Seven Takeaways From BYU's 38-27 Loss to Kansas

Who is to blame for BYU's loss? And no, it's not the quarterback.

Losing is never fun. It’s a lot less fun when, in the words of BYU Quarterback Kedon Slovis, it feels like you left a win on the field. To say BYU’s performance closely resembled the Wasatch Mountain skyline feels like an understatement. BYU scored 27 points on 10 drives after only punting once. Say what you will about BYU’s offense, the game certainly wasn’t boring when they were on the field. No one at BYU is happy with the outcome, there still is much to learn. Here is what I took away from BYU’s 38-27 loss at Kansas.

BYU just got beat

Let's start with this. BYU didn't lose this game because the referees didn't call targeting on the Parker Kingston's fumble. I'm not sure it was targeting in the first place. They didn't lose because Isaac Rex was interfered with on the pick-six to open the second half. I'm not sure that should have been a penalty either. BYU lost because Kansas was the more physical and better-executing team. Kansas is a very good football team, and the AP top 25 ranking bears that out. 

Credit: BYU Photo

BYU’s running game is in a sad place

I have no idea what to think about BYU's run game. If I did, I’d be working on a headset instead of a laptop. It's in a it’s bad place. Very bad. 4.0 yards per carry is a disappointment for most teams. BYU averaged 0.4. To be fair, a good chunk of the negative yards came on three Slovis sacks and Kingston's fumble on the second play of the game. On true run plays, BYU averaged about 2.5 yards per carry which is about in line with BYU's season average. Still, that is certainly not good.

BYU's running backs haven’t been spectacular, but I’m not sure they are entirely to blame. Yesterday, BYU running backs averaged just 0.5 yards before contact as BYU's offensive line struggled to get to the second level on combo blocks. Kansas’ linebackers and safeties did a fantastic job getting downhill quickly on run plays and BYU had no answer for it. In the end, BYU got beat up front. Plain and simple. That wouldn’t be as big of a concern if they didn’t also get beat upfront against Sam Houston and SUU. BYU offensive line coach Darrell Funk certainly has his work cut out for him on a short week, because running on Cincinnati’s defense won’t be any easier.

BYU’s pass blocking on the other hand…

It wasn’t all bad along the offensive line. BYU’s front turned in their best pass-blocking performance of the season according to PFF, with BYU’s starting line giving up just 4 pressures on the day against a very good Kansas pass rush. This is a welcome sign of progress and a sign that the BYU offensive line we all expected before the season began is still in there somewhere.

If you think the loss is on Slovis, stop it

Kedon Slovis was the only reason BYU was even competitive on offense. Hard stop. The gunslinger accounted for 91% of BYUs offensive production and two of BYU's three touchdowns. His accuracy is also better than his 58% completion rate would indicate. After accounting for drops, Slovis’s adjusted completion rate was 68% and had a 90.9 PFF grade on 20+ yard targets after 2 gorgeous sideline deep balls. He obviously wasn’t perfect. The pick-six was a bad decision and the second interception was a bad fourth down read that essentially equated to and incompletion, but Slovis’ production is exactly what we hoped he’d be. As of today, Slovis is on pace for 3,054 yards, 33 total touchdowns and 9 interceptions. I think every one of us would have taken that before the season started.

If Kedon Slovis finished the season with 3,000 yards, 33 total TDs, and 9 INTs, would you take that today?

— Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) September 25, 2023

BYU’s defense at its worst is still pretty good

For the first time this season, we saw shades of the old BYU defense, but they were mostly just shades. In terms of raw numbers, BYU’s defense played well enough to win. They held one of the best offenses in the country to 24 points and 351 yards. Compare that to Kansas’ 37 point and 500-yard averages coming into the game. Sadly, after a strong first half, BYU’s defense unraveled a little bit as the game went on. BYU allowed scores on all three second half drives. Two of those drives were 10+ plays after BYU had allowed just one 10-play drive all season before that. Perhaps most alarmingly, BYU missed 16 tackles against Kansas, compared to just 20 through the first three weeks of the season. Meanwhile, Kansas did all this while attempting just four passes the entire second half. Hats off to Kansas. They put on an offensive masterclass late. But if this game is considered a low point for BYU’s defense, BYU is in a good spot.

BYU’s wide receivers are quietly starting to round into form

BYU fans have shown plenty of attention to Isaac Rex’s resurgence, and rightfully so, but BYU’s wide receiver room played their best game of the season. BYU’s route running was far more crisp and BYU’s pass catchers were able to find separation from Kansas' talented secondary all game long. Keelan Marion is starting to emerge as a true deep threat while Darius Lassiter racked up 8 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown while his brother Kwinton looked on from the Kansas secondary. BYU fans have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about this group's progress.

Credit: BYU Photo

The season isn’t over

Even with the loss, BYU isn’t hopeless. BYU’s offense spotted Kansas 14 points and wound up losing by 11. Kansas was and is the better team, but they are also arguably the third-best team in the conference right now. BYU went on the road for the second straight week, gave up a scoop-and-score on the second play from scrimmage and still led at halftime. This team isn’t that far away from where they want to be, and candidly, they are right where we all hoped they’d be four weeks in. BYU is 3-1, the defense is ahead of schedule, the passing game is about what we all expected, and BYU is a competent run game away from being undefeated. Losses happen, especially in a Power Five conference, but if this BYU team showed us anything during that win against Arkansas, it’s that this BYU team doesn’t stay down for long.