BYU Football Showed Resilience In ‘Gritty’ Win Over SMU

DALLAS – BYU football showed in the 18-15 win over SMU that they can be resilient.

“Gritty, very gritty game,” said BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff. “I’m super proud of the guys for defensively getting it done all night. And offensively, getting it done when it needed to be done.”

Jake Retzlaff summed up this win over SMU as “gritty.”#BYUFootball #BYU pic.twitter.com/wldIT0cg8y

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 7, 2024

BYU football was “gritty” in the win over SMU

BYU needed every ounce of grit in a game in which the Cougars lost its top two running backs (LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati) to injury, the offense had three turnovers, and SMU started four of its drives in BYU territory.

#BYU 18, SMU 15 🏈@Mitch_Harper shares his postgame thoughts from Dallas.#BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/s7sacsOIMf

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 7, 2024

Despite all the craziness under the Friday night lights in Dallas, BYU emerged victorious and improved its record to 2-0.

In the win, BYU held high-powered SMU to zero touchdowns.

All 15 of SMU’s points were from field goals by Collin Rogers. The junior placekicker set an SMU school record with the most made field goals in a game with five.

For a BYU team that has struggled with adversity in the past two years, taking down SMU with grit was a solid victory.

“I like the way we found a way to win this game,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. “In the past, we’ve been down or had turnovers, and guys hung their heads in the past. Now the guys are fighting through and not giving up.”

Kalani Sitake on the victory over SMU: “Glad we got the win. … It was an overall team win in all three phases.”#BYU #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/Xiutv1PrPl

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 7, 2024

While the offense jumped out to a strong start with a 7-0 lead, the game changed after running back LJ Martin exited due to injury.

Martin, an El Paso, Texas native, didn’t return and left Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday night on crutches.

That meant the defense and BYU’s special teams had to step up. Each phase had moments throughout the game.

All three phases played a role in BYU’s win

The defense had three sacks and eight tackles for loss in a game in which SMU backup quarterback Kevin Jennings was the signal-caller throughout the second half.

BYU’s offense showed up when it mattered on a 4th and short, as Retzlaff pitched to third-string ball carrier Miles Davis for a 37-yard gain.

Moments later, the special team did their part as kicker Will Ferrin hit the game-winning 26-yard field goal with 1:58 remaining to put BYU in front.

“We needed all three phases to win the game and obviously, not our best performance. But you have to give a lot of credit to SMU for what they did,” Sitake said. “We’ll have to find an answer and find a way to get more efficient in all three phases. There’s room for us to improve in all three phases. I don’t want anyone to feel like they should pat themselves on the back. This was an opportunity for us to play at our best. We didn’t do that tonight, but I had to give a lot of credit to SMU.”

BYU should give themselves a slight pat on the back. There’s still a long season to go. But they brought to an end SMU’s nine-game winning streak.

It was a streak during which SMU averaged 52 points per game. BYU’s defense answered the call and performed inspiredly.

“Honestly, I feel like we can just dominate games,” said BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker, who had six tackles and one sack in the win. “Having Jay Hill and stuff like that, he gets us fired up. So I’m excited for what we have for the rest of the season.”

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.

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