Sophomore running back Tyler Allgeier put the team on his back and delivered in crunch time vs. Virginia, scoring five touchdowns and netting a career-high 266 yards rushing
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In BYU’s win over Virginia, Cougar sophomore running back Tyler Allgeier once again put the team on his back and delivered in crunch time with five touchdowns and a career-high 266 yards rushing.
Allgeier’s performance elevated him over 1,000 yards for the season and put him within striking distance of Luke Staley’s single-season rushing record of just over 1,500 yards with three games, plus a bowl game remaining. With BYU’s schedule this year, this is big-time stuff.
The Virginia win was a significant milestone for Kalani Sitake and the Cougars. It was an up-and-coming ACC team that is second in the Coastal Division of the ACC, and QB Brennan Armstrong was the No. 1 passer in the country. Aside from all the hype about Bronco Mendenhall returning to Provo, a loss would have been extremely hard to swallow for BYU fans, players and coaches.
The performance vaulted the Cougars up the national running ladder heading into the last home game against big underdog Idaho State on Saturday in LaVell Edwards Stadium. Allgeier is on a run. Literally.
He leads the nation in rushing TDs with 16 and has 1,132 yards on 197 carries.
Cougar Insiders predictions
Question of the week: Were BYU’s defensive problems in the second quarter against Virginia an anomaly or something to be concerned about in a month when the Cougars face USC?
Jay Drew: Having rewatched the Cougars’ abysmal defensive performance in the second quarter of their eventual 66-49 win over Virginia last Saturday, I’ve come to the conclusion that their play was an anomaly and nothing to be overly concerned about moving forward. BYU simply got tired, due partially to the lack of TV timeouts, and also because its own offense was either scoring quickly or enduring some short possessions.
At any rate, BYU’s defense probably won’t be tested again like that until the regular-season finale against USC. Idaho State and Georgia Southern won’t give us anything to go on.
Poor tackling, and taking bad angles, is probably the biggest issue for this BYU defense — and that’s been an issue all season, not just in the Virginia game. Credit the coaches for figuring out a better scheme to handle the Cavaliers, and the players for realizing in the second half that the angles they were taking weren’t cutting it against UVA’s superior speed. Bronco Mendenhall brought some swift pass-catchers with him to Provo.
Injuries were also a factor, as hybrid linebacker/safety Chaz Ah You and safeties Ammon Hannemann and George Udo didn’t play. All three will be needed Nov. 27 when the Cougars take on USC in the Coliseum.
Prediction: BYU 48, Idaho State 17.
Dick Harmon: The 35 points given up by BYU’s defense was an unbelievable failure. It is almost unexplainable. Yet, Kalani Sitake, Ed Lamb and others did a pretty good job of breaking down why that happened.
Sitake said it came down to techniques, poor tackling, and the like. He also said the fast scoring by both teams took its toll on both defenses, and it did. Lamb explained how second- and third-string players on defense (due to injuries) were also on the kickoff special teams and they were sprinting back and forth from those duties and then trying to line up and play defensive sets.
The bottom line is Virginia brought in the No. 1 passer in the country and he both passed and ran all over the Cougars for a half of a game, then led the Cavaliers to just one touchdown in the entire second half. To me, that is a fluke thing. First, BYU isn’t going to face another Brennan Armstrong this season. Second, more defensive players like Chaz Ah You should get back on the field in the coming weeks. This coming week BYU will play a lot of reserves then take the next week off for the first time this season.
Prediction: BYU 48, Idaho State 10.
Cougar tales
In a historic and dramatic shootout in LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU welcomed Bronco Mendenhall back with his Virginia team and the Cougars exploded for 66 points and more than 700 total yards of offense. No Mendenhall defense had ever given up that many points to an opponent. Here are some of the game stories and commentaries:
- People need to respect Tuiaki more (Jay Drew)
- BYU picked a good time for offense to explode (Brandon Judd)
- What Mendenhall said after losing to Cougars (Ryan McDonald)
- Shootouts aren’t Sitake’s style, but he’ll take it (Jay Drew)
- It was Bronco’s week but Sitake’s game (Dick Harmon)
- 3 takeaways from BYU’s win over Virginia (Brandon Judd)
In basketball, Mark Pope unveiled his team during a Blue-White scrimmage and a freshman really stood out. Here is Jeff Call’s recap.
From the archives
From the Twitterverse
And he's only a sophomore! #BYU's football program has a very bright future. https://t.co/egcSQNZwoK
— Total Blue Sports (@TotalBlueSports) November 1, 2021
From the desk of Ralph Sokolowsky: the two highest point totals allowed in the Sitake era are 53 v. Toledo (2016) and 49 v. Virginia (2021).
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) November 1, 2021
BYU won both games.
The PFN Team of the Week from Week 9
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) November 1, 2021
QB – Tyler Van Dyke, Miami FL
RB – Tyler Allgeier, BYU
RB – Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
Full Team ➡️ https://t.co/OvfzsGrE6Y pic.twitter.com/lTgSIIYUOG
Prove me wrong: The only Polynesian starting WRs in any D1 college football program in the Nation right here at BYU! pic.twitter.com/TEvvfz0eEE
— Tupou Pauu (@tupou_pauu) November 1, 2021
"@ZachWilson might have been more juiced up than me." - @MikeWhiteQB pic.twitter.com/eidFdNkWfz
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 1, 2021
Extra points
- Virginia reeling after loss and Armstrong injury (Richmond Times)
- Virginia defense failed spectacularly vs BYU (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
- Nacua brothers hitting all the right notes (KSL.com)
- Former BYU star leads national soccer league in goals (Deseret News)
- When it comes to juniors, who will stay or go? (Deseret News)
Fanalyst
Comments from Deseret News readers
“This is a great year and, not that they needed it, but very validating to those that did. I think we all feel the next two games will be wins leaving the USC game. USC is not the team they used to be and will be in their last game of a lost season with an interim coach and arguably their best player out with a broken ankle. BYU will be favored in that game. If they win that game it will be their 6th win against a P5 team during the regular season. Utah has had a few similar seasons since joining the Pac-12 to include 2015 when they won 7 regular season games against P5’s. But Utah also had 4 years leading up to that to recruit P5 talent as a P5 member.
“I am not one of those that trashes Utah’s abilities or the quality of the Pac-12. (Some of their troll fans yes.) But if you are going to credit Utah for that great 2015 season, you must equally credit BYU for this season.”
— Jello-Is-Still-Good
Up next
Nov. 3 | 8:30 p.m. | Women’s soccer | vs. Portland | @Portland
Nov. 4 | 2 p.m. | Women’s basketball | vs. Westminster | @Provo
Nov. 4 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | vs. Gonzaga | @Spokane
Nov. 4 | 7 p.m. | Men’s basketball | vs. Colorado Christian | @Provo
Nov. 5-6 | 6 p.m. | Swimming | vs. UNLV | @Las Vegas
Nov. 6 | 1 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | vs. Portland | @Portland
Nov. 6 | 1 p.m. | Football | vs. Idaho State | @Provo
Tyler Allgeier is on a run with single-season rushing record within reach
Source: Gabriella Pinoys
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