3 plays that helped seal the deal in BYU’s win over Colorado

Pulling off a come-from-behind win on the road in the Big 12 Saturday night required a little bit of everything for BYU. The coaches had to adjust, the defense had to stiffen, the offense had to produce, special teams had to deliver, and the team had to overcome a 14-0 deficit to beat upset-minded Colorado, 24-21.

Things didn’t go perfectly, but the Cougars did just enough to remain perfect (4-0) and win for the 15th time in their last 17 games. In a battle full of significant plays, these three were the biggest for BYU to turn their first visit to Boulder, Colorado, since 1981 into a memorable one.

Bearing down

True freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier went into his first conference road game eager to test his mettle, and he came out of it as the only BYU quarterback to have 10 total touchdowns without a single turnover through the first four games of a season.

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Trailing 14-10 with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter, the 19-year-old stood firm in the pocket and waited for Chase Roberts to make his break into the end zone on a pressure-packed fourth-and two at the 4-yard line.

Roberts, who dropped a fourth-down pass earlier in the game (although Bachmeier contends he threw a bad ball), cut across the middle. As he did, two Colorado defenders collided into each other, and the former American Fork High star was left wide open. Despite the deafening noise from the crowd, a patient Bachmeier calmly hit him for a touchdown.

“You make mistakes,” Roberts said, still stinging over his first quarter drop. “That’s life. I’m glad Bear kept trusting me.”

Roberts finished with two touchdown grabs (a career high) and the senior moved into No. 15 all-time at BYU with 2,018 receiving yards.

Tornado strikes twice

Minutes after Colorado took a 21-17 lead, and with 14:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick ordered a “reverse tornado” and for the second time this season, speedster Cody Hagen ran like the wind to deliver a touchdown.

From the shotgun, Bachmeier took the snap and faked a reverse handoff to Parker Kingston (running left), then he turned and faked a handoff to LJ Martin (running right) before pitching the ball to Hagan (running left) and the sophomore from Corner Canyon High used his speed to zip 32 yards for what became the winning touchdown.

“We got a great look,” Bachmeier said. “When Cody has the ball in his hands, he’s hard to take down.”

Dangerous duo

Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker already rank among the top linebacker duos in program history and late in the game on Saturday, they provided another reason why.

Needing a field goal to force overtime, Colorado quarterback Kaiden Salter dropped back to pass from his own 24-yard line with 59 seconds to play. A patient Kelly lingered behind the defensive line just in case Salter opted to run.

As Salter drifted to his right to find an open receiver, Kelly began his pursuit and with tremendous closing speed, the senior charged like an angry bison and forced Salter into a bad decision.

“I saw him roll out and I see Jack run in front of me bringing pressure and force the throw,” said Glasker. “I just did the rest from there.”

Glasker intercepted Salter’s pass at the 40-yard line in the game’s only turnover to seal the victory. It was a bit of déjà vu for the Bingham High star as he intercepted former Buffalo quarterback Shadeur Sanders on Colorado’s final possession at the Alamo Bowl last December.

Honorable mentions

Several other Cougars earned “big play” honorable mentions, including safety Faletau Satuala. The Bountiful High star’s first career sack with 12:45 remaining in the second quarter, handed Colorado their first negative play of the game and changed the narrative on defense.

The inspired Buffaloes gained 116 yards of offense and 14 points on 16 plays in the first quarter, but they deflated and managed just 50 yards and no points on 17 plays in the second quarter. BYU held Colorado to 19 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.

Will Ferrin and Sam Vander Haar remained special on BYU’s special teams. Ferrin saw his program-record streak of 25 field goals come to an end on a 55-yard attempt, just as he set the BYU record with 88 consecutive point-after-tries. Remarkably, the last time Ferrin has missed a PAT was during his second game against Southern Utah on Sept. 9, 2023.

Vander Haar left his mark in Boulder with a perfectly placed 30-yard punt that was downed inside Colorado’s 5-yard line with 1:49 to play — four plays before Glasker’s game ending interception.

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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.