Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — BYU is off to a hot start.
While nearly hitting their preseason projected win total of 4.5, the Cougars find themselves ranked No. 22 in the country after the 38-9 victory over No. 13 Kansas State last week.
Baylor is coming off a last-second heartbreaker to Colorado last week and has shown some offensive power despite its low strength of schedule, which ranks 130th per ESPN's Football Power Index.
Despite the low SOS, how does BYU keep the momentum heading into the second week of conference play against Baylor?
Win the turnover battle
It seems self-explanatory, but force turnovers on defense, don't turn the ball over on offense, and it'll likely lead to a win. For the Cougars, it's more than that. BYU forced three turnovers against Kansas State, one being returned for a touchdown, without committing any of their own en route to a 35-3 run to end the game.
The Cougars have four offensive turnovers this year — all of which coming from quarterback Jake Retzlaff — and have forced eight turnovers from opposing offenses, which is tied for 15th best in the FBS.
The Bears have turned the ball over six times this season, four coming via fumble, and have struggled to win the turnover battle — something they have not done this season.
Let Hill's defense go to work
The Cougars defense has had a great start to the year, only giving up an average of 12.8 points per game to rank 14th in the country. In addition, the pass defense has seen a large improvement from last year, giving up just 132.8 yards through the air per game.
Last year, the Cougars gave up 417 total yards per game but are now at just 269 yards, which is second in the Big 12.
Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson ran the ball nine times for 82 yards and a touchdown against Colorado, and will give the BYU defense another test with a mobile quarterback, which they've faced in all four games this year.
Southern Illinois quarterback DJ Williams had the best performance of the four QBs, rushing for 121 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Since then, the Cougars have locked in on the dual-threat abilities.
SMU's quarterback Kevin Jennings had nine rushes for 38 yards and a fumble, Wyoming's Evan Svoboda had 10 carries for 32 yards, and Avery Johnson of Kansas State totaled 74 yards on 11 carries, one of them being a 30-yard rush to boost his numbers.
Take advantage of inconsistent defensive play
Baylor's rush defense has struggled this year despite holding two different opponents to just 3 points.
Utah rushed for 170 yards on 37 carries over Baylor to lead them to a double-digit win. Before Cam Rising went out with an injury, the Utes put 17 points on the Bears in the first quarter.
Air Force rushed for nearly 200 yards, and the Bears continued to struggle last week against Colorado, giving up nearly 100 yards on the ground and 341 yards through the air.
In the only two games against Power Four opponents, Baylor has given up an average of 30 points per game and 362 yards. Although both games were on the road, BYU's offense could give the Bears fits.
BYU is 114th in the country in snaps per game — interpret that how you'd like — at 60.7 (teams such as Oregon, Georgia, and Arizona all rank lower than BYU in snaps per game). BYU has not had to show its hand much on the offensive side of the ball.
The Cougars and Bears will meet up for the third time in four years, with both teams coming away with a win at their home venue in the previous games. The game will kickoff on Saturday at 10 a.m. MDT on FS1.
