BYU's 34-14 win over Wyoming was solid but not spectacular – Deseret News

LARAMIE, Wyoming – BYU’s last visit to War Memorial Stadium for the foreseeable future was much like many before it – not particularly pretty, but effective.

The Cougars had a hard time passing the ball consistently, were still shaky on the third attempt and committed so many penalties on defense that they were unable to achieve the desired clean sheet victory.

But given the importance the Cowboys place on this matchup, victories over Wyoming should never be taken for granted, so Saturday night's 34-14 victory over the struggling Brown and Gold will suffice, even if they know the schedule will be even more difficult from here on out.

“I'm happy that we're 3-0 and proud of the team. I think they showed the energy, the effort and everything we expect from our guys,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

“It wasn't perfect, but there were some really good things we could work on, some really good things we could get better at. I feel like we got better from last week to this week and I'm looking forward to making improvement from this week to the next.”

In front of 24,513 spectators on the Laramie Plateau, BYU earned its tenth consecutive victory over the Pokes (0-3), who have a combative team but lack a reliable passer.

Evan Svoboda, who transferred from Snow College, completed 14 of 32 passes for 140 yards and one interception, hurting the Cougars only on the ground – something that has happened to many quarterbacks.

Get the Southern Illinois tape ready. And watch out, because Kansas State's Avery Johnson is coming to town next weekend.

Speaking of reliable passers, BYU's starting QB Jake Retzlaff has been hit and miss. He was intercepted once, could have been intercepted a couple more times, and missed at least half a dozen throws, particularly to senior receiver Darius Lassiter.

Lassiter caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in the second half, but at times in the first half his body language suggested he was frustrated with Retzlaff's inaccuracy.

But when Retzlaff was on form, he was truly at his best, using his legs and arms to make plays that kept the Cowboys at bay. The junior completed 22 of 36 passes for 291 yards and three touchdown passes for a passer rating of 175.6. He was also BYU's best runner with six carries for 62 yards.

This plays.

“We scored a good number of points and got the win. Without seeing the film and stuff, it's hard to say anything about his performance today,” said Retzlaff.

“The guys around me made a lot of great plays for me, but yeah, I think we played well enough to get a good win. The defense played pretty well too.”

Perhaps the most impressive statistic was that the offense managed nine plays of 20 yards or more – explosive chunk plays – that more than made up for another lackluster performance on third down.

The Cougars made 2 of 11 third downs and were 0 of 16 third downs at one point since their 18-15 win over SMU last week.

“You have to be really happy with the guys on offense,” Sitake said. “When you look at the interception Jake threw, we all know why it was an interception – it was too short.”

“He can make better throws and we've challenged him to do that. We don't want him to be afraid to play football and be a quarterback. Interceptions happen every now and then. We want him to continue to be aggressive.”

Retzlaff was also fearless when running the ball, carrying the running attack in the absence of the one-two punch of LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, two running backs who were banged up in the SMU game and remained in Provo.

While Retzlaff's running style may give the illusion that BYU could handle itself without Martin, it's worth noting that BYU averaged 5 yards per run, with freshman Pokaiaua Haunga being the most effective, rushing for 35 yards on five runs.

Sitake said RB4 Enoch Nawahine was “a little banged up,” so Sione Moa and Haunga got the runs after RB3 Miles Davis, who had a rough night (8 carries, 15 yards).

“Kudos to Wyoming, man. They wanted to stop the run. They pressed up front and moved. They made it difficult, but we wanted to have a presence up front on both sides of the ball,” Sitake said.

“I'm glad we were able to do that and make some tough yards, especially at the end. Finishing the game on offense (in Victory Formation) is what we wanted to do.”

However, there was at least one Cougar who wanted more. Chase Roberts caught six balls for 129 yards, including a spectacular catch on a trick play that BYU calls “specials.”

“I think we should have beaten that team 60-0,” Roberts said. “But if we keep going, fix those mistakes and play clean, we're going to beat a lot of teams this year.”

The Cougars achieved 458 yards, the Cowboys only 217, despite running only two fewer plays (67-65).

Retzlaff was not sacked once and was barely touched, so the offensive line is eligible to play – despite some uncharacteristic holding penalties that delayed attacks and a penalty that cost Sione I. Moa his first touchdown as a Cougar.

Kudos also to BYU's special teams and especially Keelan Marion. The speedster, who transferred from Connecticut, scored a 102-yard touchdown on a second-half kickoff, BYU's first kickoff return TD in 10 years (Adam Hine, 2014 vs. Virginia) and first kickoff return TD on the road in 26 years.

“In the first half, I misjudged the kick (and played it back to the 16), so the guys were after me, the coaches were after me. I was pretty exhausted because of that. At halftime, coach Kalani looked me in the face and said, 'Kee, just trust it and do it.'

“The guys saw that I was depressed and encouraged me and trusted that I could do it.”

And he did it by helping BYU take a 24-7 lead and breaking the Cowboys' necks.

“I was shocked myself. I didn't know how to celebrate. I just hugged the boys,” said Marion.

Aside from a 75-yard touchdown drive by Wyoming enabled by a penalty, BYU largely dominated the first half but only managed a 17-7 lead.

On BYU's first possession, Retzlaff threw short to Kody Epps on first-and-10 from the Wyoming 23-yard line and Wrook Brown intercepted the pass at the 1-yard line.

For Retzlaff, it was the third interception this season and the sixth in his career in seven appearances.

Wyoming managed just one first down on its first four possessions, but finally answered after BYU took a 14-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Epps. BYU's first TD came easily, a nifty play to Keanu Hill over the middle for a 20-yard touchdown.

Shortly before halftime, the Cougars tried to stop Wyoming with the ball, but the attack stalled when Retzlaff made two missed throws and BYU had to settle for a 49-yard field goal by Will Ferrin.

Retzlaff was nearly intercepted a few more times in the first half—one was an absolute drop—but he finished the first half with decent numbers: 17 of 27 for 197 yards and two TDs, with one interception at the goal line.

Jay Hill's defense once again performed admirably, forcing only one turnover – the first interception for walk-on Evan Johnson.

In the fourth quarter, the Pokes rushed for 76 yards on 12 plays against a combination of second- and third-team players and scored their final touchdown.

“We're not satisfied. We know we have to keep working, but we're definitely going to celebrate because this was a tough game and a tough week of preparation,” Sitake said. “Proud of our leaders, proud of our coaches. We're looking forward to the next game.”

The Cougars (3-0) will host No. 14 Kansas State (3-0) at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday.