Flipping the script: BYU makes key second half adjustments in taking a 28-17 win over Arizona
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- BYU cornerback Trey Alexander III (in blue) tackles Arizona’s Quincy Craig in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU wide receiver Kyler Kasper (right) carries the ball against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU running back LJ Martin carries the ball against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU wide receiver Reggie Frischknecht celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (center) carries the ball against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU defensive end Tausili Akana celebrates after a sack against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- The BYU football crowd reacts against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU wide receiver Legend Glasker makes a catch against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier leans forward with the ball for extra yards against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU running back LJ Martin carries the ball against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
It can strongly be argued that BYU football can be labeled a second half team, with Saturday’s 28-17 win over Arizona standing as the latest and perhaps most blatant form of evidence.
Sluggish, overmatched and maybe a bit uninspired in the first half, the Cougars turned it all around in the second, outscoring the Wildcats 14-0 while yielding just 87 yards of total offense, which included -2 yards rushing. On offense, it was again BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier leading the charge, accounting for all four touchdowns, which included three touchdown tosses, two to receiver Kyler Kasper and one to Reggie Frischknecht on top of a 6-yard touchdown run.
“It was a great game but a tough one,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “Arizona is one of the best teams in the country (and) I think they’re definitely a team that should be ranked. It was tough, and especially the first half. We had to make some adjustments, and then change some things. But the truth is, it was because Arizona was putting us on our heels, and so I’m glad that we were able to pivot, make some adjustments in all three phases.”
The most dramatic pivot was made on the defensive side of the football. Throughout the game’s first 30 minutes, Arizona senior quarterback Noah Fifita all but shredded whatever the Cougars presented him en route to 16-20 passing in the first half for 141 yards on top of 54 yards rushing on his six carries.
“He was so efficient. He knew exactly where to go with the ball,” Sitake said of Fifita’s first half play. “It was so difficult to throw him off, and we tried a lot of different looks — a lot of different coverages and disguises, and he saw through all of it.”
One first half coverage Fifita didn’t see, however, was an interception thrown right into the hands of BYU linebacker Cade Uluave due to tremendous pressure applied by fellow linebacker Isaiah Glasker. The Cal transfer returned the interception just inside the 10-yard line with Bachmeier scoring on his touchdown run just two plays later to tie things at 7-7.
“A lot of people didn’t realize, but what made the play was Isaiah Glasker coming off the edge. He smoked the quarterback, just absolutely smoked him, and put the pressure,” Uluave said. “And the quarterback just threw a cookie right to me, so all I had to do was just catch it. But yeah, I’m kind of mad I didn’t get into the end zone. But it’s alright.”
Uluave’s interception was one of the few things that did go right for the Cougar defense in the first half, however. Arizona and Fifita rebounded quickly and often, keeping BYU’s defense on the field for a full 21 minutes and 29 seconds, which can take a toll, and especially when the temperature is well above 90 degrees.
But all that changed quite dramatically in the second half. Pressures on Fifita came more and more often while the Cougar defensive front all but shut down the Wildcat’s ground game.
“Coming in at half, I think the coaches made great adjustments. And then just mentality like, ‘It’s go time, and time for us to step up,'” Uluave said. “It was just about flipping our mindset. Credit to all the coaches for making adjustments and for the guys buying in and changing the tone.”
As is often the case, it was all about just getting back to basics, according to Sitake.
“I thought the guys settled down and played a lot more assignment sound in the second half, and then we were able to make some plays and get some sacks and get some disruption as well,” Sitake said. “I thought it was a good return to our basics. Let’s get our identity out there. Let’s be more physical in all three phases. Let’s get the ball to LJ (Marin), Big 12 player of the year. Defensively, let’s try to get a knock back and stop the run. I think once we started doing that, things became easier, and we made Fifita a lot more one dimensional.”
As for Martin, he carried the ball just four times in the first half despite proving effective with 25 yards gained on those runs. That changed significantly in the second, with the reigning Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year finishing the game with 20 carries for 98 yards while proving physical and tough-to-tackle on most occasions.
“The first half, we had a lot of penalties that killed ourselves and backed us up. They had the ball a lot the first half, so it took a second to get going,” Martin said. “The second half was a lot better because we got the ball a lot more.”
Applying a lot of the added pressure on Fifita in the second half was junior edge and Texas transfer Tausili Akana, who finished with 2.5 sacks on the afternoon.
“I felt good getting the sacks. Finally, the time I’m putting in is paying off,” Akana said. “I can’t do it without Keanu Tanuvasa and (the rest of the defensive line), and they open up some places for me.”
Of course Akana’s sacks were all registered in the second half of play as BYU pretty much flipped every statistical advantage its way, out-possessing Arizona by large margins during both the third and fourth quarters while out-gaining the Wildcats in total yardage 182-87.
Two of the more significant sequences in the second half was when Bachmeier threw a 61-yard completed bomb to freshman receiver Legend Glasker, where the speedster actually had to slow up a bit to reel in the pass. Two plays later saw the Cougar quarterback hook up with Kasper for a 12-yard touchdown pass which gave BYU a 28-17 lead with six minutes left.
“Let’s do that more,” Sitake commented when asked of the long completion. “When teams go zero coverage, you’re going to have to make them pay by connecting on those passes. Arizona does a great job covering those guys up, and it was pretty good coverage. We just have to commit to taking those chances and taking those shots to make them pay for it, and it worked out for us. That’s going to be the game plan. If people try to crowd the box and take the run away, then we are going to use our athletic receivers to createmismatches on the outside.”
Setting up the final scoring drive was a critical stop made by the Cougar defense on a 4th-and-4 situation on their 21-yard line. Initially the officials gave Arizona the first-down on a completed pass to Rodney Gallagher, although a review showed the ball almost a full yard behind the line to gain when Gallagher’s knee hit the turf. But the official review got it right as Cougar defensive backs Tommy Prassas and Cannon DeVries proved stout in tackling Gallagher just short of first down in what proved to be the most pivotal defensive play of the afternoon.
“I was hopeful from the beginning, but it’s a game of inches, and that was a big momentum swing for us,” Sitake said. “I think if you look at last year’s game against Arizona, it came down to those things. So you have to step up in those moments, and things just have to go your way … There were some breaks that went our way, like the fourth-down spot. You have to find ways to create your own breaks and capitalize on them when you do.”
And that’s what BYU football is, for better or for worse, although the better has evidently worked out far more than the alternative going on three seasons now.
