KSL Radio football analyst Mark Lyons, a former BYU quarterback and longtime Olympus High coach, is in his 20th season in providing color commentary for Cougar game coverage.
He noted the following impressions in the debut of BYU head coach Gary Crowton — a 70-35 victory Saturday by the Cougars over the Tulane Green Wave:
ENTHUSIASM
The No. 1 thing that I was impressed with — and I have been all fall — was the enthusiasm. They came out, they hustled and they had great spirit. They seemed confident, and that has been generated by the new staff, where everybody has been trying to make a good impression.
PACING
Secondly, I was impressed with the pacing of the game — that they get plays in and out of the huddle and move up to the line. It just kept the pressure on the Tulane defense — it tired Tulane out. BYU just kept coming and coming, and it tired Tulane's defense — it wore them out.
EXECUTION
The next two go together — BYU ran lots of offensive formations — lots of new formations. And I was very impressed with the execution — that they could execute as well as they did today with so many formations. There were a lot of quick-release passes, but the ball was still being thrown to the front shoulder to give the receiver the best chance to make yardage. And the wide receivers were blocking on the runs, the screens — they just worked hard all the time.
It had to be a great feeling for Coach Crowton to start off with such an explosive game.