BYU’s defense has improved, but will it travel to Waco for Big 12 showdown with run-oriented Baylor?

By almost any measurable metric or statistic, BYU’s defense has improved immensely since the 2023 season when it finished 110th nationally in total defense, 99th in scoring defense and 112th in rushing defense.

The 2023 Cougars gave up 417.7 yards per game, 29.8 points per game, and 177.6 yards on the ground per game against a lineup of 10 power conference teams, along with Sam Houston and Southern Utah. It was the sixth most-difficult schedule in the country, according to the Sagarin strength of schedule rankings.

Through four games that have included two power conference opponents (SMU and Kansas State) an upper-level FCS foe (Southern Illinois) and a lower-level Group of Five rival (Wyoming) that Sagarin ranks as the 33rd-toughest schedule to date, BYU is 23rd in total defense (269 ypg.), 18th in scoring defense (12.75 ppg.) and 71st in rushing defense (136.2 ypg.).

However, the most impressive stat the BYU defense has posted is pass efficiency defense, where it ranks third nationally. BYU has yet to allow a touchdown pass (only Minnesota can also say that) and opponents’ passing efficiency against the Cougars is 77.54. Big 12 rival Iowa State is at 74.01, while Minnesota is at 77.06.

So the Cougars have clearly gotten better on defense, even as defensive coordinator Jay Hill has dealt with the affects of a heart attack he suffered two days before the opener against SIU (2-2).

But as the No. 22 Cougars (4-0, 1-0) prepare for a Big 12 showdown with Baylor (2-2, 0-1) on Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, (10 a.m. MDT, FS1), defensive coaches are trying to tamper the hype.

A lot of their concerns center around the fact that KSU was able to rush for 228 yards, with an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. And although KSU quarterback Avery Johnson is as quick and slippery as they come, BYU sacked him only once, on 30 dropbacks.

It should be noted that Johnson was pressured quite a bit, including on the interception that defensive end Tyler Batty got, the pressure coming from cornerback Jakob Robinson. After getting just 11 sacks last season, BYU has seven this season, thanks in part to the addition of Weber State transfer linebacker Jack Kelly.

The Kearns High product has been as good as advertised. He’s currently tied for 17th in the country in tackles-for-loss, with five (for minus-32 yards).

“I think people think we played a lot better than what we really did (on defense),” said rush ends coach and special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga . “I think there is a lot of stuff we can improve on. We didn’t stop the run great, like we had done the first couple of games, especially the week before vs. Wyoming.

“I think (Kansas State) exposed a couple of things for us to be able to fix before we get to the Baylor game,” Poppinga continued. “Sometimes it is good to have the ball bounce your way a couple of times, and winning a game like that, where I don’t think we did a good job of stopping the run.”

Baylor is 65th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 167 yards per game against Tarleton, Utah, Air Force and Colorado.

Poppinga said some players “were brought back down to earth” when they reviewed the tape against KSU. The final score was not indicative of the competitiveness of the game, he said.

“Everyone sees how much improvement they have to make leading up to this game. That’s the beauty of it. Every single week there are things to improve on,” Poppinga said. “But this week it was glaring. There are a couple things that we gotta fix before we get to the Baylor game.

“The average fan and the average person might not see those things, but being a football coach (I see) those things we gotta fix, and the players are getting back in the film room. … If we make those proper corrections I think things will go well for us on Saturday.”

Defensive end Isaiah Bagnah said the players “lost eye control,” missed some gap control assignments, and were out of position several times, leading to two plays of more than 25 yards.

“We watch our film and review what we did well and what we did wrong,” Bagnah said. “It just comes down to the little things and that is what we want to clean up for the next week.”

The Boise State transfer, who is from Canada, said the fact that Baylor is favored by more than a field goal came as another sobering wakeup call for the Cougars.

“After last week, we are still underdogs in this game, right? So we are always going to have that chip on our shoulder,” Bagnah said. “It is only Week 4. Our emphasis of being hungry and humble (goes on) until the very end. And so of course it is cool to have a big win and climb in the rankings. But at the end of the day, we know what our purpose is. We know exactly what we want, and we are not going to stop until we get it.”

Kansas State’s DJ Giddens ran for 93 yards, while Johnson picked up 74. Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson ran nine times for 82 yards against Colorado. He also threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Dominic Richardson had 15 carries for 47 yards.

“They should have won the Colorado game. They let that game slip away,” Poppinga said. “The quarterback … has got that team playing at a way high level right now, especially offensively. They have scored 31 points two weeks in a row. He is doing a great job and I think they are a different team with him.”

Dequan Finn was Baylor’s starting QB against Tarleton and Utah.

Robertson “throws the ball better, and he has guys all around him. They run the ball well. He runs the ball well. So yeah, there are a lot of issues they give to a defense,” Poppinga said. “We are going to have to execute well and I think we are going to have to play our best game on defense to come out of that game on the road with a victory.”

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said running backs are the strength of Baylor’s offense right now, which is a big concern. Four Bears have more than 100 rushing yards.

“This is a team that can be physical with you on both sides of the ball, offense and defense,” Hill said. “We are going to have to do a good job stopping the run, and forcing them into long yardage situations. That is going to be a critical part of this game.”