The BYU football team was able to keep their perfect season alive on Saturday as they went on the road and took down rival Utah. It was not an easy win as the Cougars had to erase a big deficit in the second half, but they found a way to get it done. There was also a lot of controversy at the end of the game as there was a defensive holding penalty on Utah on a fourth down that kept BYU's hopes alive. All in all, it was a crazy game.
BYU came into this contest as the favorite as they are currently ranked #9 in the College Football Playoff rankings and they were 8-0 heading into that game. Utah is having a tough year as they once again lost quarterback Cam Rising to an injury, and that has made things tough on their offense. Still, they were able to find ways to be successful in the first half against BYU.
The first half of Saturday's game was dominated by the Utah football team, and it looked like they were going to pick up a huge rivalry win that would've made this underwhelming season feel a lot better.
Utah got down 3-0 in the first quarter, but they scored 21 points in the second. BYU scored a touchdown as well and they led 10-7 with a little over 13 minutes remaining in the half, but the Utes did a good job of closing things out. They scored two more touchdowns before the break and took a 21-10 lead into the locker room.
Credit to BYU's defense for what they were able to put together in the second half on Saturday night. Utah absolutely dominated the second quarter of that game, but the Cougars made the necessary adjustments at halftime and they held the Utes scoreless in the second half. Any points by Utah would've won them the game.
The BYU football team was able to claw their way back into it as they kicked a third quarter field goal, and a touchdown early in the fourth would've tied it if they had converted on a two-point conversion.
Everything ended up coming down to one final drive for the BYU football team. It looked like the game was over when the Utes got a stop on a fourth and 10, but a defensive holding penalty was called, and the Cougars ended up kicking a 44-yard field goal in the final seconds to win the game.
Utah's athletic director had some words for the Big 12 after the game about the holding penalty, and he ended up getting fined $40,000. It was quite the bizarre end to the game, but BYU got it done. Still, the Cougars have some things to work out down the stretch.
BYU has to be better on third downs
If you look at the statistics from this game, the BYU football team was better than Utah in most areas of the game. However, one big issue for the Cougars was third downs. BYU was 1/12 on third down on Saturday night. That usually isn't going to cut it. Third downs are inevitable, they are going to happen in every game, and you have to be able to execute on them. The Cougars didn't do a good job of that against Utah.
BYU needs to make timely plays
The BYU football team had more total yards than Utah, less penalty yardage, and they won the turnover battle 3-0. That is typically a pretty good recipe for comfortably winning a football game. However, the Cougars were barely able to win this game and some believe that they should've lost. This tells us that BYU struggled to make timely plays, and their third down efficiency says the same thing. That has to be fixed in future big games.
At the end of the day, it's hard to be upset after beating a rival on the road. BYU got it done, and they stayed undefeated in the process. They are just a few wins away from a College Football Playoff berth.
Week 11 college football recap
The BYU football team survived a scare against rival Utah, and that was certainly one of the biggest games of the week. There were a lot of other good games around college football as well that people had their eyes on, and it was another exciting week. Here is a quick recap:
ESPN's College GameDay was in Baton Rouge on Saturday as Alabama and LSU battled it out in a huge SEC clash with big College Football Playoff implications. The Crimson Tide rolled over the Tigers for a 42-13 win. It was never even close.
In the ACC, there were some big upsets last week. Miami is no longer undefeated as they fell on the road against Georgia Tech, and Pitt lost a home game against Virginia to lose their second consecutive contest. It was a tough week for teams at the top.
The Big 12 had some important results this past weekend. First, Iowa State was upset once again as they fell on the road against Kansas. Colorado stayed hot with a huge win on the road against Texas Tech. Lastly, BYU found a way to get it done against Utah in this matchup that we already talked about.
Moving over to the Big Ten, every team that needed to take care of business did, but Indiana had a close call at home against Michigan. The Wolverines nearly pulled off the big upset, but the Hoosiers found a way to get to 10-0 for the first time in program history.
Lastly, the SEC had a couple big games, one that we have already discussed. Georgia fell on the road against Ole Miss, and Alabama destroyed LSU in Baton Rouge. Other than that, it was a fairly quiet weekend.
Now, we're moving on to week 12, and things are getting more and more intense as each week goes by.
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