Cougars Corral SMU for 18-15 Win in Dallas

DALLAS — BYU football moved to 2-0 on the season with an 18-15 win over SMU in a defensive duel at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Friday night.

The Cougars faced a 9-7 halftime deficit but fought back to a 15-12 lead late in the third quarter. SMU then kicked its fifth field goal of the night to square the game 15-15 with 6:17 remaining. BYU’s offense responded with a nine-play, 67-yard drive that ended in Will Ferrin booting the go-ahead field goal with 1:58 to play.

After hampering the Mustang offense all night, the Cougar defense put a fitting end to the game as it forced four-straight incompletions and took over on downs.

The BYU defense forced SMU to exchange touchdowns for field goals, barring the Mustangs from the end zone for the first time since 2016. The Cougars also allowed just 261 total yards, SMU’s fewest in two seasons. Mustang quarterbacks threw for just 144 yards and completed just 47 percent of passes.

BYU also held SMU to 3-of-16 on third down while recording three sacks, eight tackles-for-loss, an interception, five pass breakups, seven quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

Linebacker Harrison Taggart posted a team-high eight tackles (four solo) with half a tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.

Defensive tackle Blake Mangelson mauled his way into the Mustang backfield from the get-go and finished the night with seven tackles (two solo), 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack and quarterback hurry. Linebacker Isaiah Glasker tacked on six tackles (two solo), a sack and pass breakup as well.

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff finished the night 15-of-28 for 202 yards with one touchdown pass to two interceptions. Darius Lassiter recorded a team-high 62 receiving yards on two grabs, while tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase caught his second touchdown pass in as many weeks and had two receptions for 42 yards. 

First Quarter

The BYU front seven started the game off strong with Harrison Taggart and Blake Mangelson stringing out an SMU run for a 3-yard loss, followed by a Jack Kelly sack for a loss of eight.

Following the Mustang punt, the Cougar offense began its night with a promising conversion on third-and-nine as Jake Retzlaff found Ryner Swanson for a gain of 10. SMU responded a play later with a forced fumble that returned the ball to the home team at its 43 yard-line.

BYU’s defense wasted no time responding with more pressure on the quarterback. Mangelson put the Mustangs behind the sticks with an 11-yard sack on the first play of the drive. The Cougars brought pressure again on third-and-19 with Taggart and Kelly hurrying the quarterback and forcing a throwaway.

With the ball back in its hands, BYU’s offense moved methodically down the field with three first down conversions. Martin moved the chains first with a five-yard carry off an option pitch. Retzlaff then connected with Kody Epps for a 17-yard pick up into SMU territory. An 11-yard completion to Keelan Marion and roughing the passer call against the Mustangs set up BYU in the red zone at the SMU 16. One play later, Mata’ava Ta’ase extended to haul in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff.

Following the eight-play, 75-yard drive, BYU took a 7-0 lead with 7:16 to go in the quarter

The Mustangs introduced quarterback Kevin Jennings to the game on their ensuing drive and put together a drive down to the Cougar six yard-line. With fourth-and-one at the six, Kelly again hurried the quarterback and forced an overthrow to keep SMU off the board. 

Second Quarter

Neither offense found the end zone in the second quarter with SMU settling for field goals and the Cougar offense struggling to regain its footing with a handful of three-and-outs.

Following a BYU punt, SMU started off the quarter with a 16-yard run into Cougar territory. BYU’s front seven followed that play with a tackle-for-loss from Mangelson and shoe-string tackle for no gain courtesy of Choé Bryant-Strother. On third-and-10 from the BYU 36, Mangelson and John Nelson hurried the pass attempt, forcing an incompletion and a field goal attempt.

SMU connected on the 53-yard field goal and cut BYU’s lead to 7-3 with 13:06 to play in the half.

The Cougar defense continued to get into the Mustang backfield with key plays, including a sack for a loss of eight from Isaiah Glasker and Taggart quarterback hurry. Both set up fourth downs and forced SMU to punt or attempt a field goal rather than find the end zone.

The Mustangs registered their second field goal of the game with 6:03 to play in the half, this one a 52-yarder that brought them within one of BYU at 7-6. A 38-yard SMU field goal with 42 seconds remaining gave the home team a 9-7 lead.

BYU’s offense strung together a series of first-down conversions on its final drive of the half but headed to the locker room stuck with a 9-7 deficit after a 55-yard field goal attempt from Will Ferrin drifted wide left.

Third Quarter

BYU drove into plus territory to open the half but was turned back with SMU picking off a pass and returning it to the Cougar 35-yard-line. The Mustangs threatened to reach the end zone again but were held up with consecutive incompletions. SMU converted its fourth field goal of the game and extended its lead to 12-7 with 9:28 to play in the third.

After a three-and-out from each team, BYU got the ball back and jumpstarted its offense with a 12-yard pick-up on a Retzlaff quarterback keeper. Moments later, Retzlaff took a hand off, faked a reverse and rolled right to find Ta’ase for a completion down the sideline. The tight end rumbled downfield and hurdled his way into the red zone for a 26-yard gain.

BYU made the most of the red zone opportunity with Enoch Nawahine blasting up the middle for a nine-yard rushing touchdown on fourth-and-two. The Cougars added more points on the scoring drive with Retzlaff finding Keanu Hill in the back corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion. The seven-play, 61-yard touchdown drive gave BYU a 15-12 lead with just over a minute to play in the quarter. 

Fourth Quarter

SMU started the fourth moving to the BYU 20 with chunk plays of 20 and 30 yards before the Cougars took the ball right back. Cornerback Marque Collins read the eyes of the quarterback and plucked the ball away along the sideline while keeping both feet inbounds for the interception.

The ball bounced back to the Mustangs moments later as they intercepted a BYU pass and returned it to the Cougar three-yard-line. However, BYU’s defense got the ball right back again, denying SMU the end zone as Jakob Robinson pounced on a fumble.

While the Cougars were unable to turn Robinson’s recovery into points, the defense retook the field and held the Mustangs to another field goal, this one from 45 yards.

With a fifth field goal through the uprights, SMU knotted the game at 15 with 6:17 to play.

BYU started its next drive strong with Retzlaff connecting with Chase Roberts for a 14-yard completion. The Cougars’ drive appeared to stall at their own 48, but on fourth-and-one, Miles Davis took an option pitch from Retzlaff 37 yards down the sideline to put BYU in striking distance.

Four plays later, Ferrin put the ball through for three with a 26-yard field goal that gave the Cougars an 18-15 lead with 1:58 remaining.

SMU looked to get in field goal range but BYU ended the game on top as it forced four-straight incompletions with a pass breakup from Taggart and a Kelly quarterback hurry. BYU stays on the road in week three as it travels to take on Wyoming at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming on Sept. 14. Watch the Cougars face the Cowboys on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. MDT or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.