BYU working again Christopher Brooks runs towards Oregon at Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. The Cougars fell to the Geese however vow to bounce again. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Information
If there may be one participant on BYU’s soccer crew not afraid to inform it like it's, it's tight finish Isaac Rex. The son of former Cougar nice Byron Rex doesn’t make excuses, or sugarcoat issues.
Rex had a message on Monday for BYU followers who could have misplaced religion of their crew after final Saturday’s devastating 41-20 loss to Oregon at Autzen Stadium. The No. 19 Cougars (2-1) play host to 3-1 Wyoming on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. MDT.
“We'll get this factor again on monitor,” Rex mentioned, two days after catching a 28-yard landing cross from Jaren Corridor, his first TD catch of the season after getting into his third season with 15 in his profession — 12 in 2020 and three in 2021.
“I'm not in search of excuses. We are able to play higher. And my job is to get our guys to play higher. … We missed fairly a little bit of the basics that I prefer to brag about that we're good at. It simply appears very uncharacteristic of our crew to not play their fashion of soccer.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
Rex and the opposite gamers who appeared on the weekly press briefing by way of Zoom on Monday — receiver Kody Epps and linebacker Keenan Pili — mentioned the message from the coaches after the sport and once more Monday morning was to not let the Geese beat them twice.
“We are able to’t let this loss have an effect on the remainder of our season. We are able to’t be down on ourselves. … We've to kinda take this loss with a grain of salt and now we have to deal with getting higher from this,” Rex mentioned. “Clearly, Oregon has a number of nice athletes and they're actually proficient, so that's going to assist us all through the season as we play extra groups. We're not pleased with how we carried out, with how we performed. We'll study from it.”
Pili and Rex each sustained season-ending accidents final 12 months, had surgical procedure, and have returned to kind in 2022. Each stars mentioned they're wholesome, with Pili noting he's 100% again and Rex saying he's “getting shut” to full power.
Pili mentioned he dislocated a few fingers towards Oregon and needed to go away the sport for a bit, however returned and is ok.
“Speaking to a few of the boys after the sport, we're simply attempting to nonetheless keep constructive and fall again on what we all know, and that's love and study,” Pili mentioned. “We're going to attempt to study from these conditions and transfer on and hopefully appropriate them this subsequent week.”
The failure to determine a run sport and the lack to cease Oregon’s working assault had been two of BYU’s largest issues within the three-touchdown loss.
Rex mentioned to get the working sport going the Cougars want to remain on their blocks, keep in entrance of men they're blocking.
“We satisfaction ourselves at working the ball at BYU,” Rex mentioned. “We need to get higher. We need to enhance on that. We'll get higher this week on the run sport.”
Pili mentioned the important thing to stopping the run is healthier execution and reducing down on missed tackles.
“I believe you may discuss to all the guys and ask them how they really feel in regards to the final sport, how they performed, and I'm certain every one will let you know they might have accomplished higher, might have accomplished extra, executed the assignments higher,” Pili mentioned.
After all, coach Kalani Sitake weighed in Monday on the blocking and tackling woes as effectively, saying taking part in with extra self-discipline is the important thing.
“I don’t suppose we had been disciplined sufficient as a crew,” Sitake mentioned. “I gotta do a greater job ensuring our guys are taking part in appropriately, and that we present up higher. I really feel like that was a missed alternative. … We're within the scenario now the place we're humbled. Now how a lot can we study from this and see how a lot we get issues again on monitor?”
Sitake refused guilty the loss on having a “hangover” from the wins over USF and Baylor.
“I'm not in search of excuses,” he mentioned. “We are able to play higher. And my job is to get our guys to play higher. … We missed fairly a little bit of the basics that I prefer to brag about that we're good at. It simply appears very uncharacteristic of our crew to not play their fashion of soccer.”
Particular groups not particular
Sitake famous a number of occasions Monday that particular groups weren’t particular, both. For instance, kicker Jake Oldroyd missed a 38-yard discipline aim within the second quarter that might have stemmed Oregon’s momentum. And after a weak, 35-yard punt, Pili was hit with a 15-yard private foul penalty for a late hit (whereas one other BYU defender was tackling a punt returner who had seemingly known as for a good catch).
“We have to determine it out. We had some actually unhealthy penalties at actually unhealthy occasions,” Sitake mentioned.
Throughout his “Coordinators’ Nook” program Monday, particular groups coordinator Ed Lamb mentioned the competitors to be the sphere aim kicker shall be reopened this week so as to “carry out the most effective” in Oldroyd and the opposite kickers.
“We've to proceed to guage (the kicking scenario) and if it's the proper factor for the crew at this level,” Lamb mentioned. “(Oldroyd) has to proceed to earn (the spot) to be the No. 1 man. He has bought to make these discipline targets.”
Cougars on the air
Wyoming (3-1) at No. 19 BYU (2-1)
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. MDT
LaVell Edwards Stadium
Provo, Utah
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM