College Football First Look: Brigham Young vs. Utah State 10/1/2021 College Football Picks, Prediction, and Preview

Brigham Young visits Utah State on 10/1/2021 at 9:00PM.

Brigham Young and Utah State face off in a regular season matchup. Games are on campuses and crowds are full once again! Brigham Young sports a record of 4-0 this season. Utah State is 3-1 this season. Enough preamble… Let’s get to the preview…

Brigham Young Team Defense Preview

Brigham Young has had 41 total defensive drives this season and they yield 6.51 plays per drive. The struggle is real. Brigham Young struggles to find a way to get opposing offenses off the field. Three and outs are not common and this means that when a three-and-out is necessary late in a game to get the ball back, it is just not happening. Brigham Young has had shown an inability to stop defenses from converting on 4th Downs and they let opponents get into manageable 3rd Down situations where an RPO may be especially deadly. Brigham Young opponents passes the football 51.69% of the time.Opponents typically have had some form of run/pass balance against them.
Brigham Young is not doing anything particularly special as far as their ability to create negative yardage plays on the ground. How effective are opposing offensive lines given what we know about their ability to force negative yardage rushing plays? Brigham Young can take credit for holding the offensive line of their opponent to 3.23 yards per carry. Their defense gives offensive lines too much control over them on the ground, too much push from the opposing offensive line. This is also a team that is allowing running backs and quarterbacks to get to the second-level in an average fashion. Opponents have had shown a relatively average level of explosiveness in the running game, maybe there will be a breakout rushing play against them.
This Defense has had average success disrupting the flow of the opposing offense. Getting more granual into the front seven and their ability to cause trouble, they are just average in this regard. Brigham Young has had shown themselves to be better at stopping the pass than the run this season .

Brigham Young Team Offense Preview

Brigham Young has had 43 drives in non-garbage time minutes and they average 5.93 plays per drive. Brigham Young run a lot of plays per drive and this could wear an opposing defense down. Brigham Young has had shown a capability to be explosive on first and second down to avoid third downs and has had converted well (relatively) on 3rd and 4th Down situations. Passing plays are 45.10% of their play calls.Relatively speaking, this is a team that favors run/pass balance.
Brigham Young struggles with running the ball, getting zero or negative yard plays is disspiriting and the offensive line is not effectively making a good push. Poor playcalling, pre-snap adjustments or post-snap reads may be responsible and this could fall on the Quarterback, Offensive Coordinator, and Head Coach. How effective is the offensive line given what we know about their ability to prevent negative yards on rushing plays? More than you think, thanks to the Adjusted Line Yards metric. Brigham Young can take credit for 2.99 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this is an average offensive line as far as their ability to set up the running game. The offensive line and running back corps deserve a lot of credit for gashing defenses with their running game like the way they have this season . The breakout rushing plays are simply not happening, it is a massive reach to expect this season ‘s team to bust out big rushing plays.
Defenses have had average success disrupting the flow of the Brigham Young Offense. Front sevens are causing an average amount of trouble for the Offense. Brigham Young is a better passing team than running team this season .

Utah State Team Defense Preview

Utah State has had 49 total defensive drives this season and they yield 5.61 plays per drive. There is not much to take away here when it comes to how many plays per drive opponents run , but they are a team that falls in the average window when it comes to plays per drive. Utah State has had shown an inability to stop defenses from converting on 4th Downs and they let opponents get into manageable 3rd Down situations where an RPO may be especially deadly. Passing plays are 46.91% of their opponents’ play calls.Opponents typically have had some form of run/pass balance against them.
Utah State opponents have had struggled with running the ball and the defense crushed the spirits of their opponents with zero or negative yard plays. 4th and Short is not a cake walk, maybe passing on 4th and Short or having some sort of RPO is the way to go because if an Offensive Coordinator thinks that they can just line up and run a Quarterback Sneak or hand it off to a tailback against this season ‘s defense, they are mistaken. How effective are opposing offensive lines given what we know about their ability to force negative yardage rushing plays? Utah State can take credit for holding the offensive line of their opponent to 3.0 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this is an average defense when it comes to how offensive lines control or fail to control them on the ground. This is also a team that is allowing running backs and quarterbacks to get to the second-level in an average fashion. Long breakout runs against this Defense are far too common. This is a very porous rushing defense that is incapable of preventing a situation where their safeties chase down a running back or quarterback.
This is not a disruptive Defense and they get pushed over way too easily. Perhaps they are too vanilla with playcalling. Their front seven is simply unable to make an impact, something must change or else the problems will repeat. Utah State has had shown themselves to be better at stopping the pass than the run this season .

Utah State Team Offense Preview

Utah State has had 50 drives in non-garbage time minutes and they average 6.12 plays per drive. When you are among the best at plays per drive, you are certainly a team that aims to wear down the opposition with a high play count or with long, physical grinding drives that eat up a lot of clock. We need to find out more here when it comes to Utah State. Struggles to get ahead of the chains and convert on third and fourth down are common, the offense can stagnate. Passing plays are 50.33% of their play calls.Relatively speaking, this is a team that favors run/pass balance.
Utah State struggles with running the ball, getting zero or negative yard plays is disspiriting and the offensive line is not effectively making a good push. Poor playcalling, pre-snap adjustments or post-snap reads may be responsible and this could fall on the Quarterback, Offensive Coordinator, and Head Coach. How effective is the offensive line given what we know about their ability to prevent negative yards on rushing plays? More than you think, thanks to the Adjusted Line Yards metric. Utah State can take credit for 3.16 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this is an average offensive line as far as their ability to set up the running game. The offensive line and running back corps deserve a lot of credit for gashing defenses with their running game like the way they have this season . With a relatively average explosiveness in the running game, breakout rushing plays are possible, but it is not something to count on from them.
Defenses have had trouble making big, disruptive plays against Utah State this season. Utah State is among the best in the country at keeping defensive front sevens at bay. In order to stop this offense, it requires opposing defenses to need secondary players to step up and cause trouble in order for the offense to be disrupted. Utah State is a better passing team than running team this season .

The Brigham Young Roster

The Players to Watch for Brigham Young

Jaren Hall QB 6’1″ 205 Sophomore

Jaren Hall put up 561 yards, tossed 7 touchdowns, and he threw 2 interceptions this season. He threw a variety of different length passes. His average completed pass was 6.6 yards. The zone read is a common part of the offense and mobility is used as part of the offense, but not necessarily the focus of the offense. His average rush was 8.3 yards.

Tyler Allgeier RB 5’11” 220 Sophomore

Tyler Allgeier had 351 rushing yards on 80 carries. Was he able to get to the end zone on the ground? He had 4 rushing touchdowns. He is considered one of the workhorse running backs of College Football returning this season. His average rush was 4.4 yards. He was relied upon as a receiver in their offense this season. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 4.4 yards.

Neil Pau’u WR 6’4″ 215 Junior

Neil Pau’u picked up 232 yards through the air. He caught the ball 18 times this season. He reached the end zone 4 times. He is a go-to in the passing game. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 12.9 yards.

Earl Tuioti-Mariner DL 6’4″ 290 Junior

The leading tackler among Defensive Tackles for Brigham Young, Earl Tuioti-Mariner, had 12 tackles this season.He forced 1 tackles for loss this season.He was a strong pass rusher in the interior this season registering 1 tackles for loss.

D’Angelo Mandell DB 6’1″ 185 Junior

The leading tackler among Defensive Backs for Brigham Young, D’Angelo Mandell, had 16 tackles this season.Among Defensive Backs, he was very active and disruptive in the backfield, he had 1 tackles for loss this season.He had 0.0 sacks this season.

The Utah State Roster

The Players to Watch for Utah State

Logan Bonner QB 6’1″ 230 Junior

Logan Bonner put up 959 yards, tossed 7 touchdowns, and he threw 5 interceptions. He threw deep and medium passes to receivers more often than not. His average completed pass was 8.3 yards. The zone read is a common part of the offense and mobility is used as part of the offense, but not necessarily the focus of the offense. His average rush was 1.3 yards.

Calvin Tyler Jr. RB 5’8″ 215 Junior

Calvin Tyler Jr. had 408 rushing yards on 66 carries. Was he able to get to the end zone on the ground? He had 4 rushing touchdowns. He is considered one of the workhorse running backs of College Football returning this season. His average rush was 6.2 yards. He was relied upon as a receiver in their offense this season. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 6.2 yards.

Deven Thompkins WR 5’7″ 160 Junior

Deven Thompkins picked up 514 yards through the air. He caught the ball 29 times this season. He reached the end zone 3 times. He is a go-to in the passing game. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 17.7 yards.

Hale Motu’apuaka DT 6’2″ 275 Sophomore

The leading tackler among Defensive Tackles for Utah State, Hale Motu’apuaka, had 10 tackles this season.Among Defensive Tackles/Nose Tackles, he was clogging the gaps and playing disruptive proving he is one of the best at forcing lost yardage, he had 2 tackles for loss this season.He had 0 sacks this season.

Nick Heninger DE 6’2″ 230 Senior

The leading tackler among Defensive Tackles for Utah State, Nick Heninger, had 22 tackles this season.Among Defensive Tackles/Nose Tackles, he was clogging the gaps and playing disruptive proving he is one of the best at forcing lost yardage, he had 3 tackles for loss this season.He was a strong pass rusher in the interior this season registering 1 tackles for loss.

Dominic Tatum S 6’2″ 180 Sophomore

The leading tackler among Defensive Backs for Utah State, Dominic Tatum, had 21 tackles this season.He forced 0 tackles for loss this season.He had 0.0 sacks this season.

Cam Lampkin CB 5’9″ 170 Sophomore

The leading tackler among Cornerbacks for Utah State, Cam Lampkin, had 14 tackles this season.He forced 0 tackles for loss this season.He had 0.0 pick-offs this season.

Brigham Young vs. Utah State Prediction, Picks, and Odds

Prediction: Brigham Young 40 Utah State 22
Spread Pick: Brigham Young -7.5 -120 JazzSports 100% Triple Welcome Bonus
Moneyline Pick: Brigham Young -290 BetAnySports
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