Orlando, Fla. • The photo still lives in Jake Retzlaff’s camera roll.
When Pro Football Focus released its Big 12 quarterback rankings in July, Retzlaff saw the graphic that slotted him dead last out of the conference’s 16 QBs. He took a screenshot, saved it to his photo album and stored it away for the right time.
“There were a lot of doubters to start the season for us,” Retzlaff said. “We are not forgetting that.”
The BYU quarterback smiled and added, “There are still doubters.”
This is how Retzlaff’s mind works.
Scratch that.
It’s how it thrives.
The Cougars were a 2.5-point underdog against the lowly Knights, and Retzlaff took it personally.
So on Saturday evening, after leading his undefeated team to an eighth-straight victory, Retzlaff was pulling moments from his library of slights.
“What is it? Day games, traveling across the country. I don’t know what excuse the book is going to come up with next,” he said. “Yeah, we definitely took 2.5 personally.”
But with a 37-24 win over UCF — and an 8-0 start — the last remaining doubters should start to fade. BYU will be favored in every game from here on out.
Retzlaff might need to set his sights on something else. Instead of those who didn’t think he and the Cougars would be any good, he might take aim at those who discredit BYU’s place in the College Football Playoff race.
Because that’s the destination BYU is hurling toward right now.
“No. 11 is cool and all. But ever since we got ranked inside the top 15, to me it is not enough,” Retzlaff said earlier in the week.
BYU is backing it up, too.
The Cougars cruised convincingly over UCF. A team that gave Iowa State — the only other undefeated team in the Big 12 — so much trouble a week ago, looked befuddled against BYU.
Retzlaff’s offense put up 480 yards and the quarterback threw for six passes of 15 yards or more. Retzlaff alone accounted for three total touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 174.
BYU safety Faletau Satuala (10) is swarmed by teammates after interception against Central Florida during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)
When UCF got even remotely close, he led a 75-yard touchdown drive in 32 seconds to end the first half. He finished it off with a 62-yard touchdown to Chase Roberts.
“I don’t think I completed that route one time in fall camp,” Retzlaff joked. “So completing that it in a game is always fun.”
Even when it wasn’t Retzlaff thriving, the rushing attack had its most efficient night. BYU averaged 4.9 yards a carry and both LJ Martin and Hickley Ropati went for 80 yards or more. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick barely had to use Retzlaff after the intermission.
He was content grinding out the clock with 132 rushing yards in the second half. BYU had three drives of 10 plays or more.
Even head coach Kalani Sitake was hard pressed to find flaws with that.
“We wanted to work with these two guys from the beginning of the year,” he said. “The one-two punch is really good. I like the way we are playing overall
He continued: “It keeps us balanced and it keeps teams guessing. I like that. I like the position we are in on offense.”
And defensively, coordinator Jay Hill’s unit looked worthy of a playoff bid. UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown — who had 154 rushing yards against ISU — was held to 9 yards on the ground this time. BYU intercepted him twice and he was benched early in the fourth quarter.
UCF running back RJ Harvey, the leading rusher in the league, still had 127 yards. But Sitake still felt BYU shored up all the worries about its run defense that lingered from Oklahoma State.
Last week, BYU got eaten up both on the edge and in the middle. This time, both of Harvey’s big runs came on the outside. BYU wanted to funnel him there. The Cougars simply missed assignments when Harvey broke away. But it wasn’t a system failure.
“Some small tweaks, technical stuff,” lineman Blake Mangelson said of what changed. “I thought we did well.”
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, Center, is sacked by Central Florida's defense during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)
And now BYU can start to take on the persona of its quarterback — the man who continuously looks for slights to fend off.
Even linebacker Isaiah Glasker mentioned the 2.5-point underdog line against a 3-5 UCF.
“I’ve seen it,” he said. “We know what we are capable of.”
In the next two weeks, before BYU plays another game, the College Football Playoff rankings will come out.
The Cougars will be in the hunt, but likely not slotted ahead of Iowa State. Almost assuredly, BYU will take that personally.
“We know how good we can be. I really think we can be better,” Sitake said.
As for Retzlaff, he decided to play it cooler when asked about the playoff rankings.
“If you sit two-thirds into the season and start towards the College Football Playoff, you are doing the right thing,” he said. “Each week is the Super Bowl We won Super Bowl eight.”
Rest assured, though, he’s saving it in his mental library.
He’s just waiting for the right time.
A playoff chase is next in his sights.
And the doubters will be there, just in a different form.
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