You couldn't have asked for a better football game to pair with a SpaceX rocket launch. BYU provided excitement on the field and the rocket launch was the perfect compliment. Jake Retzlaff threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, completing 16/24 of his passes. Retzlaff also scored a touchdown with his legs. BYU forced two turnovers and held UCF to 181 rushing yards.
With a final score of 37-24, BYU dominated on both sides of the ball, a stark contrast to last week's two-minute miracle. This week's game was easier to watch and easier on the hearts of Cougar Nation. The defense looked solid against a strong UCF run game. BYU's offense played strong, scoring 17 straight points that the Knights could never come back from.
BYU vs UCF Game Recap
BYU started with the football on their own 25, slowly gaining ground before a 29-yard Retzlaff run opened the scoring. BYU would then force UCF to punt and convert on two fourth downs, including a successful fake field goal where Will Ferrin chose to run the ball instead of throwing to a wide-open player downfield. BYU would then settle for a field goal to make it 10-0.
UCF would then punt again and BYU would put together a long drive, aided by a defensive pass interference penalty. The drive would end with a 15-yard touchdown run by LJ Martin, extending the lead to 17-0. UCF would answer with a 4-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to make it a two-score game. BYU would then punt the ball for the first time, allowing a long UCF drive that ended with a field goal.
The score would be 17-10, with the momentum in favor of the Knights. BYU would get the ball and quickly found themselves with a third and eight. Retzlaff came under pressure and found Chase Roberts for a 62-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14.
UCF would start the second half with the ball, punting after going three-and-out. BYU would lead a 10-play, 72-yard drive ending with a play-action touchdown on the one-yard line to make the score 31-10. On UCF's next drive, senior running back RJ Harvey would rush for 4 yards before a miscommunication between Harvey and sophomore quarterback Jacurri Brown on a handoff. This error would lead to a fumble that was quickly recovered by Harvey. On the next play, Brown would throw an interception with a heads-up play by Isaiah Glasker.
The turnover would result in a 37-yard field goal to make the score 34-10. UCF would then punt and recover a Jake Retzlaff fumble before throwing an interception. BYU would then punt and give up a 4-play 60-yard drive that resulted in a 5-yard Harvey touchdown run. to make it 34-18 with fourth-string quarterback Dylan Rizk.
BYU would answer with an 11-play drive that would take 6:04 off the clock. It ended with a 36-yard Will Ferrin field goal. At this point, the stadium was 90% BYU fans, making it feel more like a BYU home game. With the game out of reach, UCF would score a 29-yard touchdown to close the gap. The Knights would then fail an onside kick attempt and BYU would take a knee. UCF would call a timeout, confusing everyone. After the timeout, BYU would kneel the game away, winning 37-24.
Post-Game notes for the Cougars
BYU played a solid game on both sides of the ball. making big plays offensively while limiting the big plays on defense. BYU controlled the game for 60 minutes and held one of the most dangerous rushing offenses under 200 rushing yards. The offense scored on all but two drives, scoring four touchdowns and being perfect on kicking.
BYU's biggest struggle was penalties, committing 8 penalties for 50 yards. BYU jumped offside several times, giving UCF an advantage several times. If BYU can clean up the penalties, stay disciplined, and not get too jumpy on defense, they could be a real contender in November and even the postseason. The Cougars gave up too much yardage off penalties and cannot afford to give up that many yards again this season, especially if they want to win the Big 12.