BYU ‘taking shots’ leads to trust, preparation for Kansas State

Chase Roberts delivered.

Just trust him.

Target the guy, unlike BYU’s game plan at SMU, and he will win more battles than he loses, at least against a struggling MWC foe.

BYU defeated Wyoming 34-14 in Laramie on Saturday, lifting the Cougars to a 3-0 mark heading into the Big 12 opener at home Saturday against a streaking 3-0 Kansas State team.

While the Cougars showed improvement against winless Wyoming, they’ll need far more polished play against KSU if they want to add another step toward making a bowl game.

It helps immensely that BYU’s offense used its top weapons like Roberts. Fitting up that chemistry and timing and making defenses drop into coverage deep should provide more opportunities for quarterback Jake Retzlaff and BYU’s struggling rushing attack.

Opposing defenses elect to mix zone and man coverage, but protect themselves from Roberts, Darius Lassiter and JoJo Phillips with deep drops.

Still, BYU took its shots against Wyoming, one resulting in Retzlaff throwing an early pick.

“That didn’t faze us at all,” said Roberts. “We knew we were going to take shots downfield and after that pick, we just kept doing it. It’s like in practice all summer, we kept saying ‘Trust us and give us a shot to come up with the ball.’ That’s what happened.”

KSU features talented QB Avery Johnson who just happens to be the exact kind of mobile quarterback that has challenged BYU’s defense in all three games this season.

Johnson sliced apart Arizona last Friday, running for 110 yards on 17 carries. This is a scary guy for Jay Hill’s defense.

Meanwhile, one must credit Retzlaff for shrugging off an early interception against Wyoming and posting his best performance of the season. Like Johnson, Retzlaff was impressive with his decision making on the run.

With top running backs LJ Martin (ankle) and Hinckley Ropati (knee) missing in action in Laramie, Retzlaff led BYU in rushing with 62 yards on six carries for a 10.3 yard average per carry.  He had a 40-yard run called back on a squishy holding penalty.

Credit Retzlaff also for an impressive passing day against the Pokes. He was 22 of 36 for 291 yards and three touchdowns with that one interception trying to hit Kody Epps at the goal line in the first quarter.

Praise must also go to offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, who came under criticism last week for playcalls in the win at SMU.

Roderick targeted Roberts eight times and Roberts delivered with 129 yards receiving, an average of 27 per catch and at least three of those were high-point wins over a defender, showing elite receiving skills.

Roderick’s playcalls targeted Darius Lassiter nine times and he caught three, including a TD pass on a Retzlaff scramble and throw on the run.

In last year’s five-win disappointing campaign, BYU’s offense did not have a game with more than 400 yards total offense. This year the offense has had two in three games, 527 against Southern Illinois and 458 at Wyoming.

Retzlaff’s effort earned him the top QB of the week in the Big 12 according to Pro Football Focus. As quoted by Casey Lindquist in Sports Illustrated, Retzlaff led the country with eight “big-time” throws.

“A big-time throw is defined as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”

It’s also worth noting that Retzlaff now leads the country in big-time throws after three weeks with 11. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders ranks second with 10 big-time throws. Cam Ward (Miami), Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland), and Emmett Brown (San Jose State) are tied for third with nine big-time throws apiece.”

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake told reporters after Saturday’s game he is pleased with his team’s progress — and there has been progress.

He also warned that the KSU challenge at home will be tough and everyone on the staff is on notice they’ll need to be far better this week.

KSU’s Johnson and his cadre of running back help is playing at a high level. This will be a tremendous chance for BYU’s defense to measure itself against the best.

Arizona lost 31-7 to Johnson and KSU last Friday and looked bad in the process. Afterward Arizona coach Brent Brennan praised Johnson’s athleticism and what it did to his defense.

“Well, I don’t think we’re the first team to have an issue with an athletic quarterback, but this guy is something different,” said Brennan, according to Doug Haller of The Athletic .

“He’s unique, and in those moments where we’re trying to keep him in the pocket, his ability to get outside of one person and create a big play was obviously damaging to what we were trying to get done.”

Conversely, it looks like BYU will need to deploy Retzlaff as a run threat for KSU’s defense to make them account for him on the ground as Martin and Ropati heal and BYU coaches bring along Miles Davis, Sione Moa and freshman Pokai Haunga, who made his college debut with five carries for 35 yards.

Moa had an impressive TD run called back on a holding penalty.

Preseason is over now. It’s Big 12 time, and that time calls for BYU to prove that chip on its shoulder all offseason is unacceptable.

So far the Cougars have performed twice as good as oddsmakers predicted they would.