So, how effective was BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s preseason dream strategy? How has it played out?
Roderick maintained back in July that the Cougars had to run the football.
Had to, as in critical.
To do that, he needed not only the runners but a physical force at the point of attack.
He’s got that in a big-time offensive line.
Forgive him if he’s doing cartwheels heading to Ames, Iowa, this weekend. BYU is ranked No. 11 in the country, his star running back LJ Martin is ranked No. 9 in the NCAA in rushing with 652 ground yards, and his young QB is bulling his way to first downs and TDs.
On Monday, Roderick praised the job offensive line coach TJ Woods has done preparing the seven rotating players he’s put out to protect and block for the run.
It should also be noted that tight end Carsen Ryan has proved key in setting up blocks for Martin and has proved to not only be a receiving threat, but his ability to stay on the field as an every-down tight end has elevated BYU’s all-around offensive prowess.
Ryan is smart, athletic and savvy. Sic him on a linebacker or safety and he’s all in.
Today, BYU’s balance? Rushing average per game is 232.9, and passing average is 203.9.
What Roderick loves is when Woods asks his guys to get physical and impose their will on defenses. They’ve done that in wins over Colorado and Arizona on the road and in the fourth quarter of the Utah win.
“Coach Woods is doing a great job coaching the line, and he does a great job scheming up our run game and pass protections,” said Roderick on BYUtv’s “Coordinator’s Corner.” “It’s just fun to go to work every day with those guys.”
BYU’s offense is ranked 15th in the nation in sacks allowed.
The summertime plan for BYU’s offense was to be balanced, mixing the pass and run to trigger play-action plays by freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier. It was designed to take pressure off the rookie, to force defenses to respect ground and air, and utilize talent around the new QB.
In BYU’s 24-21 win over No. 23 Utah, the Cougars ran for 202 yards with Martin gaining 122 on 26 carries and Bachmeier getting 64 yards on 11 carries and a TD. On the season, Utah’s been yielding 150.7 yards.
Martin’s yards versus Utah was 58 more than Morgan Scalley’s defense had allowed any other runner this season, including Texas Tech.
Utah came into Saturday’s game with the 61st rushing defense. On Saturday, Iowa State’s rush defense ranked 64th. Future Big 12 opponent Texas Tech is ranked No. 1.
Against the always-stingy Ute defense, BYU had eight rushing plays of more than 10 yards. Martin had chunk runs of 13, 14, 15 and 17. Bachmeier rushed for gains of 11, 14 and 22, the latter on a third-and-11 for a touchdown, breaking half a dozen tackles. Parker Kingston’s 12-yard run was for a standup touchdown.
Iowa State represents BYU’s return to a humbling memory. ISU came to Provo two years ago and physically pushed the Cougars around in the trenches in a loss at LaVell Edwards Stadium. It was a lesson in the laws of physics — size and velocity in motion overpowering smaller, weaker resistance.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake told reporters Monday that day gave his team something to plan for — get bigger and stronger.
Against Utah, Sitake said coaches challenged linemen to be physical. They did.
“On the O-line, we challenged them to be physical and that’s what we did,” said Sitake. “The run yards were downhill, right up the middle, whether it was LJ running the ball or Bear, a lot of it was the inside run game and you saw the movement from our line, moving them back. It wasn’t like that all the time but they were tough, earned yards.
“I like the way the guys were physical. Maybe it doesn’t show up in the stats, but you look at the inside yards that we got. I feel like we should be really proud of how physical we were in that game.”
Guard Weylin Lapuaho said of Bachmeier’s 22-yard touchdown run, the run in which he dragged tacklers the final yards, that the QB tries to keep going and the O-line has the philosophy of either helping him up or pushing him forward. When Bachmeier crossed the goal line, all 11 offensive players were in the end zone with him.
Lapuaho said another philosophy is that getting after a defense in the trenches is like compounded interest with money.
“We knew we had to win the line of scrimmage, especially later in the game. It’s kind of like compound interest and, you know, it gets harder for them to defend it later in the game as long as we keep our physicality and just keep pushing the line.”
By rotating with Austin Leausa, Kyle Sfarcioc and Sonny Makasini, Lapuaho said BYU’s offensive line has been able to take a rest and come back fresh. It has also extended their ability to be ready for the next game.
Depth matters.
So, BYU is now in the mash point of a critical part of the season, playing the top teams in the league, beginning in Ames against a team that played in the Big 12 championship game against Arizona State last season.
The lift will be heavy.
It’s all physics.
