Cold and Hot — the Jake Retzlaff story.
As the strong-willed junior college quarterback fielded questions last November following BYU’s season-ending loss at No. 21 Oklahoma State, Retzlaff was draped in the kind of cold that comes from the heat of being in charge during a disaster — it’s tough to shake.
Retzlaff’s Cougars had just blown a 24-6 halftime lead and lost 40-34 in double overtime. While the Cowboys caught fire during the third and fourth quarters, he slipped into a deep freeze, completing seven of 19 passes for 60 yards.
The defeat capped BYU’s first five-game skid to end a season since 1955 and Retzlaff, playing for the injured Kedon Slovis, started in four of those losses. It didn’t help that anxious fans hadn’t healed from the week before when they watched Retzlaff throw a 100-yard pick-six in a 31-24 defeat to No. 14 Oklahoma in Provo.
To his credit, he stood in the Stillwater chill and delivered heartfelt answers to heavy questions, but what he really wanted to do was grab a hot shower, fly home to Provo and get back to practice. Ever confident, Retzlaff knew he was good enough to play at this level, but he was also realistic enough to know that unless he improved, it could all be over.
The transfer portal haunts every struggling quarterback, and BYU had no choice but to go shopping. When the Cougars signed veteran Gerry Bohanon before spring practice, the writing for Retzlaff was on the wall. So, he went to work to erase it.
Convincing a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a team and a global fan base to give him a second chance wasn’t going to be an easy sell, and it certainly wasn’t going to be unanimous — at least at the start.
Retzlaff began with a focus on better ball security, and he went through spring drills without throwing an interception. He filled his summer hours studying film and working with former BYU quarterback and position guru John Beck. The quarterback battle lasted until the final week of fall camp, when Retzlaff pulled ahead of Bohanon and won the job.
Not convinced, some Big 12 media outlets ranked Retzlaff last among the league’s 16 quarterbacks, well behind Kansas State’s Avery Johnson and Arizona’s Noah Fifita; however, in head-to-head competition, an older, wiser Retzlaff beat both and he did it without a turnover, while Johnson (two) and Fifita (four) combined for six.
Last Saturday, during another postgame interview, Retzlaff stood and answered BYUtv’s questions just as he did last November. This time, he stood in sunshine and warmth instead of clouds and cold. Despair was long gone — replaced by a joyful gleam in his eyes and a big smile on his face.
Retzlaff’s Cougars had just defeated Arizona 41-19 to remain one of 11 undefeated teams in college football (6-0, 3-0). He completed 18 of 32 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran six times for 28 yards. The performance came on the heels of an unprecedented day of media coverage, and on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism.
Retzlaff was featured on ESPN, Fox and CBS. The reports highlighted his season, including the inclusion of his Jewish faith at BYU, a school sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is also the only Jewish quarterback playing Division I football.
Accepting hype is easy, but living up to it can be a burden. Retzlaff, in the focus of Fox Network cameras, took the field with his teammates and got the job done, just as he did against Southern Illinois, SMU, Wyoming, No. 13 Kansas State and Baylor. As a result, his Cougars moved up to No. 13 in the AP Top 25, they remain tied for first place in the Big 12 and are already bowl eligible.
For Retzlaff and BYU, that cold day last November must feel like a lifetime ago and, in some ways, it was. Today Retzlaff is a hot commodity with converted BYU fans thrilled about the 6-0 start and already thinking optimistically about next year — when he will be a senior.
The only “next” that Retzlaff is considering is the next game, and look who it is — Oklahoma State. The Cowboys (3-3, 0-3) come to Provo on Friday (8:15 p.m., ESPN). The extended forecast will provide Retzlaff with a full-circle moment — cold, cloudy and with a chance of rain — almost identical to the conditions he faced during his struggles in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State will face a different Retzlaff in the reunion, and they have no one to blame but themselves. It was inside their stadium, in the wake of their big win that sent them to the Big 12 championship game when Retzlaff decided what kind of leader he wanted to be at BYU and the amount of work he was willing to do to make it happen.
The short-term results have been astounding, with long-term success in his forecast.
In the 100 years of BYU football, Retzlaff is one of six quarterbacks to start a season 6-0 while playing on the only team to do it after ending the previous year 0-5. That’s like going from cold to hot and it’s the premise of his story that is just getting started.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.