The general consensus from BYU football players and coaches was that the defense would be better this season after a rough finish in 2021.

The results through three games has been mixed.

As the No. 19 Cougars prepare to renew an old rivalry with Wyoming on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the defense has produced two good games and one really awful one.

“Wyoming is such a tough team to beat,” BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb said. “They really have an identity and they run the football really effectively. They have a big, massive offensive line and running backs who all run really hard. They’ve been able to keep games close and have a real knack for pulling things out in the fourth quarter.”

After suffering its first 20-point loss in nearly three years (45-19 to Washington in 2019), the Cougars still have a lot of season left to play and are committed to fixing the problems that showed up against Oregon last week.

The young Ducks coaching staff, which had shown a spread, perimeter-attacking offense through the first two games, pulled a fast one and ran right through the BYU defense to the tune of 212 rushing yards.

“Oregon changed their identity in a massive way,” Lamb said. “Credit them with an initial adjustment there that helped them get some momentum early. They didn’t do anything new and revolutionary in football, but they did something new to them. We should be able to adjust to that more quickly.”

The more experienced BYU coaching staff couldn’t find a way to slow the new Oregon attack down and paid for it with a 41-20 loss where the Cougars were dominated pretty much from the start of the game.

“We’re scouring through from top to bottom,” BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said. “We’re trying to figure out what we’ve got to do to change how we get better from A to Z. We need to make sure this ends up being a learning experience and get back on track, back where we need to be on defense. It’s a dangerous thing to look at it as something that just doesn’t normally happen to us. There are things to fix schematically, personnel-wise, with substitution patterns and the way we teach things. We just have to make sure we get better.”

The first three games of the 2021 season showed the potential of the BYU defense against Arizona, No. 18 Utah and No. 19 Arizona State. The Cougars held each of those opponents under 20 points and won all three games. A comparison of the first three games of 2021 and 2022 reveals the following:

First three games of 2021

(Arizona, No. 18 Utah, No. 19 Arizona State)

Rushing: 85 carries, 435 yards, 5.1 yards per carry, 145 yards per game

Passing: 71 of 103 (69 percent) for 757 yards, 7.3 yards per attempt, 252.3 yards per game

Total yards: 1,192 (6.3 yards per play, 397.3 yards per game)

Points per game allowed: 16.7

First three games of 2022

(South Florida, No. 9 Baylor, No. 24 Oregon)

Rushing: 122 carries, 485 yards, 3.9 yards per carry, 166.7 yards per game

Passing: 49 of 78 for 536 yards, 6.8 yards per attempt, 178.7 yards per game

Total yards: 1,021 (5.1 yards per play, 340.3 yards per game)

Points per game allowed: 27.3

It would appear that the first three opponents of 2022, especially Baylor and Oregon, found huge success running the ball against the BYU defense and exploited a weakness in tackling. The results has been more points allowed and a 2-1 record.

There are several other factors that have influenced the Cougars defensive effort in 2022.

Injuries decimated the defense by the end of the 2021 season. Against Oregon, BYU was down two defensive line starters in Earl Tuioti-Mariner and Tyler Batty. During the game, the Cougars lost linebacker Keenan Pili and cornerback Kaleb Hayes. While coaches have declared the depth is better this season, the presence of those four starters was definitely missed.

Another key factor is turnovers. BYU forced seven turnovers in the first three games of 2021. This season, there have been just two forced turnovers, both interceptions.

“The offense is doing their job taking care of the ball,” Tuiaki said. “We’ve got to do ours and get the ball back more. We have to come up with stops, force punts and come up with takeaways.”

Field position is critical to a team’s success and BYU has been in minus territory in every game. Punter Ryan Rehkow displayed a huge leg last season and in the first three games averaged 51.3 yards per attempt, including a whopping eight punts of more than 50 yards.

So far in 2022, Rehkow is averaging less than 40 yards per punt and hasn’t hit one past 50 in nine attempts.

Lamb noted that Rehkow has displayed that strong leg in practice but it hasn’t shown up during the first three games.

Tuiaki usually awards one or two defensive players of the game during the “Coordinator’s Corner” show on Mondays but opted not to after the Oregon game.

“There were some good individual efforts,” Tuiaki said. “There were guys who played good enough for us to win. But when you have a defensive performance like that, it’s tough. You don’t want to be the player of the game. We had some good but a lot of bad. As a unit, we have to get better.”

As for Wyoming, Tuiaki said, “They know who they are and know how to attack their opponent. It will be another physical game. We’ve got to tackle better than we did last game to win.”

BYU will be favored to beat Wyoming and Utah State at home the next two weeks but matchups in Las Vegas against Notre Dame and in Provo against Top 10 Arkansas will truly test the Cougar defense.

“This is a talented team with a lot of pride,” Lamb concluded. “We learned a lesson. We made mistakes. The coaches and players were embarrassed. It would be a real mistake for anybody to write off the 2022 Cougars.”

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