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TEMPE — BYU lost a heartbreaker to Kansas at home last week, backed by two empty possessions in the red zone.
The Cougars have a new challenge this week as they head to Tempe to take on the No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils, who are eying a conference championship appearance. A win over the Sun Devils, and an Iowa State loss to Utah, clinches a Big 12 title appearance for BYU.
What do the Cougars need to do to control its destiny and take down ASU?
Cam Skattebo containment
Skattebo has been the MVP for Arizona State this year, rushing for over 1,000 yards. He is also second on the team in receiving yards with 448. Containing Skattebo needs to be No. 1 priority on BYU's list.
It will be important for the Cougars to give the Sun Devils third-and-long situations to get the ball out of Skattebo's hands and bring in a nickel package to defend the pass, which they have done well, ranking 15th nationally in pass defense. The nickel package allows the Cougars to put a defensive back, rather than a linebacker, on Skattebo to contain his receiving ability.
Use LJ Martin to his best ability
Martin continues to look like the next big running back at BYU. BYU is 6-0 when Martin has a rushing touchdown, 4-1 when he has 15 carries or more, 4-0 with 80 or more rushing yards, and 7-0 when he has a rush of 20 or more yards in a game. Martin is a game changer, and not using him in red zone situations was the biggest reason why BYU fell short against Kansas.
Martin has had a 68 offensive grade or better in six of his seven games this year, proving to be an X-factor for BYU.
Convert in the red zone
BYU was bad in the red zone last week, scoring 6 points in four possessions, including an interception and turnover on downs. To open up the second half, BYU had a 17-play drive that took over 10 minutes that ended in a field goal. On the interception to end the half, Jake Retzlaff threw a fade that was easily picked, similar to what happened on the 2-point conversion against Utah.
On the turnover on downs, BYU rushed the ball three straight times and had a false start on fourth-and-6 to back them up 5 yards. The next play was an 8-yard gain, which would have resulted in a first down if it were not for the false start.
Opposing teams score in Arizona State's red zone 84% of the time.
The Cougars and Sun Devils fight for Big 12 championship hopes on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST on ESPN.
