Chase Roberts delivered.
Just trust him.
Target the guy, unlike BYU’s game plan at SMU, and he will win more battles than he loses, at least against a struggling MWC foe.
BYU defeated Wyoming 34-14 in Laramie on Saturday, lifting the Cougars to a 3-0 mark heading into the Big 12 opener at home Saturday against a streaking 3-0 Kansas State team.
While the Cougars showed improvement against winless Wyoming, they’ll need far more polished play against KSU if they want to add another step toward making a bowl game.
It helps immensely that BYU’s offense used its top weapons like Roberts. Fitting up that chemistry and timing and making defenses drop into coverage deep should provide more opportunities for quarterback Jake Retzlaff and BYU’s struggling rushing attack.
Opposing defenses elect to mix zone and man coverage, but protect themselves from Roberts, Darius Lassiter and JoJo Phillips with deep drops.
Still, BYU took its shots against Wyoming, one resulting in Retzlaff throwing an early pick.
“That didn’t faze us at all,” said Roberts. “We knew we were going to take shots downfield and after that pick, we just kept doing it. It’s like in practice all summer, we kept saying ‘Trust us and give us a shot to come up with the ball.’ That’s what happened.”
KSU features talented QB Avery Johnson who just happens to be the exact kind of mobile quarterback that has challenged BYU’s defense in all three games this season.
Johnson sliced apart Arizona last Friday, running for 110 yards on 17 carries. This is a scary guy for Jay Hill’s defense.
Meanwhile, one must credit Retzlaff for shrugging off an early interception against Wyoming and posting his best performance of the season. Like Johnson, Retzlaff was impressive with his decision making on the run.
With top running backs LJ Martin (ankle) and Hinckley…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/byu-taking-shots-leads-trust-000852555.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-09-16 00:08:52
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