Originally published November 7, 2019.
That felt GOOD!! The Old Wagon Wheel has made its way back to Provo, and order has been restored to the universe. The last two BYU-Utah State games have felt like a bad dream—quarterbacks getting hurt, Utah State getting blowout wins, questions about whether BYU is now the third-best program in the state, etc. All of that messy uncertainty was put to rest on Saturday, as the Cougars totally dominated the second half, forced a bevy of Aggie turnovers, and delivered a lopsided victory. Here are some thoughts from the game:
The stat line doesn’t show it, but the defense had a great game. Yeah, yeah, I know that they gave up 521 total yards, but that number doesn’t do justice to the performance put on by the Cougar defense. For one thing, only 127 of those yards came on the ground, which is a big improvement for the Cougars over their recent run defense struggles. For another, Jordan Love lived up to his billing as a talented passer with 394 yards and a touchdown through the air, but he was also sacked three times, picked off three times, and forced to cough up a fumble. His four turnovers negated the yardage he produced. Including a turnover on downs that the Aggies committed at the BYU 1-yard line, Utah State gained 244 total yards on possessions that ended in turnovers. The Aggies were gaining yards, but not points. The drop-8 coverage scheme gives up yardage, but when it’s executed right, it also forces turnovers.
BYU is deeeeeeep at quarterback. This game marked the return of Jaren Hall from a concussion suffered against USF, and Hall was on fire in the first half. Through the air, he went 12-16 for 214 yards with no picks. 214 yards. In the first half. Oh, and he rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Tragically, though, that wasn’t the end of the story. On the Cougars’ last drive of the first half, in the process of running for a 7-yard touchdown, Hall took a helmet-to-helmet hit that seems to have re-aggravated his concussion, and he was not cleared to return after the half. So, back to Baylor Romney, who came in and posted an equally impressive performance which included the first brother-to-brother TD pass in BYU history as he found his brother, Gunner, on a short screen play for a score in the third quarter. With such a small drop in performance through the Cougars’ top three quarterbacks, it looks like they might finally have some consistency at a position that has needed it for a long time.
Those linebackers are nasty. The BYU defense is top-10 in the nation in most turnover-forcing stats, and the Cougar linebacker corps has registered TEN picks so far this season! The BYU linebackers have more interceptions as a unit than 113 FBS teams so far. That’s amazing! Payton Wilgar is making a case for himself as the BYU linebacker of the future. He has three INT’s on the season and has emerged as a leader of this very young defensive unit.
There's an intriguing and fun battle developing at the running back spot. Lopini Katoa and Sione Finau each got significant playing time in this game, and both performed well, posting 171 and 75 yard of total offense, respectively. Jeff Grimes has a delightful problem now: who gets more touches? With both young backs performing at such a high level, the biggest challenge for the BYU offense will be finding some kind of balance between the two.
The BYU coaching staff flexed some muscle. This game marked the first time since the USC game where I really felt that the Cougars plain and simple out-coached an opponent. I know coaching played a big role in the Boise State game, but I feel like this game was a show of complete gameplan superiority. On offense, a dazzling array of screens, sweeps, and sideline routes gashed the Utah State defense for 639 yards. On defense, a well-timed combination of drop-8 coverages and blitz packages allowed the Cougars to intercept Jordan Love three times, recover two fumbles, and hold the Aggies to 14 points—the lowest scoring total for a BYU opponent this season.
This was an excellent all-around performance by a BYU football team that has hitherto been occasionally brilliant but brutally inconsistent. I think that, barring an unexpected loss to Liberty, UMass, or Idaho State, Coach Sitake can breathe easily about his job. Liberty, though, is not an opponent the Cougars can afford to overlook. Yes, they have the 143rd-strongest schedule in Division I football (which means that there are literally FCS teams with better schedules), but head coach Hugh Freeze is a veteran (albeit tarnished) SEC head coach and the Flames post one of the most prolific FBS pass attacks. Expect a lot of drop-8 coverage from the Cougars. It is worth noting that thus far in 2019, BYU is winless when favored to win. Bizarrely, the Cougars are 4-2 as underdogs and 0-2 as favorites. That will have to change this week. I don’t forsee any major difficulties. 48-21, Cougars.