Cougs Daily

The BYU Defense Forced Noah Fifita Into the Worst Outing of His Career

Casey Lundquist

BYU CB Jakob Robinson intercepts Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita
BYU CB Jakob Robinson intercepts Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita / BYU Photo
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On Saturday afternoon, the BYU defense intercepted Noah Fifita three times. Fifita had only thrown more than one interception in a game one time in his career (two against Texas Tech, 2024). He had never thrown three interceptions in a single game until Saturday. It wasn't just a case of bad bounces either. There were a couple more opportunities for interceptions that BYU dropped. Fifita also had five turnover-worthy throws, a career high. Fifita had never had more than three turnover-worhty plays in a single game in his career until the BYU game, and he had only done that once in his career.

All those things translated to worst passing grade of Fifita's career according to PFF. He also had the worst NFL passer rating of his career against BYU. No matter how you slice it, Fifita had the worst game of his otherwise very impressive career.

Simply put, Noah Fifita has a proven track record of protecting the football. Fifita's career TD/Int ratio was 33:12 going into Saturday's game. But creating turnovers and creating havoc has been the calling for the BYU defense in 2024.

Why did Fifita struggle so much against the BYU defense? Pressure. Fifita was pressured a career high 23 times. It's no coincidence that his worst passing performance came on the afternoon when he was pressured the most.

BYU's secondary and linebackers have been good in coverage, for sure. However, the real driver here is the pass rush. Getting pressure on the quarterback is the most important ingredient to a dominant defense in college football. BYU fans, just two years ago, saw first hand what it looks like to have a defense that can't get to the quarterback.

Fifita's first interception was underthrown since he was under pressure. True freshman Viliam Po'uha beat his blocker to the inside and crushed Fifita as he threw the football.

Jakob Robinson had the second interception, and he also created the pressure that made the interception possible in the first place. Robinson came off the edge on a cornerback blitz. He jumped into the passing line, tipped Fifita's pass, and intercepted the football.

And the third interception? A result of - you guessed it - pressure. Isaiah Bagnah was in Fifita's face as he threw the pick-six to end the game.

Perhaps most importantly, those three interceptions turned into 21 points for the Cougars.

After a full slate of games on Saturday, the BYU defense is tied for fifth nationally with 10 interceptions in 6 games. BYU has had at least one interception in every game this season.

There's a certain amount of luck when it comes to creating turnovers. Some teams, however, create their own luck by getting to the quarterback. That's what BYU has done in 2024.

There's a certain level of sustainability to BYU's defensive havoc that hasn't been sustainable in the past. That bodes well for the back half of the schedule. If BYU's front seven can stay healthy, the Cougars will continue to create havoc.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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