BYU is still undefeated. Somehow.
The No. 9 Cougars took advantage of a fourth-down holding penalty late Saturday night to beat Utah 22-21. The Utes had led for the entire second half and appeared to have the game over when QB Jake Retzlaff threw three incompletions and was sacked right before his goal line with 90 seconds left.
But before Retzlaff went into the pocket, Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn was flagged for breaking up the action. The 10-yard penalty gave BYU an automatic first down.
Two plays later, Retzlaff found Chase Roberts for a 30-yard gain at midfield with 1:13 to go. Seven plays after that, Will Ferrin kicked a go-ahead 44-yard field goal with three seconds left.
The improbable comeback came after BYU’s offense was out of sync all night. The Cougars used two of their second-half timeouts early in the third quarter to solve offensive problems and at times appeared rattled by the extremely loud crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Saturday night’s game was the first between the schools with both as Big 12 members.
Brandon Rose started at QB for the Utes for the first time this season after freshman Isaac Wilson started in place of the injured Cameron Rising. Rose threw TDs to Brant Kuithe and Micah Bernard in that second quarter and finished the game 12 of 21 passing for 112 yards and an interception.
Utah’s defense was the main reason why the Utes nearly pulled off the upset. Retzlaff was sacked three times and caught multiple passes at the line of scrimmage. But the Utes couldn’t get that one final stop they really needed after the offense sputtered in the second half.
Utah led 21-10 at halftime thanks to three second-quarter touchdowns, but its offense was miserable in the final 30 minutes. Utah ran just 25 plays in the third and fourth quarters and five of the Utes’ six possessions lasted four plays or less.
BYU, meanwhile, is one of only three undefeated power conference teams remaining, along with Oregon and Indiana. Army is the only team outside the power four conferences without a loss.
And the win means the Cougars are one step closer to the Big 12 title game and could have a spot in the championship game capped off with two more wins. The Cougars are 6-0 in the conference and are one game ahead of second-place Colorado and four third-place teams. Wins over Kansas and Arizona State – one of the teams tied for third place – would allow the Cougars to clinch a spot in the title game before the final week of the season.
