BYU’s starters played great across the entire defense in their 41-23 win over Colorado State. The Cougars built a 38-7 lead before they put their second and third string in. It’s been a team effort for BYU. Established stars like Isaiah Glasker, Faletau Satuala, Evan Johnson, Keanu Tanuvasa, and Therrian Alexander III have been as good as advertised. They’re joined by great newcomers like Tommy Prassas, Cannon DeVries, and Tausili Akana! This defense could be the best Kalani Sitake has had in his 11 seasons at BYU.
It starts for BYU with stopping the run. In their last 30 games, BYU has held their opponents to an average of less than 127 yards per game. They’ve gotten the 2026 season, and Kelly Poppinga's era as defensive coordinator, off to a great start in continuing to stop the run. They’ve yet to allow a team to get past the century mark. Utah Tech had 49, Arizona came close with 97, and CSU was held to 82 yards on the ground. This was the Cougars' seventh straight regular-season non-conference game holding the opponent to under 100 yards rushing. SMU in 2024 was the last team outside of the Big 12 to rush for over 100 yards against the Cougars’ defense in the regular season.
They’ve been stout against the pass, too. Averaging less than 230 yards per game over their last 30 contests. CSU was held to 220 (Utah Tech had 135 and Arizona had 230) yards passing. Their total defense in that same span has been less than 330 yards on average. Colorado State had 302 (Utah Tech had 184, Arizona had 327) total yards of offense. The Cougars' defense had 60 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, five passes defended, and an interception by Hunter Clegg.
BYU’s defense forcing turnovers has also been elite. Their 59 forced turnovers in their last 30 games have been in the top-20 in the nation. They’ve had six this season, including Clegg’s interception against CSU. This all added up to BYU’s best and most important stat on defense, and that’s how few points they allow every game. In their last 30 games, they’ve had a top-20 scoring defense, averaging just a little under 20 points per game. CSU getting 23 keeps them right at that average (Utah Tech had 7, and Arizona 17) of 20 points per game.
Defensive Play of the Game
I’m going with Hunter Clegg’s interception. It’s always good to see a defensive end who can drop into coverage; it’s even better to see one who can intercept a pass. As BYU reporter Ben Criddle notes, Clegg was a four-star recruit and is underrated. BYU’s front four have been overshadowed this young season by the stellar play of their back seven. The potential this defense has is from players across the entire unit being selfless like Clegg.
Hunter Clegg was a 4 star defensive end.. We haven't talked enough about him quite honestly b/c this BYU team is so deep. pic.twitter.com/tP9MlUgGXk
— Ben Criddle (@BenCriddleShow) September 20, 2026
Defensive Player of the Game
While Clegg was responsible for the play of the game, it was BYU newcomer Cannon DeVries who was the player of the game. DeVries has been outstanding early and often this year for BYU. DeVries had four tackles against Colorado State, three of them solo, and three of them for a loss! DeVries has also shown great potential with the ball in his hands. He had a kickoff return for a touchdown in the opener against Utah Tech. He’s part of why BYU’s special teams unit is such an asset. He had a big punt return called back against CSU, as replay said his knee was down when he fielded the punt (I disagree, but the margin was razor-thin). BYU may need to find a way to get the sophomore from North Ogden involved on offense!
Add us as a preferred source on Google