This game did not go how I thought it would.
I suspect that's true for a lot of BYU fans; Colorado seemed like a relatively soft first opponent on the conference slate. The Buffaloes returned few of their starters from last year's 9-4 roster, with the most notable absences being Heisman-winning two-way speedster Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders. In place of Sanders, Colorado's starting QB for this game was 5th-year senior Kaidon Salter, a Liberty transfer who has already managed to get himself benched once this season. Cougar Nation could have been forgiven for being unconvinced coming into this matchup.
But lo and behold, Salter showed up to play. BYU linebacker Siale Esera commented after the game that the Colorado offense showed the Cougars several looks that hadn't been seen on film at all this season. BYU looked shell-shocked facing Salter's mobile, athletic style. The Buffaloes gashed Jay Hill's hitherto airtight defense, ripping off two straight touchdown drives in the first quarter and making it look alarmingly easy. At that point, BYU fans were feeling justifiably nervous.
As it turns out, though, those first two drives constituted Colorado's best and only punch of the game. The Cougars took one on the chin, sure, but after that, the game swung decisively in their favor. The offense settled in, with Bear Bachmeier leading a pair of nice drives to draw the score to 14-10 heading into halftime. The defense, meanwhile, had Colorado's offense thoroughly figured out after two drives--recognizing that Salter was essentially not a downfield threat, Jay Hill simply began spying him on every play, and his run game virtually evaporated. Early in the 3rd quarter, the Cougars finally surged into the lead and went on to win--arguably much more decisively than the final score indicated. Here are some thoughts on a 24-21 BYU victory that was more encouraging than you might think:
The Good:
Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker are entering rarefied air in the long history of the BYU linebacker room. While longtime fans might argue for Kurt Gouveia and Leon White, it's quite possible that Kelly and Glasker are the greatest duo of linebackers ever to simultaneously start at BYU. Kelly's elite closing speed and nose for the quarterback have combined with Glasker's ridiculous length, athleticism, and coverage ability to produce a virtually unstoppable defensive force. Both players had great performances against Colorado, but the Buffs' final offensive play was emblematic of just how dangerous Glasker and Kelly are when they team up. On that play, Kelly had been left to spy Kaidon Salter. When Salter committed to rolling out of the pocket, Kelly responded immediately, closing with near-superhuman speed to plant a vicious hit on the quarterback as he hastily released the ball. Glasker, who had dropped into coverage, followed the play and made a beautiful diving interception to seal the win for BYU. This BYU defense has plenty of talent, with stars like Evan Johnson at corner and Keanu Tanuvasa at tackle. But Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly are the heart and soul of this defense, and the engine that makes it all work.
After the Portland State game, I was excited about Bear Bachmeier and convinced that down the line, he would be a really good quarterback. I have to update that assessment, because as it turns out, he's a really good quarterback right now. He's been one of the most efficient passers in the country, while also adding a great deal to the offense with his dual threat ability--he was the Cougars' leading rusher in this game, and only failed to reach 100 yards because of a late clock-killing play. Most importantly, though, he hasn't made a single serious mistake thus far. I know, I know, nobody wants a Jake Retzlaff conversation here, but it really is worth noting how much more aware of the game and in control of the offense Bear has looked compared to Jake's performance through four games last season. It's early, and Bear is still a freshman, but it's looking increasingly likely that he is a legitimate upgrade over Jake in virtually every facet of the game.
Nor was the offense's success limited to the quarterback position. The wide receivers seem to have (largely) solved the problems that plagued them early on, headlined by Chase Roberts, whose five catches led the team and whose two touchdowns marked his first career game (somehow) with multiple touchdown catches. LJ Martin was reasonably effective, though he left the game for a short time with an injury. Honestly, though, he wasn't called on to do too much--Colorado's front was very focused on stopping the run, which left other components of the offense free to operate. In general, my most important takeaway from the offense through four games is how mistake-free it's been--the Cougars still don't have an offensive turnover yet this season.
Will Ferrin once again extended his streak of made field goals, this time to 25, but sadly, it ended there. On a 55-yard attempt in the second half, he had plenty of leg but missed left for his first unsuccessful attempt since the Baylor game last year--a genuinely unbelievable run that will be difficult to equal. Ferrin is pretty much indisputably the greatest kicker in BYU history, which is saying something. But the star of tonight's special teams effort was actually someone else: punter Sam Vander Haar. Late in the game, with the Cougars facing 4th down just inside Colorado territory, Kalani Sitake elected to punt and pin rather than try another excessively long field goal. Vander Haar executed the punt perfectly, with the ball ultimately downed inside the Colorado 4-yard line to set up Colorado's final, disastrous drive.
The Bad:
Obviously, in a game where BYU was expected to win by multiple touchdowns, a 24-21 final score means that something didn't go quite right. In this case, I think the trouble was mostly with the defense. Early in the game, the Cougars looked unprepared for Colorado's first couple of scripted drives, with the result that edge integrity and QB containment broke down repeatedly and the Buffaloes enjoyed what might end up being their two easiest drives of the season. On those two possessions, the BYU defense put a fair amount on film for Coach Hill to review and improve on. The Cougars struggled a little with mobile quarterbacks during the early part of last season, too, but as with last year's defense, Coach Hill's unit this year is very good at taking advantage of one-dimensional offenses. Kaidon Salter is an impressive athlete, but presents a negligible threat in the deep passing game. Once the defense started selling out to take away his rushing, it was over for the Buffaloes.
Weirdness continues in the punt return game, where two games after winning the starting job over Parker Kingston, Tiger Bachmeier appears to have lost it again after making a bizarre mistake in this game where he returned a punt out of the end zone straight into strong coverage, ultimately pinning his team at about its own 7-yard line. The Cougars have to find some kind of consistency in the return game.
So far, this season has followed a pattern of increasing difficulty from week to week, which has allowed Bear Bachmeier to get comfortable. Up next, the degree of difficulty suddenly plummets: the Cougars return home to Provo after back-to-back road games, and their opponent, West Virginia, is making a case for being the worst team in the Big 12 this season. BYU should eviscerate the Mountaineers--as in the Stanford game, I will be genuinely alarmed by anything less than a three-score victory.
From there, the Cougars have one more likely easy game--a road matchup with a solid but beatable Arizona team--before heading into the teeth of their schedule. A home matchup with Utah--always a tough game, even if the Utes are bad--is followed by a brutal one-two punch of road games against #14 Iowa State and #11 Texas Tech. BYU could easily lose both of those away games. If the Cougars can steal at least one, they are probably legitimate conference title contenders. Win both, and who knows where the season could go? I expect BYU to be 6-0 heading into the Utah game, but what happens after that is anyone's guess.