Turnovers Among Questions Answered As No. 19 BYU Defeats Houston
Dec 1, 2024, 12:10 AM
PROVO, Utah – The No. 19 BYU football team finished out their regular season with a win against the Houston Cougars.
It’s the 19th time in program history that they won at least 10 games in a season.
Let’s answer some questions from the 4th victory in the series against the Cougars.
Who was the MVP for BYU football?
In his final game under the lights in Provo, senior defensive end Tyler Batty was sensational. He’s my choice for MVP.
BYU’s offense had good moments, but it was ultimately the defense, anchored by Batty, that led the Cougars to their 10th win.
They forced four turnovers and kept Houston under 100 yards rushing.
Batty pulled down his second career interception in the first quarter. Houston tried a tick play, but Batty and the BYU defense snuffed it out.
Senior Day for #BYU standouts Tyler Batty and Connor Pay.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/sZcir5bEHH
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 1, 2024
He finished with nine tackles, two quarterback hurries, and 1.5 tackles for loss.
The senior captain will be sorely missed next season. His leadership was on display all season long.
In a losing effort, his halftime speech against Arizona State displayed his leadership abililties. It helped spark a huge comeback. Unfortunately, they came up a few yards short in that game and a few plays short of a conference title game appearance.
What was the most impactful play of the game?
The two minute offense for BYU football continues to yield positive results.
After narrowly missing Darius Lassiter on a long ball attempt, quarterback Jake Retzlaff found Chase Roberts streaking down the middle of the field with 30 seconds left in the first half.
It was a critical 52 yard completion to Roberts. He was honored pre-game during the senior night festivities with one year of eligibility remaining.
BYU’s offense has struggled to generate explosive plays the final month of the season. The long ball pass to Roberts was sorely needed.
Two minute offense results in Jake Retzlaff TD run.
The Cougars finally connected on an explosive play that set up the score. #BYU #BYUFootball
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) December 1, 2024
Retzlaff scored a touchdown on a quarterback draw two plays later. That touchdown gave BYU some breathing room heading into halftime.
What was the most interesting stat from the game?
The final score in this game could have been larger in favor of BYU.
BYU committed three turnovers, which helped the Houston Cougars hang around.
Two of the BYU turnovers were committed on the Houston side of the field. Fortunately, those turnovers didn’t result in any points scored for Houston.
The Cougars in red committed four turnovers of their own, with two of them coming in the final stages of the fourth quarter.
When was the game won for BYU football?
BYU had multiple chances to put this game away in the third quarter.
Facing a fourth down late in the game, Houston needed to convert to keep their chances of springing an upset alive.
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill dialed up a perfectly timed blitz and Jack Kelly forced at timely fumble.
LB Jack Kelly with the sack and forced fumble. 5th sack for Kelly this year and second forced fumble. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) December 1, 2024
Senior defensive tackle Blake Mangelson ended up recovering the football.
It was a fitting finish for the Cougar defense. They’ve made timely plays all season long. When BYU needed a play made, the defense was the group coming through consistently in 2024.
A 10 win season is a great achievement. However, the sting of missing out on the Big 12 championship game is going to last for a long time.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
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