Tempe, Ariz. • Jake Retzlaff’s Hail Mary looked like it found its target.
Needing a final-second touchdown to punch BYU’s ticket to the Big 12 title game, the Cougar quarterback threw a pass into the arms of wide receiver Chase Roberts.
It was ultimately ruled incomplete. Roberts disagreed.
“I actually wasn’t down,” Roberts insisted. “They blew the ball dead and I was still up on top of their players. But everyone was rushing the field, so they blew the ball dead.”
It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
On a day when BYU came up too short, too often, Retzlaff’s final pass came up 3 yards short of the goal line.
The final score: Arizona State 28, BYU 23.
The play came after a 13-minute delay as officials cleared the field of rushing Arizona State Sun Devil fans, who upon review, had started to celebrate the victory 1 second early.
The Sun Devils rushed the field for a second time, as Arizona State moved into a tie atop the Big 12. Head coach Kalani Sitake didn’t have a problem with fans rushing the field, but admitted he was looking for penalties on Arizona State for delaying the game.
Arizona State fans run on the field following a 28-23 win over BYU in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz.
“I was just hoping for all kinds of stuff. I was like, ‘How many penalties do they get?’ Just trying to get us more [yards],” Sitake said. “I don’t know, just hoping that we had one more shot.”
BYU got its shot, but still ended up dropping its second game in a row, a major — and perhaps fatal — blow to its Big 12 title contention. With Colorado losing, a win would have put the Cougars into the title game. Now it becomes a coin flip — and they’ll need help along the way, as Arizona State now holds a coveted tiebreaker.
For Cougar fans, this game felt like a rerun from last year as BYU limped into the halftime locker room.
The Cougars couldn’t stop the run and couldn’t run the ball — a potent combination that led to a dismal 2-7 conference record a year ago.
Only this time, BYU wasn’t doing it in the doldrums of a wasted season. It had a Big 12 Conference championship appearance on the line. By the time intermission approached, it was down 21-3 and had given up three rushing touchdowns.
Fittingly, it was the largest halftime deficit since 2023 — when it trailed Iowa State by 24 points.
And just like last year, BYU could not overcome it.
“We didn’t play our game the first half,” Roberts said. “And you saw what happened. We’ve got to change that up. When we start fast, we’re undefeated. And that’s a fact.”
Retzlaff threw an interception just over a minute left to truly seal the Cougars’ fate. He overthrew wide receiver Darius Lassiter on a drive where BYU could’ve taken the lead. Sitake thought Lassiter was open, but it was an overthrow.
Retzlaff finished 22-of-38 for 297 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill had no answers for running back Cam Skattebo. Arizona State’s bell cow had 148 yards and accounted for every rushing touchdown. Even when BYU tried to mount a comeback, it was impossible as the Sun Devils kept handing the ball off for five yards a carry.
Arizona State averaged almost seven yards a play on the day. It didn’t punt until 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
BYU had signs of life on offense after the break. After going over four quarters without a touchdown, it authored two scoring drives in the third. Wide receiver Keelan Marion had a 10-yard rushing touchdown and quarterback Jake Retzlaff found JoJo Phillips in the end zone.
BYU cut it to a one-possession game with under 10 minutes left with an 88-yard drive. Marion scampered in for his second touchdown.
ASU had a chance to kick a field goal with under five minutes left and the ball at the 11-yard line. But BYU stopped a rushing attempt on a fourth down and one to give Retzlaff the time for one last drive. The effort was thwarted with a Retzlaff interception.
