A win is a win(?).
BYU, thanks to an astounding performance from its defense, was able to eke out a win Friday night in Dallas, besting SMU 18-15.
It wasn't pretty. It was the definition of a rock fight. But the Cougars got it done on the road.
BYU's offense looked ready to go early. The first few plays were promising, but momentum was quickly snubbed out when Jake Retzlaff fumbled the ball away on a broken play. It was the ninth of Retzlaff's career in just six games.
The Cougar defense came to play. Two sacks in SMU's first two drives gave BYU the ball back quickly. Retzlaff led the offense 75 yards down the field and capped it off with a 16-yard strike to Mata'ava Ta'ase for the first score of the game.
Thanks to the Cougars' stifling defense and consistent sacks, SMU opted to bench Preston Stone in favor of the more mobile Kevin Jennings. Jennings started to get some momentum for the Mustangs, giving BYU fits with his ability to run out of the pocket.
The rest of the first half was a dismal display of offensive football. The Cougars had four straight three-and-outs, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal to close out the first half. Meanwhile, SMU benefited from great field position due to the constant BYU punts and hit three field goals to make the score 9-7 heading into the locker room in favor of the Mustangs.
It was an abysmal half offensively for BYU's offense outside of the one touchdown drive. The Cougars had just 50 yards outside of that drive and only two first downs.
Despite a lack of production, Sitake and the coaching staff opted to keep Retzlaff in the game instead of trying their hand with veteran transfer Gerry Bohanon. The beginning of the second half was just as ugly as the previous. Retzlaff threw out of a sack which resulted in an interception, then followed it up with yet another three-and-out in the very next drive.
All this time, the BYU defense continued to dominate. SMU still didn't have a touchdown despite three BYU turnovers. Blake Mangelson led the charge with seven tackles on the night and 2.5 TFLs. The Cougar defense ended the night with three sacks and eight TFLs total.
Thanks to great field position, BYU finally found the end zone again near the end of the third quarter. On fourth-and-one from the nine-yard line, Enoch Nawahine streaked into the end zone. A fade to Keanu Hill gave the Cougars the two-point conversion to make the score 15-12.
The next three drives were pure chaos for both teams. Now in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs were driving when Marque Collins picked off Jennings inside the 10-yard line.
Three plays later, Retzlaff threw his second interception of the night to a defensive linemen on a botched tight end screen.
SMU immediately responded with a fumble, which Jakob Robinson recovered to give BYU the ball back and keep SMU from putting up points. The Mustangs ended the night with five redzone trips. They scored just six points total from them.
With about six minutes left SMU hit yet another field goal to tie the game at 15. Retzlaff, still in the game, drove the Cougars to about midfield. On fourth-and-one with just over four minutes to play, Sitake stuck to his aggressive philosophy. It was the biggest moment of the game, and BYU went for it. Retzlaff pitched the ball to Miles Davis who tore down the sideline for a 37- yard gain.
Will Ferrin knocked down a field goal with 1:57 left to play to give BYU the lead, 18-15. The defense, which had been nothing short of stellar all night, didn't give up a single yard and forced a turnover on downs.
The Cougars left the field victorious, and the rest of us wondering what on earth we had just watched.
The offense was a problem all game. Retzlaff ended the game 15 of 28 for 202 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Not to mention a fumble lost on the first drive.
The running game wasn't much better. With the loss of LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, who both left the game in the first half with injuries, BYU found itself on its third- and fourth-string running backs.
The star of the show was the resilience and grit of the defense. SMU came into the game with a nine-game home winning streak. The Mustangs averaged over 50 points at home last season, and left Friday with zero touchdowns. It's the kind of performance that Cougar fans will remember for a while.
At the end of the day, BYU is 2-0 and on to the next week. Even with the win, however, this team has a lot to figure out on the offensive side of the ball if it wants to compete in conference play.
The Cougars will get an extra day of rest this week and take the trip to Laramie to face the Wyoming Cowboys next Saturday.