BYU Football suffers seventh straight loss at the hands of East Carolina

For the first time since 1968, BYU Football is 1-7, with that one win coming oh so long ago. East Carolina took it to BYU, 33-17. With East Carolina having the worst (literally the worst) defense in FBS, many were expecting the Cougars’ crumbling offense to finally stand a chance. It was still nothing doing. Tanner Mangum had another lackluster night, though his numbers were a little better. He was 26/41 passing (63 percent) for 319 yards and two TDs. It wasn’t enough. BYU’s chances for bowl eligibility are looking a lot slimmer — if that’s even still a concern.

BYU’s leading rusher was Ula Tolutau, with 62 yards on 15 carries. KJ Hall had 9 carries for 46 yards in his first game back off of an injured arm. Riley Burt saw only 2 carries. WR Aleva Hifo was a bright spot on a dark night for BYU, pulling in 9 passes for 148 yards. Micah Simon had one of BYU’s TDs and Matt Bushman had the other (his first as a Cougar).

The Cougars started out with the lead -- they failed to score after starting out with the ball, but got it back after a fumble recovery (forced by Zayne Anderson, recovered by Adam Pulsipher) around East Carolina’s 30-yard line and were able to punch it in (7-0). East Carolina tied it, took the lead with a field goal, and BYU was able to tie it back up before the half (10-10). East Carolina scored three field goals in the third quarter and two TDs in the fourth. BYU remained at 10 points until there were about four minutes left in the game, missing several opportunities to score in the red zone.

Salt in the wound of BYU’s loss? Troy Warner went down in the first half with a foot injury. He was carted to the locker room, from which he later emerged on crutches and with a boot on his foot.

Are any coaches in the hot seat? Is Tanner Mangum’s starting job at stake? What in the world is going to change after seven straight gut-wrenching losses? Time will tell.

Is there more that I could write about this game? Probably. But I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. We just need to get better. I’m sure you don’t want to be reading about it, either. Maybe leave something happy or positive in the comments? It doesn’t even have to pertain to football.

The Cougars are back at home next Saturday against the San Jose State Spartans. Show up and support. The team needs it now more than ever.