It was a chilly 34 degrees at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but BYU fans in Provo couldn’t have cared less before BYU took on Kansas Saturday night.
BYU fans were on fire despite the cold temperatures with the talk on campus being the nationally ranked Cougars.
“Literally every professor that I have brings it up every class, the wins that we get at BYU, it’s crazy,” said BYU student Ryan Gagnier.
With everyone on campus ready for the game, the BYU student section, better known as the ROC(Roar of Cougars), was bringing the noise.
“It’s been so lit,” said student Lainee McMullin. “We’re ready for the next game, every time.”
Alexa Plier said, “It’s so electric. The ROC is insane. Every game, the ROC is rocking, it’s just insane. The vibes are unmatched for real.”
If only that enthusiasm could have translated to a victory, however BYU’s offense fell stagnant from the start. Kansas jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game. The only time BYU held the ball that quarter, the offense couldn’t convert and ended the teams scoring string of 15 straight scoring quarters. We didn’t know it then, but that foreshadowed how the rest of the game would play out.
BYU had chances in the first half but couldn’t quite seal the deal as their chance came on their final drive of the first half which was cut short by a Jayhawks interception in the endzone, entering halftime all knotted up at 10 a piece.
When asked about how the game was going at halftime, BYU student Bransen Crockett was confused with the play choice at the end of the quarter.
"You know, honestly, like, it;s going okay," Crockett said. "It could be better. Like this last play. They're at the end of the second quarter, our running game is strong. I honestly don't know why we didn't run the ball there, but we threw it, and we felt the consequences.
The Cougars got the ball to start the second half and marched 66 yards which ended with a field goal. The drive ate up 10 and a half minutes of the third quarter.
The game seemed like it would start to turn in BYU’s direction until the Kansas quarterback pulled a sneak punt in one of the oddest plays fans saw all night. The ball hit a BYU defender in the head, Kansas recovered the muffed punt, which set them up on the three-yard line leading to an easy 7 points for the Jayhawks.
BYU had a chance to score. They were inside the 15-yard line with a minute left in the game down by four, but the Jayhawks defense held strong, forcing a fourth down with 8 yards still needed for the first down. BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw a dime to receiver Chase Roberts, but the late surge fell short, giving Kansas the 17-13 win against BYU.
Despite the loss, the Cougs still can chart their own course and have a good shot to make it to the Big 12 championship.
"We still have a lot to play for," said BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake. "There's still a lot. We still control our destiny, and it doesn't really matter. We just got to get back to getting to work. And winning next week's super bowl, that's going to be the key."
BYU receiver Chase Roberts says this may end up helping the cougars in the long run.
"I think this is honestly good for our team," Roberts said. "So we still got all of our goals in mind, and we're going to bounch back to go beat Arizona State."
While all of BYU’s wiggle room is gone, the path to the College Football Playofff is clear and hope is alive and well. They need to beat Arizona State next week, Houston the following week and claim the Big 12 title.