Stillwater, Okla. • BYU had a bowl game in its sights
But a 24-6 halftime turned into a 40-34 defeat in double overtime, as the Oklahoma State Cowboys rallied past the Cougars and into the Big 12 title game.
BYU gave up 293 yards in the second half and saw the Pokes score 22 unanswered points to erase a deficit. BYU forced overtime on a last second 48-yard field goal in regulation by Will Ferrin, but couldn’t get a stop in overtime to win.
Oklahoma State scored two touchdowns in overtime, both by running back Ollie Gordon. He finished with five touchdowns for 166 yards on 34 carries.
The Cougars, fumbled the ball on their final possession — and ultimately the final play of their season — as they tried to respond. Senior tight end Isaac Rex caught the ball, but Oklahoma State defender Trey Rucker ripped it out to force a fumble.
BYU had its chance to win the game, particularly after its impressive first half.
The Cougars came into the day saying they would throw the entire playbook at Oklahoma State. And Kalani Sitake made good on that promise. He elected for BYU’s first onside kick in the first quarter and nearly got it until Talmage Gunther’s recovery was wiped away by a penalty.
Later on, Sitake called a fake punt on BYU’s own 39-yard line and converted it with a Tyler Batty 36-yard catch and run. It set up a field goal right before the half for BYU to go up 24-6.
In between, BYU parlayed the aggressiveness into turnovers and points. Cornerback Eddie Heckard came up with a pick-six at the 13-yard line and walked into the end zone to give BYU a 14-6 lead with 12:47 in the second quarter.
He would come up with his second pick at the end of the third quarter that stopped an OSU rally that could have cut it to a one-score game.
On offense, running back Aidan Robbins opened up BYU’s running game in the first half for 202 first-half yards and 74 on the ground.
But in the second half, the offense was held to under 120 yards and the defense could not hang on to the lead against Gordon and the Cowboys.
Headlines:
• What happened on Retzlaff’s 100-yard pick-six that changed the Oklahoma game?
• BYU’s battle with Oklahoma State goes beyond Saturday’s Big 12 finale
