Day curse for BYU? What day curse?
The "vampire Cougars" seemed to have shed not just superstitions but every single preseason expectation that was laid upon them in the months leading up to the season. It took two games in a row to be sure, but now we can confidently say this team doesn't care what time of day it is, they just win.
No. 14 BYU was able to keep its pristine record Saturday with a dominant win against Arizona, 41-19, making it a perfect 6-0 on the season.
The pregame festivities were about as big as the game, with "Big Noon Kickoff" in town and students camping out for it since Friday night. Yet another sellout crowd settled into their seats as the long shadows of LaVell Edwards Stadium cast over the field.
Arizona struck first, sustaining a grueling 11-play, 95-yard drive that kept BYU's defense on its heels. The Wildcats found the end zone on a 14-yard throw from quarterback Noah Fifita to take the early 7-0 lead.
The Cougar offense responded the next drive with a melodic 10-play, 75-yard drive of their own. At the beginning of the second quarter, quarterback Jake Retzlaff found Parker Kingston on a 20-yard fade route to knot it up at 7-7.
Arizona continued to look potent on offense, and its next drive had BYU's defense reeling once again. Threatening just outside the red zone, Fifita was hit as he threw, and Tanner Wall cut off the intended receiver at the goal line and made a fingertip catch to steal back the momentum for the Cougars.
BYU's offense proceeded to conduct its longest drive since 2015, marching 99 yards in just seven plays. The series was capped off by a 33-yard touchdown pass by Kingston off of a trick-play double pass.
The Cougar offense was clicking, able to get up and down the field seemingly at will. Retzlaff continues to look more and more comfortable each week, and today was no different. His 218-yard, two-touchdown performance didn't light up the box score, but it was exactly what BYU needed to get the job done and was free of mistakes.
The Wildcats continued to find yards on offense and found themselves inside BYU territory on their next drive. On fourth-and-one, the Cougar defense stayed stout and forced a turnover on downs.
BYU held the lead, 14-7, heading into the locker room.
The beginning of the second half couldn't have gone better for the Cougars. On the first play of the half, Fifita looked towards the flat, but the ball was both tipped and caught by Jakob Robinson at the line of scrimmage.
With incredible field position, BYU scored in one play when Retzlaff found Roberts in the end zone to expand the lead to 21-7.
The Wildcats' next drive ended when Fifita got strip-sacked by Isaiah Glasker, and the Cougars' continually opportunistic defense took over the game once again.
BYU's defense forced four turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the offense. The Cougars accumulated five TFLs and one sack and held a capable Arizona offense to just 19 points. They hurried Fifita on 14 of his dropbacks and were able to control the line of scrimmage, allowing just 114 rushing yards.
"Honestly, the coaching," Glasker said, when asked what led this defense to be so good at forcing turnovers this season. "I give 100% props to (assistant coach) Justin Ena and (defensive coordinator Jay) Hill. They're coaching us really well, and they're helping us be disciplined, and if we do our job, it kind of shows the results."
BYU tacked on a couple of field goals to push the score to 27-10 at the end of the third quarter.
Arizona wasn't done fighting and with just a two-score lead, the Cougars had the ball with about nine minutes left in the game and needed to either score or run out the clock to win the game.
One of the bigger criticisms of BYU's win two weeks ago at Baylor was the lack of urgency offensively when the Cougars had a big lead. The Bears were able to claw their way back because of timid play-calling. Saturday was different. When it was time to grab control and pull away, BYU delivered.
The first play of that drive was a 38-yard reception by Darius Lassiter off of an aggressive play call from Aaron Roderick. Then the ground game took over, and LJ Martin barreled into the end zone to all but seal it.
A lot can be said about the offensive line play. Like the play calling, there were concerns carried over from the Baylor game and like the play calling, they were silenced. Bruce Mitchell, the Cougars' third-string center, was getting his first start ever at the position. He, along with the rest of the offensive line, kept Retzlaff's jersey clean all game by not allowing a single sack.
"That guy's so comfortable and so confident in himself," said Retzlaff about Mitchell. "That speaks to Coach Woods and the preparation of all of his guys. . . . We're so blessed to have him."
Thanks in big part to the offensive line, BYU rushed for 147 yards. It was a true testament to the team's depth and coaching.
A late Arizona touchdown kept fans in their seats until Fifita threw his third pick of the game. Glasker took it to the house and BYU won 41-19.
The win puts BYU at 6-0 on the season for the first time since 2020. It also exceeds last year's win total of five. The Cougars are bowl-eligible in the second week of October but have their sights set on more.
"We're bowl eligible but that's not really what I've been thinking about," said Robinson. "I just want to get to the national championship."