No. 18 BYU at Arizona
After a three-and-out by both teams to start this one the Cougars would go out in front 7-0 at the end of an 8 play 66 yard drive and 28 yard TD run by Junior RB LJ Martin. Stuck 4th and 9 at mid-field after just five plays into their next possession the Wildcats would have to punt the ball back to BYU who wasted little time going ahead 14-0 in just 4 plays on a 75 yard TD pass from Freshman QB Bear Bachmeier to Junior WR Parker Kingston. Arizona’s Junior QB Noah Fafita would finally put it altogether on the Wildcat’s next drive including three first downs, two through the air and one on the ground, followed by a 17 yard TD pass to Senior WR Kris Hudson to make it a 14-7 game at the end of one.
Following a 75 minute lightning delay and after curiously deciding to try and convert a 4th down while 4th and 9 at their own 38 yard line and only picking up six yards, BYU would turn the ball back over to the Wildcats who would cut into that lead 10 plays later on a 24 yard field goal by Sophomore Place Kicker Michael Salgado-Medina making it 14-10. The Cougars would miss a field goal of their own 12 plays later and in less than two minutes Arizona would take a 17-14 lead at the end of an 8 play 76 yard drive on a 35 yard TD pass from Fafita to Chris Hunter. With less than a minute left in the half Arizona Senior DB Treydan Stukes would intercept Bachmeier ending their threat to take the lead back before the break.
Neither team scored anything in the 3rd Qtr, a palindromic period that started with an interception, had two three-and-outs in between, and ended with an interception—leaving Arizona still on top 17-14. Arizona would start the 4th Qtr by expanding their lead at the end of a 74 yard 10 play drive and 36 yard TD run by Junior RB Kedrick Reescano to make it 24-14. BYU would go on a seven minute drive ending in a Will Ferrin 24 yard field goal to close the gap by three, 24-17. Holding the Wildcats to a three-and-out on their next possession BYU would tie the game up at 24 a piece on a Bachmeier 2 yard TD run at the end of an 11 play 47 yard drive helped along by two Arizona pass interference penalties. With less than 20 seconds left in the quarter the game went to OT.
Arizona got the ball to start the first overtime and would kick a 23 yard field goal six plays later to go up 27-24. BYU would follow suit four plays later on a Will Ferrin 45 yard field goal to make it a 27-27 game and forcing a second overtime. BYU scored on a Bachmeier 7 yard TD run to start the 2nd OT but missed the required 2-point conversion attempt. On the 4th down of Arizona’s possession Fafita would try to hit Senior WR Javin Whatley in the end zone but the ball would bounce off his hands to end it.
For Arizona, Junior QB Noah Fafita was 25-of-45 for 219 yards, 2 TD’s—1 to Kris Hutson who led the team with 106 yards on 9 receptions and the other to Junior WR Chris Hunter—and 1 interception while also rushing 6 times for another 15 yards. On the ground, Kedrick Reescano led the way with 90 of the team’s 165 yards on 13 carries and the only Wildcat rushing TD. For BYU, Bachmeier was 12-of-29 for 172 yards, 1 TD to Junior WR Parker Kingston, and 2 picks but led the team in rushing TD’s, picking up two of the three and 89 yards on 22 carries with LJ Martin picking up the other score and leading the team in yards with 162 of the 258 yard total on 25 carries. BYU gets to head home but they’ll have a much tougher nut to crack in Utah whose only loss on the season is to the undefeated Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Wildcats hit the road to take on Houston whose only loss was also to Texas Tech.
No. 21 Arizona State at Utah
Other than those pesky Texas Tech Red Raiders the Utes haven’t had any problem dispensing with the other teams they’ve faced averaging 243 yards and 3 TD’s in the air and 278 yards and 3 TD’s on the ground. Although Junior QB Devon Dampier was held in check in the air this time and didn’t get any of his receivers into the end zone, Utah still got those six TD’s. Three by Dampier who led the team on the ground with 120 yards, two by Senior RB Naquari Rogers, and the sixth by backup Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin. As far as total rushing yards go? Texas Tech aside, they were averaging 278 and rushed for 279 in this one.
Utah took an early 7-0 lead on a 12 yard Dampier TD run five minutes into the 1st Qtr and never relinquished it. They held the Sun Devils to just a field goal in the 1st Qtr, shut them out in quarters two and four with Jordyn Tyson finally running one in for Arizona State in the third. In the meantime they scored back-to-back TD’s in 2nd Qtr on either side of a missed Sun Devil field goal attempt to go in up 21-3 at the half. They would repeat that in the 3rd Qtr on either side of Tyson’s three yard TD run to go up 35-10 and add one more for good measure in the fourth to make it a 42-10 blowout which will probably get Utah back up into the Top-25.
For the Utes, Junior QB Devon Dampier connected on just 7-of-12 for 104 yards, 0 TD’s and 0 interceptions to go along with those 120 yards rushing and 3 TD’s mentioned above. On the ground they collectively rushed 40 times for 279 yards and those six TD’s. On the defensive side they recorded five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and five pass disruptions which helps explain a pretty anemic offense on the part of Arizona State. The Sun Devils Senior backup QB Jeff Sims, playing in just his second start of the year in place of Sam Leavitt, who was out with an injury, connected on less than 50% of his 38 passing attempts for 124 yards, 0 TD’s and 0 interceptions. On the ground they rushed 40 times for 135 yards and the 1 TD by Jordyn Tyson. Utah will stay on the road to take on their second Top-25 ranked team in a row in No. 18 BYU while Arizona State, who may drop out of the rankings after the loss, better hope that Sam Leavitt can play next week as they’ll host the undefeated No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders.
No. 22 Iowa State at Colorado
With seventeen players unable to play due to injury Coach Prime and his Colorado Buffaloes really had something to smile about after knocking off No. 22 Iowa State 24-17 at home. In a game in which they took an early lead in the 1st Qtr, lost it in the 2nd and got it back in 3rd, they pitched a shut-out in the 4th with an interception deep in the Buffalo red zone on Iowa State’s first possession and a 4th down stop on their second. After undergoing yet another surgery to address his blood clots early in the week Sanders said afterward; “The locker room had a different vibe today. We’re better than what our record says. We shouldn’t be sitting up here with a plethora of losses. We should be sitting up here with a steering wheel and in the driver’s seat.”
For Colorado, Senior QB Kaidon Salter connected on 16-of-25 for 255 yards, 2 TD’s—1 to Sophomore WR Joseph Williams who led the team with 128 yards on 8 receptions and the other to Junior WR Omarion Miller who, with just three catches, picked up 82 yards. On the ground the Buffaloes collectively rushed 36 times for 148 yards with Sophomore RB Micah Welch picking up their only TD. For Iowa State, Junior QB Rocco Becht was 18-of-33 for 205 yards, no TD’s, and 1 interception while also rushing 7 times for 31 yards. On the ground the Cyclones rushed 37 times for 236 yards with Junior RB Abu Sama III carrying most of the load with 177 of those yards on 24 carries and both Iowa State rushing TD’s.
Iowa State led in 1st downs, 22-16; total yards of offense, 441-403; but had a less than 20% success rate on their twelve third down conversion attempts and failed to convert on the only 4th down attempt they tried. Due to the limited range of their place kicker BYU could have attempted a 50 yard field goal on their first possession of the game but chose to punt instead while their defense got caught flat-footed at the start of the 4th Qtr on the Colorado 70 yard TD pass on just the second play from scrimmage. It’s not getting any easier for either of these teams as, after a week off, Iowa State will face back-to-back Top-25 ranked teams while Colorado has to take on a Utah team that has only lost to the undefeated Texas Tech Red Raiders—and they have to do it on the road in Rice-Eccles Stadium.