Against Stanford, the BYU defense stifled the Stanford offense. The Cougars never really allowed the Cardinal to be competitive. Stanford couldn’t get anything going until the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. BYU has allowed just three points through the first two games of the season. In this article, we’ll see where the BYU defense stacks up nationally after week two.
BYU leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 1.5 points per game. Three Big 12 teams are in the top five.
- BYU – 1.5
- Ohio State – 3.5
- Wyoming – 3.5
- Arizona – 4.5
- Houston – 4.5
BYU ranks second nationally in total defense, allowing 106 yards per game.
- Minnesota – 97 total yards allowed per game
- BYU – 106
- Wisconsin – 179
- Houston – 186
- Vanderbilt – 192
BYU is the nation’s best run defense by a wide margin after week two. There is the same distance between BYU and the second-best run defense (Auburn) as there is between Auburn and the 14th best run defense (Georgia).
- BYU – 7 rushing yards allowed per game
- Auburn – 31
- Minnesota – 32
- Wisconsin – 34
- App State – 38
It’s worth noting that BYU’s next opponent, ECU, is in the top 15. The Pirtaes have only allowed 55 rushing yards per game.
BYU’s pass defense is ranked in the top 10 after two weeks. Stanford sustained a few drives in the fourth quarter that dropped BYU’s national ranking.
- Minnesota – 65 passing yards allowed per game
- Nebraska – 69
- Houston – 78
- Washington State – 83
- North Texas – 88
- Oklahoma – 88
- Liberty – 92
- UCF – 99
- BYU – 99
- Alabama – 104
BYU ranks in the top five nationally in defensive passer rating allowed.
- Nebraska – 67.2
- Wyoming – 70.1
- Arizona – 71.1
- Liberty – 75.5
- BYU – 76.2
BYU is tied for 45th nationally with five total sacks on the season. While that’s not top 10 nationally like most other metrics for BYU’s defense, it is much-improved over the last five years of BYU football.
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