Before last night BYU had missed on only TWO red zone attempts all season! They had a 96% red zone efficiency and were 5th in the nation. That's awesome.
Arod has coached three STRAIGHT QBs into the NFL. All three of those guys were 3-star recruits out of high school. That's amazing. The improvement we've seen in just Retzlaff from last year to this year has been incredible. The offense has looked slightly different with each QB because ARod is really good at scheming for his QB.
This year's team was predicted 13th in the conference, and instead we're tied for 1st. Have y'all forgotten that? The ENTIRE coaching staff has done a tremendous job.
Y'all need to remember how Whitt manages his offensive coordinators, firing them every other season, and how well that's worked out for him over the last 12 years. There's strength in continuity with a good OC. No, ARod isn't a top 10 coordinator, but those are hard to find. He's a very good coordinator and we're lucky to have him. His benefit is amplified because of his willingness to stay at BYU and provide continuity. Don't be idiots and go chasing him off or demanding he get fired. Calm down, and recognize that it's really hard to go undefeated. This season has still been amazing.
The reasons we lost last night were:
- Bad luck. That pooch kick was just bad luck. We were playing good defense, which meant we had our back to the ball and it hit off our helmet. Robinson was heads up on the play, but the field was wet and the ball squirted away.
- A bad interception in the end zone. That was a bad play call, yes, and worse execution. But you don't fire an OC over a single bad play call. You gotta give ARod and Retzlaff grace because our TO efficiency has been among the tops in the country this year. We haven't turned the ball over much at all, and we eventually were going to have one not go our way.
- Bad audible by Retzlaff into the option to the weak side on the last drive. That's on Jake, but I give him grace too. That play worked against Utah.
- BYU should have called timeout before the final play to get set up. That's on Kalani.
- Too much pressure allowed by the Oline on the final play, forcing Retzlaff to throw the ball too soon.
So ... this isn't just ARod, and I don't think he's even the primary reason. It was a perfect storm of things.