BYU vs Arizona recap: 3 things we learned

The BYU football team relied on its defense to secure a 18-16 win over Arizona in the Cactus Kickoff. Here are three things we learned from the Cougars’ season opener. 

The Kalani Sitake Era of BYU football began with a bang, with the Cougars securing a two-point victory on national television. It was a gutsy performance that was highlighted by a stingy defense and effective – albeit vanilla – offense led by Jamaal Williams. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Cactus Kickoff.

1. Jamaal Williams is back and better than ever

There should be no concern any longer about Jamaal Williams and his year away from football. J Swag Daddy is an NFL running back and he put on a show against Arizona.

Williams carried the ball 29 times (the third-most carries he’s had in a single game) for 162 yards. He also added one reception for 10 yards and undoubtedly carried BYU’s offense against the Wildcats.

Williams hit holes with speed and decisiveness – more effectively than we’ve ever seen him do before. He ran through people, ran around others, displayed excellent vision and proved he can be the workhorse BYU needs. The play at the 2:18 mark illustrates just how talented Williams has become. He makes three decisive reads and cuts without hesitation.

After the game, Taysom Hill told us that Williams was the “MVP” and he’s not wrong. In fact, I expect Williams will be the Cougars’ MVP on many nights in 2016.

2. The Cougar defense is aggressive and effective

Kalani Sitake and defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki made their plans known early in the offseason that the Cougars would be transitioning to a 4-3 defense. Many wondered if BYU had the personnel to make the change effectively.

Now we know. The Cougars will be fine.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say this will be the best BYU defense we’ve seen in years. The are the proverbial “hammer,” initiating the contact on every play. It never felt like the Cougar defense reacted against Arizona. It felt like their gameplan was spot on and they attacked the Wildcats to force mistakes.

And they were extremely effective doing so. The Cougars collected the first two turnovers of the Sitake Era and forced a fumble and intercepted a two-point conversion attempt. They also sacked Anu Solomon four times and finished with eight tackles for a loss.

The Cougars weren’t perfect by any means, but they did a fairly good job of limiting Arizona’s big plays. They held the Wildcats to just 22:23 possession minutes and a 38.5 percent third down conversion rate.

3. Corbin Kaufusi will be a player for BYU football

I was skeptical of how effective Corbin Kaufusi would be on Saturday night. He’d spent all of his college career to this point playing basketball, and the Cougars had plenty of defensive line talent as it was.

But I’ll own it. I was wrong. Kaufusi can play.

The former BYU center was tied for third on the team with four tackles and collected the first sack of his career. His lean and lengthy frame didn’t seem to limit his mobility and he was quicker off the block than I expected him to be.

He’ll be in a rotation with Handsome Tanielu, Moses Kaumatule and Logan Taele – three players who are extremely talented – so it’s tough to predict how much time he’ll get going forward. However, it’s clear that he’ll be more than a project player in 2016.

Next up for the Cougars is a rivalry clash with Utah on Sept. 10. The Holy War kicks off at 5:30 p.m. MST.