What has happened to BYU’s once-explosive offense?

Remember when that rocket was launched at nearby Cape Canaveral just as Jake Retzlaff was throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mata’ava Ta’ase at the Bounce House in Orlando to give BYU a 31-10 lead over UCF midway through the third quarter of an eventual 37-24 victory?

The Cougars’ offense, especially in the red zone, has pretty much been a dud ever since.

The attack that propelled BYU into the upper echelons of college football, coupled with one of its best defenses in years, has disappeared as quickly as the vapor trail left behind by the Space X rocket.

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“It just doesn’t seem like it was clicking. A lot of mistakes. … The run game was working pretty nicely, then the turnover at the end of the half cost us. Settling for field goals isn’t going to work, either. … We gotta score more points to win games.”

—  BYU coach Kalani Sitake

To say that it crashed and burned is a stretch, but to say the offense’s inability to score touchdowns when it is inside an opponent’s 20-yard-line the past two games has led to one close win and one close loss certainly isn’t.

The inefficiency in the red zone was masked by BYU’s thrilling 22-21 come-from-behind win over the Utes, and written off due to Utah’s standing as the best defense in the Big 12. Then Utah got steamrolled by Colorado’s offense and fell 49-24 to the Buffaloes in Boulder on Saturday, leaving more doubt about BYU’s offense.

Of course, failure to score in the red zone ultimately cost BYU (9-1, 6-1) its perfect season, as Retzlaff and company faltered at the end of both halves, and the beginning of the second half, in losing 17-13 to Kansas on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“It just doesn’t seem like it was clicking. A lot of mistakes,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “… The run game was working pretty nicely, then the turnover at the end of the half cost us. Settling for field goals isn’t going to work, either. … We gotta score more points to win games.”

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That will clearly be the case this week, as BYU travels to Tempe, Arizona, to take on No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) and the terrific duo of quarterback Sam Leavitt and Cameron Skattebo on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MST, Fox Sports 1) at Mountain America Stadium.

The Cougars, No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings but sure to drop out of the top 12 after Saturday’s home loss to a now 4-6 Kansas team, dropped seven spots to No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.

“There is a lot of room for improvement in all three phases,” Sitake said. “And we will get to work on that.

“We got a really good team. We are still in a good spot. We control our own destiny still, but we gotta be ready to roll because there is a tough (game) coming up next week against ASU and they have done a great job getting their team ready.”

Even with all the mistakes through the first 55 minutes of the game, BYU’s offense had a chance to pull out a late win against the Jayhawks just as it did against Oklahoma State and Utah, but couldn’t deliver this time. The Cougars easily drove to the KU 15, then failed to pick up a first down on four tries — three running plays and an 8-yard pass to Chase Roberts when they needed 11.

Why can’t BYU get touchdowns in the red zone, all of a sudden?

“That is a good question. We can’t score in the red zone. I feel like we struggled a little bit in practice this week in the red zone. It carries over,” Roberts said. “You gotta lock in. You gotta be prepared when you come out and play a good team like Kansas. We knew we had to put points on the board, and if we didn’t score in the red zone then we would have a tough time winning, because Kansas has a great offense.”

Some have questioned the play-calling against Kansas — particularly the pass that was intercepted in the end zone at the end of the first half and the consecutive running plays in the final minute — but Roberts pinned the blame on the players, not the coaches.

He said there’s plenty of belief in offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and Retzlaff, who apparently checked out of a play on 3rd-and-6 late and opted for the speed option to Hinckley Ropati that went nowhere.

“Honestly, if we execute our plays, they are great play calls,” Roberts said. “We trust A Rod and what he has got dialed up for us. We just gotta execute, make our blocks, and that is what we didn’t do tonight.”

BYU got only six points out of four red zone trips against a Kansas defense that gave up 36 points to Iowa State the previous week, and 35 to Arizona State on Oct. 5. While Utah’s defense is top-shelf and red zone misfirings at Rice-Eccles are understandable, there’s no excuse for the problems that surfaced at home against Kansas, Roberts said.

“I think some mental errors, some mistakes, especially when we got down to the red zone (were costly),” Roberts said. “Too many of those. And when you make mistakes, it is hard to win. So we need to minimize those, lock in this week, and practice better, with more urgency, and get in the film room, learn from our mistakes and then move on, and grow.”

Lost in the satisfaction over the 9-0 start was BYU’s lack of a killer instinct — kind of like what Colorado showed in hanging 49 points on Utah on Saturday. The signs surfaced in a big way after Ta’ase’s touchdown catch in Orlando.

Isaiah Glasker’s interception gave BYU the ball at the UCF 27 but three running plays netted eight yards and Will Ferrin booted a 37-yard field goal. Midway through the fourth quarter, BYU drove from its 25 to the UCF 18, then three running plays were called Ferrin was brought in to kick a 36-yarder to give BYU a 37-18 lead with 3:10 remaining.

Against Utah, BYU’s only offensive touchdown came after a 95-yard drive, and the Cougars did execute well in the red zone with a series of running plays capped by a Retzlaff quarterback sneak. But the try for two, a lob intended for Keanu Hill, was intercepted easily by Utah’s Cameron Calhoun.

Roberts said the Cougars “need to stop” their habit of waiting to win games until the final minutes.

“We need to start beating teams by 20 points, 30 points, because that is the kind of offense we have, that is the kind of team we have,” he said. “And we should have (won) this game. And it was frustrating that we couldn’t convert and couldn’t get points on the board in the red zone. We gotta learn from our mistakes, learn what we can do better as an offense, and make better decisions as well when we are in the red zone, make better reads, run better routes as receivers, make sure we get our depth and stuff like that.”

The interception at the end of the first half against KU snapped a streak of 16 straight red zone scores. BYU is now 32nd in the country in red zone scoring (34 of 38), with 21 touchdowns and 13 field goals.

“We will go back, watch the film, and learn and grow. I think this is honestly good for our team,” Roberts said. “We still got all of our goals in mind and we are going to bounce back and go beat Arizona State.”

Said Sitake: “We will just keep plugging away. We are still in a (good) spot now, 9-1, and if you had (asked) me before the season, would you take it? Of course. But we still have an opportunity … to still play for something, with the conference championship (still in play). That is what we need to focus on, and this is a good example to get better and get to next week’s game, and away we go.”

Maybe like that rocket in Orlando.

Cougars on the air

No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2)

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MST

At Mountain America Stadium (Capacity: 53,599)

Tempe, Arizona

TV: ESPN

Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM