Defense dominates, offense starts slow in BYU's senior-day win


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PROVO — BYU routed Fresno State 52-10 Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

After a slow start that saw the first quarter end 3-3, Francis Bernard plunged into the end zone for his first of two rushing touchdowns, igniting BYU (8-3) to a run of 49 unanswered points.

The seniors of 2015, including defensive captain Bronson Kaufusi, wide receiver Mitch Mathews and veteran Terenn Houk (among others), finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 2008.

Here's how the offense, defense and special teams graded out in the win.

Offense: B

Not a great start in this one.

After winning the coin flip and electing to receive, the Cougars went three-and-out against Fresno State's defense with two short runs and a near-interception before giving the ball to the Bulldogs near midfield. Fortunately for BYU, the defense held a Fresno State offense that had just 170 first downs entering the game to a three-and-out, but it was close to as ineffective of an offensive series as BYU has put together in 2015.

Quarterback Tanner Mangum took the blame upon himself for the slow start.

"I think that's on me. I was missing just a little bit on some of my throws," he said. "They were just a little bit off at the start. If we complete those passes, then we can get things going.

"So obviously, it wasn't the way we wanted to start, but we'll work on coming out hot and firing the way we want to."

It only took them 15 minutes to warm up on a sunny-but-balmy day in Provo, though. Mangum found Mitch Mathews with a 45-yard throw to the 9-yard line on the first play of the second quarter, Terenn Houk ate up the next 8 yards, and Francis Bernard punched it past the goal line for a touchdown to go up 10-3 with 13:25 left in the half.

BYU wide receiver Moroni Laulu-Pututau (1) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against Fresno in Provo, Nov. 21, 2015. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
BYU wide receiver Moroni Laulu-Pututau (1) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against Fresno in Provo, Nov. 21, 2015. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

The Cougars then went on to blast the Bulldogs, 21-0 in the second quarter using a short run by Bernard, a pick-six from Kai Nacua and Moroni Laulu-Pututau's first touchdown of the year with 6:11 to go until halftime.

The Cougars picked up in the second half more like the second quarter than the first. Bernard scored his second 1-yard touchdown of the game, and Algie Brown also got on the board with a 45-yard score with 5:06 left in the third quarter.

Mangum was adjudged to have fumbled the ball on a near-incomplete pass in the third quarter that Fresno State's George Helmut jumped for the recovery. But the Cougars also had a 38-3 lead at that point after opening the half with two straight scores. Even then, the BYU defense forced a turnover on downs, and the Cougars took a comfortable 35-point lead into the final period before winning by 42 points.

Defense: A

Kaufusi made his final appearance at LaVell Edwards Stadium matter, picking up a sack for a loss of 12 yards just under three minutes into the game. Kaufusi finished with two sacks in the first quarter and a team-high five tackles and four tackles for loss after four quarters.

Nacua pulled down his fifth interception of the season and first of two in the game before running the first one back 32 yards for his second pick-six of the year with 7:21 left in the second quarter. On the next series, Fred Warner hauled in an interception and set up Laulu-Pututau's first career touchdown with 6:11 left in the half.

"I caught it, and I returned it. It was fun," said Nacua, who added he made eye contact with Fresno quarterback Zack Greenlee before the play. "I was showing away from where I needed to go. When the ball was snapped I moved back over to where I thought the receiver was going to go, and the ball came that way and I caught it."

Kaufusi also blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half after the defense gave up a long drive to the Bulldogs, keeping points off the board.

There were few things the BYU defense did wrong on an inspired Saturday afternoon, holding Fresno State to 275 yards of offense and just 143 through three quarters.

Special teams: C+

Whether it was intentional or not, punter Jonny Linehan's tried for a fake punt in the first quarter with BYU backed up in its own territory. The first-year punter was stopped well short of the first down, giving Fresno State a short field and the Bulldogs' first score, a 28-yard field goal by Kody Kroening after a seven-play, 13-yard drive.

"We have it built in on the punt if there is a certain alignment and it appears we have more blockers than they have defenders, then it's built in to his choice on every punt to possibly do that," BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "He made the right decision, but we just couldn't make the guy miss. There was one guy and three blockers, so we'll execute better next time."

Linehan punted the ball four times for 156 yards, averaging 39 yards per punt with two punts downed inside the 20.

The unit got those three points back through Trevor Samson's 40-yard field goal with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Samson missed a point-after touchdown kick for the second straight game, but Houk got the point back on a two-point conversion on the Cougars' next scoring drive.

Coaching: B+

All in all, a solid game plan for the Cougars if not for lack of punch in the opening quarter. BYU's passing game recovered well when Mathews missed significant time after a fantastic second-quarter catch, though BYU fans were calling for Devon Blackmon to get a touchdown catch in his final home game as a Cougar.

Blackmon finished with two catches for 20 yards.

Yes, it came against a tired Fresno State defense, but BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae also drew up a touchdown pass to Houk in the fourth quarter from none other than former defensive lineman-turned-tight end Remington Peck.

Peck took a handoff from Mangum on the first play of the fourth quarter, rolled around to the right and found Houk in the corner of the end zone to give the senior a touchdown in his final home game.

"I heard the play call, and I was as intrigued as anyone else watching that," Mendenhall said. "It looks like (Peck) throws it in the back yard … a great throw, a tight spiral."

Overall: B+

BYU gets dinged on offense for the slow start but piled up 520 yards on hapless Fresno State. The Cougar defense made few errors, even with the depth displayed late in the game, and coaching wasn't an issue against a team that BYU should beat, should beat soundly, and should beat at home. The only mismark came on special teams, but the rest of the team did what it did to win — and win big — a week before the regular-season finale at Utah State.

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