Lubbock, Texas • When BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick watched Texas Tech on film, he kept thinking of the vaunted Texas defense of two years ago.
That unit produced three NFL draft picks, went to the College Football Playoff and had a defense line so effective that teams just gave up running the football on the Longhorns.
“They are right up there with those guys,” Roderick said of the Red Raiders. “Their D-line are freaks. Their linebackers are great. They have no personnel weaknesses. They have a very good scheme. They get turnovers. They strip the ball as well as any team I’ve ever seen.”
Turned out, Texas was a prescient callback by Roderick.
BYU went into Austin and got thumped 35-6 in 2023 — and the Cougars’ offense didn’t fare much better in Lubbock on Saturday.
In a game of two top 10 teams, BYU’s offense struggled to pick up first downs, much less score, en route to a 29-7 loss.
BYU finished with 250 yards of offense.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier didn’t reach the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter.
The Cougars’ running game ground to a halt. Shuffling through five different options, the Cougars ran for just 67 yards. LJ Martin was the most effective but finished far below his averages with only 35 yards.
Tech’s defensive line, which the Red Raiders poured millions into this offseason, looked the part of the best position group the Big 12 has seen in possibly a decade.
BYU finished with 250 yards of offense.
The Cougars’ defense kept Tech within arm’s reach for in the first half.
Coordinator Jay Hill’s unit brought pressure and produced four sacks before the break. Down 13 just before the intermission, Tech threatened to score a touchdown with the ball inside the 10-yard line. But safety Faletau Satuala came up with a touchdown-saving tackle to keep the game within two scores.
Still, the defensive effort wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of offense and special teams miscues.
Parker Kingston fumbled a punt inside the 20 in the first quarter to set up an easy Texas Tech field goal.
Later on, trying to conjure up any offense, Bachmeier heaved a pass under pressure that was intercepted inside BYU’s 25. Tech turned that into three points, too.
At one point, Tech had negative-24 yards of total offense but still held a lead.
The Cougars will return home to play TCU next week.