BYU bracing for former rival San Diego State’s sensational defense on Saturday in intriguing regular-season finale

San Diego State cornerback Tayler Hawkins (32) hits Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro (12) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against San Diego State Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in Honolulu. | AP

Cougars (7-4) have been scoring in bunches lately, but they haven’t seen a defense this good since September, at least; Aztecs (8-3) are in the top 10 nationally in several defensive categories

PROVO — Along with going off again on BYU’s departure from the Mountain West Conference in 2011, the ages of its players and its bumpy road the last nine seasons as a college football independent, San Diego State coach Rocky Long said in his weekly news conference Tuesday that the Cougars will be “the best football team we will play against all year to this point.”

Having faced the likes of current No. 6 Utah, bowl-bound Tennessee and Washington, No. 25 USC and No. 20 Boise State, BYU coach Kalani Sitake can’t truthfully return the compliment. But the Cougars can say the Aztecs have the second- or third-best defense they will see all season, behind only Utah and, maybe, Washington.

“Their scheme, combined with their talent, and their toughness and desire to play a physical game makes them one of the best defenses we have seen,” BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said Tuesday. “I thought (Utah and Washington) were good as well. But I put this (SDSU) group in a similar category as those teams. There’s really not a weak link, in terms of positions.”

Every Mountain West or WAC team back in the day considered BYU a rival as the Cougars mostly ran roughshod through those leagues in the 1980s and 1990s, but San Diego State always seemed to harbor more animosity than most, so Long’s aforementioned comments come as no surprise. The 7-4 Cougars and 8-3 Aztecs will square off Saturday (7 p.m. MST, CBSSN) at SDCCU Stadium in a regular-season contest for the first time since 2010, BYU’s last season in the MW.

Of course, BYU and SDSU tangled in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl at this same stadium, a 23-6 Cougars win dominated defensively by linebacker Kyle Van Noy, now starring for the New England Patriots.

This time, the Aztecs bring the superior defense into the rivalry’s revival. BYU will host SDSU next November at LaVell Edwards Stadium almost 10 years to the day of the Aztecs’ last appearance in Provo.

“They have always had talent,” said Grimes, a 30-year coaching veteran who has faced SDSU since his playing days at former WAC school UTEP. “I think what Rocky Long has done is he has brought toughness to that team. They have always had good skill. Now they have toughness and grit to go along with it. So it is a very formidable opponent, particularly what we are going to see on defense.”

San Diego State has played the 101st most-difficult schedule in the country, according to Jeff Sagarin’s rankings in USA Today. BYU has played the 61st toughest, dropping from one of the toughest a month ago when the likes of Liberty, Idaho State and UMass dragged it to the middling range.

The Aztecs’ best win was probably a 23-14 victory over much-improved UCLA. They held high-scoring Hawaii to two touchdowns, but lost 14-11 in Honolulu to miss out on playing in the MW championship game.

Winning the conference title “is our number one goal, but guess what, we’ve done a lot of really good things this year, really good,” Long said. “Statistically, we’re one of the best defenses in the country.”

Long may be wrong on a lot of theories on BYU’s independence, its maturity level and when he says that “half their schedule or three-fourths of their schedule (is comprised of) Mountain West Conference teams already.” SDSU will be BYU’s third MW opponent, joining rivals Utah State and Boise State; Last year BYU played three MW teams and next year it will play only two, USU and BSU.

But Long is right when he boasts about his defense, led by senior tackling machine Kyahva Tezino (89 tackles, nine for loss), senior Myles Cheatum (five sacks) and junior cornerback Luq Barcoo, who has eight of the team’s 13 interceptions.

It can all be traced back to Long’s toughness, Sitake said.

“He’s been around and he has coordinated some great defenses and he’s been head coach of some great defenses, and he has tons of experience,” Sitake said. “You can tell that they are tough, and they take the same personality that Rocky Long has. We expect their best shot. We just gotta make sure they get ours as well.”

San Diego State is sixth in scoring defense, allowing just 13.73 points per game, and eighth in total defense, allowing just 277.1 yards per game. Running the ball effectively will be difficult for BYU, which could be down to its fourth- and fifth-string running backs if starter Lopini Katoa continues to be hampered by symptoms from a concussion that limited his use in last week’s 56-24 win over UMass.

The Aztecs are No. 3 in the nation in stopping the run, giving up just 71.8 yards on the ground per game.

“The biggest thing to me is we just have to run our offense and not get too caught up in what they do, what they are good at stopping,” said BYU passing game coordinator Aaron Roderick. “We have to be good at doing what we do. We have to focus on our core plays and get those plays to win us the game. … It is going to be a physical game. We expect it to be a street fight.”

Against one of the toughest — and most critical — dudes from the old neighborhood.

Cougars on the air

BYU (7-4)

at San Diego State (8-3)

At SDCCU Stadium

Saturday, 7 p.m. MST

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

BYU quarterback Zach Wilson on facing San Diego State this weekend and how the vibe changes after weeks of easier opponents. pic.twitter.com/JXm8wGnKaI

— Jay Drew (@drewjay) November 25, 2019

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