Provo • BYU, with an abysmal record, a mediocre defense suddenly susceptible to big plays and a sluggish offense that only recently has been showing signs of life, can’t afford to take any team lightly.
That’s especially true this week when the 3-8 Cougars host UMass, a team they walloped 51-9 last year at LaVell Edwards Stadium by scoring 44 unanswered points after the Minutemen had leads of 6-0 and 9-7 in the first half.
BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said UMass has improved significantly since then, especially on offense. The Minutemen, who have won three of their last four games, are 35th in the country in total offense, averaging 434.