BYU football: Cougars stout on defense

PROVO — Perhaps the only thing more shocking than BYU's 14-13 upset of Oklahoma last Saturday was the Cougars' ability to hold the Sooners, who averaged 51 points per game last season, to one touchdown.

And even that lone TD came on a 35-yard drive that was set up by a BYU turnover.

Though it goes down as one of the best defensive performances in school history, you wouldn't know it in talking to Jaime Hill, who orchestrated that stellar, smash-mouth defensive effort.

The Cougars' defensive coordinator is not disposed to hyperbole.

In his wildest dreams, did he ever imagine a scenario where OU would score a mere 13 points?

"We never talk about a number (of points)," said Hill. "We talk about stopping the run."

The Cougars did well in that area, limiting Oklahoma's pair of 1,000-yard backs, Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, to a total of 117 yards on the ground.

What about that memorable fourth-quarter goal-line stand?

"It's about the attitude, not the scheme," Hill explained.

Hill is a no-nonsense coach who doesn't like to single out individual players. But he does demand a lot from his players.

"He's a very intense guy. He's definitely a perfectionist," said defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen. "That's the best way to describe coach Hill. He wants everything done perfect."

BYU's defense wasn't perfect on Saturday, but it was physical, swarming, and good enough to lead the Cougars to a huge win.

"Phenomenal," was how coach Bronco Mendenhall described Hill's defense.

Saturday marked Hill's debut making the defensive play calls for the Cougars, a job that Mendenhall relinquished during the off-season. Mendenhall had been making the BYU defensive calls since 2003, when he arrived in Provo as the defensive coordinator.

"It was the first time in six years that I haven't called plays, maybe in my whole career, but here at BYU," Mendenhall said. "It was a unique experience for me. To see (Hill) have the defense that well-prepared and to see him handle that role with that kind of confidence was great. It allowed me to enjoy the football game and focus only on head coaching things."