Seven Takeaways from BYU's Win over Texas Tech

BYU fans are feeling a variety of emotions after BYU's 27-14 win over a legacy Big 12 member. Here is what I learned.

Author:
Joe Wheat
Publish date:
Oct 22, 2023 11:42 PM EDT

BYU's win against Texas Tech left BYU fans feeling a variety of emotions as they left the Lavell Edwards Stadium parking lot to the soothing sounds of Greg Wrubell. On one hand, they were thrilled that BYU bounced back from a double-digit conference loss with a double-digit conference win. On the other hand, it's natural to feel frustrated that a game that was 24-7 at halftime ended 27-14. Now that we've had some time to get past the raw emotion of the win, here is what I took away from BYU's win.

1. Play calling wasn’t the primary issue in the second half

The prevailing wisdom among BYU fans is that Aaron Roderick started playing conservatively in the second half. There is some truth to that. BYU’s play selection went from 60/40 pass in the first half to 37/63 run in the second half. We also know from Aaron Roderick’s interviews after week one that Kalani occasionally tells Roderick to play it conservative to ensure that BYU wins the game. That may not make BYU fans happy or lead to a lot of dominant performances, but it does lead to wins. Per Greg Wrubell, BYU is 21-1 in the Kalani Sitake era and winners of 16 straight when BYU leads by 14+ at half-time.

The quiet part, though, that no one wants to say out loud is that BYU stopped executing in the passing game in the second half. Kedon Slovis went 4/11 for 21 yards in the second half, including an intentional grounding. I’m not sure how much of that is Slovis being inaccurate, Roderick telling Slovis to not take shots unless it's wide open, or BYU’s receivers not getting separation, but it appears that BYU plays tight once they open up a two-score lead. I am of the opinion that BYU’s struggles in the second half have less to do with play calling than they do with the 11 players on field playing scared to make a mistake. That needs to change.

2. BYU’s defense is BACK

This was as dominant of a defensive performance as I can remember against a Power Five team in the Kalani Sitake era. BYU allowed 14 points, 4.8 yards per play, forced 5 turnovers, and scored a defensive touchdown against a solid Texas Tech offense. They were a busted coverage and a dropped interception away from shutting out Texas Tech completely. “But Joe,” says the skeptic, “they were playing their 3rd string QB.” Correct, but this same Texas Tech offense put up 480 yards, 6.1 yards per play, and 24 points just last week against Kansas State with Jake Strong taking the majority of the snaps. Perhaps most impressively, BYU held the nations fifth-leading rusher in Tahj Brooks to 3.4 yards per carry. BYU fans like to call any game with great defense and mediocre offense “ugly”, but as someone that lived through the 2022 season, this performance was emotionally moving.

3. Encircled in the arms of safeties

The safety group continues to get pounded with injuries this season, but they have quietly been a strength of this BYU defense. Crew Wakely and Ethan Slade were the best players on the field according to PFF. The tandem graded in the 80's after combining for 16 tackles, 6 stops, 3 PBUs, and an interception against Texas Tech. Wakely’s two dropped interceptions are what most BYU fans remember, but his pass deflection that led to an Eddie Heckard interception would have been the most athletic play of the night if it wasn’t for Darius Lassiter.

4. Can YouTubeTV provide a view that cuts out BYU on third down?

I could be convinced that BYU would be a top 25 football team if they were good on third down on either side of the of the football. For as awesome as BYU’s defense was, they still could not get off the field on third down, even on third and long. On offense, BYU might as well just punt on third down at this point, as one of their best plays at this point appears to be letting a Ryan Rehkow punt force a fumble. I don’t know how to fix it, but every complaint BYU fans have about this football team can be summarized by the number three.

5. Unpopular opinion: BYU’s offense took a massive step forward.

For as lackluster as the second half was for BYU’s pass game, this was by far the best game of the season for BYU's rushing attack. BYU rushed for 5.0 yards per carry for the first time this season and over 2.5 yards per carry for just the second time this season. Perhaps most importantly, BYU’s running backs averaged 4.6 yards after contact, compared to just 2.6 yards coming into the night. This is the BYU running game we expected this season. LJ Martin turned in the best game of his young BYU career with 93 yards rushing on just 10 carries. However, by far my favorite story line of the game was the auspicious return of Aidan Robbins, who turned in 46 rushing yards in the second half. If running the ball 63% of the time in the second half means that Aidan Robbins gets his confidence back, that is a much bigger win for BYU’s season than beating Texas Tech by 30.

6. BYU’s passing game isn’t as far away as Saturday made us feel

BYU’s passing game wasn’t as bad as the box score indicates. Kedon Slovis finished the night with a lackluster 15/27 for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was inches away from connecting on multiple downfield throws that glanced off a receivers fingertips. Slovis’ adjusted completion percentage was still above 70% and BYU’s receivers were able to find separation, even if they were not completely in synch with Slovis. Is that stretching to find a moral victory? Perhaps, but it’s worth noting that BYU’s passing game hasn’t completely disappeared. I also want to point out that Darius Lassiter’s one-handed circus catch on the sideline is the best catch in BYU history. I will not be taking any questions at this time.

7. There are no such thing as ugly wins in the Big 12

Earlier this morning, I greeted a fellow BYU fan with a “Life is better after a win isn’t it?” “Yea, but it was an ugly win” came the response. There is no such thing this year for BYU. Under Kalani Sitake, BYU has played 36 opponents from Power Five conferences. Saturday was only the fourth time that BYU has beaten one of those opponents by 10+ points. That’s a feat worth celebrating. Celebrating the win doesn’t mean ignoring any deficiencies BYU may have. Am I concerned about BYU’s offense? Certainly. Am I going to let that prevent me from finding the positives in BYU beating a legacy Big 12 team by two touchdowns? Absolutely not.

Happiness is about expectations. If BYU was still independent or five years into the Big 12, this offense would have all of us at DEFCON 5. Instead, we are grading on a curve as BYU transitions into a P5 league. Making a bowl game was always the goal in my eyes. Of course, I want BYU to win more than 6 games, but that is not how I measure success this season. If the offense averages 100 yards per game the rest of the season and BYU gets to 6 wins, then BYU’s first season in the Big 12 was a success, especially after losing some of the best offensive players in BYU history to the NFL. Aaron Roderick and co. will have all offseason to figure out how to get the offense back to their standard, but for now, just finding ways to win is enough for me this year.