BYU's offense is young, sound, and beatable if the Missouri defense is still dialed in

QB
Tanner Mangum 6-3 210 Fr. -- 179-for-282, 2,198 yards, 15 TD, 7 INT, 20 sacks (6.8 yards/att.); 21 carries, 66 yards (3.1), 1 TD
Beau Hoge 6-1 198 Fr. OR -- 9-for-16, 126 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack (6.9); 14 carries, 52 yards (3.7), 2 TD
Koy Detmer Jr. 5-10 180 Fr. -- 3-for-3, 57 yards (19.0 yards/att.)

BYU suffered the worst possible fate in its first game of the season and survived anyway. Star quarterback Taysom Hill, a dual-threat and one of the best zone-read guys in the country, was lost for the season to injury in Week 1 against Nebraska.

So Tanner Mangum was thrust into the starting lineup instead. Mangum isn't the truest of true freshmen (he's 22 and spent the last two years on Mormon mission), but he's still a first-time college quarterback, and he's done well. He's had ups and downs -- great against NU and Boise State, iffy against UCLA/Michigan/UConn, great against ECU/Cincinnati/Wagner, then only okay against San Jose State -- but, well, Missouri fans should pretty clearly understand the travails of having a freshman quarterback. That Mangum's actually had ups with the downs is a good thing, and BYU ranks a healthy (if not amazing) 36th in Passing S&P+.

You can get to Mangum, however, and unlike Dak Prescott, Mangum's not likely to get away. BYU ranks 112th in Adj. Sack Rate, so passing downs could be quite a chore for the Cougars against Missouri's pass rush.

RB
Algernon Brown 6-1 235 Jr. -- 88 carries, 490 yards (5.6), 8 TD; 12 targets, 8 catches, 43 yards (3.6), 1 TD
Adam Hine 6-1 216 Sr. -- 57 carries, 321 yards (5.6), 2 TD; 6 targets, 4 catches, 15 yards (2.5)

FB
Francis Bernard 6-0 235 Fr. -- 35 carries, 248 yards (7.1), 3 TD; 5 targets, 5 catches, 40 yards (8.0)
Toloa’i Ho Ching 6-1 240 So.

That BYU has managed to field a decent offense is incredible considering both the number of freshmen involved and the state of the backfield. Hill: gone. Leading rusher Jamaal Williams: gone. But Brown and Hine have helped to stem the tide a bit. BYU's run game isn't very efficient (70th in rushing success rate), but big plays have made a big difference. Brown, Hine, and Nate Carter have helped BYU to a No. 25 ranking in Rushing S&P+ despite the inefficiency.

HB
Mitchell Juergens 5-10 182 Jr. -- 38 targets, 29 catches, 377 yards (10.5), 2 TD
Trey Dye 5-9 175 So. -- 4 targets, 4 catches, 67 yards (16.8)

WR
Mitch Mathews 6-6 215 Sr. -- 76 targets, 40 catches, 499 yards (6.6), 9 TD
Kurt Henderson 6-1 180 Sr. -- 4 targets, 2 catches, 19 yards (4.8)
Moroni Laulu-Pututau 6-4 190 Fr. -- 5 targets, 3 catches, 17 yards (3.4)

WR
Devon Blackmon 6-0 187 Sr. -- 58 targets, 38 catches, 502 yards (8.7)
Nick Kurtz 6-6 205 Jr. -- 41 targets, 27 catches, 401 yards (9.8), 2 TD

IR
Terenn Houk 6-5 225 Sr. -- 35 targets, 26 catches, 378 yards (10.8), 1 TD
Colby Pearson 6-0 204 Jr. -- 19 targets, 13 catches, 108 yards (5.7), 1 TD

TE
Remington Peck 6-4 275 Sr.
Tanner Balderree 6-3 242 So.

BYU's receiving corps is structured a lot like Mississippi State's -- a go-to possession receiver (in this case, big Mitch Mathews, a nightmarish matchups in the red zone) complemented by big-play threats elsewhere: Devon Blackmon, Nick Kurtz, Mitchell Juergens, and Terenn Houk all average at least 13.2 yards per catch and give Mangum a chance to pick out a matchup he likes and exploit it repeatedly. MSU did a really nice job of that.

Of course, MSU still posted below-season-average numbers against Mizzou, and that was with Prescott's elusiveness involved. This is a good receiving corps, but Missouri's pass defense should mostly be up to the task.

LT
Brad Wilcox 6-7 287 Jr. -- 9 career starts
Ryker Mathews 6-6 320 Sr. -- 29 career starts

LG
Parker Dawe 6-3 295 Jr. -- 2 career starts
Jaterrius Gulley 6-2 340 RSFr. -- 1 career start

C
Tejan Koroma 6-0 290 So. -- 21 career starts

RG
Tuni Kanuch 6-3 330 So. -- 8 career starts

RT
Austin Hoyt 6-8 270 RSFr. -- 2 career starts
JJ Nwigwe 6-5 270 Fr.

BYU ranks 21st in Adj. Line Yards but 112th in Adj. Sack Rate. And it appears that part of the reason the run is effective is from lack of use: BYU runs just 49.3% of the time on standard downs (116th in the country) and 30.3% on passing donws (79th). The game is on Mangum's shoulders. In theory, Charles Harris, Walter Brady, and company could also be on Mangum's shoulders quite a bit.