Two Truths and a Lie About the BYU Offense Following Win Over SMU

Casey Lundquist | Sep 7, 2024

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff against SMU / BYU Photo

Going into the 2024 season, there were major concerns about the BYU offense. BYU's offense showed signs of improvement in the season opener against Southern Illinois, but a sluggish performance against SMU left more questions than answers for Aaron Roderick's unit. After a rough outing against SMU, let's dissect the BYU offense with a party classic: two truths and a lie.

Truth #1 - BYU has to move on from Jake Retzlaff if he can't protect the football

Going into the 2024 season, there were two primary question marks surrounding Jake Retzlaff:

1. Could he protect the football better than he did a year ago?
2. Could he accurately throw the ball with more consistency?

After an ugly game against SMU, the same questions surround Jake Retzlaff. When the game sped up for Retzlaff, the old issues surfaced again..

First, the turnovers. Retzlaff had two fumbles and two interceptions against SMU. Retzlaff fumbled on the first drive of the game. The play was a designed run, but the offense wasn't on the same page and Retzlaff incidentally became the running back. For the second time in as many weeks, Retzlaff fumbled on the first drive of the game. SMU recovered the fumble in BYU territory.

Later on, Retzlaff lacked some concentration and fumbled a catchable snap. On that occassion, BYU recovered.

On the first drive of the second half, Retzlaff tried to do too much and threw an interception while trying to get out of a sack. Regardless of the circumstance, that interception was unacceptable. BYU was in field goal range with the chance to take a lead. Instead of living to play another day, Retzlaff put the game at risk by attempting that pass.

After the BYU defense got an interception in the fourth quarter, Retzlaff threw another interception that could have cost BYU the game.

There were three different turnovers that could have cost BYU the game, but the BYU defense held SMU at every turn. That's an unfair expectation to place on the BYU defense in the future. It has to get better.

Accuracy issues are still a concern for Retzlaff as well. His final stat line wasn't horrible, but it didn't tell the full story either. He finished the game 15/28 for 202 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Most concerning, in the opinion of this author, were the signs of the accuracy issues that plagued Retzlaff in 2023.

The biggest miss of the day was when Retzlaff missed a wide open Keelan Marion for the potential go-ahead touchdown. Retzlaff could have put the ball anywhere over the middle of the field and let Marion run under it. Instead, Retzlaff missed wide right and Marion was unable to adjust and make the catch. That's a play that he needs to make.

If Retzlaff can't protect the football, BYU has to move on to someone else in the room. Simply put, the pros didn't outweigh the cons against the Mustangs. Retzlaff proved that he can be good when he is under control in week one. In week two, he proved that he's not ready to play under control against P4 competition. The turnovers are too much to overcome when the game speeds up.

Retzlaff improved during Fall camp when the game slowed down for him. Perhaps live games against P4 teams will slow down for him in the future, but as of right now, he is playing sped up.

If, and its a major if at this point, Retzlaff can take care of the ball, he can lead BYU back to bowl eligibility. If he can't, BYU will struggle to win more than a game or two in conference play. Therefore, BYU will need to move on from Retzlaff if he continues to be careless with the football.

Truth #2 - BYU's Offense is Not the Same Without LJ Martin

As soon as starting running back LJ Martin left the game, BYU's offense started to stall. The next four BYU drives went as follows:

1. 3 plays, -12 yards - Punt
2. 3 plays, 6 yards - Punt
3. 3 plays, 4 yards - Punt
4. 4 plays, 7 yards - Turnover on Downs

Without Martin in the lineup, BYU's offense reverted back to 2023 form.

Even without the the benefit of hindsight, it was questionable when BYU didn't bring in a transfer running back to replace Aidan Robbins. LJ Martin is a starting-caliber running back in the Big 12, but for a position as demanding as running back, P4 teams need 2-3 running backs minimum to survive a season.

BYU moved forward with Martin, leaning on Hinckley Ropati to be the backup. Now with the benefit of hindsight, the decision to not bring in another running back could cost BYU a game or two.

LJ Martin's injury status is one of the top two or three storylines following the win over SMU. BYU either needs Martin to get healthy or find a way to effectively run the ball with someone else.

Lie #1 - BYU's Offense is as Bad as it Was in 2023

There's no way around it - the BYU offense was bad against SMU. Turnovers, three-and-outs, miscommunication - all of it. It was not good. However, BYU's offense is still showing signs of improvement compared to 2023.

That's not saying much - the 2023 offense left a low bar to be cleared. Still, even slight improvements versus 2023 could be enough to get BYU back to the postseason.

Let's talk about a few areas where BYU's offense has shown signs of improvement. The game against Southern Illinois was a step forward compared to the win over Southern Utah in 2023. In that win over SUU, BYU narrowly outgained the Thunderbirds 394-346. In the win over Souther Illinois to kickoff the 2024 season, the Cougars outgained the Salukis 527-231. That's progress. BYU handled an SIU team in 2024 that is better than the Southern Utah team from 2023.

BYU averaged 5.25 yards per play against SMU. That would have been one of the top three offensive outputs against FBS teams in 2023. BYU average 5.75 yards per play and 5.57 yards per play against Oklahoma and Cincinnati, respectively. Every other game in 2023, at least in terms of yards per play, was worse than Friday night against SMU.

To give credit where its due: SMU is not a bad defense. The Mustangs finished 11th nationally in scoring defense a year ago. They have a stout defensive line that will send a couple players to the NFL. While they are not as good as BYU made them look on Friday, they do deserve credit for slowing down BYU's offensive attack. The Mustangs will challenge a few offenses in the ACC this season.

Yes, the offense wasn't good, but there are still signs that BYU can be better on offense in 2024 than it was in 2023. It's not time to hit the panic button yet. It's been a long time since BYU's offense faced a talented defense like SMU's and it showed. If BYU can take care of the football and capitlize on more opportunities than it did against SMU, the defense has shown that it is good enough to win some games.