No. 9 BYU football at Utah notes: Cougar defense responds in a big way in the second half
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- BYU linebacker Jack Kelly (17) tackles Utah running back Micah Bernard in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker (16) tackles Utah quarterback Brandon Rose in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Tyler Batty (92) chases Utah running back Micah Bernard in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Keelan Marion (17) returns a kickoff for a touchdown against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Crew Wakely brings down a Utah receiver in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- Utah’s Brant Kuithe (80) carries the ball near the goal line against BYU in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
The biggest question facing the BYU football team as it trudged to the visiting locker room at Rice-Eccles Stadium at halftime of the rivalry game against Utah on Saturday night was what was going on with the Cougar defense?
The Utes came into the game having struggled to score, only averaging 15.8 points per game when facing Big 12 opponents and just 12.5 points per game in its last four losses.
Yet in just one quarter, Utah had exploded for three consecutive touchdown drives to build a 21-10 lead — and there were still 30 minutes of football left.
Something needed to change defensively for BYU and fast, or the Cougar offense would find itself in a hole that would be nearly impossible to dig out of against the stout, fired-up Ute defense.
“Obviously we didn’t play our best, especially in the first half,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said after the game. “We talked about it at halftime. We thought 30 minutes was still enough time for us to come back and get a victory. I’m so proud of the players and the leadership. The guys stepped up and found a way to make plays. It wasn’t pretty in a lot of different ways, but you have to give a lot of credit to Utah and the way they played the game.”
Cougar sophomore linebacker Isaiah Glasker said that the defensive adjustments at the break weren’t complicated.
“It was staying gap-sound,” Glasker said. “I feel like we were kind of timid from the jump, and they had a few big runs. We just kind of had to lock in.”
And the BYU defense did just that.
The statistical comparison for the Utah offense between the two halves was staggering:
First half
- 180 total yards (93 rushing, 87 passing)
- 11 first downs
- 8-of-10 passing from sophomore QB Brandon Rose
- 4-of-5 third-down conversions
- One punt
- 21 points
Second half
- 79 total yards (54 rushing, 25 passing)
- Four first downs
- 4-of-11 passing from Rose
- 2-of-7 third down conversions
- Five punts
- 0 points
“We just knew that we needed to come out and play the second half,” Glasker said. “They hit us in the face early, so we just knew that when we had go back out there, we had to jump on them again.”
While the Cougar offense and special teams provided a lot of the fireworks down the stretch in the dramatic 22-21 win, it was the BYU defense rising to the occasion in the second half that made that possible.
“We felt like we had taken Utah’s best shot (in the first half) but we hadn’t delivered ours yet,” Sitake said. “This was a time for us to deliver our shot, and you do it by just playing every down. You don’t hope for something to happen. You just go in and take the initiative, make something happen.
“Defensively, I liked that they were able to get some stops and force punts and shut them out in the second half. It’s something that (defensive coordinator Jay Hill) is really good at. He made some adjustments, and I think we’re able to do a really good job.”
Moving on up
BYU moved up two spots to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 and one place to No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association Poll on Sunday.
BYU’s AP ranking is its highest since being ranked No. 7 in 2009 after starting 2-0 by beating No. 3 Oklahoma (14-13 in Dallas Cowboys Stadium) and Tulane (54-3 in The New Orleans Superdome). BYU’s No. 8 ranking in the AFCA’s US LBM Coaches Poll published by USA TODAY Sports equals the program’s highest rank in that poll since being ranked No. 8 four consecutive weeks during a 9-0 start in 2020.
The last time BYU received a No. 7 ranking in November was during its 14-1 Cotton Bowl season in 1996. The Cougars advanced from No. 8 to No. 7 after defeating Utah, 37-17, on Nov. 23 in Salt Lake City to improve to 12-1 before going on to defeat Wyoming in the WAC Championship game and Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. That season BYU moved up to No. 6 for one week before finishing No. 5 in the final two polls.
The second College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Cougars were ranked No. 9 in the first CFP rankings released this past Tuesday.
The drama returns
The BYU-Utah rivalry game went through an odd stretch since 2019. In two consecutive contests, the outcome was actually decided before the final seconds (the Cougars won 26-17 in 2021, the Utes won 30-12 in 2019).
Prior to that, six consecutive games (as well as 8-of-9 and 18-of-21) had been decided by one possession. Saturday’s wild 22-21 BYU victory returned the rivalry to its tradition of being a nail-biter until the very end.
Win No. 70
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake earned his 70th win at the helm for the Cougars by beating the team he left to come back to his alma mater in Provo. Sitake is now 70-41 as a head coach.
You get a pick, and you get a pick …
With interceptions from Jakob Robinson and Crew Wakley, BYU now has 16 interceptions on the season. The Cougars and James Madison are now tied for second nationally with 16 picks. Only Cal leads BYU with 17.
Robinson’s first-quarter interception (his third of the year) was his 11th career pick. Robinson now ranks second behind only Kai Nacua (13) for interceptions at BYU since 2000.
Extra points
BYU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Cougar defense held Utah to a three-and-out to start the game, while the Cougars did the same on the first drive of the third quarter … BYU’s captains that went out for the coin toss were OL Connor Pay, DE Tyler Batty, WR Chase Roberts and CB Jakob Robinson … The Cougar alumni flags were carried out by Talio Magalei (OL, 1984) and Brent Johnson (K, 1976-79) … The BYU team flags were brought onto the field by TE Nason Coleman (USA), CB Kevin Doe (Big 12), RB Pokai Haunga (state of Utah) and Cosmo (ROC) … The announced attendance at Rice-Eccles Stadium was 54,383 (a stadium record).
