BYU football’s 2018 offense was largely below average compared to the rest of college football, but it still made measured improvement from the 2017 offense.
Here is how the 2018 season compared to the 2017 season (both seasons had 13 games).
Strength of Schedule — Sagarin Rankings
2017: 74
2018: 68
BYU’s 2018 slate was slightly more difficult compared to 2017. BYU played five Power 5 teams this season and four Power 5 teams in 2017.
Points per game
2017: 17.1
2018: 27.2
Although the 27.2 ppg barely sits in the top 80 of FBS teams, it’s a big improvement from the horrendous 17.1 ppg BYU put up under Ty Detmer’s final season.
BYU scored more than 45 points on 3 occasions in 2018, something it failed to do once in 2017. Zach Wilson accounted for all three of the 45-plus point outings.
Red Zone Efficiency
Red Zone Scoring Percentage
2017: 74% (28-38)
2018: 85% (44-52)
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage
2017: 45% (17-38)
2018: 69% (36-52)
Red zone is efficiency is where BYU’s offense may have seen the biggest improvement. Not only did BYU score points more often, but they scored 19 more touchdowns in the red zone and more than doubled what they did in 2017.
Total Offense
2017: 325.2 ypg
2018: 364.9 ypg
Passing Offense
Passing Yards
2017: 2,530; 194.6 ypg
2018: 2,753; 211.8 ypg
Passing TDs
2017: 13
2018: 18
Average Per Pass
2017: 6.1 yards
2018: 7.4 yards
Average Per Catch
2017: 11.1 yards
2018: 11.7 yards
Rushing Offense
Total Yards
2017: 1,697; 130.5 ypg
2018: 1,991; 153.1 ypg
Rushing TDs
2017: 12
2018: 27
Yards per rush
2017: 4.2
2018: 4.1
Third Down Conversion Percentage
2017: 36%
2018: 37%
Third down efficiency is one of the offense’s biggest areas of opportunity moving forward. With Zach Wilson’s mobility, 4 starters on the offensive line returning and another year under Jeff Grimes’ system, an improvement in third down efficiency should be expected.
Turnovers
Interceptions:
2017: 19
2018: 7
Jeff Grimes wanted an offense that took care of the ball, and BYU greatly improved on not throwing interceptions. Tanner Mangum threw 4 picks and Zach Wilson threw 3.
Fumbles:
2017: 8
2018: 10
Conclusion
Although BYU’s offense has a lot to improve on in 2019, the progress from the disastrous 2017 season should be encouraging.
With Zach Wilson back for his sophomore season, most of the top pass-catchers returning, four offensive line starters back and another year with Jeff Grimes’ system, another leap in offensive production should happen in 2019.