Connor Pay and Tyler Batty took a little extra time leaving the field Saturday night and it wasn’t because the weather was so nice — just the opposite. But after beating Houston 30-18, the two seniors knew that once they left the frozen tundra of LaVell Edwards Stadium, an exciting chapter in their lives would come to an end.
So, despite the icy 28-degree air, the two Utah County high school products signed autographs, took pictures, shook hands, conducted interviews — everything they could think of to avoid those departing steps after the home finale.
Both left everything they had on the field. Pay and his group of offensive linemen went toe-to-toe, if not helmet-to-helmet, against the strength of the Houston roster — the front seven. Batty and the defense forced four turnovers, including his second career interception.
With a 10-2 record and a piece of the Big 12 regular-season championship, the two 6-foot-5 team captains earned the right to linger longer and, after ending the last three seasons in lousy weather, they also qualified for a warm finish.
Left outside of Saturday’s Big 12 championship game, the Cougars await a bowl invitation with a possibility to play indoors at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or outdoors in the Florida Sunshine at the Pop Tarts Bowl. There is even an outside shot at a return to San Diego’s Holiday Bowl, where BYU last competed in 1993.
That must be music to the ears, or heat to the socks, of Pay and Batty.
The 2021 season kicked off in the cold, driving rain in Shreveport, Louisiana, at the Independence Bowl. Tyler Allgeier set BYU’s single season rushing record with 192 yards, but the Cougars got lost in the storm, 31-28.
Colder conditions welcomed BYU’s 2022 season finale at the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. With temperatures in the 20s, Jakob Robinson’s game-saving tackle at the goal line preserved a 24-23 victory against SMU.
Last season, it was cloudy and 40 degrees when the Cougars kicked off at Oklahoma State. BYU needed a win in the finale to become bowl eligible and their 24-6 halftime lead had the Cowboys skating on thin ice.
However, conditions on the field and on the scoreboard worsened in the second half. Oklahoma State rallied to win in double overtime, 40-34, leaving Batty, Pay and the Cougars standing out in the cold with nowhere to go.
This December, they have somewhere to go. Somewhere warm.
The Cougars’ expected game will be their first post-Christmas bowl since 2013 and the payout will dwarf any of BYU’s previous 40 bowl games, including the 1997 Cotton Bowl where they made $2 million. As a member of a Power Four conference, a trip to the Alamo Bowl is worth $8.25 million. The Pop-Tarts Bowl pays $6 million.
For Batty, Pay and the Cougars, who dodged a late Houston rally and frostbite on Saturday, there is a warmer day ahead for their last blast at BYU — a day that has been four years in the making for the roster and 100 years in the works for the program.
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.