2016 BYU Cougars football team
The 2016 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Kalani Sitake, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the sixth year BYU competes as an NCAA Division I FBS independent. They finished the season 9–4. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated Wyoming. Before the season. Coaching changes. BYU hired a new coaching staff in 2016. Gone from the program were Bronco Mendenhall, who accepted the Head coach position with the  Virginia Cavaliers on December 4, and assistant coaches Robert Anae, Garett Tujague, Mark Atuaia, Jason Beck, Nick Howell, and Kelly Poppinga, who accepted positions on Virginia's new coaching staff. On December 19, 2015, Kalani Sitake was announced as the new head coach. Sitake is the first Tongan to become a FBS collegiate football head coach. On December 24, 2015, Ilaisa Tuiaki was appointed the defensive coordinator and Ty Detmer the offensive coordinator. On December 26, 2015, Ed Lamb was appointed the assistant head coach. In December 2015, Nu'u Tafisi was reported as being named as the strength and conditioning  coach. On January 14, 2015 Tafisi was confirmed as a new member of the staff. Steve Kaufusi was also announced as a returning member of the staff, and former BYU offensive line coach Mike Empey, who served as offensive line coach under the legendary LaVell Edwards, was announced as a new staff member. On January 20, 2016 Ben Cahoon was hired as the wide receivers coach. On January 25, 2016 Steve Clark was hired as the tight end coach, Russell Tialavea was hired as the director of football operations, and AJ Middleton was hired as the asst. strength and conditioning  coach. On January 28, 2016, the final members of the coaching staff were hired. Reno Mahe was hired as the running backs coach, Jernaro Gilford was hired as the cornerbacks coach, and Tevita Ofahengaue was hired as the director of recruiting operations. Media. Football Media Day. Football Media Day took place on June 30, 2016. It aired live on BYUtv, with a simulcast on ESPN3. On it Coach Sitake talked about future scheduling, Tom Holmoe discussed BYU's interest in the Big XII Conference, Coach Detmer talked about the switch to the Pro-style offense and how it will rely  more on tight ends, and Coach Tuikai talked about the defensive scheme switching from 3–4 to 4–3. Throughout the day multiple players were also interviewed by Spencer Linton, Jarom Jordan, Lauren Francom, Jason Shepherd, Greg Wrubell, and various media members that covered BYU. Topics discussed during the interview included off-season workouts, marital status changes, the coaching changes, the QB controversy (Taysom Hill declared he could play that day if he was needed to), and many other topics. The day ended with a look back at the 1996 team that went 14–1 and won the Cotton Bowl. During Media Day  it was also revealed that Nike is working on a new shoe for Taysom Hill that gives additional support through the arch. It will also include the orthotics as an insole on top of that. Schedule. The 2016 schedule was believed to be BYU's hardest schedule to date. It featured Power 5 teams from the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC along with teams that have normally been ranked from the Group of 5 schools. However, at the end of the 2016 season it appeared noticeably weaker than previously predicted, with Sagarin ranking the schedule 75th. Game summaries . Arizona. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, white pants." The Cougar offense and defense dominated for three quarters of the game, but it took a 33-yard field goal from freshman kicker Jake Oldroyd for BYU to prevail 18–16 and give Kalani Sitake his first win as Cougar head coach. Oldroyd originally wasn't scheduled to be on the road roster. A late Thursday move moved Oldroyd past James Baird on the depth chart and onto the roster. After sophomore kicker Rhett Almond missed the extra point, BYU decided to make the move to Oldroyd showing the kicking battle  still hasn't been settled for the Cougars this season. In his return to the Cougars Jamaal Williams had a fine game, rushing for 162 yards on 29 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per carry, and winning BYUtv's Y-Factor award. Williams would also catch one pass for 10 yards. It was Taysom Hill though who carried much of the team. Hill threw for 202 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. After BYU fell behind 16–15, Hill took possession of the ball at the 20. He scrambled twice for a first down and went 3-for-3 passing on  the series. Overall Hill would carry the ball for 37 yards and four first downs. A late illegal procedure penalty with :08 seconds left nearly cost the Cougars, but BYU chose to use their final timeout and avoid the 10-second runoff. The ball had been moved from BYU's 20 to Arizona's 16, but the loss of the timeout forced Oldroyd to kick from the left hash instead of dead center. After a failed freeze by Rich Rodriguez, Oldroyd nailed the kick right down the center to give BYU the lead back and ultimately the win. Game Stats : Utah. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet with royal blue decals and royal blue chromium facemasks, royal blue jersey, white pants" Turnovers plagued both teams. A pick six on the first play of the game put BYU behind the eight ball and made many people fear it would be the Las Vegas Bowl all over again. BYU rebounded from the pick six though, forcing 6 turnovers (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles, and a muffed punt). The turnovers led directly to 13 of BYU's points. However a hard hit caused Jamaal Williams to sit most of the fourth quarter, and two questionable  targeting calls ejected two of BYU's top defenders, one of which was captain Kai Nacua (the referee couldn't initially get his number right, first saying 32 and 13 before finally correctly saying 12) who had intercepted two passes to that point; Austin McChesney was ejected for targeting as Francis Bernard (the actual number 13) came down with the third pick. Even with all the questionable calls and forced turnovers, both BYU and Utah found they had ample opportunities to score that they didn't capitalize on. A failed two-point conversion attempt was followed by a failed onside  kick attempt and ultimately cost BYU the game. One game after limiting his rushing, Taysom Hill rushed was 87 yards and 2 touchdowns showing he's as big a threat rushing as ever. BYU now prepares for their home opener against UCLA with a +5 turnover margin. Whether the offense can some of the turnovers into touchdowns though is anyone's guess. Game Stats: UCLA. Sources: "Uniform combination: White helmet, blue jersey, white pants" Game Stats: West Virginia. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, blue pants." Game Stats: Toledo. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, white pants." Game  Stats: Michigan State. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, blue pants." Game Stats: Mississippi State. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet with royal blue decals and royal blue chromium facemasks, royal blue jersey, white pants." Game Stats: Boise State. BYU learned during pregame festivities that Jamaal Williams suffered a knee injury against Mississippi State and would be unable to play. Squally Canada filled in for him rushing for 88 yards, a career-high, but Boise State's defense was able to force BYU to become one-dimensional and focus on passing the ball. Hill would complete only 50% and have  a season low in terms of passing yards. Of the 21 incompletions, 12 different balls were dropped by the receivers. BYU's defense kept the Cougars in the game, forcing Boise State to a season high 5 turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions), a missed field goal, a blocked field goal, and a muffed punt. However, the Cougars found themselves unable to contain Jeremy McNichols, who went for a season high 249 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. BYU has now suffered four losses by a combined 8 points, making them the most dangerous four loss team in the country. Of  BYU's four losses, 3 of them are now ranked in the Top 25 after week 8 (Boise State, West Virginia, and Utah). Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, blue pants." Game Stats: Cincinnati. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, blue pants." Game Stats: Southern Utah. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, blue jersey, white pants." Game Stats: UMass. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet, blue jersey, white pants." Game Stats: Utah State. Sources: "Uniform combination: black helmet with royal blue decals and royal blue chromium facemasks, black jersey, black pants." Game Stats: Poinsettia Bowl. Sources: "Uniform combination: white helmet , white jersey, white pants." Game Stats: