One of the primary storylines heading into the New Mexico Bowl is the health of BYU quarterback Jaren Hall (photo by BYUCougars.com).

The SMU Mustangs will wrap up their first season under head coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff when they face BYU Dec. 17 in the New Mexico Bowl. Like the Mustangs the Cougars head to Albuquerque with a 7-5 record.

But how good is BYU? What is the Cougars’ approach to the game, and who are their key players?

Kevin Reynolds, an SMU alumnus who now covers BYU for the Salt Lake Tribune, offers PonyFans an exclusive look at the Mustangs’ final 2022 opponent.

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PonyFans.com: How did BYU’s season play out, compared to expectations over the offseason and in preseason camp?

Kevin Reynolds: Coming into this season, the expectations were 10 wins or bust. It would be hard to put it any other way for a program that won 11 games in 2020 and 10 games in 2021. The storyline all summer centered around BYU’s quest to get to a third consecutive 10-win season before entering the Big 12.

And the feeling in Provo was that this group — which returned over 85 percent of its production from 2021 — was the most talented BYU team in a decade. It returned quarterback Jaren Hall for a second season. 10 starters came back from a young defense in 2021. Tyler Batty, a defensive lineman, finally entered the year healthy and talked of revamping the Cougars’ poor pass rush. BYU hadn't had a 10-sack pass rusher since 2015, a supposed hallmark of Kalani Sitake's defenses.

Yet, everything this year has fallen apart. Hall was hurt for most of October. The defense was among the worst in the country — allowing 644 yards to Arkansas at one point. Now the defensive staff is being let go and BYU is sitting at 7-5 — more losses this year than the last two seasons combined.

Looking ahead to the Big 12, this year will be looked at as a missed opportunity at best. At worst, this could be the start of some major changes from the top down. BYU knows it will not contend for 10 wins, maybe even six wins, for several years. Hall will likely leave for the draft and now the program must start over at a level it has never been before.

PonyFans.com: The Cougars got ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation at one point this season. With one game still to go, how do BYU fans view this season?

Reynolds: You mention BYU getting up to No. 12. That's the part of this season fans will see as the most disappointing aspect of 2022.

After a double-overtime win over Baylor in early September, the expectations changed. The defense stopped the run — the Cougars held the Bears to under three yards per carry. It felt like a breakthrough and people began realistically talking about a potential New Year's Six bowl game.

One week later, though, BYU was blown out on the road at Oregon and the wheels fell off. The defense never lived up to that standard again. The running game sputtered too. It led to what we are seeing now, to complete overhaul of the staff before the Big 12.

The part I believe fans will really care about years from now is the wasted chance with Hall and receiver Puka Nucua. Both are likely going to opt for the NFL Draft at the end of this season. This was their opportunity to put a stamp on the program. In 2020, it was about Zach Wilson. In 2021, it was running back Tyler Allgeier. In 2022, this was about Hall. His team let him down.

PonyFans.com: BYU won four of its first five games of the season, losing only to a nationally ranked Oregon team. Was that stretch when the Cougars were at their best, and if so, what was working so well?

Reynolds: There were definitely cracks showing during that stretch forewarning of a winless October. BYU’s defense wasn’t playing well after the second week of the season. The unit also steadily became more injured as time went along.

In retrospect, the reason BYU played so well against Baylor had a lot to do with the familiarity the Cougars had with Baylor. BYU played Baylor in 2021 and lost. It spent much of the offseason preparing for that game. Also, Baylor's offensive coordinator used to be BYU’s offensive coordinator. When you look at how that game played out, Baylor never changed what it was doing and BYU was prepared to stop the run.

The Bears ran it 52 times that day, banking that BYU would fold. The Cougars did not and they could sense OC Jeff Grimes wasn't going to change his approach (it was something he was criticized for while at BYU).

But when you look at the first five weeks of the year overall, you see Baylor was the outlier. Even though BYU won four of five, its defense never stopped the run in any game outside of Baylor. Even Wyoming moved the ball quite well. By the time BYU beat Utah State to get to 4-1, it felt like the losses were coming at some point.

Freshman Micah Harper finished second on the BYU team in his freshman season with 58 tackles (photo by BYUCougars.com).

PonyFans.com: The Cougars then lost four straight: to Notre Dame, Arkansas, at Liberty and at home to ECU. What went wrong during that stretch?

Reynolds: It was more of the same problems that rested under the surface of the 4-1 start. BYU couldn't stop the run and couldn’t run the ball itself. Combine that with an injury to Hall’s throwing shoulder and it was a disaster.

BYU allowed over 400 yards for four straight weeks. The offense could barely stay on the field to give the defense a rest.

By the end of that stretch, everyone was hurt. The injury report was filled with 11 starters at one point. Notably, BYU had over 43 different starters by the eighth week of the year.

PonyFans.com: The season ended with a three-game winning streak — at Boise State, at home against Utah Tech and at Stanford. What went right down the stretch?

Reynolds: You could talk about incremental improvements on the defense. But, if we are being honest, this can be attributed to two people alone: Jaren Hall and Puka Nacua.

BYU leaned on its two best players and it worked. BYU beat Boise State almost single-handedly with Hall and Nacua. The receiver was targeted 19 times, including a game-winning touchdown with under a minute to play. He had 157 receiving yards. Hall finished with 459 all-purpose yards.

It has been like that in all three games. Against Utah Tech, an FCS school, Hall threw for 465 yards and accounted for six touchdowns in three quarters. Hall also has been given the green light to run the ball more in the final quarter of the season.

PonyFans.com: The Cougars outscored their opponents, 109-56, in the first quarter. Anything you can point to that explains the fast starts?

Reynolds: Ironically, those stats are slightly skewed by a couple of big first quarters against South Florida and Liberty. For the most part, BYU starts slowly.

It's actually a major concern for this team, and something the Cougars tried hard to change. They changed their lifting patterns to lift earlier in the mornings to start faster. Nothing has worked.

In BYU’s losses, like against Notre Dame, slow starts really hurt this team. BYU often finds itself trying to come back in games and is forced to look to Hall and Nacua to save it.

PonyFans.com: What is the identity or personality of this BYU team?

Reynolds: That is part of the issue this year. BYU never really found who it is. Jaren Hall is a quiet, but respected, leader. Nacua is more of an outspoken guy.

But in terms of it translating a personality on the field, the Cougars have not really grasped it. At times they want to be physical and run the ball, but not consistently. Defensively, BYU never imposed its will outside of the Baylor game.

For the most part, this is an explosive offense with not much else.

PonyFans.com: Head coach Kalani Sitake, who was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award a year ago and also played at BYU, is in his seventh season as the Cougars’ head coach. How would the players describe their coach?

Reynolds: Sitake is beloved at BYU by most players. He played at BYU, coached at BYU and rose through the ranks. He is big on family, and keeps recruits and coaches within the family. Sometimes, with his coaching staff, that comes back to bite him.

But for the most part, people like Sitake. He just received a contract extension through 2027. However, with the Big 12 coming, a lot can change. He has won a lot of games. What happens when he is not winning? We will see.

PonyFans.com: Two weeks ago, he lost defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, and now associate head coach/safeties coach Ed Lamb is leaving, reportedly to become the head coach at Northern Colorado. How will their departures affect the defense the most, and how will Sitake — himself a defensive coach — handle the defense and the defensive staff in the New Mexico Bowl?

Reynolds: I don’t think they will affect the defense at all. Kalani Sitake assumed play-calling duties in October and reassigned both Tuiaki and Lamb. Tuiaki worked more with the defensive line, along with multiple other coaches. Lamb worked more with the special teams.

Sitake said he will call plays again in New Mexico. The defense is not the strong suit of this team anyway, so I don’t think it will change the outcome of this game too much.

PonyFans.com: Who are the unsung heroes on this BYU team, the “glue guys” — the guys who don’t get the headlines but are critical to the team’s success?

Head coach Kalani Sitake is a beloved former BYU player who was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award in 2021 (photo by BYUCougars.com).

Reynolds: On offense, it is tight end Isaac Rex. On defense, I’d say it was linebacker Max Tooley before his injury. Now, it could be defensive back Micah Harper.

Rex is still coming back from a broken foot he suffered in 2021. He probably came back too soon. He walks with a noticeable limp, but played in every game this season. He blocks well and can catch passes fluidly. He has six touchdowns this year and is now tied with Dennis Pitta for the most in BYU history for a tight end.

As for the defense, Harper is a freshman and a good coverage guy in the secondary with real speed. Also, he moonlights as perhaps the hardest tackler on the team when Tooley is out. BYU doesn’t have many bright spots on that side of the ball, but he is one of them.

PonyFans.com: Every year, there are bowl games that can get lopsided because one team seems significantly more enthusiastic or excited than its opponent. Do you get a sense for the excitement level the Cougars have about playing in the New Mexico Bowl?

Reynolds: I’d say it is difficult to tell whether BYU is excited to play in this game. Players will say the right things. But this season has been a letdown for BYU. With all the coaching turnover, it might be hard for the Cougars to get up for this game.

Also, I’m not sure Jaren Hall is fully healthy. That will impact the game the most.

PonyFans.com: Who are the important BYU players who won’t play because of injury or because they have entered the transfer portal?

Reynolds: If Hall doesn’t play, the biggest absence is backup quarterback Jacob Conover. He is in the portal and won’t play. Without him, BYU will go with a quarterback with no experience at BYU. It is anybody’s best guess what production the Cougars could get out of Cade Fennegan or Nick Billoups.

Other than that, no major impact players are definitely out for this game that are in the transfer portal or newly injured.