BYU football: Defensive meltdown has Cougars concerned prior to MWC opener

PROVO — Through the first two games of the season, BYU's defense had surrendered a total of 16 points and only one touchdown.

Then came last Saturday's meltdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium, where Florida State scored four first-half touchdowns and dominated the Cougars in a 54-28 rout. In the end, the Seminoles rolled up 512 yards of total offense — rushing for 313 — and converted 12-of-15 third-down situations.

Yet when BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall addressed the media Monday morning, he said that while he is disappointed with the outcome, he is "more optimistic than ever about our football team, about our future and about reaching our goals."

So what was the source of this optimism after such a dismal defensive performance?

Early Monday, Mendenhall and defensive coordinator Jaime Hill watched the horror film together. Mendenhall said he counted "27 simple assignment errors" by his defense during that FSU game.

"That's over (one-third) of the plays where a player, at the point of attack, didn't do what he was supposed to do at the same level he'd been doing it the previous two weeks," Mendenhall said.

Now, the Cougars are working on making corrections.

"While it appears that sometimes you can get the feeling that a given opponent is clearly better athletically or skill-wise, once you get to the root of what it is, fundamentals and execution really changed the game," Mendenhall said. "Those are things we have a chance to control. Optimism comes when something lies within your control. Now we have a chance to apply that ...

"Not only are there things we can do, they are relatively easy and minor things. But it was an accumulation of relatively easy and minor things in critical situations that led to a long day for us."

BYU cornerback Brandon Bradley and his teammates are looking forward to improving this week as the Cougars prepare to host Colorado State on Saturday.

"The biggest thing is making sure we're assignment-sound for our next game, doing all of the small things in our technique," Bradley said. "(Against Florida State), we were able to see that we do have weaknesses in a lot of things that we have to correct. We haven't arrived. That was a learning experience and we'll take every bit of it and use it as fuel so we can get better for the rest of the season."

Did the BYU defense's confidence take a major hit over the weekend?