- BYU's 2024 season saw a defensive resurgence under coordinator Jay Hill's leadership.
- The team faces challenges in 2025 due to roster turnover and quarterback changes.
- Success in key stats could improve BYU's Big 12 standing despite these hurdles.
PROVO — The best time of year is upon us. It's an honor to be back at KSL.com with my weekly in-season role covering both BYU and Utah.
Last preseason at Big 12 media days, BYU was selected to finish 13th in the Big 12. Instead, they surged to 11 wins and finished 13th in the Associated Press poll. It was no fluke either, as my opponent-adjusted Game Grader formula ranked BYU 10th nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12 at the end of the season.
The Cougars went undefeated to win the 1984 national title, and the 1996 team went 14-1 to finish in the national top five. But this 2024 team has a claim at third-best in program history, and did something neither of those teams did in terms of schedule strength.
Due to conference affiliation, those teams each beat just three Power opponents — the 2024 team beat nine of them.
The 14th annual Pick Six Previews season preview magazine was released in July, and I have BYU projected in the middle of a wide-open Big 12 race. The margins are razor-thin between the league contenders, and BYU's projected finish could rise with success in a few key stat categories.
For more position-by-position breakdowns, advanced stats, coordinator grades, and trends, check out the full magazine.
Defensive stats
- Opponent-adjusted defense: 15th of 68 Power Four teams in 2024
- Defensive negative play rate: 91st of 134 FBS teams in 2024
The main reason for BYU's breakthrough season was their resurgence on defense. After a transition season in 2023, defensive coordinator Jay Hill led one of the most improved defenses in the entire country last year as BYU surged all the way to No. 15 nationally. This was the Big 12's top defense of 2024.
It will be tough to match those standards again in 2025 due to significant roster turnover; but avoiding a total collapse is important to keep BYU in the Big 12 race. BYU must replace the entire defensive line, a starting linebacker, a starting safety, and both starting corners.
Offensive stats
- QB Rating: 63rd of 134 FBS teams in 2024
- Touchdown-interception ratio: 93rd
- Offensive line run push: 31st
BYU's offseason took a hit after spring ball with the departure of starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff. Instead of a second-year starter bonus to hopefully improve on QB Rating and the TD-INT Ratio, BYU is now starting from scratch at the most important position.
McCae Hillstead (Utah State) and Treyson Bourget (Western Michigan) have FBS experience; but instead, BYU is turning to true freshman Bear Bachmeier. The true freshman was getting some starter reps at Stanford this spring, then transferred to BYU this summer.
He does have a four-star billing, but it is very difficult for a true freshman starting right away, especially without a full offseason of reps. Instead of making progress in the pass game, the goal shifted to simply avoiding a regression.
Offensive line
After an offensive line collapse in 2023, new line coach TJ Woods led a major turnaround last season. BYU moved up nearly 100 spots in my offensive line run push metric, from 123rd in 2023 all the way up to 31st last year.
This is a key area for the 2025 BYU season, because this year they must replace longtime starting center Connor Pay, All-Big 12 first-teamer Caleb Etienne, and tackle Brayden Keim. Woods has an anchor to build around in guard Weylin Lepuaho, who earned a spot on my All-Big 12 team, but they need to find three new full-time starters in fall camp.
A reload at offensive line is crucial to protect a true freshman starting quarterback.
Defensive scheme
For years, the BYU defensive scheme had been extra conservative, safe, and often dropped eight players into pass coverage. The goal was to limit explosive, long-yardage plays, but that also meant a lack of blitzing and pressure on the quarterback.
No other stat represents this better than my negative play rate, which tracks how frequently the defense is making disruptive plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.
When Kalani Sitake hired Hill as defensive coordinator in 2023, he wanted to bring a whole new mindset, and scheme, to Provo. Hill's aggressive, attacking defensive scheme helped Weber State post five straight top-25 defenses at the FCS level.
It didn't come to fruition in the transition season (BYU remained at No. 129), but last year they saw some gains up to No. 91 in negative play rate. Look for a move into the top half or even the top 25 of this stat with what many BYU pundits consider the school's best-ever linebacking duo.
Isaiah Glasker and Jack "Sack" Kelly both earned spots on my All-Big 12 defense.
2025 Preview Six Previews Magazine superlatives
- Jack Kelly (LB): 2nd Team, All-Big 12
- Isaiah Glasker (LB): 2nd Team, All-Big 12
- Chase Roberts (WR): 2nd Team, All-Big 12
- Weylin Lapuaho (OL): 2nd Team, All-Big 12
- Keanu Tanuvasa (DL): 3rd Team, All-Big 12
- Keanu Tanuvasa (DL): Big 12 All-Transfer Team
- Linebackers: 3rd in Big 12 unit rankings
