bronco. BYU had nine through in 2012, but that included six vs Weber St.
- Hill is now 10 for 10 on 3rd Down passing, with a robust PER of 172.24. But BYU is averaging just 2.3 yards rushing on 3rd down (17 carries for 39 yards).
- Meanwhile, opponents are 11 of 23 (.478) on 3rd down passing and are 1 of 9 in Blue Zone passing.
- BYU's PER after two games is 150.76. And more than twice what it was after two games last year (70.96).
- BYU has help opponents below the 135 PER standard in 15 of the last 17 games. Utah and Nevada last year being the two that made it.
So let's get on to the nitty gritty from this week's trouncing of Texas!
- Texas, surprisingly enough, won the PER battle 116.40 to 115.57. The "loss" dropped the team with the better PER to 26-2 (.929) in the last 28 BYU games.
- BYU also last year's PER battle to Texas, 66.06 to 129.30. And in 2011, Texas - in their victory - lost the PER battle 91.66 to 98.49. So for whatever reason, the PER policy doesn't seem to apply to the current BYU-Texas series.
- 62 of Bronco's 84 career victories (73.8%) have now been by double digits.
- BYU did improve to 36-3 (.923) when rushing for 200+ yards under Bronco.
- With an interception, BYU extended their streak to 12 straight games. They have one interception in 11 of those games and three in another (game 4 of the streak). BYU has forced 27 turnovers in those 12 games and is +6 in turnover margin.
- BYU's 4 forced turnovers was the 18th game with at least 4 forced turnovers under Bronco. BYU is 17-1 (.944) when forcing 4 turnovers, losing only to Boston College in 2006. Interestingly, BYU scored 0 points off those 4 BC turnovers (one at the end of 1st half and 3 missed FGs).
- BYU had 15 rushing 1st downs. That makes five straight games with double digit rushing first downs. The longest streak since going six games in 2010.
- Taysom Hill already has 46 completions on the season. A mark he didn't reach until the Middle Tennessee game last year.
- Hill threw an interception for the 13th time in 17 starts. He now has more TD pass-less games (5) than interception-less games (4). But BYU is 3-2 in his TD-less games.
- BYU is 10-7 (.588) against the spread with Hill starting.
- With the win over Texas, Bronco improved to 20-4 (.833) against teams with a white helmet. This bodes well for games against UCF and, potentially, Nevada and Boise should they elect to wear their white helmets.
- The 34 point margin of victory was the 2nd greatest for a Bronco-coached BYU squad over a BCS/P5 team. Trailing only the 59 point spread vs UCLA.
- It was also the largest margin of victory on the road against a BCS/P5 team. The previous best was a 10-pt win at Oregon St in 2011.
- BYU's 17 points off of turnovers were the most since Kyle Van Noy beat San Deigo St in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2012.
- The Cougars were phenomenal on 2nd down. They faced 19 2nd and 7 or longer, but just 5 3rd and 7 or longer.
- BYU has seven sacks through two games. The 2nd most under Bronco. BYU had nine through in 2012, but that included six vs Weber St.
- Hill is now 10 for 10 on 3rd Down passing, with a robust PER of 172.24. But BYU is averaging just 2.3 yards rushing on 3rd down (17 carries for 39 yards).
- Meanwhile, opponents are 11 of 23 (.478) on 3rd down passing and are 1 of 9 in Blue Zone passing.
- BYU's PER after two games is 150.76. And more than twice what it was after two games last year (70.96).
- BYU has help opponents below the 135 PER standard in 15 of the last 17 games. Utah and Nevada last year being the two that made it.