The 3 big questions BYU needs to answer heading into Week 3
By Benjamin Ward,
September 18, 2026
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Coming off of a 12-2 campaign in 2025, coach Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars entered the season with high expectations. National and local media pumped the program up with lofty expectations of the Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth.Two weeks into the year, it seems the Cougars have answered the call. After dominating FCS opponent Utah Tech in Week 1, BYU rode a second-half surge to a 28-17 victory over a talented Arizona team. That win in the first Big 12 contest of the year propelled Sitake’s squad from No. 15 to No. 11 in the AP poll.Although things have overall gone to plan for BYU, the first two contests have not been without their blemishes. These are the three questions BYU is still looking to answer ahead of its Sept. 19 matchup against Colorado State.What is the identity of the offense?BYU’s offense has clicked through the first two games of the year, scoring 13 total touchdowns, including finding pay dirt on each of its red zone trips thus far. But this unit has done it differently than offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s squad last year.BYU returned the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in star running back L.J. Martin. Martin, who ran for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last year, figured to be the centerpiece of the offense.However, the first six quarters of the Cougar season didn’t unfold quite like that. It is true that Martin, along with the rest of the Cougar starting offense, was not called upon much in the Utah Tech game. Martin only recorded eight total touches before BYU rotated in the rest of the backs on the depth chart.
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But when the lights got brighter and the game got more competitive against Arizona, the offense didn’t exactly funnel through Martin as expected. In fact, after BYU found itself trailing early due to an opening-drive touchdown for the Wildcats, the Cougars’ offense never established the run.Martin only got six total first-half touches, finishing the half with 30 all-purpose yards. For context, Martin averaged roughly 21 touches per game last season, with that number increasing in Big 12 contests. BYU went into halftime down 17-14, having amassed only 122 total yards of offense, and Martin had been almost a non-factor.Roderick likely made the same observation, as the second-half game plan seemed to have his star tailback written all over it. Martin’s 16 touches in the final two quarters were more reminiscent of the Cougar offense last year, and the team moved the ball better as a whole.Additionally, Martin’s success on the ground helped to open the play-action game. Most notably, quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s 61-yard deep ball to freshman receiver Legend Glasker in the fourth quarter was set up by play action to Martin. Just two plays later, Bachmeier found Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper for the touchdown to extend BYU’s lead to 28-17. If you could only choose the offense from one of those two halves, it seems like a no-brainer that you would choose the L.J.-heavy version.BYU vs Arizona | RADIO HIGHLIGHTS@gregwrubell 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/HDAyyD6w8Q— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 13, 2026
Not only has Martin had few touches overall to start the year, but we’ve seen less of Bachmeier in the run game as well.Bachmeier established himself as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the conference and the country as a whole last season. He finished the year with 527 rushing yards and added 11 rushing touchdowns.But while Bachmeier’s legs kept defenses on their toes, his body paid the price. Late in the season, he tweaked his ankle, an injury that lingered through big games and held Bachmeier back from playing at his full capacity.Roderick and this coaching staff have made it a goal to keep their quarterback healthy this year, and one immediate byproduct of that has been less work on the ground. In his true freshman season, Bachmeier averaged about 10.5 rushing attempts per game. He has 10 total rushes through the first two games.In fact, in his first matchup with Arizona in Tucson on Oct. 11, 2025, Bachmeier carried the ball an astounding 22 times. In this year’s contest against the Wildcats, he only carried the ball six times.It’s early on in the year, and there is still plenty of time for this offense to find its identity. But will it be anchored by Martin like everyone thought before the year started? Will we see more “There’s a Bear on the loose in Provo,” or is about five carries a game the new normal? Does one of the new playmakers emerge as the clear No. 1 target? The next few games will be formative in showing exactly how good this offense can truly be.How well can the defensive depth plug holes left by early-season injuries?While the offense has stayed overall healthy, apart from losing backup running back Sione Moa in the season opener, the BYU defense has not been quite as lucky. Starting safety Raider Damuni is expected to miss significant time after a lower-leg injury took him out of the opener, immediately testing the secondary depth.Then senior linebacker Siale Esera exited the Arizona game with an injury and did not return. Esera was not listed on the depth chart ahead of the Sept. 19 Colorado State matchup, leaving the Cougars down another key defensive cog.Junior Tommy Prassas was the next man up after the Damuni injury, filling in at safety and playing all 67 of the defensive snaps for the Cougars against Arizona. He finished the game with four tackles and was part of the huge fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter that preserved the BYU lead.Opportunities have also opened up for Cannon DeVries, who is listed as the starting nickel on the BYU depth chart for the third week in a row. DeVries leads the team in tackles with 10, and was in on the fourth-down stop with Prassas.Cannon ball: through two games, safety Cannon DeVries leads BYU in total tackles, with 10 (five solo). He has added a pass break-up on defense, and has 173 of BYU's 183 kickoff/punt return yards (2nd to LJ Martin in all-purpose yardage). pic.twitter.com/wJchRuCfeB— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) September 16, 2026
Nusi Taumoepeau fills the starting slot on the depth chart left by Esera, but Taumoepeau has been nursing injuries of his own this season. Esera and Taumoepeau were two of the key pieces of this defense that received so much praise for bringing back so many playmakers, but the injury bug has gotten them early.The injury to Esera will also open up snaps in the linebacking corps for Kansas State transfer Jake Clifton, who started the Utah Tech game for the Cougars, as well as freshman Braxton Lindsey and senior Miles Hall. All should get opportunities to make plays while the Cougars try to get their team back to full health before the toughest part of their schedule begins in mid-October.Will the kicking game be an issue for the Cougars?Unlike the two questions before it, this is one area where the Cougars have almost no performance to draw from. This special teams unit saw a complete revamp from the 2025 season and remains one of the biggest unknowns on the team.For the first time since 2023, BYU has yet to make a field goal through its first two contests. Kickers Matthias Dunn and Brody Laga are a perfect 13-13 on extra points to this point, however Dunn missed the lone field goal opportunity when his 47-yard attempt in the Utah Tech game sailed wide left.To be fair to Dunn, a 47-yarder is by no means a gimme, and it was his first collegiate attempt. The Cougars didn’t attempt another field goal in the Arizona game, as they have scored a touchdown on every red zone trip this year. In many ways, this is a good problem to have.But as noted above, the schedule will get tougher. This is a team with high aspirations that will be playing in tight-knit, highly competitive games. When games are decided by three points or fewer, how much can the Cougars rely on this special teams unit and Dunn to get it done?Ultimately, the No. 11 Cougars have opened the year about as strong as fans could have hoped up to this point. But if this team truly hopes to be the Big 12 title contender and CFP-caliber squad they believe they can be, it will be crucial to answer these questions sooner rather than later.
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byu football
big 12
kalani sitake
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