Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
BYU Football’s 2024 season was one for the record books. This year capped the 100th season of BYU Football and those 100 years have proved to be successful. 2024 was supposed to be a wash and the Cougars were supposed to win five or six games and barely make a bowl game. Instead, they came out and went 9-0 before losing the next two and finishing 10-2 in the regular season. The Cougars finished in San Antonio, Texas against Colorado with a win over them and the Heisman trophy winner.
Offense
The BYU offense came out swinging in 2024 and proved they were ready for year two in the Big 12. They had a ton to prove and they did. BYU had some mistakes with turnovers, penalties, and miscommunications but overall they were successful. The Cougar offense put up 5100 yards in 2024 with the throwing game leading. They had 289 first downs with passing also leading the way in this category. This year they were successful and left room for improvement next season as they don’t have to replace a quarterback or a running back. The wide receiver room will need some help going into next season as they lose some key starters. BYU’s offensive line will need to replace some key starters but it looked promising when those pieces went down with injury this year and the backups stepped up to play. I see BYU having a better season on offense next year with fewer turnovers, fewer mistakes, and also fewer miscommunications that waste timeouts.
Defense
This Cougar defense didn’t miss a step from last year and 2024 was the year they came back with revenge. Allowing 4041 yards all season and also only 308 per game. Jay Hill showed that his defense could get better at stopping the run and also showed that the off-season work came into play in a major way. This defense accounted for 22 interceptions that resulted in 113 yards, and one touchdown. Hill put out a secondary full of ball hawks with 12 different players causing those 22 interceptions in 2024. There is only up for this defense next year but also some major holes to fill on the line and also in the linebackers. I do not doubt that Hill will fill those and also get them ready for next fall in the off-season.
Special Teams
BYU Football showed this year that special teams should exist in football today. They had trick plays, fake punts, onside kicks, and many more plays that were successful and also were exciting. The Cougars had 24 made field goals, punted for 1592 yards, and had 807 yards in punt and kick returns this season. Amongst those yards they had five returns that resulted in a touchdown. Poppinga wanted excitement and execution and he got it in 2024. Next year people should stick around for punts, kicks, and field goals when BYU is playing.
