LARAMIE, Wyoming — BYU’s last visit to War Memorial Stadium for the foreseeable future was a lot like many of the previous ones — not terribly pretty, but effective.
The Cougars struggled to run the football with consistency, were still shaky on third down and committed enough penalties on defense to keep them from getting their much-desired shutout.
But wins over Wyoming should never be taken for granted given how much emphasis the Cowboys put on the matchup, and so Saturday night’s 34-14 victory over the struggling Brown and Gold will suffice, with the realization that the schedule’s difficulty goes on steroids from here on out.
“Happy we are 3-0, and proud of the team. I thought the energy, effort, all the stuff that we want from our guys showed up,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
“It didn’t go perfectly, but there were some really good things to work on, some really good things to get better at. I feel like we got better from last week to this week, and am looking forward to making an improvement from this week to next.”
In front of 24,513 on the high plains of Laramie, BYU rolled to its 10th straight win over the Pokes (0-3), who have a gritty bunch but lack a reliable passer.
Snow College transfer Evan Svoboda was 14 of 32 for 140 yards and an interception, only really hurting the Cougars on the ground — which a lot of quarterbacks have done.
Cue up the Southern Illinois tape. And with Kansas State’s Avery Johnson rolling into town next weekend, watch out.
Speaking of reliable passers, BYU starting QB Jake Retzlaff was alternately hot and cold. He was picked off once, could have been intercepted a couple more times and was off-target on at least a half-dozen throws, particularly to senior receiver Darius Lassiter.
Lassiter caught a 20-yard TD pass in the second half, but there were times in the first that his body language suggested he was frustrated with Retzlaff’s inaccuracy.
But when Retzlaff was on, he was really, really on, and made plays with both his legs and his arm that kept the Cowboys at bay. The junior finished 22 of 36 for 291 yards and three touchdown passes for a passer rating of 175.6. He was also BYU’s leading rusher, with six carries for 62 yards.
That plays.
“We scored a good amount of points, got the win. It is hard to say today without watching the film and stuff (about his performance),” Retzlaff said.
“The guys around me made a lot of great plays for me, but yeah, I think we played good enough to get a good win. Defense played pretty good, too.”
Perhaps the most impressive stat was that the offense posted nine plays of 20-plus yards — explosive chunk plays — which more than made up for another lackluster outing on third down.
The Cougars were 2 of 11 on third down, and at one point were 0 for 16 on third down dating back to last week’s 18-15 win over SMU.
“You have to be really happy with the guys played on offense,” Sitake said. “Looking at the interception Jake threw, we all know why it was an interception — it was under thrown.
“He can make better throws, and we challenged him to do that. We do not want him to feel shy about playing the game of football, and playing quarterback. Interceptions happen sometimes. We want him to keep being aggressive.”
Retzlaff was also fearless running the ball. He carried the rushing attack in the absence of the 1-2 punch of LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, running backs who were dinged up in the SMU game and stayed in Provo.
With Retzlaff’s running perhaps creating the illusion that BYU will be just fine without Martin, it should be noted that BYU averaged 5 yards a carry; Freshman Pokaiaua Haunga was the most effective, picking up 35 yards on five totes.
Sitake said RB4 Enoch Nawahine was “a little bit banged up,” which is why Sione Moa and Haunga got the carries after RB3 Miles Davis, who had a rough night (8 carries, 15 yards).
“Credit to Wyoming, man. They wanted to stop the run. They did some pressures and movement up front. They made it difficult, but we wanted to establish a presence on the front on both sides of the ball,” Sitake said.
“I am glad we were able to do that and get some tough yards, especially at the end. To finish the game on offense (in victory formation) is what we wanted to do.”
That said, there was at least one Cougar who wanted more. Chase Roberts had six catches for 129 yards, including a highlight-reel grab on a trick play, which BYU calls “specials.”
“I think we should have beat this team by 60, 60 to zero,” Roberts said. “But as we go forward and fix those mistakes, and play clean, then we are going to beat a lot of teams this year.”
The Cougars finished with 458 yards, the Cowboys only 217, while running only two fewer plays (67-65).
Retzlaff was never sacked, and barely touched, so give a game ball to the offensive line — despite some uncharacteristic holding penalties that stalled drives, and one that cost Sione I. Moa his first touchdown as a Cougar.
Kudos, too, to BYU’s special teams and particularly Keelan Marion. The speedster who transferred from Connecticut returned the second half kickoff for a 102-yard touchdown, BYU’s first kickoff return TD in 10 years (Adam Hine, 2014 vs. Virginia) and first kickoff return for a TD on the road in 26 years.
“First half, I read the kick wrong (and returned it to the 16), so the guys were on me, coaches were on me. I was kinda beat up about it. Went to halftime, coach Kalani looked me in the face and was like, ‘Kee, just trust it and hit it.’
“The guys saw I was down on myself and gave me that spirit and lifted me and trusted me to hit it.”
And that he did, lifting BYU to a 24-7 lead and breaking the Cowboys’ backs.
“I actually was shocked myself. I didn’t know how to celebrate. I just hugged the guys,” Marion said.
Aside from a penalty-aided 75-yard Wyoming touchdown drive, BYU pretty much dominated the first half — but had just a 17-7 lead to show for it.
Retzlaff underthrew Kody Epps on first-and-10 from the Wyoming 23 on BYU’s first possession, and Wrook Brown picked off the pass at the 1.
It was Retzlaff’s third interception this season, sixth in his career in seven starts.
Wyoming picked up just one first down on its first four possessions, then answered finally after BYU had taken a 14-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Epps. BYU’s first TD came easily, a nifty play call to Keanu Hill over the middle for a 20-yard score.
The Cougars moved the ball to thwart Wyoming just before halftime, but the drive stalled when Retzlaff made two errant throws and BYU settled for a 49-yard field goal by Will Ferrin.
Retzlaff was almost picked off a couple more times in the first half — one was an absolute drop — but finished the first half with decent numbers: 17 of 27 for 197 yards and two TDs, with the one pick at the goal line.
Jay Hill’s defense performed admirably again, but forced just one turnover — the first ever interception for walk-on Evan Johnson.
In the fourth quarter, the Pokes drove 76 yards in 12 plays against a combination of second- and third-teamers for their final TD.
“We are not satisfied. We know we have to keep working, but we are definitely going to celebrate because that was a hard game, and a tough week of prep,” Sitake said. “Proud of our leaders, proud of our coaches. Looking forward to the next one.”
The Cougars (3-0) play host to No. 14 Kansas State (3-0) on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
