BYU football dominates the second half against Arizona to extend winning streak

BYU football finished strong in its Big 12 Conference season opener against Arizona on Saturday, turning a 3-point halftime deficit into a controlling victory with a final score of 28-17.

Don't take the scoreboard at face value (unless you're an AP voter, of course), because this year's edition of the BYU Cougars vs. the Arizona Wildcats was not as one-sided as the point totals would suggest.

After one half of football, BYU was on the back foot, stumbling and struggling to maintain control against an efficient and effective Arizona attack. In the second half, the Cougars allowed zero points and piled on helping after helping of offensive gashes upon their visitors, making a statement to the rest of the league that this year's team has the same stuff that made last year's squad so frightening.

BYU football gets off to a slow start.

Two years ago, a ranked BYU football team gave up an opening drive touchdown to Noah Fifita and the visiting Wildcats before ultimately pulling ahead in a pile-driving 41-19 final.

On Saturday, the Cougars again conceded a confidence-building opening sequence to Fifita and Arizona in a 12-play, 75-yard drive that capped with 7 points.

Kalani Sitake continued to serve as a generous host by quickly punting the ball away on the following drive, blankeding the crowd in a shroud of cautious anxiety that this year's contest wouldn't be quite so one-sided.

Then Cade Uluave grabbed a third-down interception.

Helped by a holding penalty, the Cougars forced a third-and-long scenario and stuffed the line with linebackers and linemen alike in an all-out blitz look that developed late into a drop-back to cover the flat. It worked to perfection, putting a rusher in the facemask of Noah Fifita, whose panic heave found Uluave, a crouching tiger who pounced at the errant pass and scurried inside the 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Bear Bachmeier stretched the ball past the plain of the endzone to even up the score at 7.

But BYU was far from out of the woods, because Fifita and the Arizona offense continued marching on the following drive. The Wildcats pushed deep into BYU territory once again and recaptured teh lead in the final minute of the first quarter, 10-7.

Arizona looked poised on offense. Confident. And with Fifita's passing efficiency at 11-15 for 94 yards at the end of the first quarter, it was clear that BYU's defense would have to stiffen up against an experienced arm.

Bachmeier's comparatively inexperienced arm pushed the Cougars out in front on the very next drive, however, thanks to a Legend Glasker bubble screen look that was misdirected to a Reggie Frischknect slant. Glasker's gravity inhaled three Wildcat defenders and left number 18 wide open with a head full of steam for his first career touchdown.

But BYU's defense returned to its first-quarter self in the Wildcats' final drive of the second quarter, as the Wildcats marched 72 yards in a comfortable series that allowed Fifita to pick apart the secondary through the air, and take advantage of the cushion the defense allowed on the ground.

Fifita's legs were especially effective, as it seemed every BYU stop was smoothed over by a quarterback scramble. That ease gave the visitors the lead once again, as Fifita's scoring pass slipped right through Keanu Tanuvasa's arm into the hands of a wide-open receiver.

Bear Bachmeier struggled through the first half, especially when compared to his competition. Arizona nearly doubled BYU's total plays run and yards through the first 30 minutes. A big difference from the stout defense Sitake's team had grown accustomed to under Jay Hill, Poppinga's unit still has yet to mesh as many expected -- incredibly frustrating to see for a veteran side that looked much stronger a year ago.

And they came out of the halftime break like they knew it.

Getting right back to what makes this team so dangerous, BYU ducked their head down and ran the dang football, with LJ Martin and Bear Bachmeier powering through the Arizona front reliably. In complementary fashion, Bachmeier's pocket eased up considerably and allowed him to accurately find his receivers play after play.

He finished the drive with a strike to Kasper, who found a soft spot in the end zone and recaptured the lead, 21-17.

The opening drive was a tone-setting sequence for a BYU team that had been outdone in front of their home fans for the opening half, and a carrier pigeon to the Arizona sideline that the Cougars weren't going away.

The defense followed suit on the following Arizona drive, holding the line thanks in large part to, well, the Wildcats repeatedly holding the defensive line. For just the second time in the game, BYU forced a punt from Arizona in a confidence-boosting series.

The following drive had nearly as many penalties as it did plays. Delay of game, holding, false start, illegal substitution, and yet another holding call stalled the BYU offense at the shore of their own end zone, which is a shame, especially with the final play of the drive -- a 25-yard completion to Walker Lyons -- being called back for a holding call that Robert Griffin III called "a great acting job by the defensive lineman".

Even with a short field, the Cougars stayed strong on the following drive, as cornerback Jayven Williams made two huge stops with a pass breakup and an open-field tackle in which he powered through his assigned blocker to wrangle the ball carrier.

Back and forth, it was a defensive struggle between the two sides.

For a moment midway through the fourth quarter, a questionable pass interference and a 3rd-and-12 conversion gave Noah Fifita and the Wildcats life as they pushed near the red zone. But the 'Cats were stuffed on 4th down (after a video review overturned the incorrect call made on the field) and BYU took over.

Just a few plays later, Bachmeier finally found freshman sensation Legend Glasker down the field, dropping a perfect delivery as the speedster slipped past one-on-one coverage and stretched the counterattack within the 10-yard line.

Kyler Kasper's slant route into the endzone was inevitable, and the Cougars finally found some breathing room, 28-17.

Either Brent Brennan's team was rattled by the atmosphere or the Cougars were energized by it, because the following drive turned three-and-out thanks to a Keanu Tanuvasa sack and a wide receiver getting his fillings -- and the football -- knocked loose by Cannon DeVries. Right on the line of a reception and a fumble, the Wildcats were fortunate that DeVries' hit and Uluave's subsequent scoop-and-score were ruled an incompletion, or else the game would have essentially been over then and there.

BYU put the ball in the hands of their two-headed dragon, Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin, putting a lid on the game by jamming the football down their throats. Shoving the line of scrimmage inside the five-yard line, Bachmeier kneeled the football and closed out what was a dominant response to Arizona's surprising 17-14 opener.

"We just wanted to play out game and get more physical, so that's what we did," Bear Bachmeier said at the end of the broadcast. He finished with four total touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Indeed they did. BYU didn't turn the ball over in their first taste of Power Four competition, keeping the game within their control by limiting mistakes and playing how they performed best.

LJ Martin probably should have gotten more touches in the first half, but he finished with 20 carries for 98 yards, powering through single-tacklers all along the way.

It was a time of possession battle, and BYU controlled the clock when it mattered most.

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