BYU football is still undefeated. The Cougars forced four turnovers that turned into seventeen Cougar points on Saturday. BYU fell behind early, with scoring gaps of 7-17 and 10-24 flashing on the scoreboard, but rebounded after a Logan Latui interception set up a BYU field goal. The difference in this game was those four turnovers, and BYU made every single one count. The game's turning point was a Faletau Satuala pick-six in the fourth quarter.
Iowa State started the game on fire, with a one-play, 75-yard drive, featuring a deep ball from quarterback Rocco Becht to Brett Eskildsen. BYU responded with a four-yard LJ Martin touchdown run. Martin would later come out injured, BYU held Iowa State to a field goal, and then the offense went nowhere, resulting in a punt. Iowa State scored another touchdown and led 17-7 after the first quarter.
BYU punted to start the second quarter. Iowa State began driving again, but all was not well for the Cyclones. BYU would get an interception, and they drove it down the field well. Penalties would stall the drive, and BYU would have to settle for a field goal. The two teams would trade touchdowns, and the half would end 24-17 at halftime in favor of the Cyclones.
BYU would look to tie the game coming out of halftime, but more penalties mixed with drops would force the Cougars to settle for a field goal. BYU forced Iowa State to punt for the first time, and BYU would convert on fourth down and one before scoring a touchdown to take the lead. On the ensuing Cyclone drive, they would kick a field goal to tie the game.
The third quarter would end with BYU recovering a fumble on a punt after Iowa State, after it was kicked before the play was dead. BYU would take advantage of the short field with a pass to Kingston for a one-yard touchdown. On the next Iowa State drive, Faletau Satuala took the pass out of the hands of an Iowa State receiver and returned it for a touchdown.
Iowa State would try to get back into the game, but Iowa State would turn it over on downs. BYU punted it away, and Iowa State started driving again. It looked like Iowa State had a touchdown, but a holding call was made, erasing the score. BYU would sack Becht and then intercept him for a third time to seal the deal. The final score read 41-27 for Kalani Sitake and the Cougars.
BYU is still undefeated. This team is good, and might be better than last year's team. The Cougars avoided any hangover from the Utah game and proved themselves again. It wasn't pretty, but the Cougars made it count with points off turnovers, and the defense came through yet again. BYU should be happy, and they will take what they learned and build on it next week at Texas Tech.