BYU sports experts Darnell Dickson and Jared Lloyd address five of the big questions facing Cougar athletics this week:

1. Before leaving the Utah State game behind, do you think the Cougars should try to schedule the Aggies in football again soon?

DICKSON: “Should” is a given. “Will” is another matter entirely. We saw what Utah’s schedule evolved into when it joined the Pac-12. Games against Utah State and Weber State were a casualty and eventually, so was the BYU game. I can’t imagine it will be any different with the Cougars in the Big 12. In the end, Tom Holmoe will be scheduling the football team way differently than he did during independence. I personally love to see as many in-state games as I can. But I also understand the way the schedule needs to be managed once BYU joins the Big 12. At the very least, I think we’ll see a good number of BYU-Utah games in the future. But as far as BYU-Utah State, it could be difficult.

LLOYD: As much as I love the in-state rivalries, this isn’t a simple question any more. With BYU, Utah and Utah State being in different conferences for the first time ever starting in 2023, the logistics of keeping these rivalries consistent become a lot more tricky. The Pac-12 and Big 12 have the nine-conference-game scheduling model, although the Mountain West still only plays eight league games each season. Add in an annual game against a non-FBS opponent and there are only two non-conference games left (or three for the Aggies). I think each school should look at getting one rivalry game and the best non-conference game possible, which makes it hard. To me, BYU and Utah is the biggest rivalry and should be played the most often, but that really puts Utah State in a tough position. I hope the Cougars and Aggies will square off occasionally, but I doubt it will be frequently.

2. Some BYU football fans have expressed disappointment that the Cougars only defeated Wyoming by 14 points and Utah State by 12 points. In your opinion, how important is it for BYU to get style points as well as wins?

LLOYD: Let me start by saying that I differentiate between playing football at a high level for three quarters and letting off the gas, and just trying to tack on points in garbage time to impress voters. The former is important for every team, while the latter (which some call style points) is insulting to both opponents and to the game of football itself. The bottom line is that everything a team does is about getting victories. Give up 1,000 yards and win 56-55? Struggle to score but win 3-2? Both are still wins and that means it was a successful game. But both scenarios indicate that there are concerns that have to be addressed heading into the next game. The problems from BYU’s wins over Wyoming and Utah State were with not playing great football, not with failing to get style points.

DICKSON: Style points matter, but in kind of a nebulous way. Sometimes they are important and sometimes not. What’s more troublesome is that BYU had three chances inside the Utah State 25-yard line in the fourth quarter and came away with zero points due to poor field goal kicking and very conservative play calling. Scores there would have naturally added to the point spread in the game and it would have been more of a dominating victory. I feel like BYU needs to take advantage of the chances they have to score even when up three scores. Not simply because of the style points, but because taking advantage of opportunities matters.

3. Why has the BYU running game struggled so much in 2022?

DICKSON: It was kind of funny to hear Kalani Sitake after the Wyoming game when he said maybe it was time to stop blaming the offensive line for the running game woes. I think there is definitely enough blame to go around. The backs have had a difficult time getting into a groove with the zone blocking scheme and the offensive line was supposed to be one of the best in recent Cougar history. I wasn’t surprised the running backs have started slowly because BYU relied on Tyler Allgeier so much last season. But I am disappointed in the Cougar offensive line, especially in the run game. I can see BYU focusing more on between the tackles against Notre Dame and giving the backs a chance to get their shoulders square to the line of scrimmage. Chris Brooks is definitely better on those kinds of runs as evidenced in the second half against Utah State last week.

LLOYD: I want to give credit to BYU’s last four opponents for being well-prepared for what the Cougars were going to do on the ground. Baylor, Oregon, Wyoming and Utah State defenders often appeared to know what running plays BYU was attempting right from the snap and thus were able to get in position to fill a lot of the gaps. The Cougars were able to wear down both the Cowboys and the Aggies and grind out some yards, but it wasn’t easy. Part of the issue is execution, not getting players blocked correctly and thus not having holes to run through. I do think that more of it is the failure to counter what opponents are attempting to do to stop BYU’s ground attack. I look forward to seeing what Aaron Roderick and the Cougar staff do to adjust in the game against Notre Dame, because adjustments are certainly necessary.

4. What should be BYU’s main area of focus heading into the Notre Dame game?

LLOYD: Besides winning? Hmmm … I think the most obvious answer is that the Cougars have to be better against the run, but I’m going to select something that is a little more obscure. BYU’s special teams performance this year has been underwhelming in many ways, with both kicker Jake Oldroyd and punter Ryan Rehkow not meeting the high expectations they had set with their performances in previous years. I feel like Hobbs Nyberg has done OK in the return game, but the performances of the Cougar coverage teams have been spotty this season. Against teams like Notre Dame (and Arkansas on Oct. 15), field position will make a big difference. Special teams play is critical to both getting short fields for the offense and forcing opponents to go the length of the field. That phase of the game needs to be a lot better for BYU heading into this week’s contest.

DICKSON: Funny, Jared. We all know winning is most important and Sitake has reminded us of that the past couple of weeks. I feel like if BYU doesn’t slow down the Notre Dame running game, the Irish will completely dominate this game. They have a young quarterback and nothing helps out someone like that more than being able to get 5 to 8 yards per carry and set up some easy throws in play action. The Cougar defense is best served when they can get teams into long yardage downs and that needs to happen on Saturday or BYU fans will be tempted to gamble all night in Vegas after the game.

5. The Cougar women’s volleyball team has won six straight matches after a trio of losses in early September. How has BYU elevated its performance?

DICKSON: Usually when a volleyball team is improving it has to do with serve receive and passing. Any volleyball coach will tell you everything radiates from there. The Cougars have also been relying heavily on middles Heather Gneiting and Whitney Llarenas for offense as the young pin hitters get their legs under them. This past week, sophomore Elyse Stowell has been improving as a hitter and that’s important. There are big tests ahead of this team, especially with No. 4 San Diego on the schedule twice in the next couple of months. Heather Olmstead knows she has some weaknesses to work on before this team reaches its potential.

LLOYD: A big part of the success has been the relative strength of the Cougar opponents. Pepperdine is a good team, but the rest of the teams BYU has beaten have been unranked (unlike the three teams who knocked off the Cougars). But even taking that into consideration, BYU is winning with balance. The Cougars aren’t relying on one player to get all the kills, instead spreading the ball around. It seems like BYU is getting a career-high performance from a different athlete in every match. I like the fact that the Cougars are getting contributions from a variety of players but I also think BYU will need to prove it can consistently put points away when the level of competition ramps back up again.

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