My thoughts on the game

First I just wanted to toot my horn a bit on the prediction game. I predicted the following:

frdbtr wrote:
UW will not score 20 in this game, mark it down. BYU will also be lucky to hit 20. I predict 17-10 for BYU

UW 17 points. Not to rub it in purplereign but I also predicted that Polk would not get 100 yards in this game too. Good luck to the huskies for the rest of the year, I will now be a big fan. I hope they win the pac 10.



My second prediction:

frdbtr wrote:
A bronco mendenhall led cougar team has never scored more then 20 in an opener against a D1 opponent. If this one, who has a QB that has never started a game for BYU, Tight ends that have never started a game for anyone, running backs who have never started a game for BYU, I would be absolutely SHOCKED if BYU scored 30.

Frankly, I think that they could have proved me wrong if Riley Nelson had ran the offense the whole game; see below.



I think that Riley needs to be given the ball and Heaps be his back up this year and redshirt next year. I know that Heaps had the exact same passing stats but Nelson ran for 60+ yards and also scored touchdowns on his drives. Heaps still needs to learn how to run the BYU offense. He is very talented, that is aparent, but we need the guy in the game that puts our offense in the end zone. Riley is that guy. Heaps is going to get his shot, it should be 2 years from now after he has redshirted and we have him for 3 years. I know that I am going to get a lot of disagreement on this but this is my opinion.

Can Heaps still be red-shirted this year, because, if we could, wouldn't it be better to redshirt him this year and play him as backup next year so he'd be better prepared in 2012?

frdbtr wrote:
Frankly, I think that they could have proved me wrong if Riley Nelson had ran the offense the whole game; see below.



I think that Riley needs to be given the ball and Heaps be his back up this year and redshirt next year. I know that Heaps had the exact same passing stats but Nelson ran for 60+ yards and also scored touchdowns on his drives. Heaps still needs to learn how to run the BYU offense. He is very talented, that is aparent, but we need the guy in the game that puts our offense in the end zone. Riley is that guy. Heaps is going to get his shot, it should be 2 years from now after he has redshirted and we have him for 3 years. I know that I am going to get a lot of disagreement on this but this is my opinion.

They didn't have the exact same passing stats. Riley's rating was 168.26 and Jakes was 104.37. I don't want to put too much into one game, but it was clear that Riley is much more game ready on 4 Sept than Jake.

urroner wrote:
Can Heaps still be red-shirted this year, because, if we could, wouldn't it be better to redshirt him this year and play him as backup next year so he'd be better prepared in 2012?

Nope, not unless he gets hurt.

urroner wrote:
Can Heaps still be red-shirted this year, because, if we could, wouldn't it be better to redshirt him this year and play him as backup next year so he'd be better prepared in 2012?

No, not unless he gets a season ending injury in the next game.

kitic77 wrote:

Frankly, I think that they could have proved me wrong if Riley Nelson had ran the offense the whole game; see below.



I think that Riley needs to be given the ball and Heaps be his back up this year and redshirt next year. I know that Heaps had the exact same passing stats but Nelson ran for 60+ yards and also scored touchdowns on his drives. Heaps still needs to learn how to run the BYU offense. He is very talented, that is aparent, but we need the guy in the game that puts our offense in the end zone. Riley is that guy. Heaps is going to get his shot, it should be 2 years from now after he has redshirted and we have him for 3 years. I know that I am going to get a lot of disagreement on this but this is my opinion.

They didn't have the exact same passing stats. Riley's rating was 168.26 and Jakes was 104.37. I don't want to put too much into one game, but it was clear that Riley is much more game ready on 4 Sept than Jake.

They passed for the exact same amount of yards is what I was referring to, but the QB rating is very telling.

I think the 2 QB system worked much better than any of us thought it would.



I don't think BYU wins this game without Nelson's legs and two TD passes.



I think Heaps has a HUGE upside (beautiful passer for a true freshman!). I think we see a lot of both this year.

My thoughts from the game were:



Way too many dropped balls. This game is not nearly as close if we can hold on to a few more of those balls that hit the receivers in the hands. I counted at least 4 dropped balls that would have give us first downs or the Touchdown.



I felt that the two qb system worked well, except for maybe causing some extra dropped passes with the different spin on the ball. There was one or two times where I wish the other quaterback was in for a few plays. There was one drive at the end of the second I think where nelson just stalled because they knew what was coming.



Loved it when Nelson actually threw the ball down field for the TouchDown, play of the game for me. that was excellent.



No sacks given up on either quaterback I thought was something that was really crucial to us picking up the win. Very impressed with the O-Line.



Not enough pass rush, Locker had all day to throw passes most the game and we only ended up with 2? sacks. I think we need to work on bringing the heat. The secondary played a good game but left several huge holes down the middle in the second half.



Excellent special teams work today. Most all kick offs were in the endzone, no missed PAT's and some punts pinned the huskies deep. I was really impressed by stephenson (minus the one bad punt..) Thought payne had that first field goal.



Hated the guy behind me in the student section trying to tell the students to sit down. I about flipped on him. If you don't want to stand get out of the student section.



J.J. DiLuigi was the player of the game for me. That guy is quick.

Heaps was clearly rattled on his first series, which is to be expected from a true freshman making his debut against his home state's team.



Throw out that series and he did quite well. There was also a series where he had just a bit too much juice on his throws and the receivers couldn't quite keep their hands on the ball. I expect that will be corrected. It's easier to ease back on the throttle then try to make it go faster. If Heaps keeps getting as much playing time as he got today, then I wouldn't be surprised to see dramatic improvement from him midway through the season.



I agree, though, Nelson was the better QB today. I don't think it's quite cut and dry that if Nelson had been in the whole time we would have had 30+ points. UW had to shift their defense a bit for each QB, throwing them off a bit for each possession. The defense couldn't adapt to one QB's style of play.

I for one was really pleased with Heap's performance. He's a true freshman playing in the first game of the season, amazing! He'll be great.



What I enjoyed about this game was that it showed what I've been saying since fall camp's open practices, that Nelson was a BYU QB through and through and had all the tools to be successful here. Some were just too excited about Heaps to give Nelson the credit he deserved.

I have to agree with the nelson camp that he showed he deserves to be the starter. i think Jake is going to end up being one of the greatest QB's ever at the Y but I don't think he is quite ready for this. He had some dropped but his touch was off on a few (too hard on a couple and too much air on the super sweet catch my Chambers that was out of bounds). If they can't redshirt him this year then I guess keeping him rotating is necessary because you don't learn to get that perfect touch against the scout team. It is through game experience because it is usually an adrenaline thing. But one change I would make would be to let the QB's take more consecutive drives instead of every other one. I think it would help them with getting more into the rythm of the game.

I never thought I would say this but I think playing both gives us the best chance of winning. If we had played only one I think we lose the game.



I would like to see what Sark has to say about it.

I loved both QB's. Yes they had their moments of not converting, but that's expected in your first game of the season.



I absolutely loved the option! That was a total new spin that I really didn't think I'd enjoy, but I did AND it worked very well too. Nelson lowering his head and laying the hits was a blast to see. I didn't worry once that he would get hurt either. Tough mentally and physically.



I absolutely loved the poise Jake Heaps brought. I can't wait to see him throw some bombs later in the year. When he runs that bootleg... We're going to get some serious yards! He's extremely accurate for a true freshman, that will only get better!



If we perfect our execution... This two QB system could and will totally work!



Just kinda wished our WR's could wait to eat the popcorn until after the game!

I agree with you guys (Kahuku, Hawk, frdbtr, scott, BigCougs), that both did well, but Riley is more game-ready, and should remain the starter. I also support the coaches' decision to put both of these guys out there this season. It may seem like wasting a year of eligibility for Jake, but I am happy to have opponents scrambling to prepare for either of them, both pregame, and during the games. I feel like that gives this young team the best chance to remain competiive while they find their identity early against good teams. With the stunning new independence move drawing big-time attention right now, above all, I want this team to win.



Agreed, Kahuku, there were times when I thought one or the other QB should have led a second consecutive drive. For the developing season, I think it is good to have either one of these two guys ready to step up if something goes awry for either of them at a critical game time. I do think that Jake will improve his touch before long.