alt=Jay DrewSAN DIEGO — A lot of the weaknesses and issues that emerged when BYU was suffering through three consecutive losses in the middle of its season resurfaced here late Saturday night in the Cougars’ maddening 13-3 loss to San Diego State.
At the top of the list: Poor special teams play, particularly in the kicking game.
A case could be made that errors in that department were largely responsible for three losses in games the Cougars, now 7-5, were favored to win — the 28-21 loss to Toledo, the 27-23 loss to South Florida and the touchdown-less loss to the Aztecs in which BYU missed two field goals, three if you count the 52-yard attempt that was short but wouldn’t have counted anyway due to a delay of game penalty.
Coach Kalani Sitake said Skyler Southam replaced fellow sophomore Jake Oldroyd as the field goal kicker because he “won the position from the competition (in practice) last week,” but the former prep All-American from Wasatch High was just 1 for 3 on field goals Saturday. He made a 24-yarder to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead, then boinked a 26-yarder off the left upright in the fourth quarter and missed another short attempt in the final minute.
“I still believe in those guys,” a visibly distraught Sitake said after the “frustrating” loss. “They have shown that they can kick the ball well, right? It just hasn’t shown up the past few weeks. That needs to change. We will try to get that fixed.”
“I still believe in those guys. They have shown that they can kick the ball well, right? It just hasn’t shown up the past few weeks. That needs to change. We will try to get that fixed.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake on the kicking woes of Skyler Southam and Jake Oldroyd
Assistant head coach Ed Lamb, who oversees special teams but has divvied out the specific responsibilities to other coaches, will have some time to get it corrected. The Cougars will learn their opponent in the Hawaii Bowl next Sunday (Dec. 8) night and have until Dec. 24 to figure it out.
With two solid kickers in the fold last August, field goal kicking was supposed to be a strength of the team, and it was through the first five games. Oldroyd was 10-for-11, including 4-for-5 beyond 40 yards. His only miss prior to October was a 44-yarder against Toledo, a miss that loomed large in the final minutes.
Oldroyd was celebrated in September, as fans and even media members labeled him “Jake the Make” and “Goldroyd” and other gimmicky nicknames.
Then the last seven games happened. Oldroyd and Southam combined to go 5-for-13. Seven of those misses were shorter than 40 yards.
Oldroyd clanged a 28-yard attempt off the right upright at UMass, ostensibly losing his job in that rout, and Sitake wondered aloud after the game if pulling double duty as the punter and kicker was too much for the Texan.
But Oldroyd’s punts against the Aztecs were not impressive, including a 30-yard shank that left the Aztecs in good field position at their 39-yard-line for their touchdown drive that ended the first half.
“I guess we made our field goals and they missed theirs, so we actually won the game,” said SDSU coach Rocky Long, now 3-10 against BYU as a head coach.
The Cougars averaged just 32 yards on four punts, with Australian Danny Jones contributing to the lackluster effort with two punts for a total of 64 yards.
Meanwhile, San Diego State punter Brandon Heicklen averaged 46.1 yards per punt, and pinned the Cougars inside their 20 five times. BYU’s average starting field position was its 22-yard line, its worst of the season.
“Basically, we lost the special teams battle,” Sitake said. “And offensively we weren’t able to put some points on the board. Defense was a wash, and offense turned the ball over. We will get that fixed. It is my job as head coach to get that right.”
The Cougars out-gained SDSU by 147 yards and had 11 more first downs, but lost to the Aztecs for the first time since 2005 because they got just three points out of three entries inside the 10 and missed those easy field goals.
So what’s next?
The Cougars have said they don’t have a preference for a bowl opponent, but it seems like drawing Hawaii, 9-4 after routing Army 52-31 late Saturday night, on its home field would not be great news for a team staring at the possibility of another long losing streak. BYU opens next season at No. 5 Utah, followed by a visit from Michigan State and then trips to Arizona State and Minnesota.
If Hawaii doesn’t beat Boise State in the Mountain West championship game Saturday in Boise, and if BSU doesn’t get selected to play in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28, Hawaii is likely the Cougars’ date on Christmas Eve in the Islands, according to most bowl prognosticators.
Certainly, that old rivalry would be hard for bowl organizers to pass on. And for BYU, renewing an old rivalry wasn’t that appealing Saturday at SDCCU Stadium, especially on special teams.