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East Lansing, Mich. • Maybe the BYU defense was just setting up the Michigan State Spartans with last week's inexplicably horrible performance against Toledo.
Because on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium, the Cougars didn't play anything like they did a week ago, held the home team to its lowest offensive output since 2011, 206 yards, and took a convincing 31-14 win to even their record to 3-3.
"Toledo exposed every problem and every mistake we made," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "It seemed like the perfect storm for getting crushed. They capitalized on every little mistake we made. It seemed like everything was going wrong last week, and this week it seemed like a lot was going really well, in our favor."
It didn't start that way, as MSU drove 72 yards in 15 plays, took more than seven minutes off the clock, and punched it in the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.
The Spartans would not cross midfield again until nine minutes remained in the game, and BYU senior cornerback Michael Davis ended that threat with his first career interception and a 40-yard return.
"We held each other accountable in practice and then came out and did it in the game," Davis said.
Having given up 505 passing yards to Toledo QB Logan Woodside, the Cougars made life miserable for MSU starter Tyler O'Connor, who left the game in favor of backup Damion Terry having thrown for just 58 yards.
"I think this was just another steppingstone to what we're trying to achieve," said BYU linebacker Fred Warner.
The defense got an unlikely pick-me-up from linebacker Sae Tautu, who sat out the first half due to a targeting penalty against Toledo and made up for lost time against Michigan State. Tautu sacked O'Connor to stop Michigan State's first possession of the second half, and got a second sack on the next Spartans possession.
"Sae is starting to come along," Sitake said. "He came in, he was hungry and he was ready to go. … So that made a difference for us, getting pressure on the quarterback. He was able to make a difference for us in the pass rush."
With leading tackler Butch Pau'u out for the second straight week, BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki added a wrinkle. He had defensive end Harvey Langi play middle linebacker on obvious rushing situations, and it worked.
The Cougars missed some tackles in the first half, but became more sure with their takedowns as the game wore on.
" Harvey has got so much experience playing the inside linebacker position," Sitake said. "This week coach [Ilaisa] Tuiaki wanted to use him in a hybrid role where we use him as a D end and also as a middle linebacker. I thought he did a good job with all the install after having to play D end the entire season."
On the other side of the ball, the Cougars played keepaway, rushing for 260 yards and taking more than 34 minutes off the clock.
"The defense just got us all hyped up and ready to go back out there and score," said Jamaal Williams, who rushed for 163 yards and now is just 156 yards away from breaking Harvey Unga's career rushing yardage record at BYU.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Tale of two games
A look at how BYU's defense performed Saturday against Michigan State and a week earlier against Toledo: Toledo MSU 187 Rushing yards 85 505 Passing yards 121 692 Total yards 206 53 Points allowed 14