Orlando, Fla. • Jake Retzlaff insisted that BYU’s offense was getting closer to playing to its full potential.
“Oh, so close,” the BYU quarterback said earlier in the week, a grin on his face as he thought about the prospect.
Turns out, he was right.
BYU’s offense hummed along for over 450 yards, churned out 34 points and averaged nearly 7 yards per play as the Cougars cruised to another blowout win in the Big 12 — a 37-24 victory over UCF on Saturday afternoon.
BYU is perfect still at 8-0, 5-0 in conference, and heads into the Utah game at the top of the league.
Retzlaff jumped out on UCF early and, for the most part, the game was never competitive.
The Cougar quarterback opened the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown run. BYU was up 17 before UCF got on the board.
The only time the Knights came within striking distance was late in the second quarter when UCF cut the lead to 17-10.
But Retzlaff led one of his patented two-minute drives and found Chase Roberts for a 62-yard touchdown. BYU went 75 yards in 32 seconds.
Retzlaff finished 16-of-24 for 228 yards and three total touchdowns. Running back LJ Martin had his second game of over 100 yards. He added a 15-yard touchdown by bouncing off of three tacklers on his way to the end zone.
BYU coordinator Jay Hill’s defense kept UCF’s run game largely in check. Quarterback Jacurri Brown had 9 yards on six carries. Last week, Brown had 154 rushing yards against Iowa State.
BYU intercepted Brown twice — first by Isaiah Glasker and then by backup safety Faletau Satuala. Brown was benched with 10 minutes left.
The Big 12’s leading rusher, RJ Harvey, broke off multiple long runs and had 127 yards. But for a running back who had 194 yards against Iowa State, it was minimizing the damage. Harvey was UCF’s lone offense, scoring twice.
BYU heads into a bye week and then plays Utah on Nov. 9.
