Bruised, battered and beset by injuries to key players — on top of a furious onslaught out of the gate from the Cyclones, who used their two weeks of preparation diligently — none of it ultimately mattered to a Cougar football team that continues to find their way, no matter what.

“We’re never out of it. We battle back and we win games,” explained Cougar receiver Chase Roberts with a great degree of confidence during postgame interviews. “That’s what we do, and that’s what we’ve done for the past two years. We just win football games, and that’s what we’re going to do moving forward. We’re resilient. We’re never out of it, and (opposing) teams know that. So you can’t blink an eye when you’re playing BYU.”

Down 24-10 early, the Cougars put forth a remarkable 31-3 run to end the game and improve their record to a perfect 8-0 on the season.

Leading off the run was Parker Kingston hauling in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bear Bachmeier with safety Faletau Satuala topping it off in grand style, picking off a pass and returning it 40 yards early in the fourth quarter in what proved to be the final score of the night. In between all of it were key turnovers made, critical conversions accomplished and an all-around team effort employed that has come to define BYU’s season thus far.

“Overall it took all three phases,” said BYU Coach Kalani Sitake. “I think overall poise that our leaders had, and the poise that our coaches had was awesome. It took all three phases for us to fight back into this, and I’m really happy about the end result. I’m really happy about the second half, to be honest with you. Looking how we turned that around…I felt we were in control of the momentum and the tempo.”

BYU had little to no control over the course of play for roughly the game’s first 25 minutes of play, as it were.

Buoyed up perhaps by some solid scouting afforded by its full two weeks to prepare, Iowa State set the tone early. The very first play from scrimmage saw Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht take advantage of Satuala biting too hard on a double-move to hit a streaking Brett Eskildsen for a 75-yard touchdown strike.

Sure, the Cougars responded immediately with a 4-yard touchdown run from LJ Martin, but the Cyclones proved to be in almost full control up until Parker’s aforementioned touchdown to cut the lead to 24-17 at the half. The Cougar defensive front was being gashed for big chunks of yardage, Becht continued to make key plays and the Cyclone defense appeared to have a jump on whatever BYU’s offense presented.

Compounding issues considerably, were Martin leaving the game due to injury on top of a loss to starting middle linebacker Siale Esera for the same reason. Both players entered the injury tent during the second quarter and were soon announced as out for the remainder of play.

“We didn’t panic,” Kingston said. “We have to step up. (It means) the ball is going to be coming to us, and as a receiver you love when the ball is going to come to you more. So when we saw (Martin go out) we said it’s our time. We’ve got to step up big and help this team when, and I think that’s what we did.”

The numbers certainly confirm what Kingston asserted. For Kingston, he contributed seven receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns to pair nicely with Roberts’ eight grabs for 128 yards.

Engineering all of it was again quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who again looked composed beyond his years in contributing 22-35 passing for 307 yards, and perhaps most importantly, no interceptions. He also managed 49 yards rushing and a 9-yard touchdown run toward the end of the third quarter which gave BYU its first lead at 27-24.

“That guy is just a competitor. He’s a winner. He’s someone who I put my full trust in,” observed BYU defensive lineman Logan Lutui of Bachmeier while readily creditng the offense for mounting the comeback effort. “He’s the right man to head this team, and no matter how young he is, he is someone who always steps up to the occasion.”

Lutui stepped up himself in big moments, much like he has all season. The senior was used a lot more in coverage than normal, and responded by making a key interception to halt a first half drive from the Cyclones.

Accompanying Lutui on the postgame interview podium was Satuala, who completely owned his coverage gaffe that opened up the game, which he redeemed with a team-high 10 tackles and his aforementioned pick-6 that proved the final score of the game.

“That last score…I think I had to make up (my mistake) a little bit,” Satuala said. “All my teammates and coaches were encouraging me through the whole game to keep my head up and tell me that I could make more plays, and that the game wasn’t over. So it was really cool to have everyone rally around me.”

Standing out on special teams was the punt coverage unit, with Mory Bamba pouncing on a ball that glanced off the leg of a Colorado player who was engaged in blocking Kevin Doe. The turnover set up BYU at Iowa State’s 33 yardline, and two plays later Bachmeier hit Kingston with a 27-yard touchdown pass to give the Cougars a 34-27 lead.

“This was a team effort,” Sitake concluded. “I just love that all the guys are unselfish and they know that it’s going to take more than 11 guys…It’s going to take some depth and some guys filling in for them and I think whenever the opportunity (is there) that these guys make plays.”

With the win BYU is now in prime position to control its own destiny, but it won’t be easy. Next up for the Cougars is a trip to take on Texas Tech in two weeks in what will likely prove their biggest challenge to date, and particularly when considering Martin’s injury status is uncertain. But using recent history as a guide, don’t be surprised if the Cougars prove equal to the challenge the Red Raiders are sure to present, on top of whatever challenges the rest of the season holds in store.