BYU defense forces 4 turnovers, 7 tackles for loss to snap 2-game skid with win over Houston

PROVO — When the break had hit no. 19 in BYU’s regular-season finale Saturday night against Houston, the host Cougars had been eliminated as a Big 12 championship contender by Iowa State’s 29-21 victory over Kansas State.

BYU’s defense didn’t get the memo.

Jake Retzlaff threw for 167 yards and ran for 57 yards and two touchdowns, and BYU’s defense forced four turnovers and seven tackles for loss to snap a two-game skid with a 30-18 victory over Houston in front of an announced crowd of 59,213 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

LJ Martin ran for 87 yards on 22 carries for BYU (10-2, 7-2 Big 12), which finished with a double-digit win total in three of the past five years and 19th in program history. Chase Roberts caught three passes for 76 yards to lead BYU on a night the redshirt junior celebrated as his senior night.

Houston sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss threw for 156 yards with an interception and ran for two touchdowns.

But BYU’s defense, led by 13 tackles from Tanner Wall and nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception from Tyler Batty, held the visiting Cougars to 250 yards of offense, including 94 on the ground.

And in a game where Retzlaff completed just eight passes due to a combination of missed tackles, dropped catches and three turnovers (but none via interceptions), BYU found a way to rise above it all and earn a victory even after most of the team already knew they had been eliminated from Big 12 title contention.

“Come on, they’re going to figure everything out,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake replied when asked if his players knew at halftime about the No. 18 Iowa State win. “I found that out at halftime and I think a lot of them did too… I don’t think there was a lack of effort. Maybe a lack of concentration and a little bit of focus. But the guys kept fighting together with that, you have to give credit to Houston for playing, but we made a ton of mistakes.”

BYU linebacker Jack Kelly, who had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss with a sack and an interception, admitted word of the Cyclones’ win spread pretty quickly around the locker room. But that wasn’t the most important break adjustment.

“Everybody knew what we still had on hand,” Kelly said. “We knew we had to send the seniors out for a win and hit that double-digit win.”

Houston (4-8, 3-6 Big 12) struck first after both sets of Cougars traded turnovers on the first possession and Chriss guided a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard quarterback- keeper to go up 7 -0.

The lead lasted just seven seconds, however, when the visitors attempted an onside kick and Talan Alfrey picked up the loose change and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

It was BYU’s third kick return touchdown of the year, tying the program’s most with Paul Allen’s three kick return touchdowns in 1961 on a touchdown scored by the same player who admitted fumbling an onside kick that led to a touchdown in BYU’s 28.23 loss to Arizona State a week earlier.

“That was a little redemption,” Alfrey said, before cheekily adding, “God works in mysterious ways, I guess.”

But the hosts weren’t done on defense and special teams.

Kelly and Batty each had an interception, bringing BYU’s total to 20 on the year and tied for the most in the country, and Isaiah Glasker had a sack among the host’s seven tackles for loss.

Retzlaff completed 6-of-12 passes for 110 yards, including a 52-yarder to Chase Roberts in the final two minutes of the first half to set up his own 13-yard TD rush that gave BYU a 21-10 halftime advantage.

It could also have been more.

BYU outgained the visiting Cougars 90 yards to 32 in the third quarter. But Retzlaff fumbled a high snap just four yards from goal and Parker Kingston muffed a punt at midfield as the only scoring of the period came on Will Ferrin’s 22-yard field goal.

Houston pulled within eight on Chriss’ second touchdown run — and a 2-point conversion — with 8:34 left in the game.

But BYU’s defense again saved the game as Kelly picked up his fifth sack of the season, Logan Lutui went backwards on the double sack and Blake Mangelson recovered a fumble to set up Retzlaff’s second rushing score with 2:52 left.

“It was very big,” Lutui said. “For our defense, when we’re up, we look to be the ones to finish the game.

“I think the team was pretty fired up when they went for it on the fourth try,” he added. “It was a big play and everyone was excited. We wish we could have turned it into 6 points, but we’re glad we fell on that ball.”