“Big-Game Bill”: Will Ferrin’s last-second field goal gives No. 9 BYU football dramatic comeback win at Utah
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- BYU place kicker Will Ferrin (44) kicks a game-winning field goal in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Utah, just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
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- BYU offensive lineman Trevin Ostler (74) celebrates after beating Utah in an NCAA college football game, just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
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- BYU running back Hinckley Ropati leaps over Utah safety Nate Ritchie in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
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- BYU running back Sione I. Moa carries the ball against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) pitches the ball to a running back against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Parker Kingston catches a punt against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Jake Retzlaff throws a pass against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- Utah’s Brant Kuithe (80) carries the ball near the goal line against BYU in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Crew Wakely brings down a Utah receiver in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Keelan Marion (17) returns a kickoff for a touchdown against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU running back LJ Martin carries the ball against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Tyler Batty (92) chases Utah running back Micah Bernard in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Tyler Batty (92) chases Utah running back Micah Bernard in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is brought down by Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s LJ Martin carries the ball against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Jake Retzlaff (12) throws a pass against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- Utah’s Micah Bernard (2) is tackled by the BYU defense in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- Utah fans react during a college football game against BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU running back Hinckley Ropati (7) leaps over a Utah defender in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker (16) tackles Utah quarterback Brandon Rose in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU linebacker Jack Kelly (17) tackles Utah running back Micah Bernard in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU head coach Kalani Sitake talks to officials in a college football game against Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) fumbles the ball after getting tackled by a Utah defender in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s Chase Roberts catches the ball against Utah in a college football game Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- BYU’s LJ Martin carries the ball against Utah in a college football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
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- Officials at the BYU-Utah football game check a replay at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
“Big-Game Bill.”
That’s what BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff called Cougar junior kicker Will Ferrin during the postgame press conference after BYU’s wild 22-21 win over rival Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
With the final seconds ticking inexorably off the clock and the Cougars trailing by two, Ferrin and the BYU field-goal unit trotted onto the field for the biggest kick of the season.
Make it and the magical undefeated season would continue.
Miss and it would be the Utes who would be celebrating their biggest win of the year.
“It was time for ‘Big-Game Bill’ to go out there and put it through the uprights,” Retzlaff said.
Ferrin and the Cougars lined up, while the Utah defense prepared to do anything possible to prevent the kick from going in.
As both teams waited for the game-deciding play, a 44-yard attempt by BYU’s No. 44, time seemed to stop.
It was a frozen moment, a chance to recall everything that had happened to get to that point.
Just seconds before, the Cougars had chosen to run the clock and put the outcome of the game on Ferrin’s shoulders.
“We just felt really good about running the ball, have the clock run and have them just sit up there and kick,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “Cougar special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga has worked on that situation so many times, so nothing was brand new to us. It was something that these guys have done over and over again.”
Poppinga wanted to put the ball in the best position for Ferrin, so he approached his kicker to get his insight.
“I asked Will on the play previous where he wanted the ball,” Poppinga posted on his @CoachPopp account on X (formerly Twitter). “He said with a big smile ‘it doesn’t matter where it is it’s going in.’ ICE IN THE VEINS! #GoCougs.”
But BYU wouldn’t have been there at all if not for getting three consecutive first downs and gaining 56 yards in the process.
A fantastic diving grab by Cougar junior wide receiver Chase Roberts on a pass from Retzlaff gained 30 yards, which was followed by a 13-yard pickup on a quick out to senior Darius Lassiter. Then BYU senior running back Hinckley Ropati put BYU well within Ferrin’s range with a 13-yard run that got the ball to the Utah 25-yard line before Ropati was upended.
Throughout all that, Ferrin was waiting to be called on.
“I take a lot of pride in is having a neutral mindset where doesn’t matter if we’re running the offense out of the end zone, or whether there’s 10 minutes left in the game, or if we’re going on to hit a game-winning field goal,” Ferrin said. “Staying neutral, not getting too high or too low on situations as a kicker, is crucial. For me, it’s just whenever they tell me to go out there and kick the ball, I’ll go out there and kick the ball. It’s a pretty simple life, so I love it.”
Ute players, coaches and fans will likely say Ferrin never should’ve had a chance at all because of the sequence of events that started the drive.
The Cougars were pinned at the Utah 9-yard line and Utah’s defense forced Retzlaff into three incompletions, resulting in a fourth-and-10 with the game on the line.
As the play developed, Ute defenders collapsed the pocket and brought Retzlaff to the ground inside the 1-yard line. They started to celebrate with the home fans, only to have to regroup as a 10-yard defensive-holding penalty (one that was visible on multiple replays) gave BYU new life.
“We love the two-minute drill,” Retzlaff said. “When my back was in the end zone after going down, it wasn’t a good feeling. Looking up and seeing that we had new life, the guys are confident in the two-minute drill. That first first down is the catalyst, and so that is a key thing to get. Once we got it, however, we get it, we started rolling. So it was fun.”
Utah’s perspective, however, was summed up by Ute athletic director Mark Harlan who made an unexpected appearance at the Utah postgame press conference.
“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. I’m very disappointed. I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”
On Sunday, Big 12 announced Harlan had been fined $40,000 and issued a public reprimand for his comments.
“Mark’s comments irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “There is a right way and a wrong way to voice concerns. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong way. Accordingly, this violation warrants a public reprimand and financial penalty. The Big 12 Conference prioritizes professionalism, integrity, and fairness, and will continue to do so.”
Looking back on plays that happened earlier in the game, though, would probably result in both teams finding calls that could’ve gone either direction.
They aided the Utes as the home team had its best quarter in a long time and built a 21-10 halftime lead (all of Utah’s points came in the second quarter) and aided the Cougars as BYU rallied in the second half.
But regardless of how things got to that point, with under 10 seconds left everything came down to Cougar sophomore long snapper Dalton Riggs, sophomore holder Sam Vander Haar, the field goal protection unit and Ferrin.
“When we get into situations like this, it’s just another kick,” Ferrin said. “We can go out and execute like we’ve been doing for however long we’ve been here.”
On the sideline, Retzlaff and the offense had done what they could do. Now all they could do was watch.
“I found No. 44 running onto the field and said, ‘go get it, baby,'” Retzlaff said. “We had so much confidence in this guy. I hugged Hinckley Ropati and told him we were going to make this kick. I was there with receivers coach Fesi Sitake and really 100 people that I love and that are part of this family.”
When the frozen moment ended, it was all about the basics: snap … hold … kick.
“We were just willing it to happen,” Sitake said. “Will Ferrin is a really good kicker. He’s done this before and we just felt really comfortable and confident in him.”
Retzlaff said as he watched Ferrin kick the ball and saw it clear the desperately straining Utah defenders trying to block it, he knew where it was going.
“I think I knew it about halfway,” Retzlaff said. “I turned away because I knew it was in. If it wasn’t, it would’ve been really awkward. It was awesome to watch it go through. And then it was pandemonium.”
As the ball split the uprights with three second left and the Cougar celebration started, Ferrin and his guys had the satisfaction of knowing they’d done their job yet again.
“It was awesome,” Ferrin said. “You always talk about celebrations you’ll do and that kind of thing. I didn’t think of any of them. I think I just stood still and waited for the guys to come celebrate with me. But it’s cool to share that moment with all the guys on that field goal team.”
It wasn’t nearly BYU’s best performance of the season, but it proved to be just enough for the Cougars to move to 9-0 as one of the just four undefeated teams left in college football.
And the fact that BYU was able to do it by defeating the rival Utes made it even sweeter.
“The rivalry game came down to the end, just like we’ve seen so many times,” Sitake said. “I’m glad we got the on the other side of this. I’ve seen a lot of games where we’ve been victorious when I’ve been in a different-colored shirt. I’m happy for our fans that we were able to get this win and our players were able to get this done.”
