How BYU won a convincing 41-13 victory over Southern Illinois in the season opener

BYU's season-opening win was the first step in getting back on track after last season. The Cougars' win over Southern Illinois was their first since defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Oct. 21, 2023.

The Cougars won easily with a score of 41:13.

“After losing five games in a row, it was good to win, but it was also a good feeling to go out there and win and show people what we're about,” said BYU running back LJ Martin.

Even though it was a seemingly easy and boring win for BYU, this game was full of exciting storylines.

The crime

The Cougars' offense looked about as it should against the Salukis' inferior defense, with Jake Retzlaff starting at quarterback and playing all of the key series against Southern Illinois after displacing Gerry Bohanon from the starting spot during fall training camp.

“When we announced it, Jake won the spot. The special thing about it was that Gerry was so supportive,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “We went with what we thought was right.”

Retzlaff controlled the offense all night, completing 20 of 30 passes for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns. The highlight of his night was this long pass to Jojo Phillips, who scored his second touchdown as a BYU Cougar.

There may be a time this season when Bohanon has to play quarterback, but Retzlaff has played well and is confident he will continue.

“When you win a competition, you feel good,” Retzlaff said. “But you can't just sit there and feel good. We had to win the game.”

BYU's running attack was solid, racking up 179 yards. LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati split the running for BYU. Martin ran 13 times for 67 yards and scored two touchdowns, while Ropati ran 13 times for 57 yards and scored a touchdown of his own.

On Saturday, BYU totaled over 400 yards on offense for the first time since the Cougars beat Stanford on Nov. 26, 2022. They totaled 527 yards, a respectable number against an FCS opponent.

The defense

BYU's defense against Southern Illinois showed signs of improvement from last season. The Cougars were in the Salukis' backfield all night, recording two sacks, three quarterback hurries and seven tackles for loss. It was a step in the right direction for a defense that struggled to force negative plays last season. Isaiah Bagnah recorded a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, while John Nelson and Logan Lutui each recorded a sack. Jakob Robinson recorded the game's only turnover with an interception in the fourth quarter.

The bigger story on defense was the health of defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who had to undergo heart surgery on Thursday night. Despite suffering a heart attack, Hill was present at Saturday night's game and commented on the plays in the locker room.

“It was great to hear his voice,” Sitake said. “He's always been great to me … I'm just glad he's OK right now.”

Missed opportunities

It was a successful night overall for BYU, but there were some problems on both sides of the ball. BYU's offense faltered in the second quarter, missing a field goal and losing the ball on one down. The defense allowed several big plays from SIU starting quarterback DJ Williams.

“We missed some runs,” BYU defensive end John Nelson said. “This is the first game… I think we'll be watching film and practicing all week.”

The overall takeaway from BYU's first game is that there were no warning signs. Even top-tier teams like Oregon put up a tough fight this weekend, and BYU was able to avoid a stressful finish against Southern Illinois.

The offense and defense showed signs of improvement from last season by running the ball and putting pressure on the opposing team's quarterback. BYU can take a lot of positives from this game as it prepares to face SMU on Friday.