BYU football: Defense leads Cougars over Huskies
Published: Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 12:03 a.m. MDT
PROVO — For BYU, two quarterbacks were better than Washington's one.
Cougar QBs Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps engineered the offense efficiently while the defense slowed down the Huskies' star quarterback, Jake Locker, when it mattered most. In the end, the Cougars captured a 23-17 season-opening win Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"It was a complete victory," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "Our offense played well enough to win, our defense played well enough to win, and we won the field position battle, forcing Washington to come out of their own end zone as much as they did."
Nelson and Heaps rotated every series, but it didn't seem to disrupt the offense. The two QBs finished with the same number of passing yards — 131.
Asked about the two-quarterback system, Nelson said, "It won the game for us." Then, he quickly added, "it came down to defense and special teams."
Nelson threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 48-yard strike to running back J.J. DiLuigi with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter that gave the Cougars a 23-17 advantage.
From there, the BYU defense sealed the victory.
Late in the game, Locker seemed to have the Cougars right where he wanted them. BYU was clinging to a six-point lead and he was driving his team for the potential game-winning touchdown. It was a chance at redemption for Locker, whose celebration penalty in 2008 cost the Huskies a shot at possibly beating the Cougars in Seattle. On Saturday, Locker marched the Huskies' offense to the BYU 27, where he faced fourth-and-7 with about two minutes remaining.
On that play, the Cougars dropped eight defenders into coverage and rushed three for the first time of the night. One of those rushers was sophomore defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna, who knocked down Locker's fourth-down pass.
"It hit my helmet," Manumaleuna said with a smile. In his last game in a Cougar uniform — three years ago in the Las Vegas Bowl, prior to a mission — he blocked a last-second UCLA field goal to give BYU a win.
"The look was confusing and the tempo came out faster than it was supposed to," Mendenhall said of the defensive scheme that sparked Manumaleuna's heroics. "We anticipated the ball would come out quickly. That gave us a chance to be on the underneath routes. The only risk was the possible scramble by Locker, but we took a calculated risk."
While the Cougar defense surrendered a few big plays to Locker and running back Chris Polk, who rushed for a game-high 92 yards, and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who had 108 yards on five catches, it did shut out the Huskies in the second half.
"We buckled down and did a great job giving the ball back to the offense," said senior safety Andrew Rich. "I was afraid (Locker) was going to get out of the pocket and run, but our guys up front made him step up and throw."
Locker completed 20-of-37 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown and rushed 11 times for just 29 yards.
"It was a challenge (defending Locker) but he didn't run as much as we thought he would," Manumaleuna said. "He's a good player."
The key was "keeping Jake Locker in the pocket and we were able to stop them," said linebacker Jordan Pendleton. "We were able to make plays down the stretch, and that allowed us to win."
BYU's special teams came up big, too.
In fact, the Cougars' first score was the result of a Washington's long snapper sailing the ball over the head of punter Will Mahan. The ball rolled to a stop 39 yards later into the end zone, where Mahan tossed the ball out of the end zone for a safety, cutting BYU's deficit to 7-2.
The Huskies then punted, and Heaps led the Cougars 66 yards on a drive that stalled at the Washington 4-yard line. But Mitch Payne drilled a 22-yard field goal to make the score 7-5.
BYU then kicked off to Polk, who bobbled the ball and was swarmed under at the two-yard line, putting the Huskies in a big hole. The Cougar defense forced a punt and gave the offense the ball in Washington territory.
Nelson then led an eight-play, 47-yard drive that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Joshua Quezada that lifted BYU to a 13-7 lead.
"Our special teams did well," Mendenhall said. "It really took all three phases to win, and I think field position was the determinant."
"BYU did a good job managing field position," said Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. "I know that was something they were focused on coming into the game, and it really paid dividends for them."
The Huskies responded with an impressive, 80-yard drive, capped by Locker's nine-yard TD run. Then, Washington kicker Erik Folk booted a 54-yard field goal to send them into the locker room with a 17-13 advantage at intermission.
But Washington didn't score again.
Midway through the third quarter, Heaps led BYU on a drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by Payne. A couple of minutes later, Nelson threw the game-winner to DiLuigi, who caught the ball over the middle and sprinted into the end zone.
"J.J. did an incredible job, showing his speed," Nelson said. "(Washington) blitzed and J.J. opened up. He beat their safeties to the end zone."
"It was a nice call by Riley," DiLuigi said.
BYU's quarterbacks didn't know what the rotation would be until Saturday morning, but both were satisfied with how it played out.
"If we win like this, I could do this all year," Nelson said.
"They both looked poised and confident," Mendenhall said. "Both quarterbacks played to their strengths and did a good job. Right now, we'll play both. I don't think it will be exclusively one or the other this season."
BYU opens Mountain West Conference play next Saturday at Air Force.
Published: Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 12:03 a.m. MDT
PROVO — For BYU, two quarterbacks were better than Washington's one.
Cougar QBs Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps engineered the offense efficiently while the defense slowed down the Huskies' star quarterback, Jake Locker, when it mattered most. In the end, the Cougars captured a 23-17 season-opening win Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"It was a complete victory," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "Our offense played well enough to win, our defense played well enough to win, and we won the field position battle, forcing Washington to come out of their own end zone as much as they did."
Nelson and Heaps rotated every series, but it didn't seem to disrupt the offense. The two QBs finished with the same number of passing yards — 131.
Asked about the two-quarterback system, Nelson said, "It won the game for us." Then, he quickly added, "it came down to defense and special teams."
Nelson threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 48-yard strike to running back J.J. DiLuigi with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter that gave the Cougars a 23-17 advantage.
From there, the BYU defense sealed the victory.
Late in the game, Locker seemed to have the Cougars right where he wanted them. BYU was clinging to a six-point lead and he was driving his team for the potential game-winning touchdown. It was a chance at redemption for Locker, whose celebration penalty in 2008 cost the Huskies a shot at possibly beating the Cougars in Seattle. On Saturday, Locker marched the Huskies' offense to the BYU 27, where he faced fourth-and-7 with about two minutes remaining.
On that play, the Cougars dropped eight defenders into coverage and rushed three for the first time of the night. One of those rushers was sophomore defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna, who knocked down Locker's fourth-down pass.
"It hit my helmet," Manumaleuna said with a smile. In his last game in a Cougar uniform — three years ago in the Las Vegas Bowl, prior to a mission — he blocked a last-second UCLA field goal to give BYU a win.
"The look was confusing and the tempo came out faster than it was supposed to," Mendenhall said of the defensive scheme that sparked Manumaleuna's heroics. "We anticipated the ball would come out quickly. That gave us a chance to be on the underneath routes. The only risk was the possible scramble by Locker, but we took a calculated risk."
While the Cougar defense surrendered a few big plays to Locker and running back Chris Polk, who rushed for a game-high 92 yards, and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who had 108 yards on five catches, it did shut out the Huskies in the second half.
"We buckled down and did a great job giving the ball back to the offense," said senior safety Andrew Rich. "I was afraid (Locker) was going to get out of the pocket and run, but our guys up front made him step up and throw."
Locker completed 20-of-37 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown and rushed 11 times for just 29 yards.
"It was a challenge (defending Locker) but he didn't run as much as we thought he would," Manumaleuna said. "He's a good player."
The key was "keeping Jake Locker in the pocket and we were able to stop them," said linebacker Jordan Pendleton. "We were able to make plays down the stretch, and that allowed us to win."
BYU's special teams came up big, too.
In fact, the Cougars' first score was the result of a Washington's long snapper sailing the ball over the head of punter Will Mahan. The ball rolled to a stop 39 yards later into the end zone, where Mahan tossed the ball out of the end zone for a safety, cutting BYU's deficit to 7-2.
The Huskies then punted, and Heaps led the Cougars 66 yards on a drive that stalled at the Washington 4-yard line. But Mitch Payne drilled a 22-yard field goal to make the score 7-5.
BYU then kicked off to Polk, who bobbled the ball and was swarmed under at the two-yard line, putting the Huskies in a big hole. The Cougar defense forced a punt and gave the offense the ball in Washington territory.
Nelson then led an eight-play, 47-yard drive that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Joshua Quezada that lifted BYU to a 13-7 lead.
"Our special teams did well," Mendenhall said. "It really took all three phases to win, and I think field position was the determinant."
"BYU did a good job managing field position," said Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. "I know that was something they were focused on coming into the game, and it really paid dividends for them."
The Huskies responded with an impressive, 80-yard drive, capped by Locker's nine-yard TD run. Then, Washington kicker Erik Folk booted a 54-yard field goal to send them into the locker room with a 17-13 advantage at intermission.
But Washington didn't score again.
Midway through the third quarter, Heaps led BYU on a drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by Payne. A couple of minutes later, Nelson threw the game-winner to DiLuigi, who caught the ball over the middle and sprinted into the end zone.
"J.J. did an incredible job, showing his speed," Nelson said. "(Washington) blitzed and J.J. opened up. He beat their safeties to the end zone."
"It was a nice call by Riley," DiLuigi said.
BYU's quarterbacks didn't know what the rotation would be until Saturday morning, but both were satisfied with how it played out.
"If we win like this, I could do this all year," Nelson said.
"They both looked poised and confident," Mendenhall said. "Both quarterbacks played to their strengths and did a good job. Right now, we'll play both. I don't think it will be exclusively one or the other this season."
BYU opens Mountain West Conference play next Saturday at Air Force.
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