What Big 12 football coaches are saying, anonymously, about BYU

Athlon Sports’ annual college football preview has seen several format changes over the years, but one of its best features is the publication’s anonymous feature that lets coaches discuss other programs across the nation.

 

 

Athlon recently published an article titled “Big 12 Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes in 2024” on their free website. The printed versions are anticipated to arrive on newsstands and be delivered to subscribers this month.

 

That’s a lot of work for the Big 12, since BYU and Utah are now among the league’s 16 members. Next Remain According to Athlon, “it is not easy to get college football coaches to honestly comment on another coach, player, or team.” The reason for the abundance of coach speak and overused cliches during the season is that most coaches don’t want to provide their opponents with bulletin board material.

 

 

One coach referred to BYU’s 5-7 overall and 2-7 Big 12 record as “a good example of a transition to Power Five or Four football last year; you can run out of steam, you don’t have depth, and you can’t plug guys in after injuries.” After a 5-2 start, the Cougars did indeed hit a rough patch in the middle of the season, losing their final five games.

 

After suffering elbow and shoulder injuries in a 35-6 defeat to No. 7 Texas, starting quarterback Kedon Slovis was never the same for BYU’s offense.

 

When starting tackler Ben Bywater suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the 38-27 loss at Kansas on September 23, the defense was dealt a serious blow that it never fully recovered from.

 

 

It took a few games for the Cougars to regain their footing, but they did play much better in the final two — close losses to No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 21 Oklahoma State.

 

Despite the fact that BYU’s segment is a little bit shorter than others, Big 12 coaches seemed to have less to say about the school than any other program. However, they did voice confidence in Kalani Sitake’s ability to return BYU to a bowl game in 2024. According to one coach, “They should be better down the stretch this season.”