BYU football seizes UCF's home field as the Cougars win in the Bounce House

Upset alert! The 2.5-point underdog BYU Cougars put their unbeaten streak on the line in a meeting with UCF this Saturday and left Orlando with a double-digit win. Contain your excitement, the Cougars did the impossible today.

Sorry, Lee Corso, but your infinite distaste for BYU football once again turned out unfruitful. Better luck next week, when you'll likely project a bye-week loss for Kalani and Co.

But in all seriousness, the way BYU controlled this matchup from start to finish was impressive, especially one week removed from a close shave with the Oklahoma State Cowboys running attack led by Ollie Gordon. The final score read 37-24 in this Big 12 clash, with the Knights scoring 14 points in the final frame to bring the deficit within 13 at the game's close.

RJ Harvey is one of the nation's best running backs, but he was largely bottled up in this game, despite running up 127 yards on the ground. Most of his damage was done in the first half, with a 50+ touchdown run giving many Cougar fans war flashbacks of the previous week's effort. But the BYU defense held strong and looked far more prepared in this one.

BYU won the turnover battle, which was a major key to this victory. Taking care of the football was a point of emphasis this week during pre-game preparation, and Jake Retzlaff avoided throwing an interception all game. 228 yards for 2 scores on the day describes Jake's afternoon well, and his lead set the tone for the Cougars throughout the game.

After jumping out to an early 17-0 lead, which included an 8+ minute drive that finished with a field goal. The running game and passing game worked in tandem to assemble a beautiful symphony of football euphoria. Speaking of a terrific running game, LJ Martin put on a great display in this one, finishing with 101 yards and 1 TD on only 15 carries.

Even as the Knights responded with 10 points of their own, the Cougars remained unshaken as a Chase Roberts TD separated these teams by 14 points at halftime.

BYU led by a total of 34-10 at one point in this matchup--a 24-point deficit that would eventually match UCF's final score. The second half was much more muted than what we saw in the first--not many fireworks to remember this one by, aside from a David Tyree-inspired helmet grab by Chase Roberts.

BYU handled business against UCF. Though the BYU fans in attendance showed up in a big way for their team, this was a road game, and to completely take control of a hostile environment like the bounce house is a big deal. This is a tough UCF team--just ask Iowa State--but in a game the Cougars needed to win, they rose to the challenge.

8-0 feels great.

You can watch the game highlights here:

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