Anxiety thrives in uncertainty and with just weeks left to prepare a new quarterback for opening night, there is plenty of both at BYU. Fortunately for the three candidates — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier — they have an antidote that can calm the mind, slow the pulse and reduce the pressure — and it has nothing to do with them.
For the time being, BYU’s defense is the new offense.
This is not to say the Cougars aren’t equipped with weapons at receiver (Chase Roberts, JoJo Phillips and Parker Kingston) or at running back (LJ Martin and Sione Moa) or at tight end (Carsen Ryan) or that they don’t have a massive offensive line (6-foot-5, 312-pound average). They have everything needed to be successful, but the uncertainty at quarterback is real and until the new guy settles in, the newness will breed anxiety.
Also, the excessive props for the defense are not an indictment on kicker Will Ferrin, who finished last season making 16 consecutive field goals. Ferrin scored 113 points, 59 more than any of his teammates. The senior is a worthy candidate for the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in the country.
But when senior quarterback Jake Retzlaff withdrew from BYU this summer, leaving the Cougars in a scramble to replace him, the defense, which was already the backbone of the program, took on an even greater role for 2025.
Jay Hill’s crew is the unit that dominated the Big 12 last season. They are the group that returned its star players or replaced the departing ones with guys projected to be even better. They are the side of the ball with more answers than questions.
BYU forced a Big 12-best 29 turnovers last season, including a national-best 22 interceptions. Those turnovers turned into 85 points. Even with Retzlaff’s 12 interceptions and six fumbles, the Cougars finished +8 in turnover margin. If the defense can come close to that number, BYU will be in position to win a lot of games.
The defense allowed just 19.6 points per game, best in the Big 12 and No. 18 nationally. BYU also held steady in their two defeats. The defense held Kansas to 17 points and Arizona State to 28. If the Cougars can hold teams to under 20 points, they will be in position to win a lot of games.
BYU held its opponents to an average of 308.8 yards of total offense, best in the Big 12 and No. 13 in the nation. During the finale against Colorado and despite the Buffaloes featuring future NFL draft picks Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner, the Cougars held the Buffaloes to 210 yards of offense, including two yards rushing on 19 attempts. If BYU can keep teams around 308 yards of total offense, it will be in position to win a lot of games.
Just as offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick wrestles over his starting quarterback and what that choice could mean to the offense, Hill, the defensive coordinator, contends that his group can be better than it was last year. If he’s right, and the Cougars are forcing turnovers and limiting production, it should greatly reduce the stress on the offense and put BYU in a position to win a lot of games.
So, where does the pressure to perform lie — on a new quarterback who has never taken a live snap at BYU or on a returning defense that was No. 1 in the Big 12 and needs to be that good again?
Head coach Kalani Sitake described Saturday’s scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium as “a really good defensive day. The defense put a lot of pressure on the offense.”
Proclaiming defense as the new offense at BYU is a play on words and almost sacrilegious to suggest. However, in this case, as the offense wrestles with uncertainty, Sitake can look to his defense as the antidote to fight off anxiety for a team still capable of winning a lot of games.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.