This past week after watching GS move the ball so well against us in the first half only to be shut out in the second, I wondered if there was a trend and that Tuiaki really did figure teams out to control the game in the second half. As it turns out, we should probably be more concerned the other way.

Through 11 games here are the by-quarter scores of BYU and opponents. We come out strong, play with them the second quarter, lose the 3rd, and then hold on and slightly extend a lead in the 4th. I know much of the second half is due to Kalani playing nice to not RUTS, but the defense is another question entirely. Lower 4th quarter scores may well be the results of our slow-down offense at the end of the game, but our defense does not really perform better in the second half compared to the first.

As it turns out, we allow 13.3 pts in the first half, followed by 10.4 in the second, which again could partially be the result of BYU's slower pace. Given that the UVA game was a huge outlier (and a defensive catastrophe), I wanted to see the same analysis without that game. Take out the worst defensive game (and quarter) of the season, and we see an even bleaker picture as teams appear to score the same in the second half, despite a slower pace overall.

Maybe I'll do the same thing with yards sometime, but from what I see here, I don't see our defensive coaching staff showing real improvement over the course of a game. If anything, they come out with a great game plan for the first quarter and then try to hold on for the rest of the game as the other team adjusts.

On another note, why can't we score in the 3rd quarter?