Remember when BYU's defense looked like the best part of the team?
The Cougars pitched a shutout in their season opener and led the nation in turnovers. Jay Hill looked like the hire of the century.
Not anymore.
Nothing looked good for the Cougars Saturday night, but the defense was especially putrid. Hill's unit looked unrecognizable, giving up 45 points to Iowa State in a 45-13 blowout at home. The worst part is, it doesn't seem to be an anomaly at this point in the season.
Every single Power 5 opponent the Cougars have played this season has scored more than their season average when facing BYU, aside from Texas Tech, who were played with its third-string quarterback and turned the ball over five times.
The Cougars have been opportunistic this season, forcing a sizable amount of turnovers and capitalizing when they do. It seems that without a huge turnover margin, BYU's defense doesn't have the talent or depth to keep up with P5 talent.
Iowa State came into Saturday's matchup averaging 23.6 points per game, with a season high of 34. The Cyclones also averaged 337.2 yards per game, the second worst in the Big 12. Tonight, they walked out of Provo with 45 points and 443 total yards.
When asked about the reasoning behind Saturday's lackluster performance, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said his players were 'not believing in the system and not believing in what we're doing.'
Yikes.
Of all the remaining games BYU had to gain bowl eligibility, Iowa State was their best shot. A night game, at home, in cold weather, to a team that simply hadn't put up impressive offensive numbers all season. Instead, the Cougars allowed a mediocre offense to march up and down the field at will and put up their best performance of the season.
It can be easy to play the blame game when your team puts up a poor performance, but in the end it's impossible to really pinpoint the reasons for such an awful outing.
BYU's defense is dealing with a lot of injuries. Starting strong safety Micah Harper has been out all season and second-stringer Talan Alfrey returned just this week. Ben Bywater, BYU's leading tackler until he got hurt, left for the season just four games in. The Cougars depth was needed but never seemed to show up.
This is also Power 5 football. BYU is adjusting to a new pace and physicality, and the growing pains are showing on the field. Recruiting will need time to catch up and get to a certain level in order to see success.
The dog days of November are no longer cushy day matchups with Idaho State. When the depth and stamina of this team was tested happened to be the Cougar's toughest stretch of schedule all season.
To be optimistic, it can't get much worse for the defense. Even with the way the season has gone, BYU is sitting at five wins with a chance in front of them to make it to a bowl game in their first season in the Big 12.
In the end, the defense will benefit from the elevated competition and opportunities to play against the best. They has made strides this season and will continue to build on that in the offseason.
'We can handle tough times and adversity,' said Sitake. 'That's life.'
BYU has two more chances to get their elusive sixth win, starting with Oklahoma next week. The Sooners come to town with a top 10 offense in the country statistically and a lot to play for in the Big 12 title race.
If there was ever a time for the Cougar defense to bounce back, it's next Saturday at 10:00 am.