Nov. 15, 1999

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Something funny happened on BYU's way to the Top 10.

Its Achilles' heels were exposed, then slashed.

The painful result of BYU's 31-17 loss to Wyoming Saturday? The Cougars tumbled from 15th to 19th in the Associated Press poll and sank from 12th to 19th in the coaches' voting.

The reasons for the sudden demise are no different from those which caused the Cougars trouble with Air Force and at San Diego State.

Nobody around this program likes to mention the names of John Tait or Tyson Smith, but their absences have left the team less sound in two key areas.

Everyone's seen enough film on this team now to know that BYU's offensive line and pass defense have weaknesses. From now on, teams with the ability to exploit some very specific frailties will be tough on the Cougs.

Wyoming, obviously, had the talent and the scheme.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Vic Koenning saw how much trouble the Cougars had throwing when a defense drops seven and eight into pass coverage and used a look he hadn't employed in four years.

He added a third safety, giving Wyoming five defensive backs instead of four, then rushed BYU quarterback Kevin Feterik with only three or four up front.

Koenning used the same strategy against East Carolina when he was at Memphis, but East Carolina foiled it with a solid running game.

BYU managed only 29 yards on 29 carries.

"We were moving the ball but we couldn't run," said Feterik, who completed 30 of 46 passes for 362 yards. "You can't win if you can't run."

Or can't protect the passer.

The Cougars used maximum protection packages most of the game, and the running backs did a great job picking up blitzes that Koenning sent from every conceivable direction. In the end, however, Feterik was sacked five times.

"When they get to you with their three- or four-man rush like they did at key times, you have no one to throw to," BYU head coach LaVell Edwards said.

Count Feterik as frustrated.

"These defenses we see, I've never seen before," he said. "It's not even worth watching film because they come out and play totally different defenses."

It's not a lack of preparation. No, teams are just throwing brand-new stuff at the Cougs.

Wyoming coach Dana Dimel, for example, admitted he and Koenning had sat on their three-safety package all year, saving it just for BYU.

"We used three safeties deep, rolled the cornerbacks to the flats in zones. Then we used a three-man front and blitzed with linebackers from different angles to take the running backs out of the game," Dimel said.

"BYU actually made great adjustments to it."

Said Feterik, "By the time we were able to make adjustments, it was too late."

That's because on the other side of the ball, Wyoming was executing its triple-shoot offense better than it had all season. It kept middle linebacker Rob Morris off balance and out of the thick of the action.

The misdirection also helped keep the defensive line from getting any pressure on Cowboys quarterback Jay Stoner, who without the usual harassment from the Cougar front completed 20 of 30 passes for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns.

It was worse than it might have been because cornerbacks Brian Gray and Heshi Robertson were admittedly disinterested. Gray even gave up a rare touchdown pass.

With those two off their games and Stoner standing comfortably in the pocket, the safeties and extra defensive backs -- a problem already because of personnel losses -- were in a lose-lose situation.

BYU might have won Saturday if it'd had Luke Staley (knee, calf) or Tait (NFL) to boost the running game, or if the defensive backs had played better or the defensive line had found a way to Stoner.

Those are all things which could be improved by Saturday's game with Utah. And the Utes' more straight-forward offense plays right into the strengths of BYU's pass rushers and Morris.

Unless, of course, Utah does things the Cougars have never seen them do on film to exploit those darn Achilles' heels.