Takeaways From BYU’s First-Ever Big 12 Road Win At Baylor
Sep 28, 2024, 3:23 PM | Updated: Sep 30, 2024, 1:29 pm
WACO, Texas – No. 22 BYU football earned their first Big 12 road win at Baylor.
At the beginning of the game, BYU looked to be cruising to a blowout victory. But the Bears didn’t roll over and kept fighting to make BYU work for 60 minutes. BYU escaped Waco with a 34-28 win.
Statement No. 5 for #BYU ✅ #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ui1nvoLKP4
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 28, 2024
BYU improves to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in Big 12 play.
Here are some takeaways from the win.
Crew Wakley keeps making big plays
The game-clinching moment was courtesy of BYU safety Crew Wakley, who had an interception off Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson.
Game-clinching INT from safety Crew Wakley gives #BYU their first-ever Big 12 road win.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/RwX90dt5zc
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 28, 2024
Wakley didn’t begin the season as a starter; however, since the Wyoming game, he has cemented himself as one of the top players at safety.
Arm strength from Jake Retzlaff was impressive in the first half
BYU QB Jake Retzlaff completed a 44-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to wide receiver Darius Lassiter.
Kids today would call that pass “a dot.”
It was a beautiful pass highlighting how much Retzlaff’s accuracy and strength have improved this season.
The longest throw he had this season was the touchdown to Jojo Phillips in the season opener against Southern Illinois. But the 44-yard bomb was another example of the explosive playmaking from Retzlaff.
His pass was ruled a 44-yard completion as that was where the ball was at the snap, but Retzlaff tossed it from BYU’s side of the field at the 49-yard line and soared to the goal line, falling into the hands of Lassiter.
Like Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, and Kedon Slovis before him, Retzlaff trained with former BYU star John Beck in the offseason. His deep ball accuracy shows the payoff of the extra work he’s getting with Beck.
On the flip side, Retzlaff had some errant throws in the second half that resulted in interceptions.
Still, Retzlaff has shown significant improvement, and BYU is now in a spot where everything is in front of them.
BYU punter Sam Vander Haar was clutch
Quietly, Sam Vander Haar has emerged as BYU’s top punter the past few weeks. He showed why he’s the number one guy on Saturday at Baylor.
After BYU went three-and-out midway through the fourth quarter, Vander Haar booted a punt that flipped the field and pinned Baylor at its own three-yard line.
The punt got a generous roll after Baylor’s Josh Cameron didn’t field the punt.
In the second half, Vander Haar also popped off a 22-yard on a fake punt call that set BYU’s offense up again in Baylor territory.
The Aussie rules punter is settling in as the clear-cut starter.
Areas to improve on pass defense
Entering the matchup, no one probably thought that Baylor would go off for 324 yards of passing against BYU’s pass defense that didn’t allow a passing touchdown through the first four weeks.
But that’s what happened on the banks of the Brazos River.
Mory Bamba had some notable coverage plays, and Jakob Robinson blanketed a Baylor receiver on a fourth-down attempt from the Bears that initially looked to ice the game away.
The bye week comes at a much-needed time
BYU got banged up after Saturday’s win at Baylor. Center Connor Pay had to be carted off the field and watched the remainder of the game on crutches.
Middle linebacker Harrison Taggart left the game in the first half. Kody Epps didn’t play after the first couple of possessions. Weylin Lapuaho exited the game for a brief moment but then returned. The same goes for linebacker Isaiah Glasker.
Kalani Sitake noted that the turf was a hard-playing surface, and it was difficult for his guys.
Next week, BYU has a bye week before hosting the Arizona Wildcats on October 12. After a week of seeing players get banged up, the bye comes at a good time.
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.
