BYU’s offense can’t find its groove as Michigan completes a shutout

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BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum (12) is sacked by Michigan linebacker Noah Furbush (59) in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. Michigan won 31-0. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)
BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum is sacked by Michigan linebacker Noah Furbush in Michigan’s 31-0 shutout Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

BYU football’s offense and Tanner Mangum couldn’t find a groove on Saturday as they lost to Michigan in a 31-0 shutout.

The true freshman side of Mangum really showed in the game against Michigan. He finished with only 55 yards passing. But he wasn’t the only one struggling as the entire BYU offense came up with only 105 total yards. The Cougar’s receivers struggled to get open and the running had a hard time breaking free finishing with only 50 total yards.

Michigan started the game with a three-and-out but would go on to score on every other drive of the first half putting up 31 points against the Cougars. Michigan completely dominated the first half on both sides of the ball. The Michigan defense forced six straight three-and-outs up until BYU’s third drive of the third quarter.

The BYU defense was getting big stops throughout the first half but that wasn’t enough as it gave up too many big plays. The defense looked tired the whole game especially since the Cougars offense wasn’t able to stay on the field long. But the BYU defense only allowed Michigan three points in the section half despite the struggle to stop the Wolverines in the first half.

BYU forced only one punt in the first half which came from Michigan’s first drive of the game. Michigan scored points on all of it’s other drives in the first half. All of Michigan’s scores are due to the higher level of physical play put on by the Michigan players. The Wolverines leading rusher De’Veon Smith finished with 125 yards after he left the game injured in the third quarter.

As hard as it is, there weren’t many positives that came out of this game for BYU. Michigan was the better team. The Wolverines played harder and with more grit. The BYU defense surely made adjustments in the second half and showed no signs of giving up. But the BYU offense continued to struggle throughout the second half. The Cougars had to punt the ball 11 times due to their stagnant offense.

The last time BYU was shutout was on Nov. 22, 2003 against Utah. The Cougars hope to bounce back as they return home next week to start a four-game home stretch. They take on the UCONN Huskies next week in a Friday-night match up.

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