Tag: BYU

Keenan Pili is bringing physicality, leadership to Tennessee

BYU linebacker transfer Keenan Pili is bringing physicality and leadership to Tennessee.

Second-year head coach Josh Heupel and the Vols received a linebacker transfer commitment on Wednesday.

Keenan Pili announced his commitment to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 237-pound Pili played at BYU from 2019-22. He played at Tennessee on Sept. 7, 2019, recording two tackles in the Cougars’ 29-26 double-overtime victory.

Pili appeared in 36 games at BYU, recording 190 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, four pass break-ups and two quarterback hurries.

Jarom Jordan with BYU TV discussed Pili and his time with the Cougars.

“He is awesome, good teammate, very skilled middle linebacker,” Jordan told Vols Wire. “He tore his ACL in 2021 and was not the same player in 2022. He is a super physical player and a leader.”

Pili was as a team captain at BYU.

He served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Florida from 2017-19.

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PHOTOS: Tennessee linebacker transfer commit Keenan Pili

PHOTOS: A look at Tennessee linebacker transfer commit Keenan Pili during his career at BYU

The 2022 early signing period is taking place Dec. 21-23 for the 2023 football recruiting signing class.

2022 early signing period: Tracking Tennessee’s signees

Early signing period: Josh Heupel welcomes Vols’ 2023 signees

Second-year head coach Josh Heupel and the Vols received a linebacker transfer commitment on Wednesday.

Keenan Pili announced his commitment to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 237-pound Pili played at BYU from 2019-22. He played at Tennessee on Sept. 7, 2019, recording two tackles in the Cougars’ 29-26 double-overtime victory.

Pili appeared in 36 games at BYU, recording 190 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, four pass break-ups and two quarterback hurries.

Below are photos of Pili’s career at BYU.

BYU linebacker Keenan Pili commits to Tennessee

BYU linebacker Keenan Pili commits to Tennessee football.

The 2022 early signing period is taking place Dec. 21-23 for the 2023 football recruiting signing class.

2022 early signing period: Tracking Tennessee’s signees

Early signing period: Josh Heupel welcomes Vols’ 2023 signees

Second-year head coach Josh Heupel and the Vols received a linebacker transfer commitment on Wednesday.

Keenan Pili announced his commitment to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 237-pound Pili played at BYU from 2019-22. He played at Tennessee on Sept. 7, 2019, recording two tackles in the Cougars’ 29-26 double-overtime victory.

Tennessee and BYU were slated to play during the 2023 season, but the contest was canceled.

Pili came to BYU from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah.

Below are Pili’s statistics during his career with the Cougars.

BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl Prediction Game Preview

BYU vs SMU game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, December 17

BYU vs SMU prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. New Mexico Bowl, Saturday, December 17

BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl Prediction Game Preview

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BYU vs SMU How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 17
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
How To Watch: ABC
Record: BYU (7-5), SMU (7-5)
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BYU vs SMU New Mexico Bowl 5 Things To Know

New Mexico Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– It’s the last game for BYU before being off to the Big 12 next season, and SMU would love to show the conference what it’s missing. As is, the matchup has the potential to be fun offensive show depending on the parts still around – more on that in a moment – and worth the watch if and when the Miami-Buffalo game gets dull. This will be rolling as the NFL day finishes up.

– BYU was a relative clunker in last year’s Independence Bowl loss to UAB. It lost two of its last three bowl games and five of its last eight, but head coach Kalani Sitake is 3-2 in the post-season in his six seasons.

– It’s a nice way to end SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee’s second season. His team won four of the last five games, the offense showed off a ton of passing firepower, and the program will be jacked to get to play in this after the last two bowl games were canceled including last year’s Fenway against Virginia. SMU hasn’t won a bowl since taking down Fresno State in the 2021 Hawaii.

– The New Mexico Bowl has normally been a home for a Mountain West team, but BYU ended up being the fit. The Mountain West won the last four and seven of the last nine, and none of games were particularly amazing. Last year’s 31-24 Fresno State win over UTEP was okay, but there hasn’t been a ton of scoring since Colorado State’s 48-45 win over Washington State in 2013. This New Mexico Bowl should change that.

– It’s just the fourth time these two programs will meet – BYU is 3-0. The last time was a 19-16 Cougar win back in 1997, but if you’re interested at all in the history of college football, the 1980 Holiday Bowl – a miraculous 46-45 comeback victory led by BYU QB Jim McMahon – continues to be among the greatest bowl games of all-time.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why BYU Will Win The New Mexico Bowl

Run, run, run, and keep on running.

SMU might have a big-time offense that scores in bunches and takes teams out of their gameplans, but BYU should be able to get that big offensive line going right away and get physical.

RB Christopher Brooks came back after missing two weeks and ripped off 266 yards averaging close to eight yards per pop in the final two games – this will be his game to dominate.

On the other side, time of possession is relatively meaningless because of how quick SMU the passing game works. There’s a big problem with that – you have to beat BYU on the ground.

The Cougars are 7-0 when allowing fewer than 205 rushing yards and 0-5 when allowing more. SMU only hit the 200-yard mark three times, and all came against mediocre-to-awful run defenses.

There’s one big question mark, though, that could affect all of this …

Why SMU Will Win The New Mexico Bowl

BYU has a massive injury concern at quarterback. Jaren Hall was brilliant all year throwing for close to 3,200 yards with 31 touchdowns and just six picks, and he was second on the team in rushing. He’s very, very questionable – and most likely out – with an ankle injury which means the Cougars might have to turn to …

Uhhhhhh. That’s a great question if Hall can’t go. No one else on the roster has thrown more than one pass this year.

SMU is going to be more concerned about its own offense. Yeah, SMU wins when it runs well, but it wants to throw and throw some more. BYU was able to hold up in wins over Stanford and Utah Tech – allowing over 300 passing yards in each game – but it’s 2-4 when allowing 220 yards or more.

SMU seems like it gets 220 passing yards on the first drive – the loss to Cincinnati was the only time it didn’t get there.

BYU doesn’t have a problem keeping up the pace if the passing game works and the points are flowing, but this is probably going to be a back-and-forth fight. That means …

New Mexico Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, BYU vs SMU Prediction, New Mexico Bowl History

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BYU vs Stanford Prediction Game Preview

BYU vs Stanford game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 13 game on Saturday, November 26

BYU vs Stanford prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 13, Saturday, November 26

BYU vs Stanford Prediction Game Preview

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BYU vs Stanford How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 26
Game Time: 11:00 pm ET
Venue: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, CA
How To Watch: FS1
Record: BYU (6-5), Stanford (3-8)
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Why BYU Will Win

The passing game has kicked it back in.

Rolling for 455 yards against Utah Tech was no big deal, but that came off a 377-yard, three touchdown day against Boise State. Jaren Hall has thrown for two or more touchdowns in nine straight games and ten of the last 11, and even better are the downfield throws.

BYU has a ground attack – it’s 5-2 when running for over 115 yards – but it’s better when it’s cranking up the downfield plays. Stanford can’t stop the run – going 0-7 when giving up 160 yards or more – but in this, BYU will grind to set up the big throws from Hall. But …

– Bowl Projections | Bowl Bubble: Who’s Bowl Eligible?

Why Stanford Will Win

BYU’s defense has been struggling, too.

It got the job done against the terrific Boise State running attack, but it’s about to get tested after allowing over 200 yards on the ground in five straight games before that.

Stanford’s passing attack has to keep things moving, but it can’t abandon the running game that couldn’t get going against the better Pac-12 defenses but should have a little success here.

It has to establish the run early, hit a few third down plays, and it has to keep BYU from consistently moving the chains – it’s the best in the Pac-12 at coming up with third down stops.

There aren’t going to be a lot of turnovers or penalties, and …

– Week 13 College Football Schedule, Game Previews

What’s Going To Happen

Stanford just doesn’t score enough.

It’s possible the defense rises up in the final game of the year, but the three wins came when allowing 14 points or fewer and allowed 27 or more against everyone else.

BYU is 0-4 when scoring fewer than 26 points and 6-1 when scoring that many or more. The BYU offense will struggle to get past 26 points, but it’ll do it.

– Expert Picks College Week 12 | NFL Week 11

BYU vs Stanford Prediction, Line

BYU 27, Stanford 23
Line: BYU -6.5, o/u: 57.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
BYU vs Stanford Must See Rating (out of 5): 2.5

CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Path to the Playoff: 7 teams still in the race 

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– Bowl Projections | Rankings

BYU vs Boise State Prediction Game Preview

BYU vs Boise State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 10 game on Saturday, November 5

BYU vs Boise State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 10, Saturday, November 5

BYU vs Boise State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 5
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
How To Watch: FS2
Record: BYU (0-0), Boise State (0-0)
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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Expert Picks Week 10
Week 10 Schedule, Predictions
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BYU vs Boise State Game Preview

Why BYU Will Win

What’s going wrong?

BYU was rolling along with a 4-1 record and only a loss at Oregon, but it all fell apart fast. Even so, the offense is working well enough – except in the ugly loss to Liberty – and it should be able to get things moving a bit against the Boise State defense.

Yes, the Bronco defense has been great lately, but it also hasn’t faced too many great offenses – that includes Fresno State before QB Jake Haener was back. Because he was out, the Boise State pass defense stats look great, but they’re a bit of a misrepresentation.

Oregon State was the one team that threw for over 200 yards, and UTEP was able to hit 90% of its throws. Those were Boise State’s two losses.

However, what is BYU’s big problem?

– Breaking down the CFP Top 25 rankings

Why Boise State Will Win

Welcome to the BYU run defense.

It was supposed to be terrific, but it’s been a total disaster allowing over 200 yards per game. It had problems in the first part of the season, and then it fell off the map over the last five games.

Teams aren’t just committing to the run; they’re busting through with big dashes when they try.

Boise State’s running game went from mediocre to unstoppable after the most to offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, pushing for close to 1,000 yards over the last four games with 13 scores.

– Schedules, Predictions College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

BYU is still very good. It’s got plenty of talent, there are enough good parts to turn this around late, and the offense should be good enough to keep up.

However, Boise State will rip off 250 rushing yards and control the game throughout. The BYU defense can’t come up with third down stops and can’t make plays behind the line. Boise State will take advantage all of that.

– Expert Picks College Week 10 | NFL Week 9

BYU vs Boise State Prediction, Line

Boise State 38, BYU 30
Line: Boise State -7.5, o/u: 55.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
BYU vs Boise State Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
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– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

BYU vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

BYU vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 9 game on Friday, October 28

BYU vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 9, Friday, October 28

BYU vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Friday, October 28
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
How To Watch: ESPN2
Record: BYU (4-4), East Carolina (5-3)
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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 8 Roundup
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
College Football Playoff Rankings Prediction
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BYU vs East Carolina Game Preview

Why East Carolina Will Win

So where has it all gone wrong for BYU?

The excitement was high going into the season that this might be a special run, but it all fell apart over the last three weeks with the offense sputtering against Notre Dame and Liberty, and the defense a stunning no show against those two and Arkansas, too.

The East Carolina offense works.

Even when it only scored nine points in the loss to Tulane, the passing game wasn’t all that bad. There’s a good enough ground game to keep feeding the ball against a Cougar defensive front that’s getting ripped apart – it’s allowing over 200 yards in each of the last four games.

If that works, the passing attach should fire away at will – the BYU pass defense is allowing everyone to hit their midrange throws.

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 8

Why BYU Will Win

This is just the second true road game of the year for East Carolina – it lost the first one to Tulane, and what was supposed to be the second one turned into a neutral site date with USF thanks to the Hurricane Ian.

Yeah, BYU is having a whole lot of problems, but it’s not turning it over, the passing game has the talent to be efficient, and East Carolina gives up a ton of yards through the air.

And home field should matter.

It didn’t against Arkansas a few weeks ago, but that’s Arkansas. Going to Provo is tough, and again, not having other road games should be a problem when dealing with this environment.

BYU could use the energy boost.

– College Game Previews, Predictions

What’s Going To Happen

East Carolina should pose a whole slew of problems for the BYU defense.

The Cougars don’t have a pass rush, they’re totally miserable at coming up with third down stops, and East Carolina is the best team in the American Athletic Conference at connecting on its third down chances.

But really, can the Pirates handle the always nasty road test BYU is for almost everyone?

They can, but the secondary won’t hold up.

It seems like this keeps being said every week, but BYU is way overdue to get the passing game rolling again.

The yards were there against Arkansas, but everything fell flat against Liberty and there wasn’t anything happening against Notre Dame.

East Carolina’s pass defense should be the cure for that in an entertaining game.

– College Football Expert Picks, Week 9

BYU vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

BYU 34, East Carolina 30
Line: BYU -3.5, o/u: 63.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
BYU vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 2.5
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– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame at Syracuse

Can the Irish survive the Dome?

Finally, there is enough interest in Notre Dame that people are predicting one of its games again. Still, it’s worth wondering if it would be happening this week were Syracuse not ranked. You have to hate that we’re having this discussion, but alas.

Let’s look at what some college football experts, including fellow College Wire sites, are predicting for this game:

BYU vs Liberty Prediction, Game Preview

BYU vs Liberty game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 8 game on Saturday, October 22

BYU vs Liberty prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 8, Saturday, October 22

BYU vs Liberty How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 22
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, VA
How To Watch: ESPNU
Record: BYU (4-3), Liberty (6-1)
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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Midseason Roundup
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Hot Seat Coach Rankings | Heisman Race
Midseason Freshman All-America Team
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BYU vs Liberty Game Preview

Why BYU Will Win

BYU might not be having the season it wanted to have, but it was able to get by Baylor but couldn’t keep up in losses to Notre Dame and Arkansas.

That doesn’t mean it’s not good.

The passing game was strong against the Hogs, the running game was good against the Irish, and it should all work just fine against the Liberty defense.

The Flames might have stuffed the Wake Forest running game, but it hasn’t been tested by lines like BYU is about to bring.

On the other side, Liberty struggles to convert third down tries, there are way too many interceptions and too many turnovers, and …

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 7

Why Liberty Will Win

Liberty is a goldfish team – it gets as big or stays as small as the bowl.

It played great in a 37-36 loss to Wake Forest when the run defense showed up large and the offense clicked. It struggled to put away Gardner-Webb with a 21-20 win thanks to turnovers, and it took a fight to get by Akron and UMass.

However, the Flames find ways to win.

The defense is brilliant at coming up with picks helped by one of the nation’s best pass rushes. The defensive front is extremely active, the offensive side doesn’t have to worry about any sort of a pass rush from BYU, and …

– Game Previews, Predictions College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

BYU needs to bring its offensive balance all while keeping the turnovers to a minimum. That’s where it’ll pull this off.

The three giveaways against Arkansas was off brand for an offense that turned it over just three times in the previous six games.

Liberty will be jacked up at home and take its game up a few notches to keep this close, but it won’t get the takeaways needed to go along with a big day from the running game.

– College Football Expert Picks, Week 8

BYU vs Liberty Prediction, Line

BYU 30, Liberty 24
Line: BYU -7, o/u: 58
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
BYU vs Liberty Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
– Predictions of Every Game

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– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

They passed, anyway: Arkansas football report card against BYU

Does a road win against BYU mean anything for Arkansas? And does it matter?

Does a road win against BYU mean anything?

Yes.

Arkansas’s 52-35 victory on Saturday doesn’t put them in the national championship category. It doesn’t put them in any category except “team slightly above .500.”

What it does do is still provide some team morale for the rest of the season. The Razorbacks were entering this game with three straight losses and needed something to get the team back on track.

This performance against BYU seemed to have done the trick.

Arkansas offense was clicking on all cylinders, which many expected to happen. BYU defense didn’t handle the speed or power of the Razorbacks, which is why they put up 50 points for the first time this season.