Q&A: BYU Cougars

We asked our friends over at “Vanquish The Foe” to talk some BYU Football. Mary Blanchard from the site graciously answered our usual questions!

Which player on offense should Cal fans know about?

Let’s go with running back Squally Canada—although it might be more apt to say that Cal should know about our whole offensive line. Canada had 98-yards on 24 carries Saturday (he also had 3 TDs)—which is fantastic—but the offensive line was opening canyon-sized holes for him. The OL also prevented BYU QB Tanner Mangum from being sacked the entire game.

Which player on defense should Cal fans know about?

Junior DL Corbin Kaufusi had our lone sack against Arizona and he looked strong, and fast, and ready to play football. He played a couple of years of basketball for BYU, so he was a dual athlete for a while, then decided last year to focus on football and it has paid off. He’s just a huge, intimidating man who can get anywhere fast. He had 7 tackles in game one (they were all solo), 2 of tackles for loss, and 1 of them was the aforementioned sack.

Who’s one under-the-radar or X-factor player who could swing this game for BYU?

I personally really like sophomore DL Khyris Tonga. While he had just 2 tackles last week, he was in on a ton of plays—pushing back offensive linemen like the beast that he is—and he has that killer instinct that has the ability to change a game. I will also throw a bonus player who has that same killer instinct and could change the game quickly. He very nearly had an interception against Arizona—LB Sione Takitaki. Don’t be surprised if both of those names are mentioned frequently.

What does BYU need to do to win the game?

From what I saw and read about the Cal–UNC game, it sounded like UNC beat themselves just as much as Cal beat them. We did have a few ticky-tacky penalties on Saturday, so if we can avoid those false start, illegal motion–type calls and play a clean game, I honestly like our chances. We also need the offensive line to play as well as they did last week. That always helps.

What does Cal need to do to win the game?

Rattling Tanner Mangum would help Cal’s chances (once again we’ve come across a facet of the game where our offensive line will play a big part). We also have several pretty good and fast linebackers, corners, and safeties, so outrunning us could help Cal win.

How do you see the game going?

It’s hard to say since neither team has really established an identity yet, but if they both play similar games to week one, I think BYU will edge Cal out by a close margin. Let’s go with that.

Whom do you most want to punch in the face?

Rod Gilmore. He was a total Arizona homer on the broadcast of our game last week. I hope we’ll all be invited to the seemingly impending wedding of Rod Gilmore and Khalil Tate. Hopefully we’ll fare better with Roy Philpott and Tom Ramsey this week.