PROVO — Offense may be the unit that has grabbed recent headlines at BYU, but Thursday night’s 33-25 win over Houston proved that the defense still does much of the heavy lifting.
The BYU defensive effort certainly wasn’t perfect Thursday — far from it — but it was effective enough to provide a jump-start out of the gate and hold Houston at bay when the BYU offense bogged down. Overall, BYU allowed 325 yards, but stood up to the Houston attack when it mattered most.
Safety Craig Bills set an aggressive tone early with a big hit on the game’s opening possession. Almost a full 60 minutes of play later saw that same aggressive tone effectively end Houston’s hopes as BYU escaped LaVell Edwards Stadium with a more-difficult-than-anticipated victory.
With Houston down 33-25 with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth, BYU defensive coordinator Nick Howell decided to amp up the pressure and rely on his defensive backs in single coverage.
The strategy worked like a charm.
Six-and even seven-man blitz packages forced Houston quarterback John O’Korn into quick throws to receivers that were met with tight coverages and aggressive closes by the BYU defensive backs. Following the stand, BYU’s offense did enough to run out the clock for the win.
In between the promising start and impressive finish were some uncharacteristic mistakes, however, which kept Houston alive. Most notably was a complete coverage gaffe as time expired in the first half, which gave way to a 45-yard touchdown reception by Daniel Spencer that cut BYU's lead to just 23-15 entering the break.
BYU's offensive struggles continued throughout the third, but it was the defense that held strong — yielding no points to enter the fourth up 26-15.
Leading the way for the Cougars' defense was Bills and senior linebacker Alani Fua — both of whom paced the team with seven tackles apiece. The team also received a boost from true freshman linebacker Sione Takitaki, who played extensively in the absence of injured outside linebacker Bronson Kaufusi.
Most impressive was the BYU run defense, which held Houston to just 10 yards rushing, thereby making the Cougars' offense one-dimensional and blitz packages much more effective.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney