This article was first published in the Cougar Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each week.
BYU (7-0, 4-0) will take its longest road trip of the season to defend its perch at No. 11 in the country and first-place spot in the Big 12 standings on Saturday. It will play UCF (3-4, 1-3) in Orlando, Florida.
The challenge will be daunting in that UCF, picked to finish in the top four, has one of the top rushing attacks in the country and should have beaten undefeated Iowa State last Saturday in Ames.
The game has been listed as a toss-up with the Cougars slightly favored by some. BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill will need to have his players prepared to play assignment sound football, something they strayed from in the Cougars’ win over Oklahoma State.
UCF has BYU’s full attention, as reported in this piece by Jay Drew. In this piece, Jackson Payne examines chances for the Cougars to reach the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas.
Cougar Insider predictions
Question of the week: Was Oklahoma State’s big-play run attack versus BYU’s defense an anomaly or did Mike Gundy expose a big weakness? Will Jay Hill be able to fix those mistakes against UCF, a team far more skilled at running the ball?
Jay Drew: After watching an average Oklahoma State offense, using two different quarterbacks, gash BYU repeatedly on Friday for more than 400 yards of offense, one of my first thoughts was that UCF is going to have a field day against the Cougars, too. The Knights have a better offense than OSU does. Jay Hill has his work cut out for him this week.
I don’t think it was an anomaly. I think the past couple of foes have figured out BYU’s defense a bit. Adjustments are needed. Job one will be to stop the quarterback run game; it’s been a bit of a problem all season, masked by the defense’s ability to come up with turnovers.
Don’t look now, but UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown ran all over a good Iowa State defense last Saturday. And the Knights have a running back, RJ Harvey, who is every bit as good as Ollie Gordon II. I expect another shootout, and I wouldn’t be surprised if BYU is on the wrong end of this one.
Prediction: UCF 41, BYU 37
Dick Harmon: No question after Oklahoma State gashed BYU on the ground last Friday, the UCF game looms as a tremendous challenge. UCF’s RJ Harvey is the No. 4 rusher in the country and Jacurri Brown is a dangerous QB when he decides to run. Jay Hill needs fixes and stops. BYU is going to give up yards, however. UCF leads the league with 465 yards of total offense a game. The question is, will those yards result in touchdowns?
UCF ran all over Iowa State. And lost. The current UCF four-game losing streak includes losses to Colorado (48-21), Florida (24-13), Cincinnati (19-13) and Iowa State (38-35). UCF racked up yards in those games, but they’ve been volatile with turnovers and that may be the difference in this game.
BYU must force UCF into passing situations; the Cougars have 12 so far this season, tied for most in the Big 12. Those 12 have come from 10 different BYU defensive players. They have to win this game the way they beat K-State, with some magic.
I’ve thought all season this would be a loss for BYU because of UCF’s athleticism and Gus Malzahn’s genius in creating offense. I do think BYU will give up yards, but get turnovers and strange plays like K-State and OSU and win in a shootout. UCF has an eye-candy offense but BYU is a better all-around football team.
Prediction: BYU 42, UCF 38
Cougar tales
BYU’s rally to beat Oklahoma State via a perfect last-minute scoring drive elevated the Cougars to No. 11 in the AP poll. Here is our coverage of that game:
- BYU needed to be perfect at the end and was (Dick Harmon)
- What Mike Gundy had to say about playing BYU (Jackson Payne)
- How BYU’s miraculous win will become famous (Jay Drew)
- Social media reacts to BYU win over OSU (Jackson Payne)
- Zach Wilson reacts to Retzlaff’s play (Krysyan Edler)
BYU women motored through Utah 3-2 in a rivalry Big 12 volleyball match. Here’s the story.
From the archives
From the X-verse
Extra points
- Will Darius Lassiter moment be like Morrell in 1984? (Deseret News)
- Remembering 1984: How the QB factory led to national title (Lee Benson)
- Three reporters recount 1984 undefeated run (Deseret News)
- Robbie Bosco: “Just Tape it up” (Dick Harmon)
- Glen Kozlowski: “Naive enough to believe” (Dick Harmon)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
OK State is loaded with talent. It hasn’t been clicking lately but it’s a great team.
They finished 2023 as a top-20 team, lost the Big 12 championship game to Texas, then beat Texas A&M in the bowl game. The seniors all came back to win a championship. It’s a team with a ton of talent that hasn’t been clicking.
They also exposed issues that BYU needs to face and fix quickly. Opponents now know to spread the field and the defense to find success against the BYU defense, if they don’t fix that it’s going to lead to disaster.
Let’s give Oklahoma State some credit.
— Josh from London
We were out-game-planned on this one, but still got the win. Good job Cougs, for being resilient and finding a way to win. Good job to OSU for planning and calling an incredible game. Our defense has shown throughout the season that they’re tough, but OSU put up the most points and I think the most yards of any team we’ve played, and it goes to their preparation and play calling. I lost count of the number of times I said that they had called the perfect play for whatever situation they were in. Great job to my Cougs for getting the win. Hats off to OSU for giving us all we could handle.
— MesaAZCoug
TJ Woods is a miracle worker. Never thought BYU would be dropping 38 on Oklahoma State before the season, but I will take it, especially compared to the Uooties offensive situation.
— BackEastCoug12
Up next
- Oct. 25 | 1 p.m | Rugby | Utah Valley University | @ Orem
- Oct. 25 | 6 p.m. | Women’s soccer | Texas Tech | @ Lubbock, Texas
- Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | Colorado | @ Boulder, Colorado
- Oct. 26 | 1:30 p.m. | Football | UCF | @ Orlando, Florida
- Oct. 30 | 7 p.m. | Men’s basketball | Colorado Christian | Exhibition | @ Provo