BYU’s defense is getting the kind of reset every coordinator wants from a bye week: a chance to clean up the mistakes that spoiled an otherwise strong outing and to sharpen the area that has quietly become a concern.
After BYU controlled the first three quarters at Colorado State on Saturday, the fourth quarter got messy on both sides of the ball. Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said on Coordinator's Corner that the focus now is clear - cut down on penalties and get sharper in the red zone.
"That was probably the part that I was most disappointed with was just the way we finished the game after we had played so well for three quarters," Poppinga said on Monday.
BYU had given up only seven points through three quarters before allowing 16 in the fourth. Penalties were a major part of the breakdown. Jake Clifton was flagged for holding, Tausili Akana drew a roughing-the-passer call, and earlier in the game the Cougars were hit with two other unnecessary roughness penalties on defense.
Poppinga made it plain that he sees that as a discipline issue that has to be corrected during the bye week.
"On both of those drives we had penalties...that's obviously discipline issues that I've got to take care of, that's on me more than anybody and just making sure our guys are playing clean football...we've got to fix those issues and we will, our guys will respond."
The red zone is the other big item on the list. BYU’s defense has been good at preventing opponents from getting deep into scoring territory this season, but it has not been as airtight once teams get there.
In 2025, BYU ranked 81st in scoring position drives allowed at 54%, meaning 54% of opponents’ drives reached the BYU 40-yard line or deeper. Even so, the Cougars finished 35th in points per drive allowed, thanks to a defense that was one of the best in the country once opponents crossed into dangerous territory.
That unit ranked 10th in touchdowns allowed per quality drive and 8th in red zone touchdown rate allowed.
This season, though, the red zone numbers have slipped. Poppinga pointed to penalties as a major reason.
"Right now one of our issues in the red zone is we have four major penalties throughout the season that have led to touchdowns, and so we've got to get that fixed. That's one of my biggest emphases of this, this bye week: make sure we get everything cleaned up in the red zone. We were so good a year ago...they haven't got down there many times this year, which is a good sign, but we need to, we need to respond better in those situations than we did a week ago against Arizona, but we've got to be better."
BYU has actually improved in one key area from a year ago: it is allowing fewer quality drives. The Cougars rank 13th in scoring position drives allowed, a major jump from last season.
But once opponents get inside the red zone, they’ve found more success than they did a year ago. Excluding garbage time, BYU has allowed touchdowns on 60% of red zone drives, which ranks 39th in FBS so far this season.
In Other News...
BYU Fans Just Got A Break For A Rare TCU Game Day
BYUs matchup with TCU on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, comes with an unusually fan-friendly twist for Cougar followers who also keep tabs on the church calendar. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MDT, with the game slated for ESPN or ESPN2 and radio coverage on KSL NewsRadio, giving fans plenty of ways to follow along.
The timing lands on the Saturday of the Semiannual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this year the schedule lines up in a way that avoids the usual conflict. With no Saturday evening session anymore, BYU supporters wont have to choose between conference and the game, a small but welcome break for a program whose fan base often has to juggle both. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Suddenly Has Company In A Big 12 Rankings Fight
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West Virginia is the team adding a little more pressure to the mix after upsetting No. 25 Virginia and drawing significant votes of its own. The Mountaineers are still just short of the rankings, but they are close enough to make the conference picture even tighter. For BYU, its a reminder that the margin for staying among the Big 12s elite may be about to get a lot thinner. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa Is Still Showing BYU Fans What Matters Most
AJ Dybantsa is already settling into life as a Washington Wizards rookie, but he is also making it clear that his time at BYU still matters. The former Cougars standout has started taking online classes to work toward finishing his degree in a timeline of about three to three-and-a-half years, all while juggling the demands of a pro basketball schedule and keeping up a strong academic record.
For BYU fans, it is another reminder that Dybantsas story is about more than where he was drafted or where he will make his NBA debut on Oct. 21. Being taken No. 1 overall by Washington put him on one of basketballs biggest stages, but he is still doing the quieter work that reflects what he values most, and that part of his journey may end up meaning just as much back in Provo. [Read more 🡒]