BYU Beat Writer Talks 2021 Pac-12 Matchups

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  By Nick Bartlett, SuperWest Sports

   August 24, 2021

This is the final installment in our four-part series of interviews with beat writers and broadcasters covering Pac-12 non-conference opponents that play at least two Conference teams this season.

Those teams include Notre Dame (USC, Stanford), Hawaii (OSU, UCLA), Fresno State (Oregon, UCLA), and BYU (Arizona, Utah, ASU, WSU, USC).

In our three other installments, we spoke with Notre Dame beat writer Bryan Driskell of SI/FanNation, Hawaii beat writer Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Paul Loeffler, the play-by-play radio broadcaster for Fresno State.

We conclude with Jackson Payne, who covers BYU for the Daily Universe. He answers questions about the 2021 Cougar football season, as well as BYU’s games with Arizona, Utah, ASU, WSU and USC.

The Wildcats lead the all-time series with BYU 12-11-1, but the Cougars have won the last two. Utah holds a 51-39-4 advantage over BYU, having won the last nine.

ASU enjoys a commanding 20-7 all-time lead over BYU, and WSU trails its short series with the other Cougars 3-1, having dropped the last two.

Utah and BYU continue their longstanding rivalry. | Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports

This season, Arizona plays BYU on September 4th in Las Vegas; Utah travels to Provo on September 11th; ASU visits the Cougars on September 18th; WSU welcomes BYU on October 23rd; and USC hosts the Cougars on November 27th.

Nick Bartlett: First of all, thank you for taking the time share your thoughts on the BYU Cougars and their Pac-12 opponents this season.

Jackson Payne: I’m happy to help.

Bartlett: How do you think BYU will perform this year? Do you expect a run like last season? Or more of a middle-of-the-road type year?

Payne: This will be a transition year for BYU. The Cougars are replacing a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and face quite possibly their most difficult schedule in the independence era.

They have plenty of depth at every skill position, especially running back and tight end, and each of the three main candidates in the quarterback battle have strong upside no matter who they plug in.

The defense is young and raw, they weren’t dominant on the pass rush last season, and have some question marks in the secondary, but they should improve as the season continues.

They may not be the Zach Wilson/Dax Milne powerhouse unit of 2020, but I would say that this team has the potential to score a lot of points again.

Health will be the ultimate X-factor, as injuries have ravaged the roster nearly every season since 2014.

If the Cougars can stick to one starting quarterback throughout the year, stay healthy, and get the most out of their depth and “gimme” games, they should win eight or nine games and make their biggest matchups interesting.

Bartlett: Which Pac-12 team on the Cougars schedule do you like most historically, and how do you think they’ll fare this season?

Payne: I have always been high on USC, they have a historically strong program, and have had plenty of memorable matchups against the Cougars over the years.

Playing at the Coliseum is definitely a bonus. I see this year as a step up for the Trojans, and think they could make a run at the Conference title game.

BYU going down there to play them in November is an intriguing matchup that frightens me a bit if the Cougars struggle to stay healthy beforehand.

Bartlett: In which matchup do you think BYU holds the biggest advantage? Why?

Payne: I would say that BYU holds the biggest advantage over Arizona in the opener. Arizona has a brand new staff and hasn’t fared well against BYU in the past matchups.

In addition, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has said that it’s possible that the staff won’t announce their starting quarterback until we see him take the field against the Wildcats, so Arizona may struggle to gameplan accordingly.

The Cougars are sure to flood the stadium with fans in Las Vegas, so they may even enjoy a home field advantage as well.

Bartlett: Who would you like to see start at quarterback for the Cougs?

Payne: I really like Jaren Hall at quarterback for BYU. He’s an incredibly special athlete with high upside and dynamic playmaking abilities. His injury history is concerning, but when he’s been on the field he’s been really hard to stop.

If he can stay healthy and get the most out of his legs, he’ll be a tank. Replacing Zach Wilson won’t be easy, but he has the chance to be another special talent at BYU.

Jacob Conover might be the highest-profile recruit BYU has ever landed, turning down offers from Alabama and other powerhouse programs to come to Provo.

He has a tremendous arm and probably the highest ceiling of any of the guys in their quarterback room, but I would think that Hall starts for the season and Conover redshirts as the backup while they groom him to be the future of the program.

Bartlett: How will BYU’s offensive line look after losing three key pieces from last year’s unit? Do they have enough depth to retool this group?

Payne: BYU’s offensive line sent three guys to the NFL from last season, but they still have James Empey, who is a top three center in the country and will be a one man wrecking crew.

Clark Barrington and Harris LaChance are two other linemen who got some good reps last year and will be ready to fill the void going forward.

So while they probably won’t be the same unit that absolutely dominated in 2020, they’ll still be very strong and give their running back tandem of Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa plenty of big holes to plow through.

Bartlett: What do you think the Cougars record will be against Pac-12 opponents? Which matchup excites you the most?

Payne: I say the Cougars go 3-2 against the Pac-12 this year.

I think the Utah game will be close, but ultimately falls in favor of the Utes. And the Cougars will probably drop the last week against USC.

I’m looking forward to Arizona to see the new offense in action, and I think Arizona State at home will be a thrill for the fans.

With all the talk of conference realignment, BYU really needs to take full advantage of their monster schedule—especially the marquee Power 5 matchups—in order to have a serious case for national relevance in the long term.

Bartlett: Do you have any other thoughts? Anything else you’d like to say about BYU this season?

Payne: BYU’s running back tandem of Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa is one of the strongest in the country, especially behind such a strong offensive line.

Both players have “home run” capabilities and should combine for over 2,000 total yards on the season.

Punter Ryan Rehkow and kicker Jake Oldroyd could be the most talented kicking unit in all of college football this year, and both have NFL futures.

While the success of 2020 likely won’t be duplicated, BYU definitely has some swagger as a program and has shown that they can beat any team in the country.

It very well may be a transition year, but Kalani Sitake is putting the pieces together to build a legitimate contending program.

Bartlett: Thanks again for your time. I wish you success in covering BYU this season, and look forward talking with you again.