BYU can exploit weaknesses

Brigham Young senior quarterback Max Hall was careful not to criticize UNLV's defense after watching videotape of the Rebels' 63-28 loss at UNR last weekend.

He pointed out the football game got away late and wasn't indicative of what he expects to face when the No. 18 Cougars play UNLV at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

But ...

"... but (UNR) did expose some things defensively that (the Rebels) either had mistakes on or don't do well," Hall said. "But one thing I've noticed is that every single team we've played, other than Oklahoma, has played it differently than what we thought.

"You have to kind of prepare for everything, but there are a few things I think we're going to take advantage of and that we'll want in the game plan."

This looks like a dream matchup for Hall, who leads the Mountain West Conference in average yards passing per game, at 280.6. The Rebels, who largely play zone, have allowed 7.9 yards per attempt, second worst in the MWC.

The loss to UNR showed UNLV also is vulnerable against the run. Of the 773 yards the Rebels allowed, 559 were on the ground.

So should BYU, which can run and pass effectively, hope for 850 yards this weekend?

"No, absolutely not," Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I've been part of games where a given play, a given scheme or simply momentum or turnovers change its course drastically.

"I saw more of a difficulty of scheme or series of plays (against UNR) rather than being out-personneled."

The key for UNLV might be to pressure Hall, who is prone to make mistakes. He has thrown a league-worst 10 interceptions this season.

The question for the Rebels is how to get to Hall. Blitz him? Rely on strong coverage? A mixture of both?

UNLV obviously won't provide the game plan, but there is no secret that to succeed they need to make Hall feel uncomfortable in the pocket.

"That's the history of any quarterback," Rebels defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell said, adding if Hall has time to set his feet and step into throws, "you're going to have a tough day."

But, as UNLV coach Mike Sanford pointed out, the Cougars ran to win two years ago. BYU broke open a tight game by running 31 times in the second half for 158 yards for a 24-14 victory.

Tailback Harvey Unga rushed for 118 of those second-half yards, and he enters this game leading the conference with 86.2 yards per game.

"You can't just defend the pass against these guys," Sanford said. "These guys are very physical, a strong running football team. We've got to be able to defend the run and defend Max Hall."

In BYU's 42-35 victory over UNLV last season, the Cougars rushed for 209 yards, and Hall passed for 245 yards and four touchdowns.

BYU has emphasized passing this year, leading the MWC with 295.2 yards per game. Hall averages 30.6 passes.

"He is the type of quarterback that you don't see too often at this level," UNLV defensive end/linebacker Jason Beauchamp said. "He can read and understand defenses and understand schemes and weaknesses of coverages.

"So I think more than just getting pressure is confusing him and making it difficult for him to go through his reads."

Hall briefly was in the Heisman Trophy spotlight this year after leading BYU to a season-opening 14-13 victory over then-No. 3 Oklahoma.

He passed for 329 yards and led the game-winning 16-play, 78-yard drive.

Two weeks later, though, Hall fell out of Heisman consideration following a three-interception performance in a 54-28 loss to Florida State.

At least now he doesn't have that distraction.

"I was kind of in that (spotlight) last year," Hall said. "This year, I just didn't pay as much attention to it. I'm having a blast playing football. I'm having a blast being with this football team."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest UNLV football updates at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.