BYU vs. Arizona State Takeaways: What is Wrong with BYU

Digesting an ugly win over Arizona State

The BYU defense against Arizona State | BYU Photo

Let's be honest, vibes are bad in Provo. For the second straight week, BYU found itself in a dogfight with an overmatched team. Fortunately, they pulled out the win, but almost everyone left that stadium asking what happened to the team that beat a top five team two weeks ago. Here is at least one attempt to answer that question. Here is what I learned from a lackluster win over Arizona State.

BYU still coaches games like they are at a talent deficit

Kalani Sitake on the Cougar Walk before BYU vs Utah Tech | BYU Photo

Kalani Sitake has said repeatedly this season that he would like more stress-free wins. The problem is BYU’s pace of play. BYU ranks 105th in total drives per game and 125th nationally in total plays per game and seconds per play. That is by design. BYU’s brand of complementary football is to shorten the game so the defense has to defend fewer drives and bank on the offense being more efficient with the possessions they have.

That is the kind of game plan you have when you are at a talent deficit, which BYU has been for most of Kalani Sitake’s tenure. Navy had a 13-7 lead on Notre Dame under the halftime 2-minute timeout yesterday. Why? To that point, Notre Dame had 2 possessions total. Navy was able to grind out 3 scoring drives that averaged over 13 plays and 7 minutes of game time. That is what you have to do to keep things close against teams that are better than you. The issue is, that makes it difficult to win by margin against teams you are clearly better than. For BYU to win by the margins BYU fans want, they would have to play faster.

BYU ranks 13th nationally in scoring margin on a per-drive basis. The problem is BYU doesn’t have enough drives for that margin to matter. Frustrated that the offense ranks 54th in points per game? They are 25th in points per drive at 2.94. BYU averages 9 non-garbage-time drives per game. Even if they had the most efficient offense in the country (Miami, at 4 points per drive), they would average a max of 36 points per game. Hard to blow out anybody when even the best offense would max out at under 40 points. To BYU’s credit, this has proven a winning strategy over the last 3 years, but it’s going to shorten the game and the lives of everyone watching them.

BYU’s offense will continue to struggle without LJ Martin

BYU running back Sione Moa against UCF | BYU Photo

BYU’s offense since losing LJ Martin has been a mixed bag of success, but one thing is clear: BYU’s running back depth is not P4 level. Over the last 5 games, BYU’s running backs as a whole are averaging 55 yards per game and 3.76 yards per carry. That is not good enough to sustain any meaningful offense the way BYU wants to play. Unfortunately, there is nothing BYU can do about it except hope that LJ Martin gets healthy in a hurry. BYU made the bet this offseason that, despite Martin’s injury risk, its current depth was sufficient. They lost. BYU has managed without him, but clearly will not reach its goals unless it has a real running threat outside of Bachmeier.

BYU has the athletes to pass to establish the run and needs to act like it

This kid is one of the best receivers in the country and he ranks 151st in targets. Legend has the talent and Bear has the arm. We should be seeing this more than just when the game is hanging in the balance https://t.co/R7nMBnCpb9

— Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) November 1, 2026

BYU’s passing offense was awesome against ASU. Bear Bachmeier completed 73% of his targeted passes for over 9 yards per attempt. On passes of 10 yards or more, he completed 69% of his passes for 13 yards per attempt. That is an offense BYU can lean on, but on a day where BYU averaged 2 yards per carry, BYU’s pass-run splits were identical. Unless LJ comes back this week, BYU’s offense is going to have to lead with Bear’s arm, and they have the players to do it. Legend Glasker is one of the best deep threats in America. He is top 5 nationally in yards per route run and gets behind the defense almost every time he’s asked to. The problem is he ranks 151st in targets and BYU only throws it 20+ yards around 3 times per game. Through 7 games, Glasker has been targeted deep 9 times and has come down with 5 of them, averaging 58 yards per reception and 32 yards per target. That is not enough volume for a player that efficient. Without having access to the film, we can’t know if that is Roderick not calling it or Bachmeier not throwing it, but the reality is BYU is living beneath its means in the vertical passing game.

BYU’s defensive stars need to play better

BYU Football linebacker Isaiah Glasker recovers a fumble against Arizona State | BYU Photo

Believe it or not, BYU’s defense played well against Arizona State. They held the Sun Devils to 3.6 yards per play, recorded 6 sacks, and forced three-and-outs on roughly half of the Sun Devils’ possessions. The problem is they could not get off the field. ASU converted nearly half of their third and fourth downs and were able to grind out long possessions in the second half that limited possessions and kept the game close. A huge part of that is tackling. BYU missed 18 tackles against ASU while ASU averaged nearly 3.5 yards after contact. There is no scheme on earth that can overcome bad tackling, and BYU’s stars have been some of the biggest culprits. Cade Uluave missed 6 tackles, Nusi Taumoepeau and Faletau Satuala missed 3 each, and Isaiah Glasker missed 2. These were all players BYU was counting on to build a top 10 defense this year, and they simply have not played well enough the last 2 weeks.

It wasn’t all bad though. Even without Evan Johnson, BYU’s corners were dynamite against probably the best receiver room in the Big 12. Omarion Miller and Reed Harris were held to 41 yards on 13 targets brought to you by Jayven Williams and Tre Alexander. Even on ASU’s lone explosive pass of the day, Miller was still blanketed in coverage and just made a great play. BYU’s defense isn’t far away from the one that was top 10 nationally after the Notre Dame game. They just have to tackle better when they are in position.

Playing to the level of your competition cuts both ways

A common accusation made about BYU over the years is that they play to the level of their competition. That has been especially true the last two weeks. Still, the team that beat Notre Dame is in there. The good news is they have an excellent opponent on tap with Utah this week. While Utah is deservedly ranked in the top 10, they are not unbeatable. BYU has the players to go into Rice Eccles Stadium and win that game. It will take a Notre Dame-type performance, but remember, BYU plays to the level of its competition, and this week, that’s a good thing.