Two truths and a lie about BYU’s offense after the win over SMU

There were major concerns about BYU’s offense heading into the 2024 season. BYU’s offense showed signs of improvement in the season opener against Southern Illinois, but a sluggish performance against SMU left more questions than answers for Aaron Roderick’s unit. After a rough showing against SMU, we dissect BYU’s offense with a party classic: two truths and a lie.

Before the 2024 season, there were two big question marks surrounding Jake Retzlaff:

1. Could he protect the football better than he did a year ago?
2. Could he throw the ball more accurately and consistently?

After an ugly game against SMU, Jake Retzlaff is left with the same questions. As the game picked up pace for Retzlaff, the old problems resurfaced.

First, the turnovers. Retzlaff had two fumbles and two interceptions against SMU. Retzlaff fumbled on the first drive of the game. The play was a planned run, but the offense wasn’t on the same page and Retzlaff happened to become a running back. For the second time in as many weeks, Retzlaff fumbled on the first drive of the game. SMU recovered the fumble in BYU territory.

Later, Retzlaff lost concentration and dropped a catchable snap. On that occasion, BYU recovered.

On the first drive of the second half, Retzlaff overdid it and threw an interception while trying to avoid a sack. Regardless of the circumstances, this interception was unacceptable. BYU was in field goal range and had a chance to take the lead. Rather than survive and play another day, Retzlaff risked the game with this pass attempt.

After the BYU defense threw an interception in the fourth quarter, Retzlaff threw another interception that could have cost BYU the game.

There were three different turnovers that could have cost BYU the game, but BYU’s defense held SMU off every single one. That’s an unfair expectation for BYU’s defense going forward. They need to get better.

Accuracy issues also continue to be a concern for Retzlaff. His final stats weren’t terrible, but they didn’t tell the whole story either. He finished the game 15/28 for 202 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Most concerning, in this writer’s opinion, were the signs of the accuracy issues that plagued Retzlaff in 2023.

The biggest miss of the day was when Retzlaff missed Keelan Marion’s completely loose ball for what would have been the lead touchdown. Retzlaff could have placed the ball anywhere in the middle of the field and had Marion run under it. Instead, Retzlaff missed the ball wide right and Marion couldn’t adjust and catch the ball. That’s a play he needs to make.

If Retzlaff can’t protect the ball, BYU will have to find someone else. Simply put, the pros didn’t outweigh the cons against the Mustangs. Retzlaff proved in week one that he can be good when he’s under control. In week two, he proved he’s not ready to play under control against P4 opponents. The turnovers are too much to handle when the game speeds up.

Retzlaff improved during fall camp when the game slowed down for him. Perhaps live games against P4 teams will slow down for him in the future, but for now he’s playing faster.

If Retzlaff can control the ball, and that’s a big if right now, he can lead BYU back to bowl contention. If not, BYU will struggle to win more than one or two games in the conference, so BYU needs to part ways with Retzlaff if he continues to be careless with the football.

As soon as running back LJ Martin left the game, BYU’s offense stalled. BYU’s next four drives went like this:

1. 3 games, -12 yards – Punt
2. 3 plays, 6 yards – punt
3. 3 plays, 4 yards – punt
4. 4 plays, 7 yards – Turnover on Downs

Without Martin in the lineup, BYU’s offense returned to 2023 form.

Even without the benefit of hindsight, it was questionable when BYU didn’t draft a running back to replace Aidan Robbins. LJ Martin is a starting-caliber running back in the Big 12, but for a position as demanding as running back, P4 teams need at least 2-3 running backs to make it through a season.

BYU went with Martin and relied on Hinckley Ropati as a backup. In hindsight, the decision not to add another running back may have cost BYU a game or two.

LJ Martin’s injury status is one of the two or three biggest storylines after the win over SMU. BYU either needs to get Martin healthy again or find a way to run the ball effectively with someone else.

There’s no getting around it – BYU’s offense was bad against SMU. Turnovers, three-and-outs, miscommunication – everything. It wasn’t good. However, BYU’s offense is still showing signs of improvement compared to 2023.

That’s not saying much – the 2023 offense has set a low bar. Still, even slight improvements over 2023 could be enough to get BYU back into the postseason.

Let’s talk about some areas where BYU’s offense has shown signs of improvement. The game against Southern Illinois was a step up from the win over Southern Utah in 2023. In that win over SUU, BYU narrowly beat the Thunderbirds 394-346. In the win over Southern Illinois to open the 2024 season, the Cougars defeated the Salukis 527-231. That’s a step up. BYU beat a SIU team in 2024 that is better than the Southern Utah team of 2023.

BYU averaged 5.25 yards per play against SMU. That would have been one of the top three offensive performances against FBS teams in 2023. BYU averaged 5.75 yards per play and 5.57 yards per play against Oklahoma and Cincinnati, respectively. Every other game in 2023 was worse, at least in terms of yards per play, than Friday night’s game against SMU.

To give credit where it’s due, SMU doesn’t have a bad defense. The Mustangs finished 11th nationally in defense last year. They have a strong defensive line that will send some players to the NFL. While they aren’t as good as BYU made them look on Friday, they deserve credit for slowing down BYU’s offense. The Mustangs will challenge some offenses in the ACC this season.

Yes, the offense wasn’t good, but there are still signs that BYU can be better on offense in 2024 than it was in 2023. It’s not time to panic yet. It’s been a long time since BYU’s offense faced a defense as talented as SMU’s, and it showed. If BYU can take care of the football and convert more opportunities than it did against SMU, the defense has shown it’s good enough to win some games.