It's been well-covered at this point that no one expects BYU football to be any good. From top to bottom, every unit on both offense and defense is expected to be subpar for the Big 12 Conference, and very little discourse has been shared as to why BYU may outperform preseason expectations.
Until now.
As the Cougars handled business against FCS foe, Southern Illinois, the ESPN broadcast showed a picture of BYU's newly-named starting quarterback holding up a list ranking the 16 Big 12 quarterbacks, listing himself as the worst player in the bunch.
Jake Retzlaff holding up the PFF rankings that have him as the worst starting QB in the Big 12 https://t.co/SHmC7qDwI2 pic.twitter.com/geihKnR8sF
— Robby McCombs (@rtmccombs) September 1, 2024
But for anyone who ignored the preseason noise, you would have never known the QB1 who took the field wasn't on anyone's watch lists.
Completing 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 348 yards and a trio of TDs, Retzlaff was far from a liability under center--he looked terrific. Though his accuracy on the move can be suspect at times, he threw a few darts to his receivers from the pocket. He regularly targeted Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, and JoJo Phillips, including this long bomb on a perfectly placed fly route.
LET IT FLY @jretz11!!
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 1, 2024
📺: https://t.co/zDOxM9A89H pic.twitter.com/Pgc2y0DEU0
With leading receiver Darius Lassiter returning from injury for Friday's matchup with SMU (and hopefully a few more targets for Senior wide-out Keanu Hill), the Cougars' foe should be concerned about BYU's passing game.
Concern for BYU's passing game wasn't on anyone's radar before the season began, but if Retzlaff can sling it like he did against SIU, there will be no room for doubt. The worst quarterback in the Big 12 was a premature prediction, and Retzlaff is making his statement as QB1 for BYU.
Let a naysayer know, Jake!