BYU and SMU met for the fifth time in program history Friday night when the Cougars took the field at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The Cougars came in unbeaten (4-0) against the Mustangs and looked to keep it going after a close call in 2022 when BYU held on for a thrilling 24-23 victory in the New Mexico Bowl.
Things looked good in the early going as BYU controlled the line of scrimmage and took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Retzlaff to tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase.
But that was the only thing to cheer about on offense in the first half as the Cougars managed just 52 yards the rest of the way, including five consecutive three-and-outs. With under a minute to go in the half, thankfully SMU went to a prevent defense which allowed the Cougars to pick up some yardage right before the half.
The second half was much of the same as the Cougars managed to score just 11 points to hold on for a 18-15 road win. BYU needed a trick play late in the third quarter just to get into red zone territory thanks to a fake reverse which allowed Ta’ase to get open and rumble down the sideline to the 26-yard line.
For the game, Retzlaff completed just 15-of-28 passes for 202 yards. The senior had one touchdown, but two costly interceptions and lost a fumble as well.
Here’s how Cougar fans reacted to BYU’s offensive performance, including the play by Retzlaff with many fans clamoring for backup quarterback Gerry Bohanon to come in and provide a spark, similar to what SMU did in the game. Bohanon came to BYU this year after playing at Baylor and South Florida.
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