BYU beat Houston 30-18 in a freezing cold, sloppy mistake-fest late Saturday night that featured seven fumbles.
It was the final regular-season game in a unique and unpredictable campaign. After starting the season 9-0, the victory broke a two-game losing skid for BYU.
Some will mourn what could have been for BYU. They’ll lament how close the Cougars came to a berth in the Big 12 championship game, a top-10 ranking, and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff. It’s easy to point to a handful of plays — those soul-crushing moments against Kansas and Arizona State — as the culprits to a season that might have been.
But let’s take a step back and appreciate the big picture: a 10-2 season, a share of the Big 12 regular-season title alongside Iowa State, Colorado and Arizona State, and an undeniable claim to join ASU as the surprise program of the year in the league. And that’s with a fraction of the resources those other programs are working with.
Now let’s be clear: 10 wins is a crowning achievement for this program. It’s light years ahead of where BYU was picked to finish when the preseason polls came out back in July. The Cougars were picked to finish in the conference — about as far back as you could go — and most “experts” figured they’d win four or five games at best. But Kalani Sitake, his staff, and the players had other ideas. ideas.ideas.deas.eas.as.s.eas.deas.eas.s.s..se that, dollar for dollar, BYU got the most out of every penny spent.
In fact, if BYU were an investment, it would be the stock of the year. A penny-ante operation producing one of the best returns in college football. It’s no small feat to squeeze out 10 wins when you’re not rolling in cash, and BYU’s 10-win season was an absolute masterclass in program monetary efficiency.
This will be the last time BYU does football on the cheap. With a new general manager coming onboard to help manage NIL money and a full share of Big 12 revenue sharing, things will evolve in months to come.
I had the Cougars pegged for about six wins back in August, so this is a heck of a lot better than what I expected. A 10-win season? That’s no fluke. Take a look around. Iowa State, one of the two teams headed to Arlington for the Big 12 title game, is celebrating its first 10-win season in history. Don’t let anyone tell you 10 wins isn’t special.
This is BYU’s 19th 10-win season, third in the last five years. None of those, however, came against this kind of P4 schedule. This is a first.
It’s tough to win in this sport. Just ask Ohio State, Miami, Georgia, USC, Alabama — teams with blue-chip talent who tripped up this year. Only Oregon has managed to stay perfect. So BYU’s 10 wins? Worth celebrating. Take the victories, take the momentum, and head to a bowl game. Take that break. You’ve earned it.
And don’t forget one of those wins came at the expense of Utah, the former Big 12 favorite that limped to a disappointing 5-7 record and missed out on bowl season altogether. BYU took care of business in that rivalry game, proving that it belongs at the big table.
Now let’s be clear: 10 wins is a crowning achievement for this program. It’s light years ahead of where BYU was picked to finish when the preseason polls came out back in July. They were picked to finish 13th in the conference — about as far back as you could go — and most “experts” figured they’d win four or five games at best. But Kalani Sitake, his staff, and the players had other ideas.
Sure, there’s some disappointment in the air. With all the hype and speculation surrounding BYU in early November, missing out on a Big 12 title game was a bit of a letdown. But when you take a step back and look at the season in total, it’s hard not to call this an unmitigated success.
So now BYU will turn its attention to bowl season — whether it’s the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando, or the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The Cougars actually could face Colorado in the Alamo Bowl because of a contract with the Pac-12 of which the Buffs have a stake.
As for the regular-season finale? It had all the drama we’ve come to expect from this team —highlights, lowlights and everything in between. A slow start, much like the ones in the Utah, Kansas, and Arizona State games, but a defense that showed up when it counted.
The usual mix of complementary football: offense, defense and special teams all making their contributions. A muffed punt here, a red-zone mistake there, but also a kickoff return for a touchdown by Talan Alfrey, who took an onside kick 58 yards to the house to tie the game at 7.
And, of course, the defense came up huge, extending its record for interceptions, with Tyler Batty and Jack Kelly adding to their total. By season’s end, BYU had 20 picks on the year—tops in the nation.
Then there was the two-minute drill before halftime, a display of BYU’s lightning-fast offense, capped by a 13-yard touchdown run by Jake Retzlaff to give the Cougars a 21-10 lead going into the break.
And let’s not forget the seniors. Batty, who’s been a fixture on that defense for years, delivered a big-time performance.
In the end, this BYU team proved something few thought possible when it entered the season: It can compete, and it can win. Maybe the Cougars didn’t make it to Arlington. Maybe they didn’t crack the College Football Playoff. But at 10-2, with a piece of the Big 12 title in their back pocket, the 2024 BYU season will go down as one of the most unexpected and rewarding stories of the year.
Now, take a bow. This team took the hard road at times, got lucky other weeks, but the team should be credited for a big achievement.
“It wasn’t pretty but 10 wins is a great accomplishment and these seniors did it three times,” Retzlaff told KSL radio.
