BYU football: Five keys to BYU's win over San Jose State

PROVO — The game plan BYU had in place for San Jose State on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium was an attack the Cougars seemed comfortable and confident with for the first time this season.

From the way the coaches drew up the schemes to the way the players executed them, it was a near perfect performance that not only led to a nice 29-16 win, but one that created more crowd enthusiasm than has been seen for quite some time in Cougarville.

Here is a look at five key reasons behind BYU’s easy win.

In control from the get-go:

Even though BYU quarterback Riley Nelson fumbled inside the 10-yard line on the Cougars’ first possession, it was still an impressive drive nonetheless. The ease at which BYU moved the ball right out of the gate set the tone for the rest of the first half.

Other than turning the ball over twice in the first half, the Cougars were unstoppable. Every other possession resulted in a score. The Cougars did not punt before the break. Prior to BYU’s three first-half TDs on Saturday, the Cougars hadn’t scored more than one TD before halftime in their five previous games.

En route to 23 first-half points, the Cougars racked up 282 total yards in the opening two quarters, had 14 first downs, converted on 3-of-4 third downs, and averaged nearly 12 yards per pass play and six yards per run.

The Spartans were on their heels from the start, and after falling behind by 20 points in the first half, were forced to play catch-up style football the rest of the way.

Balance and variety:

There were a few new names with big numbers on BYU’s stat sheet from Saturday’s win. Did Michael Alisa really carry the ball 14 times for 91 yards? Yup, and the Spartans seemed just as surprised by it as everyone else. Nelson’s nine carries for 65 yards was also a new wrinkle the Cougars haven’t had this season, even though everyone saw that one coming. Overall, five Cougars carried the football.

On the receiving end of Nelson’s 14 completions were eight different receivers. The Spartans didn’t know whom to focus on. And two forgotten targets, McKay Jacobson and Richard Wilson, had the game’s biggest catches.

With 219 yards passing and 225 yards rushing, the Cougars put up the kind of offensive balance that BYU’s coaches could live with all season.

Opening the playbook cupboard

After Kyle Van Noy’s second-quarter interception, BYU immediately went for the home run with Nelson throwing a bomb to speedy wide-out Jacobson for a 40-yard TD on the very next play.

Cougar fans haven’t seen much of that kind of play calling this season.

The Cougars also got a TD out of a tight end for the first time in ages, a weapon that used to be commonplace in BYU’s offensive game plan. The two big-gain tight-end screens to Wilson, a 21-yarder that resulted in a TD and a 35-yarder that set up a TD, were calls that not only resulted in big yardage, but plays that opened up the rest of BYU’s passing and rushing attacks. Nelson’s throw down field to Ross Apo early in the fourth quarter as he was getting sandwiched by two Spartan defenders was another play that seemed to put San Jose State back on its heels a little bit.

Nelson’s two interceptions added a slight damper to his otherwise impressive start, but both came on throws down field, which is something the Cougars have been hesitant to do this season. Turnovers are never good, but with San Jose State knowing Nelson was willing to take a chance deep every now and then, it made BYU’s ball-control passing and rushing games that much difficult to defend.