After incurring a somewhat shocking 14-0 deficit to begin the game, the Cougars rolled, scoring 31 straight points while reminding viewers of the team that has managed a remarkable 11-1 mark on the season with Saturday’s win. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier directed clock-chewing touchdown drives, aided considerably by his backfield cohort LJ Martin, the defense largely shut down most everything thrown at it while the special teams again produced some stand out moments, most notably Parker Kingston’s 55-yard punt return midway through the third quarter.

In summary, what unfolded was BYU’s brand of complementary football that has proved so successful this season. It wasn’t necessarily overwhelming, but it was constant and direct, the same way it’s been throughout the season.

“It was a nice response from the team and we made some cool things happen,” commented BYU Coach Kalani Sitake. “I’m happy for the seniors, more than anything, and I’m happy that we got the win for them…and we really want to use this momentum into next week…The next best thing to being 12-0 is 11-1, and that’s what we are.”

Overall BYU outgained UCF 407 yards to 297 with the Knights accumulating 169 yards through the final three quarters after leading off with two long touchdown drives in succession to deal the Cougars a 14-o hole from the start.

Was it the early start, or perhaps the team resting on already having clinched a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game the night before by virtue of Arizona defeating Arizona State?

“We’re all human, and we’ve obviously never been in this position before,” Sitake said. “…I don’t think it was complacency. We made some mistakes, but (UCF Coach) Scott (Frost) put us in some difficult positions and you can’t think you’re going to just score on every possession on offense.”

For the players, it’s a position that’s not unfamiliar, regardless of the unique circumstance of Saturday’s game.

“We weren’t really worried,” said BYU cornerback Evan Johnson. “We trust in our defense a lot, along with the coaches and the gameplan…We’ve been down before, so it’s not like something we’re not used to. I mean, I wish we weren’t used to it, but that’s something we knew we could come back from.”

It was Johnson himself that provided perhaps the play that started to swing things back BYU’s direction when he picked off a pass early in the second quarter for his team’s first defensive stop of the afternoon. Other players followed suit, including senior linebacker Jack Kelly, who contributed two sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss to lead the defensive effort.

“It was a great game,” Kelly said. “It was a great game for the offense, defense and special teams. It was a great team win and I think we all did our job to get the outcome we wanted.”

On the offensive side Bachmeier settled down after a bit of a rough start to finish his afternoon with 21-25 passing for 289 yards and a touchdown. He did as much without the services of top receiver Chase Roberts, who sat out the game to rest a hamstring injury he sustained during last Saturday’s win over Cincinnati.

Stepping up considerably, much as he has for most of the season, we Kingston, who led all receivers with six receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.

“He (plays) a pivotal role in our offense,” Bachmeier said. “Parker’s a dude.”

Mashing his way to 95 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries was Martin, who again seemed to fall forward more often than not while proving stronger as the game wore on.

All in all it wound up to be a familiar performance from everyone involved with fans likely leaving LaVell Edwards Stadium impressed with the overall effort and result. But whether or not the College Football Playoff Committee shared the same impression is another story, with the Cougars likely to retain their No. 11 ranking come Tuesday’s ranking release release, which will leave them as the last team out of the 12-team playoff due to the automatic bids reserved for the ACC Conference champion and the top-ranked G5 team.

So on to Arlington, where the good news is that BYU still has its own destiny in hand. A win against Texas Tech, and it doesn’t matter one wit what the committee determines, although pulling off that win should prove a monumental task against a Red Raider team that rolled over West Virginia 49-0 on Saturday.

“I’m excited to play in the conference championship and everything else,” Sitake said. “…We’re looking forward to the rematch (with Texas Tech) and I know that (Texas Tech Coach) Joey McGuire is going to have his team ready and we have to make sure we use all the time from now until the game next week to prepare. We’re really excited to be in this position.”

The Cougars will travel to take on Texas Tech this coming Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the Big 12 Conference Championship game.