2 weeks Ago
Brigham Young had the Big 12’s worst offense last season. The Cougars finished 14th in the 14-team conference in offensive efficiency, with a rating of .225.
That’s a number that would have the 2024 Cougars 15th in the Big 12. BYU did not replace head coach Kalani Sitake or offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. The Cougars had just four returning starters on offense but did not go all in on the transfer portal.
BYU’s biggest shopping in the portal was bringing in three quarterbacks to replace the departed Kedon Slovis. But none of those QBs won the job. 2023 backup Jake Retzlaff was named the starter.
And as November arrives, BYU is not only 8-0 and leading the Big 12, but the Cougars are ranked first in Big 12 offensive efficiency . Wholesale rebuilds are all the rage in college football, but building through recruiting and developing quarterbacks still works. At least it has in Provo.
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But still. BYU is showing that avenues remain to transform a football program. Retzlaff has been superb, and BYU’s .
415 efficiency rating is winning football. Yes, scoring is down in the Big 12 this season. BYU’s .
415 would have ranked just fifth last season. But that’s OK. The Cougars are winning football games and scoring points, without using the 2024 method of major rebuild.
Maybe other schools that must rebuild their offenses can take heed. That includes you, Cowboys and Sooners. Here are the ratings for this week, and remember, the numbers derive from possessions, divided by successes (full credit for a touchdown, half credit for a field goal), counting just games against Division I-A opponents.
Offense 1. Brigham Young .415: Full disclosure; the Cougars have been fortunate to play against some of the Big 12’s worst defenses — OSU, Central Florida, Baylor, Arizona.
2. Kansas State .410: Third straight year the Wildcats have been above .
400. 2. Cincinnati .
410: The Bearcats showed promise in their final four games last season, with a .351 rating that brought their season rating to .277.
4. Kansas .391: Think how good the KU offense would be if it better protected the ball.
5. Colorado .390: Shedeur Sanders leads a bold offense.
Throwing it with no regard to time or score. 6. West Virginia .
384: Mountaineer offense is working even without quarterback Garrett Greene. 7. Iowa State .
375: The number is good. The ranking is a little squishy. Few teams win a conference with the seventh-best offense.
8. Baylor .373: Bears have lit up both OSU and Texas Tech.
9. Texas Christian .372: Lots of good offenses in the Big 12.
10. Texas Tech .358: The Red Raiders have really lit up only Cincinnati in conference play.
11. Arizona State .350: This is not an offense you’d expect to dominate OSU, if the Cowboys weren’t awful on defense.
12. Oklahoma State .304: Cowboys are coming off their two best offensive games in conference, Baylor and BYU.
13. Central Florida .287: In its five-game losing streak, UCF’s offensive rating is just .
250. 14. Arizona .
242: Some of us pegged the Wildcats to have the Big 12’s best offense. 15. Utah .
195: The Utes have used three quarterbacks and two offensive coordinators, to no avail. 16. Houston .
175: An offense this bad doesn’t usually register two conference wins, but the Cougars have. Defense 1. Iowa State .
219: Jon Heacock is among the nation’s most underrated D-coordinators. 2. Utah .
230: The Utes haven’t lost their bite despite miserable offense. 3. Kansas State .
273: This is an outstanding number. Of the Big 12’s top six offenses, K-State already has played four of them, and the Wildcats themselves are another. 4.
Colorado .276: A stop away from being the third-best defense in the conference. Amazing.
5. BYU .295: The Cougars are playing some good defense, too, after placing 11th in the 14-team Big 12 a year ago.
6. Cincinnati .322: UC is much better on defense, too, than in its maiden season.
7. Houston .339: Coordinator Shiel Wood has the Cougars playing solid defense, a year after Houston finished last in the Big 12, at .
451. 8. TCU .
360: Mediocre number. 9. Kansas .
363: The Jayhawks haven’t improved much. Their revival under Lance Leipold has been mostly offensive. 10.
Arizona .367: The Wildcats apparently needed defense to carry them this season, and it hasn’t happened. 11.
Arizona State .382: OSU should have some success on Saturday. 12.
Baylor .393: Third straight year that offense is better than defense in Waco, despite Dave Aranda’s reputation. 13.
Texas Tech .414: The Red Raiders really have stopped only the Arizona schools this season. 14.
Central Florida .438: Gus Malzahn fired defensive coordinator Ted Roof on Monday. 15.
Oklahoma State .442: The Cowboys’ efficiency is .523 in the last four games.
Terrible. 16. West Virginia .
453: Surprise. OSU doesn’t have the worst defensive rating. But the Mountaineers have played a tougher Big 12 schedule.
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