Opponent preview: BYU Cougars prowl into Dallas

[PonyPride]

Opponent preview: BYU Cougars prowl into Dallas
Mustangs host BYU at 6 p.m.Friday
Posted on 09/02/2024 by PonyFans.com

It’s not a conference game, but Friday’s home game against BYU marks a significant upgrade in competition — for both teams.

Both SMU and BYU enter the game undefeated. SMU rallied past Nevada in its opener, 29-24, and then rolled Houston Christian 59-7 Saturday in the 2024 home opener. The Cougars, who are playing the 100th season of football in program history, arrive in Dallas following an easy 41-13 win over Southern Illinois.

The teams will meet at Gerald J. Ford Stadium Friday for the fifth time, with the Mustangs are seeking their first victory in the series that has included two bowl matchups and two regular-season games. The most recent meeting was the 2022 New Mexico Bowl, in which a two-point conversion attempt came up short, allowing the Cougars to escape with a 24-23 win.

Times have changed since then, with each team joining a new new conference: BYU migrated to the Big 12, while SMU, of course, is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. For what it’s worth, the Cougars are 6-9 all-time against ACC teams.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake is in his ninth season as the Cougars’ head coach, and boasts a 62-41 record in Provo.

Against Southern Illinois, junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff (6-1, 205), a transfer from Riverside City (Calif.) College completed 20 of 30 passes for 348 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in his debut with an offense that averaged a decidedly un-BYU-like 309.8 yards of total offense and just 23.1 points per game last season. Retzlaf played the final four games in 2023, and increased the mobility from the position, but he completed just 50.4 percent of his passes a year ago and had a sub-par 3-3 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio.


The Cougars often will run three-receiver sets, with one running back and one tight end. The Mustangs’ deep defensive front will be tested by a BYU running game that features a pair of powerful running backs. Nine Cougars had at least one carry against the Salukis, including the two power backs who had 13 carries each: sophomore running back L.J. Martin (6-2, 225), a member of the Doak Walker Award watch list who had 13 carries for 67 yards, and senior Hickley Roptai (5-9, 220), who amassed 57 yards on his 13 carries. Martin and Ropati also each scored a rushing touchdown.

The SMU secondary will have to handle BYU’s big targets in the passing game. Against SIU, the Cougars’ top target in the passing game was wide receiver Chase Roberts, a big (6-4, 205) redshirt junior who is one of the team’s four co-captains and led the aerial attack with seven receptions for 108 yards. Redshirt freshman Jojo Phillips blends size (6-5, 205) and speed — against Southern Illinois, he racked up 70 yards and a touchdown on just two catches, while UConn transfer Keelan Marian added three receptions for 61 yards.

The offense operates behind a huge offensive line that averages 6-6, 314, including twin towers at the tackle spots, with redshirt senior Caleb Etienne (6-8, 320) at left tackle and redshirt junior Brayden Keim (6-9, 315) at right tackle. Senior center Connor Pay (6-5, 315), whose younger brother, Trevor, also is a BYU lineman, is one of the Cougars’ captains and a member of the Rimington Award watch list.

The BYU defense returns six starters from a unit that 29.8 points and 417.7 yards of total offense per game last year. The defense operates out of a 4-3 as its base alignment., and while the starting defensive ends have good size — Tyler Batty, who led the Cougars last season with 5.5 sacks, is 6-5, 275 and Logan Lutui is listed at 6-2, 255 — the Cougars are one of those rare teams that start interior defensive linemen who are on the south side of 300 pounds: nose tackle John Nelson is 6-4, 290, and defensive tackle Blake Mangelson is listed at 6-5, 275.

Redshirt junior Rover linebacker and co-captain Jack Kelly (6-2, 240) led the Cougars with five tackles, in a game in which a lot of reserves played and few put up gaudy statistical numbers. The other starting linebackers likely will be sophomore SAM Isaiah Glasker (6-5, 235) and sophomore MACK (middle linebacker) Harrison Taggart (6-1, 235), who had 28 tackles a year ago. Both have relatives with BYU athletics connections: Glasker’s parents, Stephen and Melissa, played baseball and volleyball at BYU, while Taggart’s sister, Maddy, is a hurdler on the track team and his cousin Hailey Morrow, is on the softball team.

The secondary is led by redshirt junior safety Ethan Slade (6-0, 195), the top returning tackler after he finished third on the team a year ago with 60 stops. Redshirt junior Micah Harper (5-10, 195) will play both strong safety and nickel cornerback, and senior cornerback and co-captain Jakob Robinson (5-11, 170) returns after leading the team last season with seven passes broken up and finishing second with four interceptions.

[MustangFan]

Didn't realize the coach played there.
Go Ponies

[Hilltopper]

I always get kind of twitchy when I see an opponent with a mobile QB, but our defensive front is so much better than it used to be, when the Navy QBs used to run wild on us.

In Symons we trust.