BYU coaches see offensive woes as 'fixable' after Week 1 slugfest

PROVO — The reviews are in for BYU's defensive debut of new coordinator Jay Hill after a 14-0 win over Sam Houston at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and they're raving.

Jakob Robinson had two interceptions, Eddie Heckard had another, and the Cougars limited the FBS newcomer Bearkats to 185 yards on 57 plays — including just 38 net yards rushing in BYU's first shutout since a 64-0 win over Savannah State in 2014 and first shutout against an FBS opponent since a 47-0 win over Hawaii in 2012.

That's the good review. The bad ones? There are some of those, as well.

One of just five FBS teams nationally to register a shutout in Week 1 of the 2023 season, BYU's 14 points scored were also the lowest in a shutout since a 13-0 win over San Diego State in 1998, and the fewest combined points in a game since the infamous 7-6 loss to Northern Illinois in 2018.

BYU's 247 yards of offense are the fewest in a season opener since putting up 225 in a 29-3 loss to Florida State in 2000.

Were things as bad as they seemed?

"We're sitting at 1-0, and we feel good about that," BYU coach Kalani Sitake told the media Monday. "Obviously, there are some performances that we wish we could have back. But definitely some learning moments for our team, and specifically for our offense. But learning moments for all three phases.

"Obviously, we'd like to see more points on the board and more PATs than punts. We'll watch film, talk to the coaches and players, and we feel like they are very fixable things."

Just as an offense's success generally begins up front, much of the woes started at the line of scrimmage, where the Cougars ran for just 112 yards, with 91 of them coming in the second half from a breakout performance by freshman LJ Martin.

Starting running back Aidan Robbins totaled just 23 yards on seven carries, and grad transfer tailback Deion Smith finished with three carries for negative-2 yards.

It's too early to consider dramatic changes at running back, Sitake said, or even on the offensive line. But he understands why some may be concerned with the potential trend in the trenches.

"We want to talk about mistakes on offense, but it wasn't just in one phase or at one position," Sitake said. "I didn't think all the positions played perfectly, or at a championship level like we're used to. Let's get them back there. I've seen it before, with A-Rod calling plays and with these coaches and these guys. I've seen a lot of people praising them before, so this is definitely humbling for them. Let's get back to our natural old ways, and that usually comes back to the basics. We'll focus on the fundamentals, on the things we can control, the things we've seen them do before, and we'll get there. That's not just limited to the O-line; it's every position. But in terms of the O-line, we've seen them play better before and we're looking forward to getting that done again this weekend."

It should be noted that the Cougars were playing without three of last year's top playmakers in wide receivers Kody Epps and Keanu Hill, and running back Hinckley Ropati.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick confirmed Monday on his "Coordinators Corner" on BYUtv that Ropati sustained a knee injury in fall camp, and after tests revealed the "worst-case scenario," he had season-ending surgery last week.

Ropati was seen on the sidelines of Saturday's game on crutches.

"We feel bad for him," Roderick said. "We're going to miss him."

Epps and Hill are more week-to-week; Roderick didn't give an idea of when the two wide receivers would be back, but said neither would be out of the season.

Even with the injury absences, the Cougars could have been better on offense.

"We did not play very well on offense," Roderick said, "so it was timely for (the defense) to come up big and get that shutout. We really appreciate those guys playing the way they do."

Sitake tried to not paint the first-game situation as an offense-vs-defense situation, and neither did the players who addressed the media Monday via videoconference. That included Heckard, who pulled down his eighth career interception and first since transferring from Weber State to go along with two tackles.

"Sometimes you're going to score 50. Sometimes you're going to score 14," Heckard said. "That's all we needed. … From my perspective, they did their job. We needed one touchdown, and they got two."

If Sam Houston was motivated in its first game since transitioning from the FCS Western Athletic Conference to FBS Conference USA, the same could easily be said of Southern Utah, which scored on George Ramirez's 47-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to pull within three of Arizona State before falling, 24-21.

The two teams are meeting for just the second time in series history, and the first since BYU's 37-7 win in 2016 that included 596 yards of total offense.

The only previous history might suggest Saturday is a chance for the BYU offense to get back on track, or at least that's the hope for a group voiced Monday by BYU tight end/fullback/H-back Mason Fakahua.

The former Cedar High quarterback has allegiances on both sides of the series; he grew up an SUU fan — the Thunderbirds were the first to offer him a scholarship — and he maintains some form of allegiance to his hometown school even after three years in Provo and two more serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand.

"It's the university that I supported all my life," the starting fullback said. "I'm a T-bird, and I'm also a Cougar. I have a lot of brothers there, and I'm excited to see a lot of friends and family coming up. It will be exciting to see the family I haven't seen in a little bit, being in Provo.

"The thing I know about Southern Utah is they're fighters," Fakahua added. "They've always been fighters. We're just going to keep working hard, and we're excited to play them this week."

When the 6-foot-2, 240-pound starting fullback got together with several friends from home — many of whom play currently or recently graduated from Southern Utah — during offseason workouts, the group would talk about this game "all the time."

"It's fun; you get around the guys, and we're not talking crap or anything. But it's more exciting, motivated, pumped for the opportunity," Fakahua said. "They're excited to come up. It's a great opportunity for them, and a great opportunity for us."

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