BYU led from start to finish as the Cougars coasted to a 27-14 victory over Texas Tech in front of a sellout crowd (63,523) at LaVell Edward Stadium Saturday night.
It was a wild and wacky game in which BYU forced 5 turnovers, ran for a season high in yards (150), yet Texas Tech had more offense (389 to 277), first downs (19 to 12), more time of possession, and the Red Raiders also had a player ejected for spitting on a player.
In the end, a win is a win as the Cougar improved to 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play. With the loss, Texas Tech dropped to 3-5 on the year and 2-3 in Big 12 play.
On offense, Kedon Slovis completed 15-of-27 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, but it as the ground game that finally came alive for the Cougars. LJ Martin had 10 carries for 93 yards and Aidan Robbins added 16 carries for 49 yards in the win. Even with BYU content to run out the clock the last few minutes with Texas Tech loading the box, the Cougars still managed to end the game averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
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But the story of the day was the defense as the Cougars forced 5 turnovers — the most since 2019 in a 42-14 win over Utah State. Eddie Heckard recorded his first fumble recovery for a touchdown and also had an interception as well. Ethan Slade had his first career interception and Jakob Robinson added another one as well. Robinson also had a career-high 10 tackles on the night too.
Even punter Ryan Rehkow got in on the action as the junior recorded his first fumble recovery which was the cherry on top in what was a fun, yet bizarre game.
Here’s how the media, fans and players reacted after the win:
BYU is now 20-1 in its last 21 night games, and 17-1 in its last 18 night games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) October 22, 2023
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire in postgame on BYU and playing at LaVell Edwards Stadium: "That's a good football team. The environment…that was loud, and in the end zone where the students are, we had some miscues down there."
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) October 22, 2023
What kind of “top secret” one-handed catching drills are y’all running in practice? 🤩
— Shaun McKnight (@ShaunMcKnight) October 22, 2023
Kalani is the best
— Todd Llewellyn (@ToddLlewellyn) October 22, 2023
Nice to beat another FBS opponent we had never beaten and even the series at 1 each with Texas Tech
— realsportsfan (@cdshaw99) October 22, 2023
BYU tonight ran for a season-high 150 yards.
Sitake-era BYU is 23-1 at home and 46-9 overall when rushing for 150+ yards.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) October 22, 2023
BYU gets an ugly dub… GG TT… safe travels back to Lubbock.#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/goAUj6xCw9
— Hemā Heimuli Jr. (@x_hems) October 22, 2023
BYU has 3 wins where they were outgained by at least 110 yards.
Since 2001, no team has won more than 3 such games in a season.
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) October 22, 2023
3 of 5 BYU wins this year have had games where the Cougars were outgained by at least 110 yards.
On the flipside, going into this weekend, a turnover margin of +9 was 3rd best in the nation.
BYU has a season turnover margin of +9.
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) October 22, 2023
Big 12 wins:
BYU: 2
Utah: 1 https://t.co/xNIhUm1Bgl— BIG XII Shane 🤙 (@LiftingCoug) October 22, 2023
Well, not officially. But we can send 2 guys in white shirts and ties to do that
— Brigham Newsfeed (@byu_undefeated) October 22, 2023
Guys, BYU is 5-2 in our first Big12 year after sending like a million guys to the NFL.
I love this team.
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) October 22, 2023
— Jonny Linehan (@jlinehan9) October 22, 2023
Yes, yes, yes.
— BYU4Trey (@playoffbogey) October 22, 2023
Style points mean nothing, especially now that we are playing the big boys every week. Just win baby.
— Derek Paulson (@d_ford_p) October 22, 2023
BYU has more BIGXII wins than the other three new members do combined. https://t.co/9Yw3dDAUqM
— Conference of the 12 (@Conferenceof12) October 22, 2023
seriously tho… what can’t I do pic.twitter.com/l5Nxn6chdZ
— Cosmo Cougar (@byu_cosmo) October 22, 2023
Ain't no one got moves like @byu_cosmo 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/25114eDmxp
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 21, 2023
Introducing my younger boys to the magic of attending a BYU football game. Having a blast! pic.twitter.com/vjc429n304
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) October 22, 2023
