BYU Football vs. Portland State: 3 things we learned

https://twitter.com/BYUfootball/status/901548856818622464

2. The Cougar pass defense has significantly improved

BYU’s passing defense was mediocre last season. They struggled to get to the quarterback registering only 29 sacks. They were frequent victims of long passing plays, including 11 pass plays of 40 yards or more. Room for improvement was ample. After four quarters of play in 2017 the defense looks like they’ve taken a step in the right direction.

The quality of the competition needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating the Cougars defense. Admittedly, there was a significant talent gap between BYU and Portland State. Given that gulf, the defense should have taken care of business on Saturday. They did a lot more than that.

Sione Takitaki picked up a pair of sacks during the first half. He was in the Viking backfield on just about every play. The Cougar front seven as a whole did a fantastic containing the Portland State offense in third and long situations. Once they got there BYU did a fantastic job shutting down the passing lanes. They forced five straight Portland State punts to start the game and kept the Vikings off-balance the entire game.

Portland State managed 2.4 yards per carry, 3.7 yards per pass. The Vikings converted 36.8 percent of their third down attempts. As mediocre as the offense looked, the Cougar defense looked superb.