Will Ferrin kicked three field goals, the final one from 44 yards out with three seconds left, as No. 9 BYU rallied to beat Utah 22-21 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Jake Retzlaff threw for 219 yards to lead the Cougars. LJ Martin added 68 rushing yards. BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) did not score an offensive touchdown until 12:35 remained in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Rose threw for 112 yards and two touchdowns and added 55 yards on the ground in his first career start for the Utes.
Micah Bernard rushed for 78 yards in the loss. Dorian Singer added 76 receiving yards on five catches. Utah (4-5, 1-5) has lost five straight games for the first time since 2013.
After trailing by 11 points at halftime, BYU drew within 21-19 on Retzlaff’s 1-yard scoring run to cap a nine-play, 95-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. Cameron Calhoun picked off a two-point conversion pass from Retzlaff to keep the Cougars from tying the score.
Later in the quarter, BYU got the ball back at its own 9 with 1:56 left. Utah sacked Retzlaff near the goal line on fourth down but got called for a defensive holding penalty. Retzlaff completed a 30-yard pass to Chase Roberts on second-and-10. A 12-yard catch by Darius Lassiter and a 14-yard run by Hinckley Ropati helped set up Ferrin’s game-winning field goal.
BYU struck first, going up 3-0 on a 23-yard field goal from Ferrin. Jakob Robinson’s interception at the BYU 38 set up the scoring drive. Utah answered early in the second quarter, taking a 7-3 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rose to Brant Kuithe.
The Cougars regained the lead at 10-7 when Keelan Marion returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was Marion’s second kickoff returned for a touchdown this season. He also scored on a 100-yard return at Wyoming.
Utah answered with two touchdown runs to go up 21-10 before halftime. Kuithe trotted in from a yard out to put the Utes back in front. Bernard stretched for the pylon at the end of a 7-yard run and made it a two-score lead on Utah’s ensuing drive.
–Field Level Media
