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PROVO — A lot has been said, filmed, analyzed and written about BYU’s offense, which ranks amongst the worst teams nationally in overall production.
But what is the identity of the Cougars’ defense?
In short, they don’t have one, linebacker and team captain Butch Pau’u admits.
“We’ve allowed three good teams to score on us, but we don’t feel like they should be scoring those points,” Pau’u said after BYU dropped its third-straight game to then-No. 10 Wisconsin 40-6. “These kinds of games happen. But as a defense, I feel like we don’t have an identity. We allow too many rushing yards, too many passing yards, and we’ve got to figure it out.”
As a defense, BYU ranks 82nd nationally in total defense, allowed 5.63 yards per play and 405 yards per game.
That’s a significant upgrade from an offense that rates 127th nationally — but not enough of an upgrade to win games against back-to-back-to-back Top 25 opponents like LSU, Utah and Wisconsin.
The BYU D is tied for 59th overall in scoring defense, allowing 23.0 points per game — and that includes the six points given up in a 20-6 win over FCS Portland State in the “Week Zero” season opener.
As head coach Kalani Sitake goes back to the drawing board during the Cougars’ bye week before a Sept. 29 trip to in-state rival Utah State, there will be a lot of discussions and breaking down both sides of the ball.
Sitake, a former Cougar fullback who made his name as a defensive coordinator at Utah and Oregon State, has the unique background on both sides of the ball, too.
“I’m the head coach, and I’m involved in everything,” he said. “I’ll be there, with (offensive coordinator Ty Detmer) and the rest of them. We’re going to try to score points and win games, the same as defensively.”
One big challenge on defense is in the pass rush and causing the disruption that Sitake’s defenses were known for in stops in the Pac 12. With a first-year head coach and first-time defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, the Cougars forced 74 tackles for loss, 29 sacks and 21 interceptions.
Last year’s leading disruptors — safety Kai Nacua (six interceptions) and defensive end Sae Tautu (six sacks, 11 tackles for loss) — are no longer with the team. But the hangover is still there: BYU has produced just one interception and four sacks in four games in 2017.
A defense that relied on “havoc plays” isn’t creating much havoc in the first month of the season.
Sione Takitaki’s return to the team after a season-long suspension was heralded in Provo. But even his return has only resulted in two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. Last year’s No. 2 sack artist, senior linebacker Fred Warner, has just three tackles for loss in 2017.
Blaming one player isn’t fair under Sitake’s system, though, he contends.
“You can’t have defensive ends just pass rushing every day; a lot of what other teams do is off-play action,” Sitake explained. “It’s not just about the pass rush but containing the throw and recognizing the pass.
“If you want to get more sacks, you have to stop the run — that’s the key. Make them one-dimensional, and then you can get sacks and create more disruption.”
That’s what the Badgers did to BYU last Saturday, when freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor ran for 129 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and “game manager” quarterback Alex Hornibrook threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns at a school-record 18-of-19 completion rate.
The Badgers only found one touchdown on the ground, but they piled up 235 net yards against a hapless Cougar defensive front that opened up a Hornibrook and a Wisconsin receiving set that torched BYU’s secondary.
“When you allow a team to establish a run game, they keep you on your heels,” Sitake said. “The answer is that we need to stop the run. We haven’t done a good job all year in stifling the run. Once we do that, we’ll get more sacks.”
Added Sitake: “They were just beating our corners. That’s what it came down to. I don’t know how the receivers are compared to LSU and Utah. But I’m not going to lie: The corners just need to be better. They were skinny posts and digs, and so cover them. That’s what we try to do — play man coverage, lock it up and then get to the quarterback in the pass rush.”
In other words, it’s a team effort — as cliche as that may sound coming from Sitake. It takes 11 players to make a defense, defensive Corbin Kaufusi said.
“There’s a balance between doing your job, being 1/11th on the field, but also that someone has to do something,” Kaufusi added. “You’ve got to take your opportunities to create havoc and to create plays that are within your means.”
Coaches can coach and fans can complain. But the final responsibility comes down to the personnel on the field.
“We just have to be better,” Kaufusi said. “When you go against these teams that will try to run the ball, it takes you out of a pass-rush mentality; you are a little slower because you just want to be stout. But we need to do a better job of reading and getting off the line and going.”
