BYU is on the doorstep of bowl eligibility. But have the Cougars found their identity yet?
Provo • Nearly 40 minutes after the game ended, BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis and wide receiver Chase Roberts were still out on the field.
A few stragglers were waiting for autographs and BYU’s two star players were happy to fulfill the requests, still feeding off of the buzz of a 27-14 win themselves.
Roberts and Slovis were like the rest of the BYU sideline, relieved and excited after Saturday night. Not only did the Cougars rebound from a 44-11 loss to TCU the week before, but it navigated itself to the doorstep of bowl eligibility.
Getting to the postseason was always the goalpost for success in 2023, and the Cougars positioned themselves to do so on the same day when only one Big 12 newcomer won.
“I remember back at the beginning of season, I would go home to family and friends and there was a lot of talk of, ‘You guys have a hard schedule this year. Are going to make a bowl?” safety Ethan Slade said. “It was kind of unsettling a little bit. I don’t like people to talk like that. We worked hard to get where we are.”
And BYU deserves all the credit for being the only new member of the league to be at five wins (the next closest is three).
Searching for identity
But amid the good feelings, there is still a question that feels unanswered: What is the identity of this offense? What is the identity of this team two months into the season?
It’s something BYU coaches and players struggled to answer on Saturday.
“Just do whatever it takes to win,” head coach Kalani Sitake offered.
“Just keep improving each and every week,” wide receiver Darius Lassiter said when it was his turn to take a crack at it.
But those aren’t identities exactly. Improvement isn’t something BYU can turn to when it’s faced with a third-and-long and in need of a first down. It isn’t something the Cougars can bank on when they need a stop to get off the field.
Which brings up a subtle point after BYU won an October game for the first time in over a year: Should it be happy with a 5-2 start or slightly concerned with how it got there?
Because seven weeks into the season, the Cougars seemingly don’t yet know who they are. And as BYU searches for that final win to get bowl eligible — somewhere in the gauntlet of Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma State — it’ll likely need at least a little identity to get there.
“There is still room for improvement,” Sitake said.
For now, we know BYU isn’t a particularly great running team, ranking 129th in the country in that category before Saturday. They also aren’t a prolific passing team either, with quarterback Kedon Slovis logging three games below 150 yards after finishing 15-of-27 for 127 yards against Tech.
On defense, it is a similar issue. BYU can bring pressure at times, but it doesn’t always produce sacks. BYU didn’t get to quarterback Jake Strong all night. It has also been hit or miss on third down, with Tech converting 50% of the time while racking up 155 yards on the critical down.
Perhaps the one thing BYU can bank on is creating turnovers, adding five more to the ledger on Saturday (bringing the total to 12 on the year).
“I feel like on both sides of the ball guys are still getting used to new bodies and used to a new scheme,” Sitake said. “They are still developing a rapport with each other on the [offensive line] and in the passing game with a new quarterback.
“I know [defensive coordinator] Jay [Hill] is not happy with third down. I know A-Rod is the same way.”
For now, that lack of identity has contributed to some unnecessary stress. On Saturday, for instance, BYU was inconsistent and couldn’t put away a team on a third-string quarterback until late.
The offense looked smooth at first, moving the ball with two drives of over 75 yards in the first half. It built a 24-7 lead and looked like it might take control before the intermission.
Slovis was 11-for-17 with 112 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. The offense inched toward 200 yards.
But when it came time to finish Tech off — a team with five turnovers — the offense went away. It had 78 yards in the second half. Slovis was 4-of-10 for 15 yards.
Tech kept giving BYU’s offense chances to go on game-sealing drives. To start the fourth quarter, BYU had the ball at its own 21 and was up by 17. The Cougars went three-and-out on three passes.
The next drive, BYU had the ball at its own 25 and it went three-and-out on two quick runs.
Overall, the offense went three-and-out five times. And BYU’s inability to seal a 27-7 lead allowed Tech to eventually cut it to a 13-point game.
“We can’t let teams hang around in this conference,” Sitake said. “They are going to find ways to hurt you. And I don’t want to learn that lesson. And I think we can see from other people, let’s find ways to close games out.”
But that is the concern. When a team needs to have a score, the goal is to know where you’ll turn. But BYU doesn’t know what that is just yet.
It can’t entirely rely on its passing game, or the running game, to close the door. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is still figuring out which button to push.
Showing some signs
There are signs of what BYU’s identity could be. Slovis was good in spurts, and Sitake thinks maybe the passing game will open more with better protection.
“If we can just hang on a little bit longer, we can give Kedon a little more time to make plays,” Sitake said. “The second half was not good enough. I know A-Rod and the guys know they can play better than that.”
The running game showed signs of life too. It went over the 150-yard threshold for the first time all season.
Senior Aidan Robbins ran for 49 yards on 16 carries. He picked up a few first downs to bleed out the clock on the win.
“I was watching last week on television, and it was heartbreaking for me to hear the announcers saying we had one of the worst run games in the country,” Robbins remarked. “I personally took that to heart. Man, that is not who we are.”
Maybe, maybe not.
In the end, maybe finding an identity won’t matter. Maybe BYU can get to six wins by just finding ways to win. After all, it got this far.
As a reminder, this is an offense that ranks 73rd in scoring and 122nd in total yards. So BYU does have a knack for outperforming even its own production.
And if BYU gets to six wins this year, nobody will care how it happened. Mission accomplished. But it is at least a small question, can BYU really get to a bowl without ever finding its identity?
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