41-19 Victory Over Arizona Advances No. 14 Cougars to Sixth 6-0 Start in Program History

PROVO, Utah — No. 14 BYU secured a 41-19 homecoming victory over Arizona at Lavell Edwards Stadium Saturday afternoon, powered by four forced turnovers. 

“I’m happy about the win," said Kalani Sitake, BYU head coach. "We got our sixth win of the year. Excited about the things that we saw from our team in all three phases. Obviously, there’s some things that we know we can fix, but we will worry about that later. We need to keep evaluating and trying to find ways to get better. Give a lot of credit to the boys and leadership of the team.”

BYU has earned its sixth 6-0 start in school history and second under head coach Kalani Sitake (2020). The Cougars also went 6-0 to start the 2008, 2001, 1984 and 1979 seasons. 

The Cougars scored five touchdowns in the contest — three passing, one rushing and a pick-six. 

Jake Retzlaff went 18-of-32 for 218 yards and threw two touchdowns. The junior quarterback had passes to seven different receivers in the game. Sophomore wide receiver Parker Kingston threw the Cougars’ other passing touchdown, a 33 yarder off of a double pass. 

Darrius Lassiter led the team in receiving yards with 86. Chase Roberts and LJ Martin followed closely behind, with 61 and 46 yards, respectively. Kingston, Roberts and Martin all had touchdown catches.

Hinckley Ropati rushed for 65 yards on nine attempts to lead the Cougars. Martin racked up 49 yards on the ground, while Retzlaff ran for 28 on the day. 

The BYU defense saw multiple career firsts, headlined by linebacker Harrison Taggart who recorded six solo tackles and a fumble recovery. Taggart led the team with nine total tackles, while safety Crew Wakley and defensive lineman Tyler Batty each accrued six. Fellow linebacker Isaiah Glasker had the Cougars’ lone sack of the day, while also racking up five solo tackles. There were a season-high 14 quarterback hurries for BYU produced by 11 defensive players. Tanner Wall, Jakob Robinson and Glasker each recorded interceptions.

1st Quarter

BYU began the contest with a 6:41 drive all the way to Arizona’s five-yard line before a turnover on downs. 

Arizona first took control of the scoreboard with a 12-play drive from the Wildcat five yard line to score a touchdown with 3:27 left in the first quarter. The Wildcat drive was highlighted by a 39-yard pass and catch on a 3rd-and-9, getting to BYU’s 16 yard-line. 

The Cougars advanced the ball to the Wildcats’ 41 yard line before the end of the quarter. Retzlaff connected with Lassiter on a pass that gave BYU 12 yards and a first down on the final play of the quarter.

2nd Quarter

BYU wasted no time coming out of the break, scoring within the first 90 seconds of play on a 20-yard pass to Kingston who secured the ball away from the defender on a pin-point pass from Retzlaff. The Cougars’ first touchdown of the day came with 13:30 left on the clock. Will Ferrin secured the extra point for BYU to knot the contest at seven points aside. 

Arizona marched down the field on its next drive, until Wall stopped the Wildcat momentum with an interception at the Cougar one yard line with 10:10 left in the first quarter. BYU then moved the chains with three-straight 16-yard plays to get to the Arizona 45 yard-line. 

The Cougars advanced the score on a double pass when Retzlaff threw right to Kingston who then found Martin in the end zone. The 33-yard pass was part of a 99-yard scoring drive — one that earned BYU its second touchdown of the day with 6:30 left in the quarter. Ferrin scored the extra point for BYU to move up 14-7 on Arizona.

BYU’s defense put a halt to Arizona’s next drive, forcing a turnover on downs on the Cougars’ 23 yard line. The BYU offense ran seven plays in the remaining 1:48 of the first half and eventually punted, the first punt from either team in the game. The Cougars entered the locker room with the upperhand at 14-7.

3rd Quarter

The Cougars sustained control entering the second half, propelled by a tipped pass and interception off of a pass rush from Robinson on the first play of the second half that led to BYU’s third touchdown of the day. Retzlaff secured the six points with a nine-yard pass to Roberts. Ferrin earned the PAT to push the Cougars’ up 21-7 over the wildcats. 

The BYU defense brought fans to their feet once again moments later when Isaiah Glasker recorded a strip sack and forced a fumble on the second Wildcat play of the half. Taggart secured the ball on Arizona’s 15 yard line. Ferrin notched a 33 yard field goal for the Cougars with 13:11 on the clock to move the score to 24-17 for BYU. 

The Cougars’ defense forced a quick three-and-out on the next Wildcat drive to give BYU the ball with 10:54 left in the quarter. Arizona’s defense matched the pressure, forcing its own three-and-out on the next drive. The Wildcat offense pressed down the field with an eight-play stretch resulting in a 47-yard field goal. BYU maintained the lead 24-10 with 6:12 left in the third. 

Retzlaff moved the Cougars down the field inside the Wildcats’ five yard line, which resulted in a 39-yard field goal to make it 27-10 with 1:47 on the clock. Arizona’s offense ran a quick five plays, getting to the 50 yard line before the end of the quarter.

4th Quarter

The BYU defense slowed the continuation of Arizona’s drive, forcing a field goal attempt off a quick three plays inside the BYU 10 yard line. The Wildcats made the kick to move the score to 27-13 with Cougars in the lead and 9:02 left in the game. 

Retzlaff connected with Lassiter for a 38-yard pass on the next series. Rush attempts from Keelan Marion, Ropati and Martin moved the Cougars to the one yard line. Martin powered into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown run, followed by a made extra point from Ferrin to put the Cougars up 34-13 with 5:38 on the clock. 

Arizona stretched the field on a scoring drive of 75 yards, scoring with 2:58 left in the game. The BYU defense prevented a two-point conversion. The Cougars maintained the lead 34-19. 

The Wildcats forced a fumble on the Cougars moments later, but the BYU defense got the ball right back, forcing a turnover on downs. 

BYU finished the scoring on a pick-six by Glasker who intercepted Noah Fifita at Arizona’s 21 yard line and returned the ball to the endzone. Ferrin notched the extra point to advance BYU’s lead 41-19 with 1:02 on the clock. 

Up Next

The Cougars will have a shortened week as they will host Oklahoma State at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. MT. The broadcast will be available on ESPN.