BYU football: Some of the Cougars' most impressive 2024 stats – Deseret News

BYU couldn't have asked for a better first half to 2024.

The Cougars are 6-0, ranked No. 13 in the AP top 25 and are currently tied for first place in the Big 12 standings.

They've emerged as one of the sport world's most notable surprises this year and have shown no signs of slowing down.

As the back half of the season begins Friday night at home against Oklahoma State, let's take a look at some of the numbers that have helped propel BYU into the conference contender discussion and national spotlight.

The most popular man in Provo these days may very well be Jay Hill. The Cougars' second year defensive coordinator has assembled one of the most ferocious units in the country, which ranks 15th in points allowed per game at 16.33 after having given up nearly 30 per contest in 2023.

SMU and Kansas State — each averaging 40.8 and 31.3 points per game this season, respectively — both failed to score a single touchdown against BYU's defense.

Just a week ago, the Cougars tormented a typically elusive Arizona QB Noah Fifita for nine hits and 16 hurries, forcing him to suffer the first three-interception outing of his career.

BYU's defense has played hero on plenty of occasions in 2024, doing so with a group that could be considered to lack individual star power. As my colleague Jay Drew wrote, the Cougars' "sum is greater than (their) parts."

This has never been more evident than in the fact that BYU has snatched 10 interceptions through six games — from nine different players.

Some of the picks have come from typical places, such as lockdown corner Jakob Robinson's two takeaways along with snags from fellow coverage specialists Marque Collins and Evan Johnson. The Cougars have even seen game-saving and changing interceptions from starting safeties Crew Wakley and Tanner Wall against Baylor and Arizona, respectively.

But who would have thought Tyler Batty and Blake Mangelson — two defensive linemen — would get in on the interception act? Even linebackers Harrison Taggart and Isaiah Glasker have contributed to the "no-fly zone."

Every game seems to feature a different star for Hill's defense, where every player on the field is a turnover threat.

No one has taken a bigger jump from 2023 to 2024 at BYU than Etienne, who has evolved from inconsistent and somewhat ineffective to becoming one of the most trustworthy left tackles in all of college football today.

New offensive line coach TJ Woods has worked wonders for the 6-foot-8, 320-pound blindside protector, who may start seeing his name appear in NFL mock drafts pretty soon.

Etienne has headlined a much-improved offensive line for the Cougars, whose performance in the trenches this season has been critical in allowing BYU to score more than 34 points per game.

Cougar linemen have only given up three sacks and committed five penalties thus far, keeping quarterback Jake Retzlaff out of danger and paving the way for BYU to average more than four yards per carry on the ground.

Well done, TJ Woods.

It's not just the offensive line that's been playing clean football at BYU. The Cougars as a whole are one of the least-penalized teams in the country, being flagged just 4.33 times per game for 41.5 yards on average.

With minimal penalty-induced interruptions, BYU's offense has been able to move the ball more freely and score on just over 91% of its red zone trips, punting just 0.7 times per score.

Given the circumstances and competition this year, I'd be willing to say that what we've seen thus far has been the most disciplined and fundamentally sound Cougars squad Kalani Sitake has ever had.

Retzlaff is in elite company.

As pointed out by Mitch Harper of KSL Sports , Retzlaff has joined Marc Wilson (1979), Robbie Bosco (1984), Brandon Doman (2001), Max Hall (2008) and Zach Wilson (2020) as the only Cougar passers to open a campaign with six straight wins.

Ty Detmer never did it. Neither did fellow Hall of Famers Jim McMahon nor Steve Young. But Retzlaff has.

The self-proclaimed "B-Y-Jew" hasn't been perfect under center for BYU, but he's been largely impressive and a major aspect to this offense's success.

Retzlaff has the fourth-highest PFF grade among Big 12 quarterbacks while accounting for 15 total touchdowns, 1,426 passing yards and a solid 65.4 QBR.

Zero: number of teams besides BYU to have two return touchdowns and two defensive touchdowns in 2024 Sure, this one may be cherry-picking a bit, but it helps illustrate how strong these Cougars have been in all three phases of the game.

BYU's special teams have been elite, with Keelan Marion and Parker Kingston each finding the end zone to end a pair of decade-long return touchdown droughts within the program.

The Cougars' 14 takeaways and two defensive scores — a fumble return TD from Tommy Prassas and Glasker pick-six — have established BYU as a legitimate defensive force. Then of course, there's the offense, where Retzlaff has been dealing and his teammates are finding the end zone much more than a year ago.

BYU had 35 touchdowns in 12 games last season. The Cougars already have 25 scores through six contests in 2024.

This feels like the most complete team BYU has had in years — especially considering the level of talent the Cougars have faced — but the job's not finished.

Sitake's squad still has a long road ahead to arrive at its intended Big 12 title game destination and beyond, but the beginning of the journey has been a sight to behold — and the statistics can definitely back it up.