If there is one area that Bronco Mendenhall has been good at in his years at BYU, it has been winning close football games. Usually, he has come out on top. But that has not been the case in 2011.
His career at BYU did not start out that way. The dramatic "answered prayer" game at Utah was the first one-score victory in Mendenhall's career as a head football coach. This was the fifth time in the Mendenhall era that BYU was involved in a one-score game. After that, Mendenhall, although not perfect, was very good at winning the close chess matches. Even in the rough, 2010 season, BYU won 4 out of the 5 one-score games they were involved in, losing only by the blocked kick at Utah.
But this season, it has been a different story. The only one-score game that BYU came out ahead on was the 10-6 defensive struggle against Utah State. This season included a 24-21 loss to Utah, at 7-6 loss at Utah State, the 17-14 loss at Notre Dame and finally the 20-14 loss at San Jose State.
But the reason for the futile record in close games for BYU is probably not the fault of the coaching staff, it probably has come down to execution on the field of play. In the Utah game, much was made of the missed field goals that could have put the game into overtime. But there was also a missed field goal in the second quarter. There were turnovers on consecutive drives in the third quarter which led to 10 Utah points. That included a fumble which was returned for a touchdown. On that play, the ball was snapped before Riley Nelson was ready for it. Then Nelson attempted to scoop the ball off the ground and salvage the play instead of just jumping on the loose ball. If BYU punts on that drive, they probably win the game. The next drive saw BYU lose 13 yards on a 3-and-out. This was followed by a short punt which gave the Utes the ball at the BYU 39 yard line. The Utes immediately took advantage and scored on a Jon Hayes to Dres Anderson touchdown pass. At that point, Utah was up 24-7. The execution on those three drives cost BYU the football game.
It did not stop at in the Utah game. In the Boise State game, the futility continued. Near the end of the 2nd quarter, BYU's defense stopped BSU at the Boise 22 yard line. And then the Cougars drove the ball all the way to the 2 yard line. There was a penalty for an illegal block, which put the Cougars back at the 17 yard line. Then Riley Nelson threw an interception. BYU fumbled later in the 2nd quarter. In the 3rd quarter, Nelson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and Boise State's only score. Riley Nelson threw an interception on the 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter and on the next drive of the 3rd quarter, Michael Alisa fumbled. It was at that point that Nelson was benched in favor of Taysom Hill. Say what you want about the missed 2-point conversion at the end of the game, it was the lack of execution in the middle of the game that cost BYU a chance to win.
In the Notre Dame game, BYU's execution was not bad. But to beat the team that would eventually become the #1 team in all the land, the execution needed to be perfect. There was a missed field goal in the 3rd quarter and the missed pass where Riley could not hit an open Cody Hoffman.
Finally, the San Jose State game was most futile of all. Each of BYU's last 5 drives went inside the 30 yard line. 1 drive ended in a touchdown. 2 drives ended in turnovers and in 2 drives BYU failed to convert a 4th down. The defense was picked apart for San Jose State's first 3 drives. Then they held the Spartans out of the end zone. But the offense could not capitalize.
All of this comes to an inability to execute at key moments of the game, which in uncharacteristic of a Bronco Mendenhall team. There are probably three good reasons for that. First is the ineffectiveness of the offensive coaching staff. The second is injuries to key personnel, especially along the offensive line. The third is the skills and ability of the quarterback and other play making personnel.
Both the passing game and the running game have been inconsistent for BYU this year. Mostly the problem is the offensive line. Riley Nelson has made some bad decisions, but he has been forced into those decisions because the offensive line has not given him enough time to make good decisions. Inconsistency in the running game comes from lack of play along the offensive line as well. The biggest problem for BYU to work on for 2013 will be the O-Line. Then QB play. Doing so will bring back close wins by BYU football.
Bronco's record in games decided by 1 score or less, including bowl games.
2005: 0-2
TCU 51 BYU 50 (OT)
Utah 41 BYU 34 (OT)
2006: 1-2
Arizona 16 BYU 13
Boston College 30 BYU 23 (OT)
BYU 33 Utah 31
2007: 4-1
Tulsa 55 BYU 47
BYU 31 New Mexico 24
BYU 27 TCU 22
BYU 17 Utah 10
BYU 17 UCLA 16 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2008: 3-0
BYU 28 Washington 27
BYU 42 UNLV 35
BYU 45 Colorado State 42
2009: 3-0
BYU 14 Oklahoma 13
BYU 24 New Mexico 19
BYU 26 Utah 23 (OT)
2010: 3-1
BYU 23 Washington 17
BYU 24 San Diego State 21
BYU 25 Wyoming 20
Utah 17 BYU 16
2011: 4-1
BYU 14 Mississippi 13
Texas 17 BYU 16
BYU 24 Central Florida 17
BYU 27 Utah State 24
BYU 24 Tulsa 21 (Armed Forces Bowl)
2012: 1-4
Utah 24 BYU 21
Boise State 7 BYU 6
BYU 10 Utah State 6
Notre Dame 17 BYU 14
San Jose State 20 BYU 14
Composite
2005-06
1-4 (20%)
2007-2011
17-3 (85%)
2012
1-4 (20%)
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