Cougs Daily

Five Takeaways From No. 9 BYU's Chaotic Victory Over Rival Utah

Joe Wheat

BYU kicker Will Ferrin hits the game-winning field goal to knock off rival Utah
BYU kicker Will Ferrin hits the game-winning field goal to knock off rival Utah / BYU Photo
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Hopefully you stocked up on vitamin pills because that was nuts. No. 9 BYU’s thrilling victory over Utah will surely not be talked about for decades to come (heavy sarcasm), but let's discuss it anyway. First off, the victory solidified this as an all-time great season in BYU history. Legends were made. Hearts were healed, broken, and healed again. Students flooded the streets of Provo until 5 am and were still in their seats for 9:00 am church. Truly a legendary performance by all involved. Here are five other takeaways from one of the most chaotic, heart-health threatening football games in recent memory, or as we call it, the Holy War (Holdy War? We'll workshop it):

1. My evaluation of the play on the field

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff against Utah
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff against Utah / BYU Photo

Jay Hill deserves all the credit in the world for his halftime adjustments. After giving up 8.7 yards per play and 100% of available yards to Utah’s offense in the second quarter, BYU’s defense buckled down to give up 3.2 yards per play and 14.9% of available yards the entire second half. Their performance allowed the offense to be just good enough against a championship-level Utah defense. I am not overly concerned about the offense. They put up more total yards against Utah’s defense than Utah’s season average, didn’t turn the football over, and put up about as many points as I expected them to. Mentally, though, BYU was not prepared for the crowd noise, the defensive pressure, or even substitutions. The offense has been good enough that I am willing to chalk this one up to rivalry weirdness.

2. The Holy War isn’t just another game

BYU kicker Will Ferrin hits the game-winning field goal to knock off rival Utah
BYU kicker Will Ferrin hits the game-winning field goal to knock off rival Utah / BYU Photo

In BYU’s media sessions, BYU’s coaches and players all echoed the same sentiment “This is just another game.” I find this attitude to be neither helpful nor honest. You could see it in the eyes of both sides. This is not just another game. The Holy War exists independent from the context of the larger season. Stats don’t matter, records don’t matter, history doesn’t matter. It is a bareknuckle boxing match where the winner is decided only by who can stand on their own two feet when it's over. The fact that this game contributes to the teams' overall records is merely a coincidence. All that matters is winning the game. Both teams know this but Utah leaned into it in their preparation and BYU did not.

The problem with the “it's just another game” strategy is that everyone knows it's a lie. The players know it, but because they can’t acknowledge it, they play tighter than they otherwise would. BYU made a myriad of mental gaffes in the first half, but none were so obvious as the clock management on their two minute drill. Everyone knew BYU had no timeouts, and they needed to spike the ball, but overthinking the moment led to a disaster that almost cost BYU the game. The good news is BYU settled in, adjusted, and atoned for their mistake at the end of the game, but all of it could have been avoided by embracing the moment rather than pretending it didn’t exist.

3. Legends were made

BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts celebrates a win over Utah
BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts celebrates a win over Utah / BYU Photo

I don’t really have a core takeaway here, but I just wanted to point out a few players who I think will now go down in the Holy Lore. Chase Roberts clutch diving catch on the game-winning drive. Keelan Marion's kickoff return for a touchdown. Marque Collins' and Jakob Robinsons’ lockdown coverage. 17 tackles from Glasker, Taggart, and Kelly. Retzlaff’s poise when the team needed him most. Martin and Ropati’s yards after contact to get BYU’s offense moving when nothing was working. Most of all, Will Ferrin’s confident smile before and after drilling a 44-yard, game-winning field goal that was never in doubt. This game makes legends, and we just watched a new generation be born.

4. A message to my Utah fan friends

There will be a narrative that BYU was handed the game by the referees. In the spirit of honesty, if I were a Utah fan, I would have been furious that holding penalty was called. The penalty didn’t decide the game, but a no call certainly would have ended it. I get it, but my fury would have been misplaced. Upon replay review, Phillips was clearly held coming out of his break. There is no argument against that. Utah did commit a penalty on that play. We can talk until we are blue in the face about whether officials should swallow their whistles in the final two minutes of close games, but that would be a horrible precedent to set. Utah fans should be angry that BYU was bailed out by a holding penalty, but their anger should be directed at the fact that the foul was committed, not that it was called. Anything less is shirking accountability, which probably has something to do with why Utah is currently riding their longest losing streak in eight years.

Why is focusing on the penalty the wrong move? Because it ignores the glaring issues that led to Utah's second half collapse. These include giving up 60 yards on three plays after the penalty, averaging 3.2 yards per play in the second half, and scoring zero points in three out of four quarters. At the end of the day, the athletic director can storm the field mid-play, call impromptu press conferences, and call the league office all he wants, but until Utah fixes those issues, the losses will continue to stack as high as their fines.

5. BYU punches back

BYU wide receiver Keelan Marion against Utah
BYU wide receiver Keelan Marion against Utah / BYU Photo

Following BYU’s lackluster win over Southern Utah last season, head coach DeLane Fitzgerald gave a quote that has stuck in my head ever since. “Our kids like football more,” he said, “The last two teams we have played [Arizona State and BYU] our team, our kids, our locker room like football more than the teams we are playing like football. We are going to, come hell or high water, play for three straight hours.” He was mocked by BYU fans for his statement, but as the season played out, I believe he was proven correct. This 2024 BYU team, though, loves playing football. Come hell or high water, this team will fight, scratch, and claw for every inch available so long as it leads to a win, and on Saturday, they loved football more than Utah did.

In the spirit of recently passed Halloween, BYU is the Michael Myers of college football. They are an unstoppable force that has destroyed all in their path, and most all, just refuses to die. They were dead with 1:30 left, needing a touchdown to beat Oklahoma State. They were dead down 11 at halftime at Utah. They were dead on 4th and 10 when Retzlaff got sandwiched at his own goal line, and yet they live. This BYU team is the most mentally tough team of my lifetime. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, and BYU found themselves on the canvas over and over against the Utes. But they got up, put their mouthpiece back in and kept on swinging. This team is doubted because they aren’t the most talented or play the prettiest style, but they are still undefeated because when they get punched in the mouth, they flash a Will Ferrin type grin, and punch back harder.

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Joe Wheat
JOE WHEAT

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