PROVO, Utah — The temperature was not the only thing that was cold on Saturday night in Provo. The BYU Cougars football team was frigid on both sides of the ball. Drubbed, mauled and shellacked are all apt adjectives to describe BYU’s 45-13 trouncing at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones.
After the game, it was fair to say fans’ voices were left hoarse — not from cheering but from jeering — as their Cougars began flat and were never really able to gain their footing for the remainder of the contest.
The Cougars could not get out of their own way as they fumbled the opening kickoff of the game only to see quarterback, Jake Retzlaff, throw an interception on the first play from scrimmage — the first of three turnovers. The Cyclones would go on to rapidly turn that into seven points.
BYU’s return game hit another snag on the ensuing kickoff as BYU’s return man, once more flubbed the catch. This time the Cougars weren’t so lucky to fall on the fumble as Iowa State recovered the pigskin. For good measure, the Cyclones tacked on three more points on a 31-yard field goal.
Mere minutes into the game, the Cougars’ boat was taking on water. BYU had a mountain to climb, and it seemed, for a time at least, the Cougars would scale the mountain as, on the next drive, Retzlaff and the offense took the ball 75 yards, paying it off in the form of a five-yard JoJo Phillips touchdown.
That score, 10-7, was as close as the Cougars would get, however. By halftime, the Cougars found themselves in a 31-7 pit with only six passing yards to show for it.
When BYU came out for the second half, they showed signs of a pulse as they forced an Iowa State punt followed by a touchdown in the first offensive possession out of the locker room — a 26-yard touchdown reception from Isaac Rex.
With that touchdown, Rex became the all-time touchdown leader for BYU tight ends with 23, surpassing the previous mark of 22 set by Gordon Hudson. Speaking after the game, Rex reflected on his place in history.
“I love this university so much,” Rex said. “I love these fans. I've been a BYU fan my whole life, so it's very cool. There's been a lot better tight ends that have come before me and there'll be better tight ends that come after me. But to get a record’s cool, individually, but right now I'm not too focused on that. I got to find out ways I could help this team move the ball and win.”
That touchdown was the last time that BYU would find the end zone, failing on a two-point conversion. The Cougars' defense did not help them either as they surrendered 443 total yards and 21 first downs. By comparison, the Cougars gained just 318 yards for 18 first downs.
“Obviously, just disappointing and frustrated because it’s kind of the same outcome the past three weeks,” AJ Vongphachanh, one of the Cougars starting linebackers, said. “I think it’s more about us than about the opponent at the end of the day. I don’t think it takes dramatic changes, and I think that’s why it’s frustrating.”
Rex added that players need to take accountability for what happens on the field.
“We got to figure it out as players and look deep into ourselves of what’s going on and we have to figure it out,” Rex said.
Despite the team’s recent struggles, Retzlaff believes that the team has the right pieces in place to turn things around.
“It’s tough, but this team is tougher,” Retzlaff said. “I don’t feel our team falling apart in any way. I feel like we can [turn it around]. We’re still in the grind mindset of, ‘Alright, that was really disappointing. Let’s learn from that as best we can.’”
During his news conference, head coach, Kilani Sitake, did not mince words as he summed up the loss.
“Not a good outcome,” Sitake said. “From what I understand, [Iowa State] still controls their destiny, and they have a chance to win the conference. We are nowhere near that right now. I see a lot of mistakes out there still, and there’s not a lot of things going right for us right now. One thing, that’s to get back to work and work really hard and try to find a way to get a better result next week.”
With the loss, the Cougars have lost three straight and drop to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12. BYU has two more chances to capture their sixth win and become bowl eligible.
The first test comes in their final game at the friendly confines of LaVell Edwards Stadium against the 14th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Sooners will march into Provo looking for their second consecutive win. The 8-2 Sooners are 5-2 in conference play and are 2-2 away from home.
Kickoff is slated for 10 a.m., Saturday, on ESPN.
Worth Noting:
- BYU is now 0-5 lifetime against Iowa State
- The game against Iowa State marked Sitake’s 100th game as BYU head coach.
- The Cougars are 2-0 all-time against Oklahoma with the last matchup coming in the 2009 season opener.
- Historically, the Cougars are 32-66-1 against ranked opponents (7-10 under Sitake)
- A win on Saturday would secure BYU’s seventh bowl game in eight seasons under Sitake.