Eight Takeaways from BYU's Upset Win over SMU

Joe Wheat | Sep 8, 2024

BYU cornerback Marque Collins / BYU Photo

BYU improved to 2-0 on the season and 5-0 against SMU overall following their 18-15 upset win over the Mustangs on Friday night. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s a win. Lets talk about what we learned.

1. The game moves too fast for Jake Retzlaff

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff against SMU / BYU Photo

Last week, I wrote that Retzlaff played well enough to earn a fresh start. I stand by that. Unfortunately, that fresh start lasted about 30 minutes. Retzlaff looked rushed all night long despite rarely facing pressure. Retzlaff completed just 45.5% of his passes with a clean pocket with 2 turnover-worthy plays. In short, he looked like the Retzlaff we grew accustomed to in 2023 and it didn’t need to be that way. His final stat line of 15/28 for 202 yards and a TD would be enough to win BYU a lot of games this season if not for the head-scratching ball security.

Retzlaff now has nine career turnovers in five starts against P5 opponents. These aren’t deep shots into tight windows either. Four of his five career interceptions were thrown 10 air yards or less. Thanks to BYU’s incredible defensive effort, the turnovers didn’t hurt BYU in the end, but you can’t rely on that all season. From my view, all of Jake’s turnovers on Friday could have been avoided by taking a loss on the play rather than forcing something. But six games into his career and those mistakes are still being made

Now the important question. Do you bench him? With a full day to think it over, the BYU staff made the right decision sticking with Retzlaff. We saw a perfect example of what yo-yoing quarterbacks can do to a team in SMU, and the decision to stick with Retzlaff led to a game-winning 67-yard field goal drive. I think BYU still rolls with Retzlaff against a bad Wyoming team and gives him one last shot to prove he can be the guy at this level. If not, you let Bohanon carry this team into conference play.

2. The offensive line isn’t the problem

Caleb Etienne lines up at right tackle against Arkansas / BYU Photo

I don’t think the offensive line is the issue that it was last year. SMU’s front four is considered one of the best in the country after finishing last season with 48 sacks. The Mustang trio of Elijah Roberts, Isaiah Smith, and Cam Robertson combined for 19 of those sacks last season but were held to just 3 hurries and 0 sacks on a combined 46 pass rush attempts. BYU’s line allowed just 6 pressures total while Connor Pay and Caleb Etienne led the team with 82.3 and 86.8 pass blocking grades, respectively.

In the run game, BYU's line got plenty of push, earning BYU a staggering 3 yards before contact per rush last night. For reference, BYU’s 2021 offensive line earned 1.9 yards before contact on average. Most importantly, BYU's offensive line stepped up when it mattered most by paving the way on two massive fourth down conversions that directly led to 11 second half points. Credit to TJ Woods. This line looks reborn.

3. Running backs need to step up

BYU RB Miles Davis vs SMU / BYU Photo

Coupled with the point above, BYU's running backs need to step up. BYU running backs this season are averaging just 2.5 yards after contact this season, while vision in general has been lacking by all running backs not named LJ Martin. With Martin leaving the game with an injury that left him on crutches, BYU needs to find an answer that can create big plays in the run game. BYU’s offense will continue to struggle without it.

4. BYU’s offense still showed it’s making progress, but it has a long way to go

In summary, BYU’s offensive production through two games is already better than it was last year, but it still has a ways to go. BYU’s offense averaged 4.6 yards per play last season under Kedon Slovis. BYU averaged 5.7 yards per play on Friday. If BYU sustains that level of explosiveness all season, they would have been a top 50 offense nationally last season. The biggest issue continues to be turnovers.

Even with that progress, BYU's offense still felt bad, especially in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has plenty of questions to answer if he wants to be BYU’s guy next season, and few were answered Friday. If 2024 is about showing progress from last year, there has certainly been progress in terms of yardage, but BYU needs to score more points. 18 is not going to cut it in conference play.

5. This defense…

BYU cornerback Marque Collins against SMU / BYU Photo

Last year's defense was opportunistic but struggled to get off the field. This year's defense appears to do both. BYU forced two Mustang turnovers, both in the red zone. They also held SMU to 3-16 on third down, 3.6 yards per play, and 0 touchdowns. It was arguably the best defensive performance BYU has had against a Power Five team since BYU held Geogia Tech to 157 yards and 0 offensive touchdowns in 2012. If BYU can sustain this level of play on defense, BYU will have a chance to win every game they play. The transformation of this unit in 14 games under Jay Hill has been miraculous. For the first time since 2012, I am excited to watch BYU play defense.

6. This pass rush…

BYU linebacker Jack Kelly against SMU / BYU Photo

Now we need to highlight the greatest miracle: BYU has a pass rush. BYU generated pressures on 47.6% of SMU’s drop backs and generated the only 3 sacks SMU has allowed this season. BYU’s defensive tackles John Nelson and Blake Mangleson have been a revelation this season while linebackers Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker are taking up residence in opposing back fields through two weeks. Kelly led the team with nine pressures. Only three Cougars had more than nine pressures all of last season. Seven BYU players had multiple pressures while 15 players recorded a “stop” (defined as an offensive failure) according to PFF. BYU forced 30 stops as a team on 76 total snaps. Did someboday say HAVOC?!

7. BYU's win was ugly, but it was a different kind of ugly than last season, and that's good

BYU cornerback Marque Collins / BYU Photo

Friday night was ugly, but it was a win. If BYU is going to make a bowl game this season, most of the games are probably going to look like this. There are some who will not find satisfaction in BYU’s win because BYU won ugly last season before ultimately regressing to the mean of 5-7. BYU’s win over SMU was different, though. In BYU’s 5 wins last season, they were outgained by 193 yards (330 yards in P5 games) and won solely off of big plays and turnover margin.

If anything, BYU fans should be disappointed in Friday's performance not because BYU should have lost, but because they should have won by more. BYU outgained SMU by 79 yards last night and gained a full 2 more yards per play. BYU won ugly, but it was a more sustainable kind of ugly than last year. The advanced metrics seems to agree. ESPN’s FPI win projection for BYU jumped from 4.6 wins to 6.6 wins through two weeks.

8. Kalani's BYU teams continue to show heart

BYU is gonna win

— Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) September 7, 2024

When BYU was down 9-7 at the half, I posted that BYU was going to win the game, because Kalani Sitake teams always find a way to win this game. Since 2018, BYU is 8-5 in P5 non-conference road games, and have won 14 P5 non-conference games overall. Depending on how you feel about Sitake’s tenure, games like last night are the exact reason why you may feel he either is or isn’t the coach of the future, but I lean towards the former. Friday was Kalani’s fifth P5 win when trailing at halftime. No other BYU coach has more than four. BYU pulled off the outright win as a 12.5-point underdog on the road against a team picked to finish in the top half of the ACC. Winning under those circumstances is hard, and Kalani Sitake-led BYU teams seem to do it more than other BYU teams in history.