Cougs Daily

Broken or Not: Are BYU's Recent Redzone Woes Fixable?

Joe Wheat

BYU running back Hinckley Ropati against Kansas
BYU running back Hinckley Ropati against Kansas / BYU Photo
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The clock hadn’t hit zero against Kansas before the hot takes were firing about the BYU offense and its coordinator. Criticism was certainly warranted, as the BYU offense wasted a virtually perfect defensive effort against the Jayhawaks - one of the best offenses in the country over the last month. But how bad is it really for the BYU offense?  

Three touchdowns in the last 10 quarters is objectively bad, but that stat is also misleading. BYU was in cruise control the entire second half against UCF while Utah stifled BYU with a top 10 defense and a raucous environment. BYU’s offensive showing against Kansas, meanwhile, doesn’t reflect their final point total.

Between the 20's, BYU was moving the ball at will against Kansas, averaging 6.2 yards per play and reaching the redzone on 4 of 8 drives. Once they got there, though, BYU seemed to have no answers, gaining 19 yards on 9 redzone plays while settling for 6 total points and no touchdowns. That’s concerning. One common thread of the last 10 quarters for BYU is their inability to score touchdowns in the redzone. BYU fell from the top 25 in redzone TD% this season all the way to 99th in the span of three weeks. The question we're answering today is whether that's a reflection of play calling or execution? I would argue that the primary issue is execution. Let’s illustrate this with a missed opportunity in each of BYU’s four redzone trips against Kansas.

Redzone Trip #1

On 2nd and 7, Retzlaff wasn’t fast enough to get to the edge on a read option and wound up losing a yard to set up third and long. On that third and long, Retzlaff gets sped up by a free rusher in his face and is forced to sail a pass before Lassiter can get out of his break. What could have been a TD if Retzlaff has time turns into an incompletion and BYU settles for a field goal.

Redzone Trip #2

This trip ultimately decided the game. Calling a goal-line fade on first and goal from the 5-yard line is certainly a bad play call, but it’s less bad when you zoom out and see that BYU had multiple receivers breaking open on the backside of the play. That bad play call is made catastrophic when the ball is thrown directly to the opposing defender.

“But the coach shouldn’t be putting his player in position to make the catastrophic mistake” you might be thinking. If that is the mindset we have about Jake Retzlaff, he shouldn’t be the starting quarterback. Retzlaff has earned the right to throw inside the 5 yard line with his play on the field. Coming into the game, Retzlaff was 7/8 in goal-to-go situations with 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He made a bad throw, certainly, but that has been more the exception than the rule this season.

Redzone Trip #3

In my opinion, BYU’s drive to open the second half encapsulated my issues with the way offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called the game for BYU. Going on a 17 play, 10-minute drive didn’t lose the game for BYU, but it did ensure Kansas would have a chance to win in the 4th quarter unless BYU played perfectly on offense the rest of the way. That pressure only became more acute when BYU was forced to settle for a field goal. On 3rd & 6 from the 20, BYU runs a speed option to the far side. The read defender stays with Retzlaff, but rather than pitch it to Ropati with blockers on the outside, he keeps it and is wrapped up by the read defender for a 3-yard gain. This is a spot where BYU has gone for it all year long, but BYU’s decision to run the clock made it imperative that BYU get points on this drive. BYU settles for a field goal.

Redzone Trip #4

After back-to-back stalled drives, BYU needs another miracle drive to win the game. BYU cuts down the field almost too quickly and reaches the redzone just in time for the two minute time out. Confusingly, BYU elects to play clock control with 3 straight runs rather than give themselves a chance to get the ball back if they don’t score. Running the ball isn’t necessarily a bad option considering how well BYU ran it all night long. We can argue about whether the 3rd & 6 speed option was the right call, but that play has worked for BYU all year long as well. It was blocked well by the line, but Retzlaff hesitates on the pitch while the WR gets blown up on his block which leaves two Kansas defenders with a chance to make the stop.

Now viewer discretion is advised on BYU’s 4th and 6 play call. If that ball is snapped on time, Chase Roberts, who was matched up with a linebacker, would have been all alone for a touchdown. Instead, it’s a false start, and 4th & 6 becomes 4th & 11. On that 4th & 11 play, Etienne gets beat off the line and Retzlaff is forced to dump it off short of the sticks while taking a hit. Roberts comes up short. Ballgame.

Is it Roderick and is it fixable?

BYU running back Hinckley Ropati against Kansas
BYU running back Hinckley Ropati against Kansas / BYU Photo

I only do this film study to show that BYU’s offense is not broken. They just didn’t execute on key plays in a close game. By every metric except redzone efficiency, this was arguably BYU’s 3rd best offensive performance of the season behind only Oklahoma State and UCF. Of course, that doesn’t matter one bit if the ball doesn’t cross the goal line, but if their redzone efficiency against Kansas simply matched their season averages, BYU wins the game by two touchdowns and this article is never written.  

The good news is that bad execution is more fixable than a lack of talent or a bad OC. BYU certainly has talent and Aaron Roderick has been criminally underrated by BYU fans this season. Before Roderick assumed play calling duties at BYU, BYU had finished better than 58th nationally in yards per play once in 10 years (average of 72nd). BYU has been in the top 40 in every year but one with three seasons in the top 15. Not to mention, Roderick sent back-to-back quarterbacks to the NFL draft for the first time in over 30 years, and turned Jake Retzlaff from the worst quarterback in the Power 4 to a top 30 quarterback in the country.

One of the criticisms I see frequently about Roderick is that he is a great play designer, but not a great play caller. I would argue it’s hard to notice a great play designer unless he is also a great play caller - but I digress. One criticism I believe is fair, though, is that he can be a questionable game/clock manager. Roderick calls an offense like he’s a log roller. He tries to throw his opponent off balance by picking up the pace and stopping suddenly. Speeding up again before slowing down. Sometimes that works in BYU’s favor like it did against UCF and Oklahoma State. Other times, he throws himself off the log instead like he did against Kansas.

Roderick called the offense in the second half like he was playing defense. That is my biggest concern. BYU was more concerned with keeping Kansas off the field as opposed to scoring points. BYU’s defense is good enough to not need protection from the clock, while the offense is getting into offensive scoring position better than almost anyone in the country. However, they keep playing close games because the offense hasn’t given themselves enough opportunities to truly light up the scoreboard, as they rank 109th nationally in total plays per game. BYU’s offense has been at their best this season when they play with pace. Pick up the tempo a little bit, and I feel confident BYU will find themselves playing in Arlington in three weeks.

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Joe Wheat
JOE WHEAT

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