PROVO — Through its first two games of the season, BYU's defense managed to cause only two turnovers. In their last two contests, however, the Cougars have come up with 10 turnovers.
The high number of takeaways helps explain why BYU has crushed its last two opponents by a combined score of 103-0.
"Turnovers are something we strive to create every game, obviously. The first couple of games, we didn't create as many as we had hoped," said linebacker David Nixon. "That's something we addressed as a defense, that we needed to create some turnovers and get the ball into the offense's hands. Fortunately, these last couple of games we've focused on that and it's come out in our advantage."
BYU leads the nation in forced fumbles (10) and it has recovered eight of those. Last year, the Cougars recovered only four of 12 opponent fumbles the entire season.
Apparently, recovering fumbles is contagious. Nine different players (Nixon, Spencer Hadley, Matt Bauman, Blake Morgan, Jan Jorgensen, Scott Johnson, Vic So'oto, Jeff Bell and Coleby Clawson) have forced fumbles and seven different players (Brett Denney, Matt Ah You, Ian Dulan, Johnson, Kellen Fowler, Shiloah Te'o and Nixon) have recovered fumbles this year.
"It has a lot with just executing," Nixon said about forcing fumbles. "Those first couple of games, we weren't trying to strip the ball, we weren't trying to make those big plays. We were kind of playing on our heels a little bit. These last couple of games, we've really come out with a lot of emotion and really come out swinging, basically, and tried to create some turnovers."
Recovered fumbles were a big catalyst in BYU's victories over UCLA and Wyoming. Against the Bruins, the Cougars pounced on three fumbles during three consecutive UCLA drives in the first half. Against the Cowboys, Johnson returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown just minutes into the game.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said forcing fumbles has been an emphasis since last January with a defense that returned only three starters.
"We didn't think (last year) we were playing physical enough to jar the football loose, nor were we stripping enough to create more turnovers," Mendenhall said. "And we realized with this particular team, with the lack of experience coming back, we are going to have to rely more on possibly taking the ball away than just being effective on third down. We're going to have to do something else to keep points down."
After the heavy emphasis on turnovers, Fowler is happy to see that work pay dividends in the games.
"It's good that we were able to come through and execute the way we wanted to and the way we've been taught to and to actually have it show up on the field was a good step forward," he said. "We hope to continue those ways, to continue to hit guys hard and try to get into the passing lanes more.
"We have such a great offense, we know if we can create turnovers, they're going to put points on the board," Fowler continued. "When we're ahead in that turnover battle, it's usually going to be a good result to the game overall for our team."
SHUTOUT STREAK: With back-to-back shutouts of UCLA (59-0) and Wyoming (44-0), can the Cougar defense post its third straight shutout when it faces Utah State on Friday night? The last time BYU and USU played, in 2006 at Provo, the Cougars held the Aggies scoreless, 38-0.
Before this season, BYU hadn't recorded two straight shutouts since 1985, when it blanked Wyoming (59-0) and Utah State (44-0) — coincidentally, the same two scores as this year's shutouts. The Cougars posted consecutive shutouts six times between 1924-1938, including four shutouts in a row in 1937.
Fowler said he and his teammates aren't talking much about pitching another shutout. "That's one of those things that if you focus too much on those kinds of factors, you'll lose sight of the plays and assignments you need to do in the moment," he said. "If we do our exact assignment on every single play, we have a chance to do great things. If that leads to a shutout, all the better. But the focus can't be on that."
AGGIE ROOTS: Defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen is looking forward to Friday's game against Utah State in Logan. His father, Jeff, played football at USU. "For me, personally, it's going to be a special opportunity to play at Utah State," Jan said. "My whole family, they were all Aggies."
Cougars, Aggies on the air
No. 8 BYU (4-0) at Utah St. (1-3)
Friday, 6 p.m.; TV: KJZZ
Radio: 1160AM, 102.7FM, 1320AM
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com