Unga's return boosts Cougar offense

What does Harvey Unga’s return mean to next year’s BYU football team? Well, does everything seem like too much of a stretch? I don’t think so. In one evening the Cougars went from rebuilding to restocking, and another 10-win season suddenly became an expectation, not a fantasy. Most importantly, breaking in a new quarterback (Jake Heaps, anyone?) just became a more manageable task for head coach Bronco Mendenhall and quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman.

New-quarterback jitters? Just give the ball to Harvey.

Unga is already BYU’s all-time leading rusher with 3,455 yards — a record that will be all but out of reach to any future rusher if he has another good season. Unga will also have a chance to become only the ninth player in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history to run for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons.

Here’s a look at how the Cougars fare when Unga plays well:

12-3 when Unga runs for more than 100 yards.
22-3 when Unga gains more than 100 total yards (rushing and receiving)
23-2 when Unga touches the ball (rushing and receiving) at least 20 times
10-1 when Unga scores at least two touchdowns*
8-1 when Unga gains more than 40 yards receiving

*The one loss came against Utah in 2008, a game where Unga dominated but inexplicably logged only 15 carries.