Week 8 of the college football season is here and despite there not being a ranked matchup this weekend in the Big 12, there is still plenty on the line with conference play in full swing. One of the most important games of the weekend took place in Provo, Utah as the BYU Cougars hosted the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
BYU is fresh off a big win against Arizona at home while Oklahoma State is coming off a bye week. Both teams needed a win for different reasons, but it was BYU who came out on top 38-35. Here are three takeaways from the game.
BYU Found Magic
All season long BYU prided themselves on winning the turnover battle and playing great defense. Well on Friday night, the Cougars had three turnovers in the first half thanks to three interceptions between Jake Retzlaff and Hinckley Ropati. On top of the mistakes, BYU also gave up 269 rushing yards which is by far the most they have given up all year long.
Yet despite being down at halftime and being down by four points with little time left to play, this team found a way to get the job done. The offense had to go 75 yards in 66 seconds or less to score a touchdown. On their final drive of the game, BYU had to convert a key fourth down and Jake Retzlaff had a 27-yard scramble that put the Cougars within striking distance. Two plays later, Retzlaff hit Darius Lassiter for a 35-yard score to take the lead with just 11 seconds left. That gave BYU a 38-35 lead and helped them win the game.
Oklahoma State’s Defense Collapsed
Coming into the season, I thought Oklahoma State’s defense would take a step forward this year. They returned a ton of key players, and it would be Year 2 under defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo. But instead of taking a step forward, this defense has taken three steps back. I know that they were without their three best players against BYU but there are issues that go far beyond a couple of injuries.
The Cowboys came into this game with the worst run defense in the Big 12 giving up over 235 rushing yards per game and on Friday night, they gave up 255 to BYU. To make matters worse, they missed a ton of tackles and then managed to let the Cougars go 75-yards in less than 60 seconds. For once, I thought Oklahoma State’s offense played well enough to win this game (thanks to Ollie Gordon II), yet it was the defense who completely collapsed.
The Cougars Keep Their Playoff Hopes Alive
With the win over Oklahoma State on Friday night, the Cougars move to 7-0. BYU will be on a bye week next weekend before their final stretch of games. Their final five games will be against UCF, Utah, Kansas, Arizona State, and Houston. Of course, no game is easy in the Big 12 Conference but that is a very favorable schedule for the Cougars. Utah will be without Cam Rising, and Arizona State is having some quarterback health issues as well. Meanwhile, Kansas and Houston are bottom feeders in the conference.
There is a very good chance that BYU wins all of those games and will finish the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record. If they can do that then that would mean the Cougars will get into the College Football Playoff, no matter the outcome of the Big 12 title game.
