The Cougars square off against visiting West Virginia and its respectable and multi-faceted running attack this coming Friday at LaVell Edwards Stadium in what is certain to test their ability in defending the run effectively. Along with several standout running backs, the Mountaineers will present freshman quarterback Khalil Wilkins, a speedster who will often elect to beat an opposing defense with his legs as opposed to his arm in adding to what looks to be a formidable ground arsenal.

So, sort of like the Colorado attack, which gashed BYU’s front throughout the first quarter, mounting touchdown drives of 75 and 62 yards with shockingly little resistance from the Cougar defensive front.

“We started slow mainly to poor execution,” said BYU Offensive Coordinator Jay Hill when asked what his defense learned from last week’s experience, or at least is attempting to learn. “We just have to execute a little more precisely. I think we did that a little bit better in the second half.”

Indeed BYU did respond relatively well after the initial gashing, holding the Buffaloes to just seven points after the first quarter in order to help secure the big road win. What’s more, coaches showed a lot of confidence in the defense’s overall ability, electing to pin Colorado deep late and depend on Hill’s unit to make a final stop rather than kick a field goal within Will Ferrin’s range to extend the lead to 27-21.

And it all worked in the end, although coaches are determined to get off to a much better start this time around as demonstrated during Tuesday’s practice session.

Any media source who requested a defensive lineman following that Tuesday’s session was made to wait at least a full 10-15 minutes than otherwise. The reason being coaches spending a lot of extra time with that position group to run through extra drills while working ardently to address the lapses in overall execution exhibited in last week’s game.

“They’re going to run the scheme that they did against the University of Utah, and we’ve watched all their games,” Hill said when asked of what he expects to defend come Friday night. “They’ll have some wrinkles for us, but they have to come in on a short week, execute their offense.”

Although West Virginia took it on the chin last week, losing 48-14 to the Utes, it still managed 261 yards rushing on 48 attempts opposing to 85 yards passing on just 13 attempts. By comparison, Colorado ran for 172 yards on 37 attempts last week while attempting just 16 passes that ultimately accounted for just 119 yards.

So yes, West Virginia will likely prove at least as run-heavy as the Buffaloes while utilizing a run-first option at quarterback in hopes of providing similar sort of gains as Colorado did initially last week.

“I feel good where we’re at right now,” said BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake during his Monday press conference. “I feel good about what we saw on film and what we can do and how far we can progress from last Saturday to this Friday…West Virginia is a really good team with a lot of talent…And I do know that they have an amazing coach, who is proven.”

That coach is Rich Rodriguez, who has held various head coaching gigs since 2001, starting initially at West Virginia before moving on to coach at Michigan and Arizona, among other stops, before returning to coach for the Mountaineers this season.

“I admire him, and I’ve been around him, and I’ve competed against him quite a bit,” Sitake said of Rodriguez. “I know he’ll have his guys ready. He’ll have his guys healthy and back playing for him this week. We’re looking forward to getting their best shot and I just have to make sure I give them our best shot…So a lot of respect for West Virginia and their fanbase…But we have to focus on ourselves and being sound on what we do.”