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BYU senior Hinckley Ropati carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Kansas at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff runs on a quarterback keeper, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Provo. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

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A BYU ball carrier gets tackled during the Big 12 game against Kansas at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Kansas at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU sophomore LJ Martin carries the ball up the field during the Big 12 game against Kansas at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU junior wide receiver Chase Roberts carries the ball up the field during the Big 12 game against Kansas at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

At one point in 2024, the BYU football team averaged more points per game in Big 12 action than any other conference team.

Seems like a distant memory, doesn’t it?

The Cougars have only managed 35 total points in the last two games. It was just enough to get a 22-21 win at Utah, but not enough to beat Kansas at home as BYU lost, 17-13.

Since seven of those points came on a kickoff return for a touchdown, the Cougar offense has only accounted for 28 points (five field goals and two touchdowns).

That production is certainly not meeting the standards for this group.

“We need to start beating teams by 20 points, 30 points, because that’s the kind of offense we have,” BYU junior wide receiver Chase Roberts said after the loss to the Jayhawks. “That’s the kind of team we have. We should have done that in this game.

“It was frustrating that we couldn’t convert, we couldn’t get points on the board in the red zone. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes, learn what we can do better as an offense, and make better decisions. We are going to bounce back.”

Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake talked during Monday’s press teleconference about balancing between focusing on doing things differently and on improving the execution of what the offense already does.

“There is a fine line between it all,” Sitake said. “The key to execution is limiting all the mistakes. All that should be cleaned up. There is also some room for improvement where you can install some stuff.

“You want to have a good foundation that you can lean on, but that’s the stuff that everyone knows is coming. Both of those things give you a favorable matchup depending on who you are going against. That’s what we are trying to get done obviously.”

He pointed out that BYU did move the ball regularly but just didn’t capitalize.

“It’s worked quite a bit,” Sitake said. The offense is getting in the red zone, but we just have to score touchdowns. It’s hard to get in the red zone and only kick field goals. Even though we have a good kicker like Will Ferrin, you are going to need to score touchdowns. It gives you a little more motivation. That’s what we are focusing on. We will get there.”

Cougar senior tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase said he thinks the little things made the big difference and resulted in the stalled drives.

“I would say that we just need to execute better and trust in the play calls,” Ta’ase said. “Usually it’s just one or two things that needs to be fixed to be able to get in the end zone. We just have to each double down on each one of us doing our one-eleventh and if we do that, then we’ll be able to put the ball in the end zone.”

Sitake added that there were 11 Kansas guys out there who were also a big part of the problem for the BYU offense.

“It was a bunch of things,” Sitake said. “It’s from poor execution and communicating better. This is what it comes down to. You have to give credit to Kansas for making the plays. That’s just part of the game of football.

“Everyone would like to be perfect, but the key is the opportunity to make plays. The worst case scenario is three points, and then it’s a successful drive. It’s hard when you come away with nothing. We cannot come up with zero points in that situation when we are in there.”

Ta’ase is confident that the Cougars are capable of fixing the errors and miscues. He expects BYU to get back to being a prolific offense.

“I think we need to double down on what’s gotten us here to be 9-1,” Ta’ase said. “Obviously, we didn’t want that ending (against the Jayhawks) to go like that, so now it’s just about doubling down on what’s gotten us here and to trust in each other, trust in our coaches, trust in the culture that we’ve built here, and elevate ourselves to that.”