The BYU football season has come to a close. After a double OT loss to Oklahoma State, BYU finished 5-7, and unable to qualify for a bowl game. Its sad. No one likes not going to a bowl game and BYU really fought these last two weeks. When you lose your last two games by 7 and 6 points, with one of those in double OT, its heartbreaking. But it was a little too late in my opinion. BYU was 5-2 and lost 5 straight to end the season.

If BYU played like they did the last 2 weeks, the 2 weeks before, we probably would have come away with a win against West Virginia or Iowa State. But the season is over and it’s time to move on to next year and some other exciting BYU sports.

BYU vs Oklahoma State Game Recap

It almost pains me to write about this game. It was intense and so back and forth and BYU had MANY opportunities to win the game. BYU played a heck of a first half.

First Half

In the first half, Oklahoma State got a field goal on the first possession of the game, making it 3-0. BYU then fumbled on their first possession of the game on a failed option pitch by Retzlaff to Robbins and the Cowboys had the ball again. It was a disastrous start. Robbins wasnt ready for the ball and he should have been. BYU’s defense held the Cowboys again to a field goal, making it 6-0. After a couple of punts, one by each team, BYU scored a TD on a drive that consisted of only one pass play. BYU then tried an onside kick and BYU actually recovered, but it was called back because the Cougars were offsides.

After a turnover on downs by Oklahoma State and a punt by BYU, BYU got an INT TD to make the lead 14-6. The Cowboys punted and then BYU got the ball back and went right down the field again thanks to 2 big passing plays. One to Kody Epps for 25 yards and another to Keanu Hill for 50 yards. Keelan Marion ran it for anther Cougar TD making the score 21-6. BYU kicked a field goal with about 30 seconds left to make the score at halftime, 24-6. BYU had played probably their best half of football on the season. One early turnover, but after that very disciplined and very aggressive.

Second Half

I had to separate out the first half and second half because they were basically two different games. BYU punted to start the half and then Oklahoma State went straight down the field and scored a TD on their first possession in the second half, making it 24-13. BYU punted twice and Oklahoma State punted once and had an INT to give BYU the ball back. But BYU punted again.

BYU didnt change what they were doing from the first half, and while that is good since they had an 18 point lead, there needed to be adjustments made because the Cowboys were going to make adjustments.

The Cowboys scored again and converted their 2 point conversion, to make it 24-21. BYU punted, Oklahoma State punted, and then BYU punted again to give the Cowboys the ball back with 5 minutes left in the game.

BYU had a 4th and 1. Yes, it was on their own 35 yard line, but if BYU gets it, they could run the clock out for a while. Instead, they punted. Where have we seen this before? Oh yes, how about last week against Oklahoma. BYU didnt go for it on 4th and short and punted to Oklahoma with 5 minutes left where they went down the field and took the lead to win the game.

The Cowboys did the same thing. They go down and score a TD to give them the lead. But BYU BLOCKS the extra point to keep it a 3 point game. BYU has 53 seconds to go and get a field goal. BYU was finally aggressive in the second half, throwing it all over the field, with Epps playing a huge part, as they hit a 48 yard field goal to tie the game as time expires. FINALLY.

Overtime

BYU got the ball to start overtime and scored a TD on a run by Retzlaff. Oklahoma State then got the ball and they scored a TD on a run by Gordon.

Oklahoma State then started with the ball for the second OT and they scored a TD on another Gordon run. They didn’t get the two point conversion though, which you have to do every time you score starting in the second OT. BYU has a chance to win the game if they score and get the two point conversion. But they dont. A pass to Isaac Rex leads to a fumble and a recovery by Oklahoma State. The play was reviewed to see if Rex’s knee was down, and it was down, just on the defenders foot and not on the actual ground. The fumble stands and game is over.

Crushing. Isaac Rex was crying after the game. What a horrible way to end your collegiate football career.

Summary of BYU’s Season

BYU played great at the beginning of the season. They beat Arkansas and looked good. They were 5-2. But the Big 12 is grueling and had some bad losses. The most confusing losses to me, were TCU, Iowa State, and West Virginia. TCU and West Virginia were away games, but BYU was not ready in either of those games. The Iowa State game was at home and should have been won. BYU then turned it on in the last two weeks and almost beat the #14 team in the nation in Oklahoma and #20 team in the nation in Oklahoma State. That was a big step forward.

I predicted BYU to go 7-5 if all things went well, and most likely 6-6 if we had a rough season. I was a little off, but not too far. Next year will be better, I believe, as we welcome Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and the team thats red that no one cares about, and say goodbye to Oklahoma and Texas.

BYU Football Offseason

Two days after the season ended, two coaches have already been let go. OL coach, Darrell Funk, and TE coach, Steve Clark. Funk makes sense, BYUs offensive line was horrible this past year.

Clark is a little more confusing. He was great. Rex was a great TE and BYU also has 2 great TEs coming down the road in 4 star Jackson Bowers for 2023 and 4 star Ryner Swanson for 2024. From what I have read, Clark was a great recruiter. That makes sense since we have signed, in two straight years, 2 4 star TEs. He also was a great person and was part of the original coaching staff when Sitake was hired. Im a little more confused about this one but I trust that BYU knows what they are doing.

In other news, Jeff Grimes was let go by Baylor as the offensive coordinator. I think a reunion with BYU makes sense, but not as the offensive coordinator. I think he should be the OL/running backs coach and assistant coach and BYU throws a huge bag of money at him to make him come. But well see.

My checklist for BYU this off season is simple;

• Offensive line coach
• Defensive line help
• Get a QB to compete with Retzlaff

Basketball? Did Someone Say Basketball?

The football season is over and with it, it means that we can turn all of our focus to the basketball team. Well partly, we’ll still keep up with any football news. But we really should pay attention to basketball, because they were just rated the #19 team in the nation on Monday. How did they get here? Well they beat #17 San Diego State early in the season and then won the Vegas Showdown tournament over Thanksgiving after beating Arizona State and NC State, two teams that made the NCAA tournament last year.

This team is good and really fun to watch. You can just watch them and tell that they understand each other and have chemistry with each other. This team is 3rd!!! in the nation in assists per game with 21.7. That right there is chemistry and having a great system with great players who understand what they are doing. The Cougars are also insanely aggressive and really good on defense. They are 13th in the nation in opponent points per game and 5th in the nation in 3 point percentage defense at 22.5%. They are also 4th in the nation in rebounds per game at 47.33.

Game Previews

This team has heart. Their next game is this Friday against Fresno State at the Marriott Center. ESPN Analytics Matchup Predictor gives BYU a 88.3% chance to win and Fresno State a 11.7% chance. Fresno States best player is Isaiah Hill. He leads the team in points and assists. Fresno State is 3-3 on the season with some bad losses already but they do have some height and are long and lengthy. BYU then takes on Evansville on Tuesday at the Marriott Center. Evansville is 6-0, just like BYU, but are only given a 4% chance to win. Their leading scorer is Ben Humrichous, a good forward, whos pretty versatile. Both of those games will be on ESPN+.

Joe Lunardi Bracket Projections

With basketball being back, we also have bracket projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi back as well. He currently has BYU as an 8 seed going up against 9 seed Clemson in Salt Lake. Salt Lake is hosting the first and second rounds of March Madness this year, which if BYU can get in and go there, could be really fun.

BYU Women’s Soccer and Volleyball

I did want to save some space here to mention the women’s soccer and volleyball teams. The women’s soccer team had a recent game in the elite 8 against North Carolina. They were down 3-0 with about 15 minutes left. They went on to score 4 goals and win the game in regulation!! How crazy is that! BYU is going to the Women’s College Cup Final Four with Stanford, Florida State, and Clemson. BYU will play Stanford and Florida State will play Clemson. Both games will be on Friday with the BYU game starting at 6:30.

The women’s volleyball team just had their fate revealed for the NCAA tournament and they are a 4 seed going up against Weber State in the first round. They are in the same section of the bracket with 1 seed Stanford, 2 seed Texas, and 3 seed Tennessee. Their first game will also be Friday night at 7.

College Football News

Since Oklahoma State beat BYU, they are headed to the Big 12 championship game against Texas. That game will be on Saturday. This week is champ week for football as all of the conference champions will be crowned. The other P5 matchups are:

Pac 12: #5 Oregon vs #3 Washington

Big 12: #18 Oklahoma State vs #7 Texas

SEC: #1 Georgia vs #8 Alabama

Big Ten: #2 Michigan vs #16 Iowa

ACC: #14 Louisville vs #4 Florida State

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