BYU Football: Turnovers and two other keys to beating Cal

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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: Defensive lineman Corbin Kaufusi #90 and Trajan Pili #52 of the Brigham Young Cougars celebrate after the Arizona Wildcats missed a field goal during the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Backfield Pressure

Expect to see a paradigm shift in the BYU defense against Cal. The Cougars only had one sack against Arizona, even though they consistently manhandled the Wildcat offensive line.

BYU’s pressure was focused on containing Khalil Tate, and the Cougars did that very well. As they got into the backfield, they did so in a way that kept Tate in the pocket.

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Cal’s quarterbacks aren’t the mobile weapons that Tate was, which means that as the Cougars apply pressure it’ll be directed at taking the quarterback down.

If BYU can get the same pressure against Cal that they did against BYU, you’ll see well more than one sack.

And it’s not like the Golden Bears’ offensive line played like world-beaters in Week 1. North Carolina finished the game with four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. If the Cougars can finish with similar numbers, Cal may not reach double-digits on Saturday night.

All of this is conjecture, though.

Because of the way the Cougars game-planned against Arizona, we don’t know if BYU’s front seven can consistently take the quarterback down.

This game against Cal will be a good barometer to see how effective the Cougar front seven really will be this season.

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