Who runs BYU’s defense?
Who’s ultimately responsible for BYU giving up 644 yards, 34 first downs, 52 points on Saturday?
Ilaisa Tuiaki is.
Who should take the fall as the leader of a defense that couldn’t stop Little Bo-Peep and her flock of sheep, let alone the Arkansas Razorbacks, BYU’s opponent on its home field Saturday on not one single drive for more than three quarters?
Ilaisa Tuiaki should.
Who needs to find a plan — but did not — to prevent an opponent from converting first downs on 12 of 15 third-down attempts?
Ilaisa Tuiaki must.
Who has to be held accountable for a defense that eliminates any hope for an entire team — no matter what the offense does, no matter what special teams do, no matter how much support a fan base gives — to win a game?
Ilaisa Tuiaki does.
Who underscored in the aftermath that BYU’s defensive players “blew coverages” and didn’t play “with good technique.”
Ilaisa Tuiaki did.
Who said that if the Cougars had effectively changed up some of their defensive schemes they “would have won”?
Ilaisa Tuiaki did.
Who labeled what happened to his defense “unacceptable,” and who declared, “We have to play better”?
Uh-huh. Same guy, Ilaisa Tuiaki, did.
It’s not an easy thing, calling for someone’s job.
In my 45 years of writing, I can’t remember doing so on more than a couple of occasions, and in those instances it wasn’t a direct call and it wasn’t on account of competitive results. It was for undisciplined detrimental behaviors put on players who didn’t deserve to be subjected to them.
But in this case, BYU football has a problem that’s throwing an anchor overboard and dragging down the entire show. It’s tearing the heart out of a program that needs a whole lot of it heading into a new realm next season in the Big 12.
Listen to the comments made by players after BYU’s most recent loss. They know something’s out of whack and in need of drastic improvement, significant change. They know the status quo is a no-go.
Listen to what Kalani Sitake said afterward. He knows it, too.
The question is: Will he do, will he act on what he knows?
It’s time for a change.
Angry fans have called for it for a long time now.
But angry fans call for a lot of things.
What’s the old saying? If a coach lets the fans pick his starting quarterback for him, he’ll soon be sitting next to them in the stands. Something like that.
In this case, though, those fans have eyes to see.
Those failures don’t make the decision facing Sitake easy.
Tuiaki is a longtime assistant, colleague and friend of his. He’s a good man. Does that make him worth keeping in the fold? That depends on what role he is called on to play. And what role he’s willing to play. Say the word with me … d-e-m-o-t-i-o-n.
There have been times when Tuiaki’s defense has met the challenge. The way that resistance held up against Baylor earlier this season is one example.
But look at this season’s statistics.
BYU ranks 123rd among defenses nationally in third-down conversion percentage, one spot behind Army, one spot ahead of Georgia State. It ranks 99th in scoring defense. It ranks 114th in rushing defense, having yielded 1,324 yards, an average of 4.53 per carry. It ranks 116th in first downs given up. It ranks 49th in passing yards allowed. It ranks 117th in number of sacks. It ranks 126th in tackles for loss. It ranks 118th in time of possession (can’t get opponents off the field). It ranks 94th in total defense.
Those rankings must be almost as painful for Sitake to read as the losses have been to watch.
They’re not what Sitake has in mind when he talks about raising his team’s level of play. The Cougars cannot win games, especially against a regular slate of quality teams, with one fist tied behind their back.
The offense has been at fault, at times, too, but this year’s weaknesses are unmistakable on the other side of the ball.
BYU doesn’t put enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks, a key to limiting top-drawer passers. While the Cougars have that 49th ranking in passing defense, that could be attributed to the fact that teams don’t have to be proficient with the pass because BYU’s run defense is so vulnerable. And Sitake has said it a thousand times before: There are few feelings worse for a head coach than to know his resistance can’t stop an opponent’s run game. That’s competitive death to any aspiring team.
BYU ranked 52nd in total defense last season. It ranked fourth against a weak schedule the year before.
The days of weak schedules are behind the Cougars now.
There will be teams in the weeks ahead that BYU will be able to beat regardless of how poorly the defense plays, how bad the defense is managed. But that hardly balms the gaping wound.
It’s not all Tuiaki’s fault.
The BYU defenders on one embarrassing play Saturday bounced off the quarterback like a Superball hurled in a tight shower stall, allowing that QB to pick up 36 yards on a third down and sustain a drive that ended in a touchdown.
Certain players have performed at low levels. Some of them are not talented enough to play better than they have. But some of them are. Some have been injured, but that happens to every team and is a lame excuse.
BYU’s recruiting, especially in its defensive front, but also all around, must improve.
If it doesn’t, all the celebrating regarding the Cougars’ move to the Big 12 will turn to desperation and exasperation. Look at what Oregon did to that defense. Look at what Notre Dame and Arkansas did. The Baylor game, as it turns out, was an anomaly. It showed what on one occasion could happen on the positive side, but that’s as much an indictment on Tuiaki and his group as it is encouragement.
If BYU could do it that one time, why can’t the D do it most of the time?
In that single game, the Bears gained a mere 289 yards. Arkansas, to reiterate, got 644.
If Sitake stays with Tuiaki as DC, in his non-action he’s blaming the players for the collective ineptitude. If he changes Tuiaki’s role, he’s reassuring those players that he believes they are better than what they’ve shown and could be better with better direction.
Blame the players or blame the assistant.
The burden of captainship falls, then, squarely on the head coach now. Will he make the strong move to save his ship? Fire, demote, reassign? Or will he keep things as they are to save a friendship?
In major college football, the defensive coordinator position is too important, too vital to winning, often responsible for losing.
An uncomfortable answer is necessary.
