The little things: Key effort propel No. 11 BYU football to solid win at UCF | News, Sports, Jobs

Check out the highlight reel from No. 11-ranked BYU football’s 37-24 win at UCF on Saturday and you’ll see some impressive Cougar plays showcased:

• Junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s escape and scramble that went 29 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
• The excellent execution by sophomore holder Sam Vander Haar and junior kicker Will Ferrin on the fake field goal that gained a first down.
• Sophomore running back LJ Martin’s powerful 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
• Junior wide receiver Chase Roberts’ impressive catch-and-run for a 62-yard TD at the end of the first half.
• The perfect play call that get senior tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase wide open in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown (and on National Tight Ends Day, no less).
• The decisive interceptions by sophomore linebacker Isaiah Glasker and freshman Faletau Satuala.

While those were certainly big-time plays that deserve to be highlighted, many of them wouldn’t have happened if not for the little things BYU did beforehand.

Here are three key examples:

1. The Cougars led 10-0 and had driven into the Knight red zone midway through the second quarter.

On a third-and-1 from the 16-yard line, Martin took a handoff and plunged into the line — only to have the ball knocked free.

An alert UCF defender leaned down and looked to have a chance to scoop it up, then perhaps advance it the other direction.

But Martin scrambled up and ripped it out of the hands of the Knight player, falling on it to not only recover the fumble but to also get the first down.

“I think we really lucked out when LJ fumbled and then he was able to get the ball back,” Sitake said. “I don’t know how he did it. But turnovers matter.”

A turnover could’ve given the home team the momentum, but instead Martin powered into the end zone on the next play to give BYU the commanding lead.

2. Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake loves trusting his players to make plays on fourth down, but on the second drive of the game it appeared the decision to go for it was going to backfire.

BYU tried to set up a short pass on a fourth-and-2 from its own 45-yard line and Retzlaff got the ball to senior wide receiver Darius Lassiter — only to have two UCF defenders in position to stop him behind the line of scrimmage.

But Lassiter bounced off the tackle and just as he got to the sideline, he leapt and stretched out the ball. The linesman judged that the ball should be spotted right at the line to gain, with not enough video evidence to either confirm or overturn that decision.

The play set up the fake field goal later in the drive and resulted in a Cougar field goal.

3. With the Knights having scored a touchdown and still hoping for a miracle comeback down by just two scores in the fourth quarter, BYU faced a third-and-9 from its own 26-yard line. A UCF stop might have been just what the Knights needed to put a lot more pressure on the visitors down the stretch.

Retzlaff dropped back, got flushed from the pocket, slipped past the UCF defenders and gained 12 yards to keep the drive alive.

BYU ended up marching down for a field goal to put the game virtually out of reach.

Those are just a small sample, since there are dozens of other little moments for the Cougars that could also be highlighted, like Ferrin going 3-for-3 on field goals (41, 37 and 36 yards), Glasker knocking Knight freshman quarterback Dylan Rizk to the ground on a two-point attempt or senior Blake Mangelson getting a hand on a pass to prevent a third-down conversion.

But combine all of those plays and the statistics they produced, and you get a picture of another solid victory for BYU.

“I’m really happy for the team,” Sitake said. “I think all three phases are doing some really good things. They are a tough team. When we play assignment-sound football, we can do some really good things on defense, special teams and offense. I’d like to be a little more efficient but you can’t be too picky when you get the win on the road.”

The Cougars dominated on the stat sheet, gaining 101 more total yards (480-379) and 71 more yards rushing (252-181). BYU also had more first downs (29-18) and a big edge in time of possession (40:28-19:45).

This is just the third time since 1990 that the Cougars are 8-0 to start the season (2020 and 2000). BYU now has a week off before the big rivalry showdown at Utah on Nov. 9.