The BYU Cougars' perfect season always felt a little too good to be true. Amongst the many insane plays and last-second heroics was always the thought in the back of everyone's mind: I can't believe this is happening.
But it didn't matter because BYU was winning and rising in the rankings, and as the season went on and the wins continued to come, the line between football dreams and reality started to blur in Provo.
The Kansas Jayhawks offered the Cougars a reality check, knocking off No. 6 BYU in Provo, 17-13.
Saturday night was one of those nights that's truly hard to explain in any sort of graceful terminology. The best I can do for you is this: It felt weird the entire night. The energy, the crowd, the weather, the field; all of it seemed off.
What was expected to be a high-scoring game for both teams started out as a bit of a defensive slugfest. There was no shortage of offense, with both teams passing for over 100 yards and finding rhythm in the ground game in the first half. Both squads stalled in the red zone, however, unable to capitalize on the plethora of yardage. Each team was sustaining long, grueling drives that ate at the clock in the first half.
The Jayhawks started their night with a 10-play, 84-yard drive, to which the BYU defense offered little resistance. Jalon Daniels didn't miss a throw, and Devin Neal gashed the Cougars for an 8-yard touchdown run to post the first points of the night and take the lead, 7-0.
BYU punted six plays later, and it started to look like the Cougars might be in trouble. However, as it has been nearly all season, the defense found its footing and anchored this BYU team. The Cougars forced a three-and-out which led to three points to make it 7-3.
BYU's defense forced another stop, and the Cougar offense finally showed some life. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff hit Hinckley Ropati on a 30-yard wheel route to give BYU the lead, 10-7. At this point, there were just eight minutes left in the half as the drives continued to drag on and on.
The Jayhawks had a drive of their own, marching down to the Cougars' 2-yard line. BYU's defense held strong, however, forcing Kansas to settle for a field goal and tie the game at 10-10.
Retzlaff and the offense had just under two minutes left in the half and proceeded to do what they do in nearly every two-minute situation this season: march right down the field. Retzlaff swiftly led the Cougars 70 yards down the field, and with 50 seconds and two timeouts left, BYU looked to be in a prime position to take control of the game.
That's when questionable play-calling reared its ugly head once again. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick dialed up a red zone fade on first and goal from the five-yard line and two timeouts. As head-scratching as the play call was, Retzlaff's throw was even worse. The ball sailed five yards inside the receiver, and it was an easy interception for the Jayhawk defender. The teams headed into the locker rooms tied at 10-10.
The Cougars drove it into the red zone three out of their four first-half drives and only managed to score 10 points in the first half. It was truly the most bizarre half of football this season.
The second half didn't get any more normal. BYU received the ball and spent the next 17 plays and 10:26 of game time driving down the field. Surely, you might ask, they were able to score a touchdown in 17 plays? Nope. Another Will Ferrin field goal from 35 yards out gave the Cougars the 13-10 lead.
All of a sudden, it was the fourth quarter, and Kansas was stuck on BYU's 36-yard line, a virtual no man's land on fourth-and-long. Lined up in a normal offensive set, Daniels received the snap and immediately pooch punted it down the field. The ball soared through the air and landed right on Evan Johnson's head. Johnson was defending a receiver downfield who was acting like he was running a normal route. In the ultimate bad break, the Cougars failed to jump on the free ball, and Kansas recovered to regain possession.
It seemed in that moment that every bit of BYU magic, every essence of so-called "destiny," vanished. The luck had finally run out and was back to collect its debt the Cougars so badly owed.
The Jayhawks scored easily on the next play to recapture the lead at 17-13. The stadium seemed to groan audibly as it dawned on everyone that BYU was going to have to pull off some sort of comeback for the third time in the last four games if it were going to keep its record clean.
Sure enough, the Cougars had that chance late in the fourth quarter. Still down four, Retzlaff once again orchestrated a drive 70 yards down the field with a chance to walk the game off. It was first down on Kansas' 15-yard line. With under two minutes to go, BYU ran it three straight times in an effort to run out more clock and eliminate any chance of a Kansas answer. The problem is that those three runs went for a grand total of four yards.
On 4th-and-six from the Jayhawk 11-yard line, the Cougars committed a false start and sacrificed five yards. On 4th-and-eleven, Retzlaff dropped back to pass. He felt pressure from his left, stepped up in the pocket, and hit Chase Roberts in the middle of the field. Scattered cheers rang through LaVell Edwards Stadium, yet it was the Kansas sideline celebrating. Roberts was just a couple of yards short of the first down.
With 46 seconds left, BYU defenders trotted onto the field to try and recapture any bit of luck it could find, but it had all run out. Daniels kneeled out the clock, and the Jayhawks won the game, 17-13.
The Cougar defense didn't just shine Saturday night, they carried. Kansas' offense was held to just 242 yards of total offense, its lowest of the season by a whopping 77 yards. The 17 Jayhawk points were also tied for a season-low after averaging 38 points in their last three games leading up to Saturday night. The defense rounded out the night with six TFLs, four pass breakups and one interception.
It was BYU's offense that lost this game. Despite out-gaining Kansas by over 100 yards and driving the ball into the red zone five different times, the Cougars only managed 13 points. Poor execution, questionable play-calling and the inability to finish in the red area ultimately was what broke the Cougars' nine-game win streak.
Despite the loss, BYU is still 9-1 and in the driver's seat to make it to the Big 12 Championship game. The Cougars will face a tough Arizona State team next week that is surprisingly also playing for a shot at the conference title in what will nearly be an elimination game for both teams.
"We got a really good team. We're still in a really good spot," said coach Kalani Sitake. "We believe we control our own destiny still."