Sitake Not Blaming Wilson For Final Play Decision
Nov 6, 2018, 7:19 PM | Updated: 7:27 pm
BOISE, ID - NOVEMBER 3: Quarterback Zach Wilson #11 of the BYU Cougars scrambles away from pressure during first half action against the Boise State Broncos on November 3, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – Although the final seconds of BYU’s loss to Boise State didn’t go as a planned, head coach Kalani Sitake isn’t holding a grudge or putting any blame on freshman quarterback Zach Wilson for his decision-making.
“There are a lot of things you can evaluate and I probably could have done some things differently. But, it shouldn’t have come down to the last play or the last drive. We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position,” said Sitake in his weekly press conference on Monday.
In fact, Sitake continued to say the Cougars were in a position to win thanks to Wilson.
“You can say that Zach Wilson could have had time for two plays in that last series, but we wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for him either. We wouldn’t have been in that position if he wasn’t the guy to make the plays that he made,” said Sitake.
Wilson completed 18-of-27 passes for 252 yards without a touchdown or an interception in the loss.
Things Didn’t Go According To Plan
After the fateful play had ended and the game had concluded in a 21-16 loss for BYU, Matt Hadley spoke to KSL’s Spencer Linton about what the plan was and what went wrong on the play in question.
“The plan initially was, it was a designed pass play but Zach also had the option to keep it and run it. I didn’t see what happened. It appeared that maybe pressure got to Zach or Zach did try to keep it. But either way it was a tough break,” said Hadley.
Heartbreaker #BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/s6RbCWt4Gg
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) November 4, 2018
When speaking to reporters postgame, Wilson echoed Hadley in confirming that the plan was a pass play and said “I should have been smart and thrown it out of the back of the end zone,” when nothing was open.
Wilson continued to say that throwing the ball away and going for another play didn’t cross his mind and attributed it to being a “freshman mistake.”
“I got to hold myself accountable for that play. It’s too bad we came up short,” said Wilson.
The Cougars will look to regroup Saturday at 10 a.m. against UMass in Foxboro, Mass. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv.
