Aside from some decent red zone stops, BYU defense has faltered along with the offense

Provo • It is well-documented that BYU has one of the worst offenses in major college football this season.

However, head coach Kalani Sitake said after the devastating 40-6 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday that the defense also has to shoulder its share of the blame. Specifically, BYU is allowing opponents too much time with the ball, time when its offense could be getting on track.

The Cougars rank 127th out of 129 teams in time of possession, averaging just 23 minutes per game.

“I thought we played better defense against LSU,” Sitake said after BYU allowed Wisconsin to rack up 491 yards and control the ball for more than 40 minutes. “I mean, look at the number of plays. We got what, 46 plays? It is difficult to win games when you are getting 200 yards of production and you are not getting in the end zone. And then when our defense isn’t playing great, there is the result — 40 to 6.”

Sitake said UW put on a “clinic” offensively, as quarterback Alex Hornibrook set a school record for single-game completion percentage by connecting on 18 of 19 passes (94.7 percent) for 256 yards and four touchdowns. It was the highest completion percentage ever posted against BYU.

“Well, they were just beating our corners,” Sitake said. “That’s what it came down to. I don’t know how their receivers compare to LSU’s and Utah’s, but I am not going to lie about it: Our corners need to play better.”

The defense’s biggest problem, Sitake said, is that it can’t stop the run, and can’t make opposing offenses one-dimensional. The Cougars are 98th in the country against the run, allowing 183.3 yards per game.

We have to find a way to get our guys to play consistently better on both sides of the ball, and then we will have a chance to win,” said Sitake, now 10-7 as a head coach. “We were overwhelmed in so many different areas, and just couldn’t get anything going. Our defense, we thought we could hold them better, but we weren’t doing the job. I am just disappointed in the whole outcome of the game.”

Linebacker Butch Pau’u said the BYU defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team before fellow linebacker and run-stopper Francis Bernard was forced to redshirt, does not have an identity yet.

“We allow too many rushing yards. We allow too many passing yards. We have to figure that out,” Pau’u said. “We need to make big plays and stop the ball more so that our offense can score.”

Pau’u said the defense’s focus during the bye week will be to understand more fully what individual assignments are, and then to execute those assignments in the next game, against Utah State on Sept. 29 in Logan. The Aggies play at San Jose State on Saturday.

Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley, LSU quarterback Danny Etling and UW’s Hornibrook were a combined 59 of 72 (81.9 percent) because the Cougars couldn’t mount a pass rush. Corbin Kaufusi’s sack of Hornibrook late in the third quarter was BYU’s first sack since the Portland State game.

“If you want to get more sacks, you have to stop the run,” Sitake said. “That’s the key. Stop the run, so you make them one-dimensional, so you can rush the passer and get sacks. It is what Wisconsin did to us. They stopped the run, and then they started creating more disruption.”