BYU Football POWER RANKINGS WEEK 6: Sunshine-less State

After a few weeks off, the POWER RANKINGS is back in business although it looks like the program isn’t in the same state that I left it.

Before taking a vacation, BYU had just suffered a tough loss to what looked like a very good Washington team. It looked like if BYU could have cleaned up a few mistakes here and there it could have been a different game. It was frustrating but altogether expected.

Then the Toledo game happened. And then this mess of a game vs South Florida. 100% of the goodwill that was earned by Kalani and the rest of his staff has vanished like a fart in the wind. And now here we are at 2-4 ready to face a regional rival that we haven’t beat since Tanner Mangum was a freshman.

I’ll spare you 3,000 words and just say that depth is BYU’s biggest weakness right now. Sure the schedule was tough and there have been frustrating decisions by the coaches, but at the end of the day the Cougars just don’t have the depth to be a great program. They have very good starters at a lot of positions and a couple of decent backups but as players have gone down we’ve seen that we’re not even close to what a P5 packs on their roster.

There are some teams at programs similar to BYU that have things that can overcome a roster that lacks depth. They might have a coaching staff that works wonders in player development or has a great scheme that can throw some solid counterpunches against a more talented team. Or this team has a couple of game-changing athletes that can overcome the deficiencies that are created by other players. BYU doesn’t have either of these things so the holes remain glaring.

There is still time for this team to bounce back but they’ll need to do it against quality opponents in Boise State, Utah State and San Diego State. One win against these three teams will get us a bowl game. Two wins will regain some dignity. Three wins will secure a contract for Kalani. In the same respect as loss to Liberty, Idaho State or UMass should be a fireable offense.

That said, let’s get to the POWER RANKINGS.

WEEK 6 POWER RANKINGS

10) Baylor Romney

Coming into the game for the last two drives to try and salvage a game isn’t easy. Having those be your first snaps of college football? Yeah, that’s wild. There are definitely some things that Baylor needs to work on but the fact that he was able to give BYU two legit chances to come back was impressive. He made some daring throws and was able to provide some escapability when the offensive line started leaking. While I hope and pray that Jaren comes back healthy it’s good to know that Baylor isn’t afraid of the moment.

9) Chaz Ah You

One frustration that has bubbled up the last few seasons (besides the atrocious run defense) was the lack of turnovers that the defense was producing. After a disastrous turnover margin in 2017, the offense did their part to limit their turnovers in 2018 but the defense only forced one more turnover than the previous season. This year they’re on pace to beat the 18 turnovers forced last year thanks to seven interceptions, one of which came by way of Chaz Ah You. It was definitely the cause of a poor throw from the USF quarterback but even then you still need to catch the ball.

8) Austin Lee

In a game where we saw some soft play from some of the defensive backs, Austin Lee was anything but. I love his tenacity and willingness to get physical. It’s a bummer to see the defense struggle particularly when you have some players who put in so much effort. The coaching staff already took the blame for this loss so hopefully they can right the ship.

7) Isaiah Kaufusi

The older Kaufusi’s have reunited on the New York Jets roster and if Isaiah continues to increase his level of play there’s a chance he could join them at the next level. It was a bummer to see him slowed up by a leg injury earlier this year which significantly impacted some games. If BYU is going to have any shot at beating Boise State this week we’ll need him back on his A game.

6) Dax Milne

Two of the most impressive touchdown catches this season have come courtesy of one Dax Milne. It’s frustrating that BYU hasn’t been able to develop another deep threat from their crop of wide receivers but it’s equally delightful to see the Dax become a sure-handed target on some of these longer passes.

5) Gunner Romney

Speaking of sure hands, Gunner Romney had a solid game with a couple of spectacular catches. He almost won the game from the Cougars on a fade pass from his brother Baylor but he wasn’t able to get a foot in bounds because the pass was a little overthrown. Even still, Gunner showed off his hands on a couple of other catches, including a laser from Jaren Hall over the middle that he had to fully extend to catch.

4) Jake Oldroyd

Anytime a BYU kicker drills a field goal longer than 50 yards then they will make the rankings. Jake did it against this last week with a kick from 51 yards out on the opening drive. He missed a crucial 39 yarder later in the game that ended up being a major factor in the game, but three our of four is still pretty decent. He also came through in the clutch on a kickoff return that should have been returned for a touchdown. He altered the path of the returner just enough to trip him up. The Bulls didn’t end up scoring on the drive so that more than makes up for his missed kick.

3) Lopini Katoa

It took a few games for Lopini to get going but thanks to some increased reps against South Florida he was able to have a very productive day. I don’t know that he’ll ever be the primary back that can really be punishing between the tackles but we did see Katoa finish off a few of his runs with aggression. If he can continue to gouge defenses on stretch plays and make and impact in the passing game it will be welcome news for a running back core that has been dinged up this season.

2) Payton Wilgar

Another week of Payon Wilgar finding a way to make an impact on defense. I’m surprised that I put him this high on the list after what happened in the second half but if everyone was putting in the effort that Payton was maybe we wouldn’t have lost that game. Either way I’m glad to see that Payton’s not just a one week wonder. There are a few areas where he can improve but the positives far outweigh the negatives at this point.

1) Jaren Hall

After rewatching this game I was more impressed with Jaren’s overall play, mostly because it was clear that there were some serious issues on the offensive line that impacted almost every play (none more evident than the play that knocked Hall out of the game). The poor line play aside Jaren showed us a few flashes of brilliance with his arm and legs, specifically on the two touchdown which both came from 30+ yards. Let us all say a collective prayer that he bounces back this week so he can play vs the Broncos.

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WELL THAT WAS WEIRD

This wasn’t weird but I wanted to thank the play-by-play guy for CBS Sports who would clarify anyone any BYU’s roster from Syracuse or Saratoga Springs was from Utah and not Upstate New York.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

No explanation needed here. We’re all clowns in the end.

FAMILY ALBUM

Remember when Beau Tanner decided that it was best for him to give up a crucial touchdown by slowing down to a job while South Florida’s tight end blew right by him? Well it’s good to know that former BYU defensive back Andrew Rich had the same reaction.

JAKE VS JAKE

There is a football player on the team by the name of Jake Oldroyd (I think you guys might know him now) and my first name also happens to be Jake. Each week we’re going to rate the performance of each Jake and decide who had the better week.

After an uncharacteristically bad week against Toledo, our guy Jake bounced back with a pretty solid week, connecting on 3-4 of his field goals, one of which was from 51 yards. It was a bit of a letdown to see him miss but as the tv announcer noted it looked like the holder Hayden Livingston didn’t get the laces out soon enough before the kick.

This week was a pretty big one for Jake Welch as he found out that he was going to become a father. Well he found out awhile back, but apparently you need to wait a certain amount of time before you tell people on the internet. He and his wife don’t know the gender of the baby yet but if it’s a boy next season’s power rankings might feature Jake vs Jake vs Jake Jr.

Field goals are cool and all but being a dad takes the cake. ADVANTAGE: Jake Welch

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UP NEXT: Boise State

I need to know who thought it was a good idea to have someone dress up in a gorilla suit and...now that I think about it I’m 100% positive BYU has pulled something equally strange so maybe we shouldn’t just so harshly.