BYU’s entire offensive staff except for one coach (Steve Clark, tight ends coach) has only spent one season in their current capacities with the Cougars. I saw some good things last year, but BYU’s offense was still bad at times. But, I like that Grimes now has a year under his belt. As for Ludwig, I know he’s bounced around a lot, but I haven’t followed his post-Utah career, so I don’t know how that went.
As for Tuiaki, his defenses have been fantastic at times, and inept at others. The biggest issue during the past few seasons has been the lack of a pass rush. As for the Utes, they pretty consistently play great defense against BYU. Last year was the first time since 2006 that BYU actually started hot, as opposed to instantly giving up defensive scores or at least turning the ball over.
When it comes to head coaches, Whitt gets the edge, no question. I had hoped when Sitake was announced as coach that BYU would play better in rivalry games (after all, he learned from Whitt himself), but outside of the first half or so of last year’s game, that just hasn’t happened.