PROVO, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – Last year, the BYU defense had no answers for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks racked up 644 yards of total offense and put up 52 points in a 52-35 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
“We played against them last year, and they put up a lot of points on us,” said head coach Kalani Sitake. “They got the victory, and we’re looking forward to the rematch. We’ll have to be on top of our best game to compete in this one, and I feel really good about the preparation that we’ve had so far.”
The Cougars aren’t thinking about exacting a little revenge, though. They’re just focusing on stopping the Arkansas attack.
“Honestly, we’re just excited to go play Arkansas,” tight end Isaac Rex said. “Arkansas is next up on the schedule, and so we’re really excited for the opportunity to go out there and play. They’ve got a really good team.”
BYU’s defense is much improved this year under new coordinator Jay Hill. The Cougars have given up just two touchdowns in two victories over Sam Houston and Southern Utah, while forcing four interceptions.
But Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, who threw for 367 yards and five touchdowns at BYU last season, is back.
“We’ve had a lot of pressure on quarterbacks,” Hill said. “They’ve thrown four interceptions now to our corners, and throwing things off their back foot. But if you watch their first two games this year, and teams have had a bunch of opportunities to sack him, and they don’t. So we’re going to have to do a good job wrapping him up.”
The BYU passing game looked really good on Saturday with tight end Isaac Rex setting a career high with 112 yards and Eastern Michigan transfer Darius Lassiter scoring his first touchdowns as a Cougar.
“It’s a different feeling when you score out here at BYU than when you’re scoring at Eastern Michigan,” Lassiter said. “The fans really show love, and you can kind of hear them as you’re running down the field.”
BYU’s receiving corps may get even stronger this year, as the speedy Kody Epps could make his season debut after dealing with a hamstring injury.
“He’s practiced a little bit yesterday and today,” said offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “He had a little setback, and we don’t know if he’s going to be ready, but it would be great to get him back.”
However, BYU only rushed for 46 yards, something they’ll have to improve upon.
“We’ll be able to run the ball this year,” Roderick said. “Saturday, we were playing against a defense that chose to have safeties stand seven yards off the ball. We chose to throw it, and we had a lot of success doing it.”
BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis completed 22 of 32 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
It will be a homecoming for BYU defensive lineman Caden Haws, who grew up in Little Rock.
“It’s cool getting to go play in the stadium you grew up going to as a kid,” Haws said. “I don’t have any buddies on the team anymore. They all graduated last year, and thanks to my mission, I’m kind of old. But it’s exciting.”
How many tickets is he getting for his friends and family?
“My mom told me to get as many as I can,” Haws said. “I don’t have a number for you, but that’s the goal.”
BYU and Arkansas will kick off at 5:30 p.m. MT Saturday night.
