BYU football: Did Jake Retzlaff silence his doubters on Saturday?

PROVO — We're about to learn a lot more about how competitive BYU football is Friday as it prepares to take on elevated competition on the road versus SMU.

The Mustangs will present a significantly stiffer test as an improving FBS program that should present talent across the board above what the Cougars encountered during a 41-13 win over FCS opponent Southern Illinois.

But that's not to suggest that Saturday's game didn't provide some notable instruction regarding what type of team has been formed in Provo this past offseason.

BYU's opening week win was far from perfect, but at the same time it's hard to argue that it wasn't satisfying in many respects. From the improved pass rush and stout rush defense to an improved run game and more consistent offensive line play, there's much to be optimistic about moving forward to the final 11 games of the 2024 season.

Retzlaff rising

Front and center of the notable improvements set forward during the win over the visiting Salukis was the play presented by embattled starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff. The JUCO transfer finished the game 20-of-30 passing for 348 yards and three touchdowns, and no turnovers.

Considering the struggles he encountered last season, the positives of his play should receive the bevy of the focus, and as his stats indicate, there's plenty of good things to point out:

• Ability to execute the vertical passing game: On two occasions, Retzlaff delivered long and accurate passes that hit his receivers in stride. One was a 57-yard bomb that went to JoJo Phillips for a touchdown, and the other a 52-yard strike to Keelan Marion, who was surrounded by three defenders with little to no margin of error. The key to executing the throw was Retzlaff throwing Marion open — a necessary trait of top quarterbacks.
• Showing touch: Some of Retzlaff's more underrated throws were hitting running backs for significant gains and touchdowns. On one occasion, he connected with Miles Davis on a wheel route down the sideline for 21 yards, which Davis almost broke off for a touchdown; and then with his 7-yard touchdown pass to LJ Martin where he made a quick read and hit Martin in stride for the easy score. Short yardage passing is often considered a general gimme by fans, but that's largely a misnomer considering the touch, trajectory and timing required.
• No turnovers: Not committing a single turnover in any of his 30 passing attempts cannot go understated. Furthermore, none of his throws were in serious jeopardy of being turned over.
• Confidence: Retzlaff showed an ability to fit the ball into tight spaces on critical third- and fourth-down situations, while showing enough running ability to keep opposing defenses honest on that front.

Of course, Retzlaff's performance wasn't completely flawless, with at least a few issues he'd be prudent to address:

• Elongated mesh action on the zone read: His transitions in this regard almost led to a turnover and was cause for at least one loss of yardage play. He'll need to smooth this out in the coming weeks against teams more adept in capitalizing on errors.
• Inconsistency in taking what the defense gives him: On at least two occasions he held the ball too long, and was forced outside of the pocket where he made inaccurate throws on the run that weren't close to being completed. While we like Retzlaff's fearlessness on certain occasions, it can get the better of him.
• Setting his feet: When Retzlaff left the pocket, he didn't do well in setting his feet, missing high on attempts thrown to Ethan Erickson, Kody Epps and Keanu Hill.

Retzlaff has made it a point to improve his preseason PFF rank of last among Big 12 starting quarterbacks; and after one week of play, he provided the fifth-best passer rating in the conference among quarterbacks with a minimum of 10 attempts with his 89.0 overall score.

Should Retzlaff maintain or even improve upon this rating, it's likely BYU could improve its win total significantly throughout the rest of the 2024 season.

Playing to their strengths

One aspect of BYU's offense began to surface in our analysis prior to the Southern Illinois game and then was revealed in full come game time. Simply-stated, the strength of BYU's offense resides in a very experienced and talented wide receiving corps.

Perhaps no coach on BYU's staff has done better in securing, retaining and developing talent than receivers coach Fesi Sitake, and it shows.

He's helped form one of the program's better and deeper units, with veterans like Chase Roberts and Darrius Lassiter leading the charge, and promising talents such as freshmen Cody Hagen and Phillips rounding it out.

There's been a lot of talk about fixing BYU's ailing rushing attack, with many advancing the idea of posing an offensive attack of 12 or even 22 personnel that leads the charge and gives way to passing opportunities down the field. Saturday's win revealed that 11 personnel is likely the formation that will garner the most production given the inherent strength of the offense.

We anticipate Retzlaff's chemistry with Roberts to continue; and with the return of Lassiter to the lineup against SMU, BYU's receivers should prove even more prominent in the overall offensive production.

It's also just the beginning for young and exciting talents like Hagen and Phillips, both of whom should continue to assert themselves more and more as the season goes on.

One of the primary reasons Retzlaff ultimately won the battle for starting quarterback duties is his ability to deliver to the BYU offense's top position group more efficiently than anyone else on the roster.

While improvement in the run game is an absolute necessity, the strength of the offense will continue to reside within BYU's deep and talented wide receiving corps, with Retzlaff working as both the beneficiary and benefactor of this exciting group.

Criddle's conclusion

As media converged in Provo on Tuesday to interview the BYU offensive players, I was catching up with freshman phenom Ryner Swanson. Retzlaff trotted by me with a smirk on his face and inquired, "Hey, Ben, did you see the PFF Big 12 QB Grades?"

It's become obvious to me that Retzlaff is fueled by the doubters, by the media, the fans, the haters that question his ability.

He's heard the cacophony of Cougars fans pining and pleading for Gerry Bohanon to be their No. 1 quarterback in 2024. And those same fans and media were dealt a blow and temporarily silenced Saturday.

For the last eight weeks, a majority of the Cougar faithful have been hoping that Big 12 and Sugar Bowl champion Bohanon would emerge as the No. 1 QB on the depth chart.

The boisterous voices from fans leaked over even into the local insider scene, where many declared after two weeks of fall camp that Bohanon would assuredly be trotted out as the starting QB and that Retzlaff could even be relegated to No. 3 QB status behind McCae Hillstead.

"Not So Fast!" as coined by Lee Corso, and most likely uttered by Retzlaff after Bohanon surged for a time in popularity during fall camp. Retzlaff proceeded to lock down the No.1 spot in a somewhat clandestine fashion prior to kickoff and ultimately proved why he did.

Maybe we shouldnt be surprised that Retzlaff had a great performance against a directional school in Illinois. As my good friend Matt Brown from extrapointsmb.com pointed out: "Not surprised that BYU is beating Southern Illinois comfortably. It's actually Western Illinois that historically gives them more trouble"

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