Liberty working again Dae Dae Hunter, left, protects the ball from BYU’s Kaleb Hayes throughout an NCAA school soccer sport, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Lynchburg, Va. (Paige Dingler/The Information & Advance by way of AP) AP
The BYU Cougars’ errors and struggles which were constructing for weeks compounded in an unsightly 41-14 loss to Liberty on Saturday, extending the Cougars’ dropping streak to 3 video games.
Listed here are three takeaways from the loss that dropped BYU to 4-4.
It was one-sided after the primary quarter
BYU led 14-3 late within the first quarter, however from there, the Cougars have been whipped by the Flames, who scored the sport’s ultimate 38 factors.
Liberty got here into the competition with a 6-1 document, and for one quarter, it appeared like BYU had taken that problem significantly.
However Liberty, as soon as it received going, merely dominated this sport and put up 419 yards of whole offense over the ultimate three quarters whereas BYU had 142 — practically thrice the offensive numbers for Liberty throughout that stretch.
The Flames scored 17 factors within the second quarter, 14 within the third and 7 within the fourth to win going away.
Liberty scored on 5 straight possessions in a single stretch — cease me if you happen to’ve heard that earlier than with the BYU protection — and the Flames by no means punted till the fourth quarter after they have been up 41-14.
The one two stops BYU received earlier than then have been turnovers by the Flames, who've been susceptible to turnovers this season.
It didn’t matter, although, as Liberty picked up a signature win in entrance of a sellout crowd as BYU wilted within the journey again east.
There’s no repair in sight for the protection
One week after giving up 644 yards and 52 factors to Arkansas, the Cougars allowed Liberty to roll up 547 and 41.
The Flames averaged 7.1 yards per play, together with 6.2 yards per rush try and 10.3 yards per completion.
Liberty ran 77 offensive performs to 50 for BYU — a standard theme with this Cougar crew.
Liberty was merely dominant on the bottom, rolling up 300 speeding yards. Dae Dae Hunter’s 80-yard landing run halfway via the third quarter — placing the Flames up 34-14 — showcased the BYU protection’s struggles to cease the run and with poor tackling.
Hunter ran for 213 yards and a 9.1-yard per-carry common towards a hapless protection, whereas Johnathan Bennett overcame an early interception and accomplished 24 of 29 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
With 4 video games remaining, it’s clear the BYU protection has no solutions for what ails them.
The offense doesn’t reply the bell both
After that early 14-3 BYU lead, the Cougar offense was shut down.
The Cougars by no means scored on their ultimate seven possessions — 4 led to punts and three extra in a turnover on downs.
Jaren Corridor had one other powerful sport, finishing 16 of 34 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and he solely threw for 91 yards over the ultimate three quarters.
BYU was simply 3 of 11 on third downs and 0 of three on fourth downs, and the working assault had simply 43 yards via three quarters earlier than ending with 71.
It was the primary time this season that the offense matched the protection’s ineptitude.
Puka Nacua was the one shiny spot for the Cougars on the offensive aspect of the ball. He had seven catches for 114 yards and a landing whereas including 14 speeding yards on 4 carries.
He accounted for practically half of BYU’s whole yards on a dreary day.
The query is, what sort of modifications will the Cougars make, with their subsequent sport on a shortened week? They host East Carolina subsequent Friday.
A loss there, and BYU is probably not bowl-bound.