What in the name of 2003-era Bronco Mendenhall is going on? Two weeks ago BYU blitzed Arizona on 33% of their dropbacks. Apart from the weird hurricane game against LSU in 2017, that was the most aggressive BYU had ever been against a P5 team during Kalani's career.
And then Tuiaki decided to take it to another level on Saturday. BYU blitzed on 13 of Utah's 29 dropbacks, which means BYU brought pressure at a 45% rate. That's the most aggressive BYU has been against a P5 team, and the third most aggressive BYU has been against any team, period, during the Kalani era. The two games ahead of it? A couple of weird offenses.
2020 vs Navy. BYU blitzed on 8 of 13 dropbacks (a 62% blitz rate)
2018 vs UMass. BYU on 26 of 42 dropbacks (also a 62% blitz rate)
Per PFF, we averaged 5 blitzes a game in the last four matchups against Utah. The team nearly tripled that on Saturday.
I loved it. Everyone did.
But did it work? BYU actually used fewer blitzes in 2017 and 2018 against Utah, but generated more pressure -- as defined by PFF -- than the team did last week. So on the one hand you could say BYU's ability to pressure the QB last Saturday was inefficient compared to past attempts. On the other hand, stats are dumb sometimes. Obviously it worked.
I'm not sure how PFF defines "pressures", but I know all pressures aren't created equal. A pressure that results in an interception is worth more than a pressure that results in a dump-off to the running back. And BYU's pressures on Saturday worked like I've rarely seen them work before. Charlie Brewer looked horrible all game. When the graphic popped on the screen mid-game showing Brewer had passed the 10,000 career yards mark, I wondered if ESPN had mistakenly added a zero.
BYU's front seven beat Utah. Tuiaki's aggressiveness was the deciding factor. And you know what we can't quantify? BYU players knew the game plan; they knew they were going to bring the heat at a level they had rarely ever done. How much do you think that fired up the players? No doubt this had a huge psychological effect on the team.
Puka Nacua gets open with ease
Neil Pau'u ran 12 more routes than Puka on Saturday. Samson ran 8 more routes. Romney ran 7 more routes. Rex ran 6 more routes. Allgeier ran 3 more routes. In total, five of BYU's offensive players ran more routes than Puka did on Saturday.
And yet Puka led the team in targets, receptions, and yards. He blew by Utah's vaunted secondary a couple of times, including one play that may have been a touchdown pass if the Ute corner hadn't grabbed Puka's jersey. And get this: per PFF, all four of Puka's catches came when defended by Clark Phillips III, a one-time Ohio State commit and Utah's highest rated recruit of all-time. I am so absolutely stoked for the Puka era. Based on the balls thrown his way on Saturday so is Jaren Hall.
Victory in the trenches part II
BYU's offensive line gave up zero sacks and allowed only one hit on the quarterback. Part of that is thanks to Jaren's mobility, but either way those are the best numbers BYU has had going back to at least 2015 (PFF doesn't have pressure stats for games before that). BYU's offensive and defensive lines were tremendous.
Small Sample Size Comedy
PFF measures a defender's average depth of tackle (avdt), meaning if a linebacker has an avdt of 8.5 then on average that defender is making tackles 8.5 yards past the line of scrimmage.
Atunaisa Mahe for the season has an avdt of negative 2.3 yards. His average tackle is taking place behind the line of scrimmage. Sure he's only had three tackles, but this still makes me chuckle. Of course after beating Utah for the first time in eons everything is making me laugh this week.
PFF measures a defender's average depth of tackle (avdt), meaning if a linebacker has an avdt of 8.5 then on average that defender is making tackles 8.5 yards past the line of scrimmage.
Atunaisa Mahe for the season has an avdt of negative 2.3 yards. His average tackle is taking place behind the line of scrimmage. Sure he's only had three tackles, but this still makes me chuckle. Of course after beating Utah for the first time in eons everything is making me laugh this week.
On Britain Covey
Britain Covey sure gets talked about a lot for a player whose best receiving season was 637 yards. BYU has had a running back (Harvey Unga), a fullback (Mike Johnston), and a dude I've never heard of (Mike Chronister) all have more receiving yards in a seasons than Covey's best year. In four career games against BYU he's caught 8 passes for 20 yards.
Pili and Wilgar = Batman and Robin
These two have been so good. They are each tied for the team lead in sacks, pressures on the quarterback, and are first and second in defensive stops.11. Stops are defensive plays that create a 'failure' for the offense. Learn more here.
Wilgar is tied for the team lead in QB hurries. Pili is tied for the team lead in QB hits. Wilgar leads the team in passes batted down near the LOS.
By percentage, Wilgar has missed the least tackles out of anyone on the team who has attempted at least 5 tackles. Pili is tied for second. The only defensive player who has been on the field for more snaps than these two is Chaz Ah You.
While Pili lines up traditionally most of the time (90 of his 138 snaps come in the box), coaches have been sending Wilgar everywhere (45 snaps in the box, 47 on the defensive line, 21 in the slot, and 4 as a corner). These two are weapons. Stay healthy my friends.
Pili and Wilgar = Batman and Robin
These two have been so good. They are each tied for the team lead in sacks, pressures on the quarterback, and are first and second in defensive stops.11. Stops are defensive plays that create a 'failure' for the offense. Learn more here.
Wilgar is tied for the team lead in QB hurries. Pili is tied for the team lead in QB hits. Wilgar leads the team in passes batted down near the LOS.
By percentage, Wilgar has missed the least tackles out of anyone on the team who has attempted at least 5 tackles. Pili is tied for second. The only defensive player who has been on the field for more snaps than these two is Chaz Ah You.
While Pili lines up traditionally most of the time (90 of his 138 snaps come in the box), coaches have been sending Wilgar everywhere (45 snaps in the box, 47 on the defensive line, 21 in the slot, and 4 as a corner). These two are weapons. Stay healthy my friends.
How did BYU keep their energy up all game?
I'm just an observer, but man it seemed like BYU played hard in this game. And I don't say that just because BYU won. In the fourth quarter, when Utah cut the lead to six, I ashamedly texted a friend who is a Utah fan and said, "I think we're going to lose this game but at least I can't complain about our effort tonight. BYU brought so much energy all game. I just think the players are running out of gas."
Forgive me and my little faith.
BYU didn't run out of gas and that's largely due to the fact that BYU's defense only faced 53 defensive plays from the Utes. Here's how that compares to prior rivalry contests. In 2015 BYU's defense faced 71 plays ...
in '16 it faced 69 plays,
in '17 79 plays,
in '18 67 plays,
and in '19 68 plays.
There may be more behind the scenes factors that inspired BYU -- an all-time crowd performance as well as Kalani's spirited pre-game mosh pit and sideline interception come to mind -- but being on the field less meant the defense didn't have to conserve anything. Bending and not breaking is a fair strategic approach for many games, but for an adrenalized contest like this, I prefer to take risks to keep the opposing offense off the field.
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