4 Key Things BYU Football Can Learn From Utah’s Impressive Season Heading Into 2022

BYU's season was impressive, but Utah's was better. The Cougars have plenty to learn from their in-state rivals.

Before we get into this article, let’s just put this out there first: 26-17. That’s ultimately the statistic that should matter most for Cougar fans in regards to how their rival performed in the 2021 season.

At the same time, however, there is no denying that the University of Utah had a fairly successful season of its own. The Utes won the Pac-12 championship and came up just short against Ohio State in a thrilling, record-breaking Rose Bowl.

While we’re still waiting on the final polls to come out until after the national championship is played, the fact remains that the Utes ended the regular season ranked ahead of BYU, even with the head-to-head loss.

Much of that is due to how they played down the stretch — and believe it or not, there are lessons BYU can apply from their rival in the upcoming year. If the team does so, it could be well on its way to an even greater 2022.

1. Not Slowing Down After a Fast Start

One consistent issue for BYU throughout the 2021 season was that they never seemed to just “put away” an opponent until close to the final drive of the game. The Cougs jumped out to a 21-0 lead against lowly South Florida, only to hang on for a 35-27 win. After jumping out to a 21-point lead against Virginia, BYU faced a back and forth struggle before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter.

This same issue, by and large, didn’t seem to affect Utah as much in its wins. The team generally continued to play aggressively on both sides of the ball for all four quarters, leading to far more lopsided outcomes. After taking a 21-10 lead against USC at the half, the Utes continued to pile it on in the 3rd quarter, ultimately winning 42-26 — and with USC’s final touchdown coming with less than a minute to play.

Similar play helped Utah crush Oregon — twice.

While there is much to be said for Kalani not aiming to run up the score on his opponents, the Cougars could do to be more aggressive through all four quarters so games don’t always have to come down to the wire.

2. Putting Pressure On the Quarterback

Sure, Utah didn’t record a single sack against BYU — a testament to just how well BYU’s lines dominated that game. But when you look at the season as a whole, it is clear that Utah’s defense was able to get to the quarterback regularly throughout the season.

In fact, Utah more than doubled BYU’s total number of sacks in 2021. The Utes notched 41 sacks on the season, while BYU only managed 20.

The ability to consistently get pressure on the opposing quarterback clearly played big dividends in Utah’s games against Oregon. Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown was sacked a combined seven times during those games, and also threw two interceptions. No surprise that the Utes won by a combined total of 76-17.

BYU’s defense showed some aggressiveness in the beginning of the season, though this faded later in the year as injuries started to take their toll. Still, there is no denying that the Cougars could bring some more heat on the defensive front to hopefully force more mistakes and three and outs.

3. A More Varied Rushing Attack

BYU enjoyed an incredible luxury on offense with Tyler Allgeier in 2021. Allgeier was a one-man wrecking crew for the Cougars, and you could easily argue that he was responsible for many of the team’s wins over the course of the season. 

He was the team’s leading rusher in every game aside from Idaho State, when he only played a few series. Of course, now he’s moving on to the NFL, leaving the running back situation a bit murky looking into 2022.

Utah didn't have a breakout running back like Allgeier, but they did show impressive depth in the ground game. Tavion Thomas led the Utes with over 1,100 yards on the season — but he wasn’t the be-all end-all for the ground game.

Against BYU, Micah Bernard led the way with 147 rushing yards (Bernard was also the leading rusher against San Diego State). TJ Pledger led the way against Washington State and Arizona. Against Colorado, both Thomas and Pledger rushed for over 100 yards. Against Stanford, Thomas, Bernard and Pledger all gained over 100 yards on the ground.

The Cougars have Lopini Katoa, new transfer Christopher Brooks and young talent like Jackson McChesney and Miles Davis. Without a clear-cut number one (yet), there’s certainly potential for offensive scheming that allows multiple backs to thrive.

4. Buckling Down Against the Run

Sometimes, it just felt like BYU’s defense couldn’t get off the field. Statistically, the Cougars ranked 106th in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, letting opponents convert 43 percent of the time.

And of course, that doesn’t count the times when opponents got so close to a first down, that they went for it and converted on fourth down. Utah didn’t lead the nation in this stat either, but the Utes held their opponents to a much more respectable .374 conversion percentage.

Much of this ultimately came down to the disparity between the teams’ rush defenses. Utah ranked 19th in total rush defense, holding opponents to an average of 119.4 yards per game and 3.65 yards per rush.

BYU, on the other hand, ranked 73rd, giving up 156.8 yards per game and 4.34 yards per carry. Those kinds of numbers make it all too easy to convert on third down. It feels strange to say that BYU’s secondary is the strength of the defense, but that’s how this year played out. It’s time to shore up the run defense so the Cougars can get their offense back on the field.

Yes, writing an article praising the University of Utah does feel a bit gross. But even though BYU completely dominated the Pac-12 in 2021, that doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned from its biggest rival. As the disappointing showing against UAB showed, there’s always room for improvement.