Upon falling 63-7 to BYU Saturday night in Provo, Utah Tech head coach Lance Anderson has a better understanding of why so many people have projected the Cougars to be a potential College Football Playoff squad.
“Obviously it’s hard to say after one game, and obviously we did not match up real well with them, but you look at their roster and I think they got a lot of those (championship caliber) pieces,” Anderson told reporters postgame.
“Especially if some of these young receivers continue to come through, because I think it starts with the quarterback. You’ve got an outstanding running back in L.J. Martin ... great kid. They’re physical up front on both sides of the ball, offensive line, defensive line. I think they’ve got some very athletic players in that linebacker room and DB room. So I think they’ve got the pieces in place. I think it’ll be interesting to see how the year plays out.”
Anderson, a longtime Stanford assistant, knows BYU’s Kalani Sitake well, having faced off both in the Pac-12 and FCS ranks prior to Saturday. Anderson’s daughter even worked for Sitake during her schooling at BYU.
“I think what’s made him so successful is he understands BYU well,” Anderson said of Sitake. “Being here as a player, being here as a coach, I think he understands this place and what it’s about and what it represents. He’s done a great job of building this (program), I think he’s done it his way with his personality. That, I think, leads to that sustained and long-term success.”
Anderson is also well-acquainted with new Cougars defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga, whose starters impressed on Saturday before the backups surrendered a lone fourth quarter touchdown.
“I think he’s an outstanding football coach,” Anderson said of Poppinga. “You look at the film from last year, the last couple years with Jay Hill as a defensive coordinator, I think they’ve got a very good system and they’ve not really strayed far from that. We could see that tonight, but I think Kelly’s brought a few wrinkles of his own from his time with Bronco Mendenhall and his coaching experience. I think he’ll do a phenomenal job as a defensive coordinator.
“... I think BYU’s got a great team, and I think they’re going to be very successful this year.”
With the loss, Utah Tech falls to 0-2 on the season, having been defeated 54-0 by defending FCS national champion Montana State this past week.
Anderson’s Trailblazers, picked to finish last in the Big Sky Conference, will continue their early gauntlet in visiting heavily-favored Montana next week.
“I think games like this are fun opportunities,” Anderson said. “Opening the season against the No. 1 FCS team in the country, Montana State, that’s a great challenge. Being able to play in this environment at BYU today, great, great opportunity.
“We get a chance to go to Montana next week, which is another tremendous place to play, where that place is gonna be packed, it’s gonna be loud. Fans are right on top of you. So our guys are excited about this, they’re gonna go out and compete.”
