Red Zone Struggles Among Questions Answered For No. 6 BYU Football Against Kansas
Nov 17, 2024, 12:18 AM
BYU running back LJ Martin carries the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks (Courtesy of BYU Photo)
(Courtesy of BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – The No. 6 BYU Football team played another nail-biter Big 12 conference game against the Kansas Jayhawks.
They came up short 17-13 after failing to score in the red-zone touchdown late in the 4th quarter.
Let’s answer some questions from a cold night in Provo.
Who was the MVP for BYU Football?
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff has been making waves nationally. He’s frequently interviewed by national outlets.
However, to start this game, he was off the mark.
He missed a wide-open Darius Lassiter in the first quarter for a touchdown. His lone interception in the second quarter proved to be costly.
Because the pass game wasn’t at its best, I thought the performance from LJ Martin was noteworthy. He led the team in rushing with 76 yards.
17th INT of the year for the BYU defense, 2nd of the season for CB Marque Collins. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) November 17, 2024
However, the best performance of the night came from the BYU defense. They held Kansas to 17 points. The final Jayhawk touchdown came on a fluky fumble that resulted in an easy touchdown run from Devin Neal.
Jay Hill’s defense deserved to win this game. But when four trips to the red-zone result in only six points, it’s unlikely that team comes out on top.
Tyler Batty had an outstanding game. He led the team with eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.
What was the most impactful play of the game?
One would say it’s the Jalen Daniels punt that resulted in a Kansas fumble recovery. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that shortly.
After the BYU defense held Kansas to a field goal late in the second quarter, two minute extraordinaire Jake Retzlaff marched the offense into scoring position with less than a minute left in the half.
Unfortunately, the drive ended with an interception.
The Cougars had two timeouts remaining from the Jayhawk five yard line. 39 seconds remained on the clock. Plenty of time to run any type of play in the playbook.
The TE fade play should probably be put in the garbage can. #BYU #BYUFootball
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) November 17, 2024
Instead of running the football, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called a tight end fade to Mata’ava Ta’ase. Retzlaff threw a poor pass and it was intercepted by Mello Dotson.
Any outcome that resulted in points would have been a success in that situation. Let’s say BYU kicks a short field goal there and they lead 13-10 at the half. The final drive of the game would have needed a field goal for the win, instead of a touchdown.
The lone offensive turnover proved to be a costly one, especially when the offensive is having a hard time getting touchdowns.
What was the most interesting stat from the game?
BYU’s run defense did a remarkable job against the Kansas rushing attack.
Kansas gained 40 yards on the ground after marching down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown.
After that, they only gained 33 yards the rest of the game.
Jalen Daniels only averaged 1.5 yards per carry on 10 attempts.
The Cougars out-rushed the Jayhawks by 89 yards. However, that wasn’t enough to keep the undefeated season alive.
When was the game lost for BYU football?
BYU’s defense got their first sack of the game on Jalen Daniels early in the 4th quarter. It appeared that Kansas would have to punt, but they kept their offense on the field.
Jalen Daniels ended up kicking the ball with what some call a “pooch punt.”
What unfolded next was the first bounce of the season that didn’t go the Cougars way.
Pooch punt from Jalon Daniels goes off the helmet of #BYU cornerback Evan Johnson. Live ball that Kansas then recovers on the BYU three-yard line.
One play later, Devin Neal finds the endzone.#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 17, 2024
The punt bounced off the helmet of Evan Johnson. Jakob Robinson had an opportunity to scoop up the loose ball, but it bounced away from him.
Kansas recovered the loose ball and punched it in on the next play with running back Devin Neal.
Up next is an elimination game against Arizona State down in Tempe, Arizona.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
Take us with you wherever you go.
