Since early September, the jury has been out on the enigmatic BYU Cougars. On Saturday night in El Paso, the verdict was returned: The Cougars are guilty of first-degree mediocrity.
How else to explain a 14-3 loss at UTEP?Fortunately for the Cougars (3-2 in the conference, 5-3 overall), they may be good enough to win the title in an ugly Mountain Division race that's sporting three other teams - New Mexico, Rice and SMU - with two losses apiece.
Heading into the final three weeks of the season, BYU still has a decent shot at going to December's WAC championship game in Las Vegas, should it beat Tulsa Saturday, then knock off New Mexico and Utah.
But it's unlikely that scenario will unfold if the Cougar offense continues schlepping along as it did against the Miners.
Following a 21-yard field goal by Owen Pochman to cap BYU's opening drive, here's how it went the rest of the way: (breathe in) punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, interception, interception, punt, punt, turnover on downs, interception (breathe out).
The Cougars had 226 yards of total offense, all through the air, and 140 of those yards came on three plays. In his debut as a starter, freshman QB Drew Miller completed 17 of 32 passes. He was also sacked four times for minus-37 yards, as BYU looked bewildered against UTEP's various blitz packages. It didn't help that BYU was without injured left offensive tackle John Tait.
"We were outplayed and outcoached, as far as UTEP knowing our schemes and our plays. They knew we were going to pass and they decided to bring the wood," said right tackle Eric Bateman, who played most of the game on an injured ankle. "UTEP was well-prepared, and they wanted it more than we did. It's humbling for BYU all around."
While defense is the strength of the Miners, remember this is the same squad that gave up 56 points to Utah. Not only was UTEP able to apply constant pressure on the quarterback, their defensive backs also bottled up receiver Ben Cahoon, who finished with three catches. BYU's rushing game was a non-factor, as the Cougars had zero yards on the ground.
On the other hand, pity the Cougar defense, which surrendered just one touchdown. Sophomore middle linebacker Rob Morris was ubiquitous, notching 12 unassisted tackles and a sack. On that sack, Morris hit freshman QB Rocky Perez hard enough to look like a scene from a "Rocky" movie. Perez suffered a minor concussion on the play but returned.
If only the Cougar offense had some punch to it.
FETERIK'S BACK: BYU's No. 1 quarterback, Kevin Feterik, has been cleared to begin practicing this week. The sophomore underwent an X-ray on his fractured ankle on Sunday and had his brace removed, said head trainer George Curtis. It's doubtful he'll play this week.
"We'll just play it by ear. We'll begin a day-to-day routine with him," said Curtis, who added that "he's two weeks ahead of schedule."
Paul Shoemaker, who sat out against UTEP because of his ankle sprain, and Tait, suffering from a hamstring injury, are probable for Saturday. Fullback Dustin Johnson, who hurt his neck and lower back against UTEP, undergoes X-rays today.
UPSET SPECIAL: Meanwhile, back in El Paso, life is pretty good for coach Charlie Bailey, who called Saturday's game "the greatest win I've ever been associated with." Of course, it was just his 10th victory in five years at UTEP.
Yet it wasn't Bailey's first win over a big name school. During his three-year tenure as head coach at Memphis, his teams defeated No. 16 Alabama in 1987 and No. 17 Florida in 1988.