Is BYU a Big 12 Title Contender? Five Overreactions From Week One

Carsen Ryan scores a touchdown against Portland State | BYU Photo

Week one of the college football season is in the books, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for sweeping generalizations for every team we saw. The Big 12 stumbled out of the gate on Thursday and Friday but rebounded with a strong showing over the weekend. Now that every team has taken the field, here are five bold (and probably premature) overreactions about BYU.

1. BYU will have the best defense in the conference

BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker against Portland State | BYU Photo

Yes, it was Portland State, but 10 Big12 schools played FCS teams this weekend and none of them looked as dominant on defense as BYU. BYU allowed 51 yards of offense to the Vikings, 72 yards fewer than the next closest Big12 defense in week one. 1.2 yards per play allowed by BYU was the best in the nation.  BYU has the nation's 8th most efficient defense after week 1 according to ESPN’s opponent adjusted FPI, also best in the league. So yes, it’s Portland state, but it’s not a stretch to say that the Big12's best defense last year will be so again with a better interior defensive line.

2. BYU will play 8 of the top 12 teams in the conference, including the top 4

BYU captains take the field against Utah | BYU Photo

Coming into the season, the narrative was that BYU had the easiest schedule in the league because they missed Baylor, ASU, and Kansas State. Well Baylor has no run defense while ASU and KSU beat FCS teams by a combined 23 points. Meanwhile, Utah, Iowa State, Tech, and TCU all won by 30+ points over the weekend and look like the clear top four of the league. Arizona, WVU, Cincinnati, and Colorado all showed well or at least lost to P4 teams close, which is more than can be said for some. Last year, BYU had the toughest schedule on paper, slated to play five preseason ranked teams. Their schedule turned out to be the easiest and it cost them a tiebreaker. This year it appears to be the exact opposite. Such is life in the Big12.

3. LJ Martin will be First-Team all Big 12

BYU RB LJ Martin against Portland State | BYU Photo

LJ Martin had a strong case to be a top three RB in the league this year before week one, but let’s overreact and say he’s number one after. And how could you not? Martin was the nation's 4th highest-graded RB in week 1 per PFF, after rushing for a career high 131 yards on 8 carries with a staggering 115 yards after contact. This isn’t a bad RB league either. 5 of the top 25 graded running backs in week one came from Big12 schools, but Martin looked better than all of them.

4. BYU will have a top 5 offensive line in the league

BYU Photo

Again, this is a projection off one FCS game, but BYU has some dudes up front. BYU had 3 of the top 10 highest-graded pass blocking tackles in the Big12 according to PFF, while Isaiah Jatta was the number 2 tackle overall. BYU had 5 of the top 17 graded linemen in the league in week one, led by Jatta (3), Andrew Gentry(16) and Bruce Mitchell (17). Only Kansas had more (6) while no other school had more than 2. Yes it was Portland State, but a lot of other schools played FCS schools and did not look as good as BYU did up front.

5. BYU is a conference title contender

Carsen Ryan scores a touchdown against Portland State | BYU Photo

Why not BYU? No other school in the country had a higher point differential despite nearly 50 schools also playing FCS opponents. No other school allowed fewer yards per play. If the overreactions above hold true, BYU is 100% a contender in the Big 12. With BYU's defense, they will be in every game they play. With LJ Martin, a stable of weapons, and a talented offensive line, BYU should be able to make life easy for freshman Bear Bachmeier, who also looked good in his own right. At the end of week one, there were 5 other teams that looked the part of a conference title contender: Utah, TCU, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Kansas. Based on what we saw Saturday, BYU looks every bit the part of that tier. Will that prove true? We shall see, but BYU has a golden opportunity to enter that conversation nationally by laying the wood to the Stanford Tree this week.