The 2013 BYU Cougars football team represented
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
in the
2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on August 29, 2013 and ended on Dece ...
. The Cougars, led by head coach
Bronco Mendenhall
Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall (born February 21, 1966) is an American football coach who most recently coached at The University of Virginia. He stepped down after the 2021 season. Mendenhall joined Virginia in 2015 after spending the previous elev ...
, played their home games at
LaVell Edwards Stadium
LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, an independent in the ...
. This was the third year BYU competed as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the
Fight Hunger Bowl
The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it w ...
where they lost to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, 31–16.
Before the season
Coaching changes
After the
2012 Poinsettia Bowl
The 2012 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 20, 2012 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California in the United States. The eighth edition of the Poinsettia Bowl b ...
, longtime assistant coach Lance Reynolds announced his retirement after 33 years of service at BYU (29 years as a coach and 4 years as a player). To fill the vacancy, BYU looked to an old face. Longtime assistant
Robert Anae
Robert Anae (born December 21, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who is current serving as the offensive coordinator (OC) for NC State since December 2022. Prior to NC State, he was the OC at the University of Virginia and Bri ...
was brought back from the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
as the new offensive coordinator. In addition to his position as the offensive coordinator, Anae was given the responsibility of helping Bronco evaluate the entire offensive staff.
On January 8, Mark Weber left BYU for
Utah State
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...
after six years with the Cougars. Weber was hired by the Aggies as the new assistant head coach and as the offensive line coach.
On Monday, January 14, Coach Mendenhall informed running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Joe DuPaix and tight ends Coach
Ben Cahoon
Ben Cahoon (born July 16, 1972) is a former professional Canadian football slotback who spent his entire career with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He won the award for the Most Outstanding Canadian in the CFL two years i ...
that their contracts would not be renewed for the 2013 season. It was also revealed that
Brandon Doman
Brandon Doman (born December 29, 1976) is an American football player and coach. He is the former offensive coordinator for the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars. Doman played quarterback for BYU in 2000-2001 and was drafted by the San Franci ...
's status with the university was uncertain for 2013. BYU announced they had interviewed
Max Hall
Max Hall (born October 1, 1985) is a former American National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League quarterback. After playing college football for BYU, he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Hal ...
, Paul Peterson (Sacramento State offensive coordinator), and Steve Clark (Southern Utah offensive coordinator) for the position of quarterback coach for the 2013 season.
On Tuesday, January 15, BYU announced that two coaches had been hired as part of the new offensive staff for the 2013 season. Garett Tujague was hired and Mark Atuaia was moved from the athletic director's office as the assistant to the AD over to the football coaching staff. BYU's official press release said that positions wouldn't be announced until the staff was finalized, but common rumors stated that Tujague would become the offensive lines coach and Atuaia would become the running backs coach.
On Wednesday, January 16, BYU announced that
Aaron Roderick
Aaron Roderick (December 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Brigham Young University (BYU). He was previously BYU's passing game coordinator and ...
had been hired as an assistant coach on the offensive side at BYU. Roderick was to join the Cougars after 8 years of service at
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and it was believed that he would serve as the receivers coach. Less than 24 hours after accepting the position at BYU, Roderick changed his mind and decided to return to the Utes for the 2013 season.
The final coaching staff members were announced on Friday, February 15.
Jason Beck
Jason Charles Beck (born 20 March 1972), professionally known as Chilly Gonzales, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer. Currently based in Cologne, Germany, he previously lived for several years in Paris. Gonzales is a musical polymat ...
was hired as the quarterback coach and Guy Holliday was hired as the wide receiver coach.
On February 28, Bronco Mendenhall announced that
Nick Howell had been promoted to the defensive coordinator position, Robert Anae was assistant head coach, and Kelly Popinga would serve as special teams coordinator.
2013 recruits
DeBeikes, England, Laulu-Pututau, Shumway, and Tapusoa served church missions right after graduation and did not join the BYU team until the 2015 season.
2013 returning missionaries
Eight return missionaries, 4 on the offensive side and 4 on the defensive side, returned and played their first action with BYU during the 2013 season.
2013 departures
The following Cougars graduated, transferred, or chose to serve two-year church missions after the 2012 season and didn't return to the team in 2013.
Spring Game
The annual Spring Game was held on Saturday, March 30, 2013. Instead of doing a traditional 20-minute scrimmage with 5 minutes per quarter, the Cougars held a 50-play scrimmage that became more of a 75-play scrimmage. More than 12,000 fans turned out to see the first team offense and second team defense (titled BYU West) take on the second team offense and first team defense (BYU East). Several expected starters, including QB
Taysom Hill
Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 201 ...
, who had not been cleared for full contact, were held out of the scrimmage. The offense scored four touchdowns and added one field goal in a 15–13 victory by the West team.
Pre-season honors
Media
2013 Media Day
Football Media Day was held on Wednesday, June 26, at 10 AM
MDT. BYU announced a 2-for-1 series with
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
scheduled to begin in 2019, a 2015 affiliation with the
Poinsettia Bowl, and the 3-year extension of head coach Bronco Mendenhall, pushing his contract through the 2016 season. New BYUtv Sports reporter Spencer Linton conducted webchats with some of BYU's returning starters, new starters, and head coaches.
Trevor Matich
Trevor Anthony Matich (born October 9, 1961) is an American football analyst and former center in the National Football League from 1985 through 1996.
Early years
Matich grew up in Sacramento, California. He did not become starter on his high ...
returned from
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
to act as a special analyst alongside BYUtv analysts
Blaine Fowler
Blaine Fowler is a college football and men's college basketball sports analyst in the Mountain West Conference for NBC Sports Network basketball broadcasts. He also provides analysis for the Independent BYU Cougars football team and men's basket ...
, Jan Jorgensen, and Brian Logan. A TV special titled ''LaVell Edwards and the BYU Quarterback Factory'' was also held.
Dave McCann acted as the panel host alongside
LaVell Edwards,
Robbie Bosco,
Ty Detmer,
Gifford Nielsen
Stanley Gifford "Giff" Nielsen (born October 25, 1954) is a former American football quarterback who played professionally for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the sports director of KHOU in Houston from 1984 until ...
,
Steve Sarkisian
Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB GENEALOGY – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". –
FUN FACT, Sarkisian’s father is actually Texas Tech Head Coach, Joey McGuire.
''Dallas Mo ...
,
Gary Sheide
Gary Sheide is a former American football quarterback for Brigham Young University. He was the first quarterback to come out of LaVell Edwards's BYU "quarterback factory."
Sheide was born on November 6th, 1952 and grew up in Antioch, California. ...
,
Marc Wilson,
Steve Young,
Jim McMahon
James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...
, and others.
Cougar IMG Sports Network affiliates
KSL 102.7 FM and 1160 AM- Flagship Station (Salt Lake City/ Provo, UT and ksl.com)
BYU Radio
BYU Radio is a talk radio station run by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Operating at Sirius XM channel 143 (and in northern Utah on 107.9 KUMT and 89.1-2 KBYU-HD2), it is known on-air as BYU Radio. The station features "news, current e ...
- Nationwide (Dish Network 980, Sirius XM 143, and byuradio.org)
KIDO Kido or KIDO may refer to:
* Kido (surname)
* KIDO, an American radio station
* Kidō, a form of magic used by characters in the manga and anime ''Bleach''
* Conficker or Kido, computer worm
* Gao Hanyu
Gao Hanyu (; born 6 February 1989), als ...
- Boise, ID
ootball onlybr/>
KTHK
KTHK (105.5 FM) is a commercial radio station located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. KTHK airs a country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in ...
- Blackfoot/ Idaho Falls/ Pocatello/ Rexburg, ID
KMGR
KMGR (99.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Nephi, Utah, United States. The station is broadcasting both easy listening and soft adult contemporary formats, and is an affiliate of ABC News Radio. It serves the Provo-Orem metropolitan area. T ...
- Manti, UT
KSUB
KSUB (590 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Cedar City, Utah, United States, the station is currently owned by Townsquare Media.
The station is also heard on a translator, K299BU, at 107.7 FM in Cedar City.
His ...
- Cedar City, UT
KDXU- St. George, UT
KSHP- Las Vegas, NV
ootball only
Roster
Schedule
BYU faced schools from every BCS conference except the
SEC: the
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
,
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
,
Big 12,
Pac-12
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
, and the
AAC
AAC may refer to:
Aviation
* Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California
* Alaskan Air Command, a radar network
* American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York
* American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...
.
Notre Dame was an additional Top 25 opponent, and BYU also played rivalry games against
Boise State
Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...
and traditional rival
Utah State
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...
. BYU played in the
2013 Fight Hunger Bowl
The 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl is an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2013 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. It was one of the 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games, 2013–14 bowl games that co ...
.
Game summaries
Virginia
BYUtv Panel: Alema Harrington, Brian Logan,
David Nixon, and Andy Boyce. Sideline Reporters:
Dave McCann and
Blaine Fowler
Blaine Fowler is a college football and men's college basketball sports analyst in the Mountain West Conference for NBC Sports Network basketball broadcasts. He also provides analysis for the Independent BYU Cougars football team and men's basket ...
Sources:
BYU and Virginia entered into the game with both teams debuting new offenses and hoping for the best. Bad news occurred for Cougar fans before game time as it was revealed Cody Hoffman had an ankle sprain and would be unable to play. The first quarter saw BYU's total yardage as nearly quadruple that of Virginia's, but neither team was able to score. As the two teams got ready to start the second quarter, lightning struck within 15 miles of the stadium. Both teams were sent to their locker rooms, and a two-hour lightning delay began.
The lightning also caused havoc with the TV arrangements. ESPNU had another game to start broadcasting at 7 PM, but BYU at Virginia would only be in the second quarter. As a result, ESPN decided to move the entire nation, except for those in the states of Virginia and Utah, to the Washington State/ Auburn ESPNU game while the markets of Utah and Virginia would remain with the BYU/ Virginia game. The game would be made available on ESPN3 for the rest of the nation. However viewers on DirecTV and Dish Network had no choice but to move to the next game as they couldn't put in territorial restrictions. Dish Network was able to air the remainder of the game on Channel 147, an ESPN alternate station, but DirecTV fans were to go unhappy, unless they had internet access to ESPN3.
The Cougars were able to strike first in the second quarter, and it provided hope for the Cougars as the Cougars had only lost three times in the Bronco Mendenhall era when BYU scored first. However a 53-yard field goal and a blocked punt gave Virginia the momentum, and they never looked back.
Weather continued to cause problems for BYU and Virginia as the third quarter began. A heavy rain storm began, and while the degrees of heaviness would rotate throughout the remainder of the game, the rain would cause both teams to shift to a ground and pound attack strategy. Virginia would score 12 unanswered points, culminating in a great toe drag by Darius Jennings to give the Cavaliers the lead.
Despite the toe drag, it would be the Virginia defense that would save the day for the Cavaliers. On a 3rd and 7 Hill threw the ball to sophomore running back Jamaal Williams, but the slickness of the ball and the continual rain caused it to slip from his hands. The ball would land in the hands of Virginia safety Anthony Harris. After a quick lateral Williams was able to bring the Cavs down at BYU's 13 yard line, but one play later Virginia would score the game's final touchdown. The Cougars would complete a 50-yard pass on the last play of the game, but it was too little, too late.
Jamaal Williams led the Cougars with 33 carries for 144 yards. Taysom Hill carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards and a touchdown. He would also throw the ball 13 times for 175 yards and a touchdown.
BYU owned every statistical category with 187 yards rushing compared to Virginia's 109. They would also out pass Virginia 175 to 114. However Virginia's wise ball control (34:09 to BYU's 25:51) allowed them to control the clock for 3 out of 4 quarters, and in the end it was the ball control, special teams blunders, a safety, and an interception that gave the Cavaliers a narrow 19 to 16 win.
Despite the loss, BYU did manage to compile one award for the week.
* Scott Arellano
:: FBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week
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Texas
BYUtv Panel: Alema Harrington, Brian Logan, and
David Nixon
Sources:
At first many fans thought the game would be a repeat of last week as a severe thunderstorm hit Provo at 4 PM. Kickoff was immediately postponed from 5:06 PM as a 55-minute warmup was still required for both teams. Some of the players were able to go to the fans and interact with them before heading back to the locker room during the delay, giving the fans additional motivation. Nearly an hour after the storm hit, a start time of 6:52 was announced, resulting in a 1-hour, 46 minute lightning delay. The rain would continue on and off throughout the rest of the game, but no one expected the performance BYU put up.
Sophomore Quarterback Taysom Hill found lane after lane and was able to dominate the Texas line, setting a BYU record with 15.2 yards per rush, but he wasn't alone. For the second consecutive game Jamaal Williams would go over the century mark, and Paul Lasike would also add 86 rushing yards. It was part of a record performance for BYU- 550 rushing yards, which also became the most rushing yardage Texas has ever given up. For individual totals Hill had 259 yards rushing, the second highest rushing total for a BYU QB, and Williams had 182 yards rushing. Hill's passing yardage was less than impressive (9–26 with 129 yards and 1 interception), but with the running lanes throughout BYU was able to dominate and shock the #15 ranked Longhorns.
After the game, BYU swept the FBS Independent Player of the Week Awards and won a lot of other national attention awards.
* Taysom Hill
:: Athlon Sports National Player of the Week
:: CBSSports.com Offensive Player of the Week
:: Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week Honorable Mention
:: FBS Offensive Independent Player of the Week
:: College Sports Madness Independent Offensive Player of the Week
* Justin Sorensen
:: FBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week
:: College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Placekicker of the Week
:: Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week
* Jamaal Williams
:: College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Running Back of the Week
* Alani Fua
:: FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week
:: College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Linebacker of the Week
* Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week
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Utah
The week of the game, BYU linebacker
Spencer Hadley
Spencer Hadley (born October 30, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Brigham Young University from 2008 to 2013. He served a two-year Mormon mission in the Rosevile California
California is a U.S. ...
was suspended 5 games for an honor code violation.
Sources:
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Middle Tennessee
Sources:
Coming into the game, it was bad news for BYU from the start.
:Jammal Williams was out with a concussion
:Cody Hoffman was suspended for 1 game for violating team rules
:Michael Yeck was back starting at RG after an injury to Brock Stringhman during the week.
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Utah State
BYUtv Panel:
Dave McCann, Alema Harrington, Brian Logan, and
Blaine Fowler
Blaine Fowler is a college football and men's college basketball sports analyst in the Mountain West Conference for NBC Sports Network basketball broadcasts. He also provides analysis for the Independent BYU Cougars football team and men's basket ...
. Sideline Reporter: Spencer Linton
Sources:
----
Georgia Tech
Sources:
On Friday it was announced that Spencer Hadley's suspension had been reduced to 3-games, and that he would be eligible to play against the Yellow Jackets if the coach would put him in. The news was only a small spark for the Cougars as they headed into the game. Running back's Jamaal Williams and Algernon Brown would run for their first TD's of the season, and Taysom Hill showed his passing performance against the Aggies wasn't a fluke, hitting Cody Hoffman for a 45-yard touchdown on their first possession of the game. Hill would later add a rushing touchdown of his own. The Cougars got out to an early 24–10 lead on the Yellow Jackets, and that lead would not let up. Hadley would play the entire second half, getting some 3rd down conversion sacks and tackles that prevented the Yellow Jackets from rallying. In the end BYU's defense would hold their 12th straight opponent under 21-points, and the Cougars would pick up their 3rd consecutive win. Hill completed 19/27 for 244 yards and a touchdown. Williams carried the ball 17 times for 89 yards while Hill added 15 carried for 87 yards. Hoffman led the Cougars receiving with 99-yards, and Falslev joined him with 69-yards. The Cougars D would score a touchdown for the third-consecutive game.
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Houston
Sources:
A high flying first half led to a number of new records for the BYU football team. The two sets of Cougars combined for 701 yards of offense and 72 points in the first half (456 for BYU, 245 for Houston). With his first reception of the game, Cody Hoffman became the all-time leading receiver in BYU history, surpassing TE
Dennis Pitta
Dennis Gregory Pitta Jr. (born June 29, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at BYU, where he was a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Af ...
. With his touchdown reception, Hoffman tied
Austin Collie
Austin Kirk Collie (born November 11, 1985) is a Canadian former professional gridiron football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round (127th overall) in the 2009 NFL D ...
for the most touchdown receptions made by a receiver at BYU. Taysom Hill became the first person to rush for more than 100 yards against Houston this season. BYU ran a record 115 plays, tying the all-time number of plays run in a FBS game by one-team and shattering their previous record of 95-plays in a game. BYU also made 41-first downs in the game, a new mark for most first downs in a game, and the 76-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Spencer became the most yardage the Cougars have given up in a pass this season.
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Boise State
Sources:
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Wisconsin
Sources:
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Idaho State
Sources:
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Notre Dame
Sources:
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Nevada
Sources:
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Fight Hunger Bowl
Sources:
References
{{BYU Cougars football navbox
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
BYU Cougars football seasons
BYU Cougars football
The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national champion ...