BYU’s offense spent most of Saturday’s game against Arizona fighting uphill, and the two biggest reasons were easy to spot: penalties and pressure.
The Cougars had 10 drives overall, but one of them ended with BYU kneeling inside the Arizona 10-yard line at the end of the game. That leaves nine real scoring possessions, and five of them came up empty. The breakdown of those stalled series tells the story of a team that showed enough to move the ball, but not enough consistency to keep drives alive.
The first drive set the tone. Andrew Gentry was flagged for holding on BYU’s first offensive snap, and that immediately put the Cougars behind schedule.
BYU still managed to gain 18 yards over the next two plays and reached a manageable 3rd & 2, but Bear Bachmeier’s slant to Kyler Kasper was broken up and nearly intercepted. Without the penalty on first down, BYU likely moves the chains there.
Instead, the possession died quickly and sent the defense right back onto the field.
That’s the frustrating part for an offense built to play physical football: holding calls happen, and Gentry said Monday that sometimes they’re the price of doing business. Even so, BYU did create a third down it should convert more often than not. The bigger positive was that the offense showed it could recover from a mistake and still get itself into a workable spot.
The next drive went off the rails for a different reason. A free rusher came untouched for a sack on first down, taking Bachmeier down for a 10-yard loss.
Arizona was sending heat all day - the Wildcats blitzed Bachmeier on 26 of his 27 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus - but BYU’s protection mostly held up. Bachmeier was pressured on only 22% of his dropbacks despite being blitzed on 96% of them.
On this series, though, Arizona’s gamble paid off.
Faced with 2nd & 20 deep in its own end, BYU played it conservatively and chose to punt. Given the field position, Aaron Roderick’s decision made sense.
The Cougars’ final possession of the first half was a two-minute drill that started well enough. An LJ Martin run pushed BYU near midfield, but the drive stalled right there.
Bachmeier tried to hit Jojo Phillips on a long comeback route on first down, and Phillips laid out for it but couldn’t haul it in. It was a tough catch, but it was also the kind of play that can flip a drive from ordinary to dangerous.
At minimum, it looked like a chance to get into field goal range.
Arizona’s blitz then wrecked the next two snaps. A screen intended for Martin never had a chance, with Bachmeier under pressure almost immediately. On third down, the Wildcats flushed him out of the pocket and he threw it away, targeting Legend Glasker.
That third-down play stood out because there was a window earlier in the progression. Bachmeier had a look at Reggie Frischknecht but hesitated and moved on. As he settles into the speed of a Power Four game, that’s the kind of throw he’ll be expected to make.
BYU had another chance in the third quarter to stretch the lead to two scores, but that drive unraveled because of self-inflicted mistakes. A false start, a delay of game, and a holding penalty killed the possession.
This one wasn’t about absorbing pressure or surviving a tough call; it was simply sloppy. The holding penalty was especially costly because it erased a long completion from Bachmeier to Walker Lyons that would have moved the sticks.
It had the feel of the kind of drive-killing sequence BYU dealt with against Stanford last season, the sort of mess that shows up when a team is still learning how to stay clean against better competition. The procedural issues should get better, but if they don’t, they’ll keep showing up at the worst possible times.
BYU’s fifth and final failed drive came later in the game, and again the Wildcats’ pressure ended it. On 2nd & 8, Bachmeier fired a fast ball toward Kyler Kasper.
The catch was there in theory, but the throw had a lot of pace on it and the timing made it a difficult play. Bachmeier was under pressure and had to unload it quickly.
Then came third down, and Arizona got home almost immediately. Bachmeier had to throw under heavy pressure, the pass sailed off target, and BYU punted.
That sequence summed up exactly why Arizona’s approach is so aggressive. When the blitz lands, drives disappear in a hurry. On Saturday, that pressure was the final blow on one more stalled BYU possession.
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