Which BYU offense will show up Saturday when the No. 11 Cougars take on a UCF football team that looks totally capable of playing the spoiler role in Orlando at FBC Mortgage Stadium?
Will it be the one that opened last Friday’s game against Oklahoma State with a 75-yard touchdown drive and finished it with four consecutive scoring drives in the second half?
Or will it be the one that committed three first-half turnovers and punted in the second quarter after a promising drive sputtered in OSU territory?
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff says it will be the former.
The junior college transfer said Monday the BYU offense is “so close” to reaching its full potential that he would be extremely disappointed if the Cougars (7-0, 4-0) are slowed down by the Knights (3-4, 1-3) in the Big 12 clash in the Sunshine State. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. MDT on ESPN.
“We are like a play away, a play or two plays away,” Retzlaff said. “Everybody collectively has taken small steps, and that is making a big difference on the field. We are right there, man. We are on the cusp.”
That was pretty much BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s sentiment on Tuesday when he spoke to reporters after a practice that both he and defensive coordinator Jay Hill said was one of the best of the season.
“We did a lot of good things (against OSU), but the main thing — taking care of the football — this week is going to be really important,” Roderick said.
BYU was able to get away with three turnovers at home — Retzlaff threw two interceptions and running back Hinckley Ropati the other on a gadget play that was doomed from the start — but probably can’t repeat that at UCF’s “Bounce House” if it wants to keep its perfect season intact.
The Cougars were scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday to get an extra day to get acclimated, a common practice in the Kalani Sitake era when games are two time zones away.
“It is taxing, but I think we have a good plan. We did it a lot in our time as an independent, so we have a pretty good plan for it,” Roderick said. “We didn’t play good last year when we went two time zones away (to West Virginia). We have to do better than that. But I think we have a good plan and I expect us to play well.”
Retzlaff is hoping the same running game that picked up 255 yards against the Cowboys travels to Orlando.
He picked up 81 of those yards on the ground, while sophomore LJ Martin ran 20 times for 120 yards and showed he has fully recovered from an injury that caused him to miss three full games and a big part of another.
“LJ is 100% (healthy), and that is the guy we know and love,” Roderick said. “We have been missing that. I thought he played very well and we expect more of that.”
Roderick said Ropati — who rushed for 47 yards — also played well. The OC put Ropati’s pick on himself, saying OSU was in a different defense than he expected and he should have had a way for Retzlaff/Ropati to check out of the play.
“I put him in a tough spot,” Roderick said.
On the other hand, Roderick had Retzlaff perfectly prepared to run the two-minute offense that won the game in the end.
“It felt like the days when we were running this offense the way it is supposed to be run. I thought the offensive line was physical, LJ was running (well), we were in rhythm,” Roderick said. “And the run game sets up our play-action pass, and vice-versa. We need to keep making strides. We are getting better, but we are nowhere near where we want to be in the run game.”
The Cougars will likely be without receiver Kody Epps for another week.
Offensive lineman Connor Pay is hoping to return for the Utah game on Nov. 9, having fractured his foot in the 34-28 win over Baylor.
Roderick said OL Sonny Makasini is due back, but declined to say whether Makasini or third-stringer Bruce Mitchell will get the start at center.
Mitchell “got the (center) job out of necessity, and had done a really good job,” Roderick said. “We have a lot of confidence in Bruce. Sonny was playing great before he got hurt, too.”
A big key to the offense’s success has been its efficiency in the red zone. The Cougars are No. 23 nationally in that category, converting at a 92.3% clip. BYU has scored 18 touchdowns and kicked six field goals in 26 red zone trips.
“We are just getting better every week. Coach A Rod has been doing a great job just implementing things, as well as the rest of the coaches, just getting us right, preparing for games,” Martin said. “I feel like week by week we have been getting better, and this week is another step to try and get better.”
Martin said he had some self-doubts about his return, but in the end it felt like riding a bicycle again.
“I was kinda a little bit doubting myself, just coming off my injury, not sure if I had it still,” he said. “Just being able to do that, that really was a confidence booster for me.”
As for Retzlaff, his confidence is sky-high, but he’s not taking anything for granted.
“I have talked about this before: Keep the main thing the main thing,’” he said. “That means going out there and winning games. … Whether it is us being hyped up, or going out there and being the underdog, we know that the only people that knew what we were going to do this season was us.”
Cougars on the air
No. 11 BYU (7-0, 4-0) at UCF (3-4, 1-3)
• Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT
• At FBC Mortgage Stadium (Capacity: 45,301)
• Orlando, Florida
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM