No. 13 BYU Run Game Among Questions Answered Against Oklahoma State
Oct 19, 2024, 12:50 AM
LJ Martin scores a BYU touchdown against Oklahoma State (Courtesy of BYU Photo)
(Courtesy of BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – The No. 13 BYU football team engineered a memorable game-winning touchdown drive in the final seconds to remain undefeated.
Jake Retzlaff connected with Darius Lassiter on a 35 yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining to defeat Oklahoma State 38-35.
Well……… that was fun!!!!! #GoCougs 🤙🏽
— Fesi Sitake (@fsitake) October 19, 2024
Let’s answer some questions from an absolute classic.
Who was the MVP for BYU football?
It’s hard not to choose Jake Retzlaff. He made three significant plays on the final scoring drive, including the go-ahead touchdown pass.
However, BYU wouldn’t have been a position to win this game without the running ability of LJ Martin. He’s my choice for MVP.
BYU football hasn’t trailed much this season at halftime. The only other time they didn’t have the lead at the break was against SMU.
The Cougar offense was in desperate need of a scoring drive after Oklahoma State missed a field goal on their opening drive of the third quarter.
Enter Martin.
LJ Martin over 100 yards rushing (104) for the first time in his career. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) October 19, 2024
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick dialed up the run game and BYU offense marched down the field to tie the game at 21.
The Cougars rushed for 126 yards in the second half and 255 for the game.
Martin played his best game of his career and was a key reason BYU won this game.
What was the most impactful play of the game?
Retlzaff made a beautiful throw on fourth down on the game winning drive to Chase Roberts. It was a broken play that allowed for a magical finish.
Two plays later, Retlzaff made the most impactful play of the game.
With 38 seconds remaining, Retlzaff stepped up in the pocket and took off. He sensed an opening and scrambled for 27 yards. Instead of going out of bounds, Retzlaff cut upfield for additional yardage.
BYU HAD A 0.8% CHANCE pic.twitter.com/D6HqUiIKlZ
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) October 19, 2024
Who knows how this thing ends if he didn’t find a way to get a chunk play on the ground with such little time remaining.
What was the most interesting stat from the game?
Oklahoma State has struggled offensively this season. Especially on the ground.
That wasn’t the case against the BYU defense.
The Cowboys rushed for 175 yards in the first half, which included several spectacular plays from Ollie Gordon.
Things didn’t change much in the second half. Oklahoma State finished the game with 269 rush yards.
😮💨 https://t.co/nJeU7UocCN pic.twitter.com/SK5Cj4tzfG
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 19, 2024
BYU’s defense had only been allowing 120 rush yards per game.
It appeared that their inability to stop the run would cost BYU the football game.
Oklahoma State took the lead with 1:13 left in the game. They used over eight minutes of clock on the 17 play scoring drive.
A missed tackle by Tommy Prassas ended up benefitting BYU when Brennan Pressley scored the last Cowboys touchdown.
When was the game won by BYU football?
This game wasn’t won until Darius Lassiter made two defenders miss on his way to the game winning touchdown.
With only 11 seconds remaining, Oklahoma State didn’t have enough time to move into field goal range.
Darius Lassiter said he has never had a game-winner. He ranks it as the No. 1 play in his football career.#BYU #BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 19, 2024
There is plenty of football left, but this is starting to feel like a magical season for BYU.
This is a really good football team that has made several clutch plays this season.
Teams that win conference championships usually have moments like the one BYU had against Oklahoma State.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
Take us with you wherever you go.
