Instant Takeaways From BYU Football’s Senior Day Win Over Houston
Dec 1, 2024, 12:09 AM | Updated: Dec 2, 2024, 2:27 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU football defeated the Houston Cougars on Senior Day to close out the 2024 regular season.
The Cougars in blue defeated Houston 30-18 in front of 59,213 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Final: No. 19 #BYU 30, Houston 18
BYU closes out the 2024 regular season with a 10-2 record. pic.twitter.com/F19kRewstu
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 1, 2024
BYU football closed out the regular season with a 10-2 record. It’s the 19th time in program history that BYU has reached ten wins in a season.
Sloppy mistakes
BYU was officially eliminated from the Big 12 Championship Game during the second quarter against Houston. Did that cause the team to fall flat in the second half?
The sloppy play in the second half in stretches was tough to watch.
#BYU's red zone woes show up again. Jake Retzlaff couldn't gather the high shotgun snap, which resulted in a fumble. Houston recovers and takes over from the BYU 6-yard line.
It was a missed opportunity to close the door on this game.#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 1, 2024
BYU had a high shotgun snap in the red zone during the third quarter. Jake Retzlaff could not gather the snap, resulting in a fumble that Houston recovered.
BYU’s defense forced Houston into a three-and-out from the BYU 6-yard line. But on the punt return, Parker Kingston muffed the punt, leading to another turnover.
Luckily for the BYU offense, the defense did not let Houston capitalize on either of those mistakes.
Later in the third quarter, BYU’s offense had a drive that reached the 4-yard line, giving them another red-zone opportunity, but they couldn’t convert it into a touchdown.
Keelan Marion slipped on a jet sweep, forcing BYU into a Will Ferrin 22-yard field goal attempt.
During the fourth quarter, after Houston cut the game to one possession at 24-18, BYU’s offense went three-and-out and looked in trouble.
BYU came out on top, but it was far from a complete performance for 60 minutes.
BYU recorded an interception in every game during the 2024 regular season
BYU football had at least one interception in all 12 regular season games in 2024. On Saturday night, Jack Kelly picked off Houston QB Zeon Chriss to complete every week with one pick.
JACK KELLY INTERCEPTION!! pic.twitter.com/SaUEXqeYFn
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 1, 2024
BYU had 12 players record interceptions this year, with 20 picks on opponents.
Jack Kelly and Tyler Batty shined on defense
BYU linebacker Jack Kelly and senior defensive end Tyler Batty had big games in the regular season finale.
Kelly finished with an interception on Zeon Chriss and then forced a fumble on Chriss, setting up BYU’s offense inside the red zone.
TYLER BATTY INT#CollegeFootball #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/7o919PdvzS
— Pick 6 Pack (@Pick6PackFB) December 1, 2024
Since early in the season, Kelly has been the subject of NFL draft buzz. It will be interesting to see if he pursues the NFL or runs it back one more year at BYU.
Senior Tyler Batty performed well in his final home game at BYU. The Payson native had 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception in the Senior Day victory.
The reshuffled offensive line
BYU’s offensive line had a completely different look than it has for most of this season. The Cougars continue to be without starting offensive tackle Brayden Keim, who suffered an injury against Utah. But on Saturday, they didn’t have Keim’s backup, Isaiah Jatta, available against Houston due to an injury.
Austin Leausa, who left last week’s game against Arizona State on crutches, was also absent due to injury.
Without Jatta, BYU switched Weylin Lapuaho from left guard, where he had anchored that spot for the previous 11 games, to right tackle.
Then Bruce Mitchell started at right guard, Sonny Makasini at left guard, Caleb Etienne at left tackle, and Connor Pay at center.
BYU’s offensive line gave up one sack, three tackles for loss, and three quarterback hurries in the win. Considering the circumstances and the reshuffling along the offensive line, it was an okay performance against one of the top defenses in the Big 12.
Still, it’s an area to monitor heading into Bowl Season. BYU didn’t rule out the possibility of Brayden Keim returning for the postseason.
BYU needs to recruit Chase Roberts back for one more year
Among the players honored during BYU’s Senior Night was redshirt junior Chase Roberts.
In an interview with the Royal Blue Collective earlier this year, the standout receiver said his mindset was to move on to the NFL next season. So it’s no surprise he opted to be honored on Saturday during the Senior Day festivities.
Chase Roberts was recognized during #BYU’s Senior Day.
Roberts still has one year of eligibility remaining if he wanted to return in 2025.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/JPlSUgRGO9
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 1, 2024
But BYU coaches should do everything possible to recruit him back for another year.
Roberts had a 52-yard catch to set up BYU’s touchdown to go up 21-10 at the end of the second quarter.
If BYU can get Roberts back for the 2025 season, it would give them a star receiver that would be among the best in the Big 12 Conference.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
