Arkansas exposed BYU's defense, but changes won't come quickly or openly

PROVO — Players and coaches from BYU's football team had few answers when they met with the media two days after one of the worst defensive performances, at least by yards allowed, under head coach Kalani Sitake.

The biggest conclusion that each one delivered was that fixes need to be made, Sitake said after the Cougars gave up 644 yards in a 52-35 home loss to Arkansas, the most since allowing 692 yards to Toledo in 2016. The Razorbacks converted on 12-of-15 third downs, a number that caused the Cougars' third-down defensive rating to 123rd nationally.

The last time the Cougars put up the kinds of defensive numbers they did Saturday, they won a shootout behind a career night from Jamaal Williams. But that wasn't the case against Arkansas, which handed BYU a second consecutive loss.

"We're kind of in a funk right now," Sitake said. "We're going through some adversity right now … but we'll get through this."

The accountability lies on players, coaches and, ultimately, the head coach, Sitake reaffirmed. But how that accountability will play out within the walls of the student-athlete building in Provo will stay in those walls on campus.

Sitake alluded that "everything" was on the table after Saturday's defensive failures, specifically in the Cougars' inability to get off the field on third down, and that he's even considering taking further control of defensive play calling duties in a system that has been regularly called highly collaborative by defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki.

But as for the specifics of those changes, Sitake wouldn't say.

"There's accountability for everybody in the program," he said. "I don't think this is the platform for me to explain it, but it is happening. That's my job, to make sure everybody in the program is doing their roles."

With a vocal segment of the fan base calling for changes within BYU's defensive scheme and play-calling personnel, Sitake wouldn't criticize the fans for calling for changes. He was, after all, one of those fans, peering through the knotholes in the fence to catch a glimpse of the program that grew to envelope Cougar Nation.

But the seventh-year head coach offered few specifics, too. Sitake added that "I don't think I owe you guys an answer to that," referring to the media on Monday morning video conference that has become standard in 2022.

"There's pressure on all of us, and that's my job as a head coach," Sitake added. "I don't have a problem with our fans; I don't tell fans how to act and how to be a fan. I just appreciate that our fans care.

"I want to make our fans happy, and if I'm doing my job correctly, that's what I'm focused on."

As far as immediate concerns, the Cougars (4-3) have plenty of them in preparation for Saturday's road tilt at Liberty (6-1), one of 16 teams in college football that are bowl eligible after seven weeks.

BYU will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, a day early, a practice that has also become customary when headed to the east coast like the 1:30 p.m. MDT kickoff Saturday on ESPNU. That means the same number of days to prepare, but one fewer day for the media to ask questions of Tuiaki and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick after a two-game losing skid.

Given the chance to change anything in the play calling on his Coordinators' Corner show Monday on BYUtv, Tuiaki said scheme changes were pretty obvious in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

"If you told me we would have scored 35 points, I would've sat and dropped eight to make them earn it the whole way, then we would've won. That's not the answer; it's just how much of that tastes good to you during the game," Tuiaki said. "But when you're facing a team like (Arkansas) that goes fast, you're blowing assignments, you're not playing good technique; everything that could've gone wrong went wrong. We even went to some of the coverages that were a little bit safer, and still blew coverages.

"Whatever the case was, it wasn't good. When you're in those types of games, it's really difficult. It's nice to have a catch-all to back up, to regroup. You may be bleeding a little bit, but you're giving your players an opportunity to keep everything in front, to rally and tackle. I thought that sitting in a drop-eight would give us an opportunity to do that."

Of course, a drop-eight defense, which BYU has employed before but not on every down and distance, would've been conceding plenty to Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson, who returned from concussion protocol a week before Saturday to throw for 367 yards and a career-high five touchdowns without an interception.

Jefferson didn't take a sack, and BYU's defense had just one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery against the Razorbacks.

"This quarterback will sit back, pat the ball, and throw it," Tuiaki said. "But he ended up doing it anyway, whether we went four-man rush, five-man rush, six-man rush. It was just a tough game overall for all of us on defense.

"It was unacceptable. We have to be better. We know we need to be better. We've got to work hard these next couple of weeks, because the standard is high and we know that we can play better. The confidence is shot, and we've got to get it back."

It's not just on the coaches, though. It's on everyone, cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally said.

"What happens on the field is not to blame on the coaches. All they can do is call the calls, and we have to execute," Jeudy-Lally said. "We have to look at what we can do, best effort and best assignment at all times. We have to call each other out. We're able to talk with ourselves, and call each other out on our mistakes with love. That's how we're going to improve."

The Cougars will look to get better without several players, particularly on defense. Sitake confirmed news that trickled out last week that defensive lineman Josh Larsen was out for the season, along with tight end Lane Lunt, who had season-ending knee surgery a week ago.

Payton Wilgar left the game against Arkansas early with an apparent lower leg injury, and while he's likely not out for the season, Sitake said it's doubtful he'll return by Saturday. In Wilgar's absence, Jackson Kaufusi and Tate Romney are the current backups for the "rover" linebacker spot.

Both Sitake and Roderick are hopeful that running backs Lopini Katoa and Miles Davis would return soon. In the duo's absence Saturday, BYU played Hinckley Ropati and former Cedar quarterback Mason Fakahua behind starter Christopher Brooks. Roderick added that he "hopes to" have Gunner Romney available on the weekend, too.

"We should be pretty close to full strength this week," Roderick said.

But winning is hard, which is something transfer cornerback Jeudy-Lally knows well. The Vanderbilt graduate in three years arrived in Provo from a program that won just five games in three seasons, including the winless 2020 campaign that featured an all-SEC schedule.

"We're going through some turmoil right now," Jeudy-Lally said. "But we have to remember, we're a good football team. If we put together a perfect game, we can be scary good.

"Once we put a game together, all the woes will be gone."

The biggest change, from scheme changes to personnel staffing, is a new commitment to the program — a "re-buy in," as offensive tackle Blake Freeland put it.

"It all goes back to the little things, the fundamentals of your position, of your life," Freeland said. "We've got to lock in and get back on track."

Seven games in, and two wins away from bowl eligibility, the Cougars still have reason to play — even if those reasons no longer include College Football Playoff appearances, New Year's Six bowls, and AP Top 25 appearances.

"I get an opportunity to play football every Saturday. Not a lot of people get that opportunity. I just want to capitalize," Jeudy-Lally said. "As a team, if we can take it week-by-week and go 1-0 each week, then we'll love how we finish this season. That's how the majority of players are looking at the situation. Yeah, we dropped two; we've got to flush it, win some more games, and at the end of the season, we'll be sitting in a bowl game.

"We can't change the past. We've just got to play the next football game."

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