At the start of the season, it was expected that by the time Utah and BYU squared off in early November one team would be making its case for the college football playoff while the other would be fighting for bowl eligibility.
Surprisingly, that's exactly what has happened, except that no one expected the Cougars to be the team in the playoff discussion and the Utes to be the team watching their season crumbling away on the heels of a four-game losing streak.
What happened? How has BYU been able to start with an 8-0 record when their chances of becoming a playoff contender, or even having a winning season, appeared so impossible before the season began?
The answers to those questions are interesting.
Offense
One of the biggest surprises for the Cougars this season has been QB Jake Retzlaff. When BYU brought in former Baylor and South Florida starter Gerry Bohanon through the transfer portal, it didn't even seem like Retzlaff would be the starter. Yet, after beating out Bohanon in fall camp, Retzlaff has been everything BYU could hope for so far, completing 60% of his passes for 1,872 yards, 18 TDs, and 7 INTs. He's also second on the team in carries and rushing yards with 63 carries for 303 yards, and 3 TDs rushing.
"The quarterback is the catalyst (of the offense), in my opinion," Whittingham said of Retzlaff. "He's amongst the league leaders in pass efficiency, and he's made a bunch of really timely runs during the course of the season...that is without a doubt the guy that makes it all go."
Along with Retzlaff, the rushing attack is led by RB LJ Martin, who leads the team with 64 carries for 357 yards and 5 TDs. Recently, RB Hinckley Ropati has been getting more carries, including 13 for 83 yards at UCF two weeks ago, and he now has 284 yards this season.
The receivers are led by a pair of dangerous upperclassmen, senior Darius Lassiter and junior Chase Roberts. They both have 31 catches and 4 TDs, while Lassiter has slightly outgained Roberts with 504 yards receiving compared to 497.
As a group, the offense has been incredibly consistent, scoring between 34 and 41 points in seven of eight games this season.
One of the main reasons for that scoring consistency is due to their efficiency in the red zone, where they have converted 93.5% of their opportunities into scores (14th best in the country).
However, Utah will be the best defense they have faced this season, so it will be interesting to see how this offense stacks up against one of the top defenses in the country. In the two other games BYU played against top 50 defenses (Kansas State and SMU), they were only able to average 288.5 yards and 21 points.
Defense
What stands out the most about the Cougar defense is their ability to take away the ball. They are extremely opportunistic. This season, they have intercepted 14 passes (3rd most in FBS), and 11 players have at least 1 interception. They are +7 in turnover margin. With so many players contributing to that success, it's clear that creating turnovers is a priority.
Considering that Utah has thrown more interceptions than all but one team in all of FBS, this could become a major factor in the game Saturday night.
The defense is led by the linebacker group, with Oregon transfer Harrison Taggart leading the team with 49 tackles and Weber State transfer Jack Kelly leading the team with 4 sacks.
Rather than dip into the transfer portal, BYU chose to develop several players on the existing roster, and it has paid off in the form of several veterans starting on the line and secondary.
The defense line is anchored by senior DE Tyler Batty, who has 16 career sacks, as well as senior DE Blake Mangelson, who has 2 sacks this season.
The secondary has two proven junior safeties, Crew Wakley and Tanner Wall, as well as fifth-year senior CB Jakob Robinson, who has 10 career interceptions, including 2 this season.
Summary
Statistically, the Utes and Cougars are surprisingly similar. BYU has a better offense, and Utah has a better defense. However, the Cougars find ways to put the ball in the endzone when it counts, and the Utes just haven't been able to fix their red zone issues. Also, BYU continually finds ways to create turnovers, and Utah hasn't been able to do the same (they have a -4 turnover margin).
However, it appears that the Ute defense might have most of their injured veterans return for this rivalry game, so despite all of the problems the Utes have had on offense this season, the defense may be able to give the team a chance of pulling off an upset this week.
As it is in most games, this one will likely come down to turnovers and penalties. The team that can get more takeaways will likely be the victor Saturday night.
