Six Takeaways From #23 BYU's Win Over West Virginia

BYU moved to 5-0 on the year on what was kind of a weird night in Provo. Late-night games tend to be that. BYU wound up winning by 14 following a late West Virginia touchdown, but it felt like it should have been more. Such is life. Here is what we learned from a game that featured the highest of highs and lowest of lows of BYU’s season.

Bear is an unbothered King

Bear was unbelievable in the first half. By far the best of his career. In terms of counting stats, he threw for 351 yards on just 25 attempts, but what blew us away was how he responded to the first self-imposed adversity he’s faced all season. Bachmeier had two turnovers in the first half that showed the only vestiges of “true freshman” we’ve seen from him this season. He responded to those turnovers by ripping the two best throws of his young career, one an 85-yard catch-and-run to Chase Roberts and the other a 35-yard tear-drop dime to Parker Kingston right between two safeties. This kid continues to make play after play for BYU’s offense in all circumstances. Bouncing back from two bad mistakes that way is just the next phase of his star-bound evolution. Over his last three games, Bachmeier is completing 71.4% of his passes, averaging over 10 yards per attempt, has gained 943 total yards, 6 total touchdowns, and a pass efficiency rating of 170 (136 is the NCAA average). This kid will only get better.

BYU isn't very good at the style points game

Perhaps it’s because this is being written at 2 am on the East Coast, but to beat a team so thoroughly, and only end with a 14-point win because BYU took their foot off the gas up 21 is incredibly frustrating. You could hear it in Kalani’s voice in the post-game press conference too. BYU played incredibly sloppy on both sides of the football and it turned what was BYU’s most dominant performance of the season in terms of box score into a sour taste.

BYU’s depth is about to be majorly tested

Jack Kelly records a sack in BYU's win over SIU | BYU Photo

BYU has been pretty lucky in the injury department, until Friday night. Star linebackers Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker both left the game with injuries in the first half, and BYU’s defense seemed off the rest of the night. It’s difficult to judge the defense too harshly when West Virginia had multiple drives that started inside the redzone, but BYU wasn’t able to generate any pressure on the quarterback without their studs in there. Again, its impossible to know how much of the second half was a sign of things to come, but there’s reason to be concerned if Kelly and Glasker miss extended time.

The only thing that stopped BYU’s offense was themselves

This has been an issue all season and needs to get cleaned up. BYU’s offense has seldom had a negative play this season, but penalties continue to put them behind the sticks. The unfortunate part is they are self-inflicted. BYU had four false starts at home. That should never happen. Two holding penalties nearly killed scoring drives in the second half. It didn’t come back to bite BYU against WVU, but you can’t put yourself behind the sticks against Utah or Texas Tech if you want to win.

BYU also got the turnover bug for the first time this year, with three on the night that gifted the Mountaineers 14 points. Still, it’s almost encouraging that BYU still managed to put up season highs in points and yards against FBS competition despite handing it to their opponent on three drives. They played well and it still could have been so much better.

I would love to see what BYU’s offense could look like if they tried to score for 60 minutes

BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against WVU | BYU Photo

Like it or not, BYU goes into cruise control the second BYU goes up three scores. That’s BYU’s MO and has been for years. BYU won so it’s fine, but just once it would be nice to have a final score that is reflective of how good this BYU team actually is. BYU’s offense rolled when scoring a touchdown was the number one priority. Even when it wasn’t, they still scored. In the second half, BYU had two drives that took 14 minutes and 41 seconds and they scored on both. BYU did not punt until there was under 2 minutes to go and scored 38 points on their first 10 drives. On non garbage-time drives that didn’t end in a turnover, BYU gained a whopping 92% of available yards. We cannot overstate what an insane number that is. BYU did whatever they wanted on offense. The only thing that stopped them was, frankly, themselves.

It's better to be undefeated in October than not

Lest you think the tone of this article is ungrateful, the only reason it comes off that way is because this is a great football team. BYU is 5-0 for the fourth time in six years, and while the schedule hasn’t been great, BYU has been dominant. Friday was no exception. BYU outgained WVU by 225 yards, was +3.3 in net yards per play, and +17% in net success rate. All three are season highs. BYU has handled the early part of their schedule exactly how they should have. Now the season really begins. BYU hasn’t faced a top 50 team yet this season and they are about to face seven in a row. BYU is good enough to go 5-2 or better in that stretch. If they play like they did tonight sans turnovers, I would place my bet on the over.