One more play: No. 14 BYU football runs out of chances, loses at No. 21 Arizona State
-
- BYU junior wide receiver Chase Roberts gets tackled on the final play of the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Chase Roberts gets upended during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff gets tackled after throwing a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Keelan Marion scores a touchdown during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU senior Isaiah Bagnah walks off the field during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU senior Hinckley Ropati carries the ball up the field during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU sophomore running back LJ Martin gets tackled during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Micah Harper tries to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU senior Darius Lassiter runs the ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Tanner Wall intercepts a tipped ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU head coach Kalani Sitake directs his team during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Keelan Marion carries the ball up the field during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU sophomore LJ Martin carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU sophomore LJ Martin tries to avoid a tackler during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Chase Roberts runs after making a catch during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Keelan Marion returns a kickoff during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- A BYU player carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU junior Keelan Marion carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU fans watch the action during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU players take a moment during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake talks to his team before the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
It was an afternoon of hopes rising, then being dashed for BYU football and its supporters on Saturday.
The No. 14-ranked Cougars headed to Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, to face No. 21 Arizona State hoping that last week’s defeat to Kansas was a blip and they’d worked things out.
But after the dust settled (and the Sun Devil students got off the field for one final desperate play), BYU ended the game on a down note as ASU escaped with the 28-23 win.
“It was a tough game but, man, what a cool environment,” Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake said. “College football is awesome. Big 12 football is a lot of fun, although obviously things didn’t work out our favor.
“I’m just really proud of the team, proud of the guys. I think they could quit at any moment. It didn’t look great, especially in the first half but I’m proud of the guys fighting back. Obviously we didn’t do enough to get the win but you have to give a lot of credit to Arizona State.”
In the first half, BYU ended up on the wrong end of the hope spectrum a lot more than the right one.
The Cougars twice drove into Sun Devil territory, only to turn the ball over (once on downs and once on a tipped-ball interception).
The BYU defense forced ASU into two fourth-and-1 attempts, only to fail to get the stop and allow the home team to keep drives alive.
Even when the Cougars got a chance to get good field position when the Sun Devils tried a squib kick, the ball bounced off a BYU player and allowed Arizona State to recover and score again.
The visitors even put together a nice drive to end the half — but had to settle for a 49-yard field goal by Cougar junior kicker Will Ferrin.
The Sun Devils had made the most of their opportunities, getting three rushing scores by senior running back Cam Skattebo to build a 21-3 lead at the break.
“We came out flat on both offense and defense,” BYU junior wide receiver Chase Roberts said. “We didn’t play our game in the first half and you saw what happened. We’ve got to change that up, gotta come out fast. When we do that, we’re undefeated.”
The Cougars credited Arizona State with mixing some things up but said they felt like they should’ve done a lot better.
“It was a little bit surprising because I thought we had a really solid week of practice,” BYU senior offensive lineman Connor Pay said. “We just had too many mistakes in the first half and a few things that didn’t go our way. We were able to tighten some of those things up in the second half.”
The cycle of excitement and frustration continued in the final 30 minutes of action, although the Cougars ended up flipping the script.
BYU got a big fourth-down stop at its own 4-yard line to start the third quarter, then marched 96 yards on 12 plays to get in the end zone for the first time on a 10-yard jet sweep run by junior Keelan Marion.
But the hope that inspired was quickly tempered by a failed two-point conversion run and a coverage breakdown that resulted in the Sun Devils quickly scoring a 61-yard TD on a pass from freshman Sam Leavitt to senior receiver Xavier Guillory.
As Sitake noted, the Cougars didn’t fold after the disappointing turn of events.
Instead, they elevated their game and made the big plays for the next 15 minutes of action.
The BYU offense needed just four plays to answer before Cougar junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff rifled a pass to freshman Jojo Phillips for a 21-yard TD. The visitors then made up for the earlier missed opportunity by getting a two-point conversion pass from Retzlaff to senior Darius Lassiter.
The Cougar defense stood tall on the next drive and forced ASU into its only punt. Retzlaff proceeded to lead BYU back down the field and Marion scored again on a 1-yard carry.
Even though the ensuing conversion pass was tipped and incomplete, the Cougars had rallied to make a it a one-score game — and they weren’t done yet.
BYU fans had to be apprehensive when the Sun Devils got a big pass play to star sophomore Jordyn Tyson and rode the momentum to get the ball deep in Cougar territory.
But two running plays from the BYU 11-yard line — one by Skattebo and one by Leavitt — didn’t get the one yard the home team needed and once again the Cougar defense forced the turnover on downs.
BYU’s hopes were at their highest point since kickoff on the ensuing drive as the Cougars got the ball to the ASU 39-yard line with a minute left and two timeouts.
They crescendoed on the first-down play when Phillips broke free down the sideline and the ball soared toward him — only to come crashing down again when the pass sailed too long.
It was an unfortunate harbinger of the disaster that would take place on the next play as Retzlaff hurled the ball toward Lassiter on a quick pass, only to have it fly past him and right into the arms of Sun Devil sophomore cornerback Javon Robinson.
Robinson then returned the game-changing pick inside the BYU 10-yard line before Retzlaff chased him down.
“I love Jake and and the guys were clicking,” Sitake said. “Everything was working. It felt like we felt the momentum. But credit to Arizona State. They got the stop.”
The Sun Devils tried to run out the clock as the Cougars used their final two timeouts, setting up a bizarre ending.
Arizona State went backwards, losing 42 yards on a pair of backward runs and a couple of delay of game penalties.
With seven seconds left, the Sun Devils decided to just have Leavitt throw the ball deep out of bounds, assuming it would use up the remaining time.
The clock ticked down to zeroes and the Arizona State fans jubilantly stormed the field — except the game wasn’t over.
The review process determined that there was one second left, but the game had to be delayed for 15 minutes to get the Sun Devil supporters to leave the playing surface before BYU could get its last chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Finally, the Cougar offense took the field looking for a miracle.
Retzlaff stepped up in the pocket, then heaved the ball toward the end zone. Roberts did a great job of coming back to the ball as it dropped and hauled it in, but came down two yards short of the goal line.
“It was wild,” Roberts said. “I wish I was about four yards further to get in the end zone. Unfortunately, it just came up short.”
Although Arizona State managed to get the final play it needed to win, it might not be the only meeting between the two teams.
Both BYU and the Sun Devils are deadlocked in a four-way tie with Iowa State and Colorado atop of the Big 12 standings, so depending on how the season ends there is a chance the Cougars will take on ASU in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 7.
“We’re still very much in the hunt for a bid to a conference championship game,” Pay said. “We’ve got to go take care of business against Houston (next Saturday), and then let the cards fall where they may. I got the chance to congratulate some of the Arizona State guys that I knew and tell them that I hope to see them again in two weeks.”
