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Provo • While the Virginia Cavaliers suffered their eighth loss Saturday at Miami, the BYU Cougars improved to 6-4 by channeling their inner Robert Anae in an easy 37-7 win over Southern Utah.
Yeah, it helped that SUU was nowhere near the challenge that Miami was, but the Cougars borrowed a bit from former offensive coordinator Anae's "go hard, go fast" approach to get their passing game on track against the overmatched Thunderbirds. Anae now directs Virginia's offense.
"We kinda sped up the tempo a little bit early in the game, and I think that's probably something we need to look at a little bit more," head coach Kalani Sitake said. "These guys are used to that being their comfort area. … We have gone back to some of the stuff that we have done in the past [offensively], and they feel more comfortable doing that."
Quarterback Taysom Hill looked especially comfortable. He threw for 286 of his season-high 320 yards in the first half and missed on only seven passes, a couple of which were dropped. With Tanner Mangum just as effective the bulk of the second half, the Cougars finished with 441 passing yards, shattering their previous season-high of 250 against UCLA. It was the most passing yards in a game for BYU since 2008 when it had 486 against Northern Iowa.
Sitake said throwing the ball a lot was in the game plan because star running back Jamaal Williams didn't play due to an ankle injury and reliable backup Squally Canada was limited by a sprained right thumb. With starting fullback Algernon Brown also hampered, backup fullback Brayden El Bakri had four catches for 69 yards as the Cougars threw to their running backs more than they have all season.
Freshman KJ Hall came off the bench to catch three passes for 68 yards and also rushed 12 times for 69 yards.
"We've always practiced it," Sitake said. "I think we need to highlight it more and get whatever we can do to get more scores on the field. In the first half, Ty [Detmer] felt comfortable going to that fast tempo, and it paid off."
Up next for the suddenly fast-starting Cougars is a fellow independent, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Minutemen. The school is commonly referred to as UMass, and had a bye last weekend.
"We will just have to rally back and hopefully get some of these guys healthy and ready to go for next week. If not [100 percent healthy], we still gotta find a way to put points on the board, and if that means we have to throw the ball, we will do that. If we have to run it, we will do that too," Sitake said.
UMass is 2-8 and hasn't played since Nov. 5, a 52-31 loss at Troy. The Minutemen's two wins came against Florida International, 21-13, and FCS doormat Wagner, 34-10. They did give Mississippi State a good game before falling 47-35, a setback that started a five-game losing streak that included another close loss to an SEC team, a 34-28 defeat at South Carolina.
Quarterback Andrew Ford threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns against Troy and has thrown two or more TD passes in all seven of his starts.
"We look forward to playing next week, a little bit earlier, at noon," Sitake said. "The guys were motivated to get the sixth win. Now we got to get motivated to get the next win and build off the momentum we are getting from this win."
Twitter: @drewjay —
UMass at BYU
P Saturday, noon
TV • BYUtv