The Cougars' defense played much better than the 34-7 final score would have you believe. Texas Tech is rightly one of the top four teams in the nation and has been crushing opponents all year. BYU’s defense was strong in scoring defense, total defense, and run defense. Their 17.8 points per game allowed ranked 14th in college football. Holding opponents to 324.9 yards per game was 29th out of 136 FBS teams, as was their run defense, allowing only 119 yards per game.
Texas Tech, however, has averaged 42.5 points and 480.3 yards per game this season. They averaged 289.4 yards through the air and 190.9 on the ground this season. Despite the 34-7 loss, BYU held Tech to more than a touchdown below their scoring average and to 106 fewer total yards of offense. Jay Hill’s defense kept Tech 74 yards below their average in passing, and 31 yards below their average rushing.
The BYU defense did this on 74 plays, while their own offense ran only 59. Texas Tech also had an edge in time of possession. They had the ball for 31:54 of the 60:00 in the game. BYU’s star defenders gave their all, starting with their safeties. Senior Tanner Wall had nine tackles, Raider Damuni had eight tackles, and Faletau Satuala had seven tackles, including one for a loss.
Bodie Schoonover and Jack Kelly led the way in pass rushing. Schoonover had six tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack. Kelly had three tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a sack. Logan Lutui had five tackles and deflected a couple of passes in pass defense. As did Evan Johnson, along with four tackles.
BYU’s defense now ranks 19th in scoring, allowing an average of 19 points per game in 13 games. They are 28th in total defense with 328.4 yards per game. They defend the run 32nd-best with 122.1 yards per game and 48th against the pass with 206.3 yards per game. So despite a loss of 22 points and a second one of 27 points, BYU has had a good defense that played well all year and is a big part of why they have back-to-back 11-win seasons.