BYU’s 4-2 football team took a step back in a blistering rebuke by TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, last week and now the Cougars face Texas Tech in a homecoming game in Provo on Saturday night.
The Cougars must fix a bunch of problems this week and head coach Kalani Sitake says he wants to see a greater sense of urgency as the team pivots from mistakes, turnovers and failures on both offense and defense. From top to bottom, from coaches to players, the TCU loss was a complete failure.
The question remains: Is the team really that bad and the gap between TCU and the Cougars that distant, or did BYU come out flat and unprepared and pay the price after two weeks of rest? BYU failed on third downs on both offense and defense — the biggest key to the setback.
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill said on BYUtv he expects the defense will play better with some fundamental tweaks and adjustments.
Offensively, BYU was miserable, and the run game didn’t work. TCU, on the other hand, may have shown BYU what it might want to do with its offense: pass, pass, pass. Is BYU capable of executing a quick pass game and use that as part of a replacement for the run game? TCU did, and was very effective.
Defensively, BYU failed to deploy an effective man coverage defense against TCU’s pass game and could not get off the field.
Cougar Insider predictions
Question of the week: How will the Cougars deal with the season-ending injury to captain and middle linebacker Ben Bywater? And what will the final score be in the BYU vs Texas Tech game?
Jay Drew: The loss of junior middle linebacker Ben Bywater, BYU’s leading tackler the past two seasons and its takedowns leader this season before he left the Kansas game with a shoulder injury, is a tough one for the 4-2 Cougars on the field. Bywater has always been a great run-stopper, but at the end of last season, he emerged as an all-around playmaker, making a pick-six against SMU in the bowl game and forcing several fumbles down the stretch.
However, the Cougars have recovered fairly well in Bywater’s absence the past two games, as former Corner Canyon star and Oregon transfer Harrison Taggart has filled in admirably.
It is off the field where BYU will have a hard time replacing Bywater. The big personality player brought energy, enthusiasm and leadership to the team. That’s why he was named a team captain. He’s easily one of the most-liked players on the team.
BYU has some other good MLBs in the pipeline — Timpview graduate Siale Esera got his first taste of action in the loss at TCU and delivered an interception — and should be able to move on, barring another big injury. But Bywater was the heart and soul of a defense that always seems to be lacking in playmakers, and those are hard to find.
Prediction: Texas Tech 38, BYU 28.
Dick Harmon: Ben Bywater is a playmaker. He will be sorely missed not only for his experience but his leadership on and off the field. Two freshmen, Harrison Taggart and Siale Esera, need to become playmakers immediately. Both were four-star recruits; Esera was on the cusp of being a 5-star at Timpview High and Taggart signed with Oregon out of Corner Canyon. What BYU needs is for both to become positive factors in Jay Hill’s defense. They do have the talent and skills to become effective impact players as seen by Taggart’s tackle totals per game and Esera’s interception at TCU.
Kalani Sitake really needs players to step up because his depth is being stressed and tested. It is shallow, especially at the safety positions.
Esera is the biggest linebacker the Cougars can put on the field and he has outstanding lateral quickness. Taggart has sprinter speed and his quickness makes up for what he might lack in height and size. He had 11 tackles in his first start against Cincinnati. BYU needs this pair to get playing experience as Bywater goes under the surgical knife.
The Cougars really don’t have an identity as a team. Early on, it was winning with few plays and yards. After TCU, it is more of an enigma as to exactly what Sitake’s team can hang its hat on heading into a must-win home game against Texas Tech.
BYU can play better on offense at home and the defense was shamed into tackling and covering better. With BYU’s loss, like TCU experienced two in a row before BYU, I think BYU rallies at home and plays with more purpose.
Prediction: BYU 24, Texas Tech 21.
Cougar tales
BYU’s disappointing loss to TCU exposed a series of challenges for the Cougars team. Jay Drew reports on how the Cougars need to “pivot” from that disastrous outing in Fort Worth. Earlier in the week, BYU announced season-ending surgeries for a pair of players and the departure of another. QB Kedon Slovis admits he needs to play better.
BYU’s women defeated Oklahoma 2-0 on the soccer field Monday to complete a 5-0 run on the road in Big 12 play. The women are 13-1-3 overall and 6-0-3 in conference play.
Here is where BYU basketball is projected to finish in its first season in the Big 12.
From the archives
From the X-verse
- Bywater predicts he’ll be playing again (@CriddleBenjamin)
- Roderick’s resume at BYU (@975Hans)
- BYU offensive yards worst in decades (@BYUstatsMAN)
Extra points
- Puka Nacua sets eyes on NFL marks (Deseret News)
- Big 12 has plans for hoops scheduling (KSL Sports)
- Grading BYU football midterms (KSL Sports)
Fanalyst
Comments from Deseret News readers:
I would suggest maybe TCU, a team in the national championship last year despite loss of good players, had plenty left in the tank and their QB was outstanding. They may not meet a better QB the rest of the season. This is not the Mountain West, BYU knew that. Depth is essential if you want to compete.
— What in Tucket
Even in the days of the Mountain West BYU had a very difficult time keeping up with the athletes at TCU. That the game went this way this time was not surprising. BYU has a long way to go to be ready to compete in the Big 12. To be successful today they need to play nearly perfect games every week and so far they have not come any where near that.
— DH48
Up next
- Oct. 18 | All day | Women’s tennis | @ITA Regionals | @ Salt Lake City
- Oct. 19 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | Iowa State | @ Provo
- Oct. 20 | All day | Men’s tennis | General Patton Fall Invitational | @ Boise, Idaho
- Oct. 20 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | Iowa State | @ Provo
- Oct. 21 | 5 p.m. | Football | Texas Tech | @ Provo
- Oct. 23 | 6 p.m. | Women’s soccer | UCF | @ Provo
