Originally published September 23, 2021.
The good
— Tyler. Allgeier. This man is a cheat code. Not only did he have a fantastic second half running the ball, but he made what was arguably a top-5 play in BYU football history when he chased down a defensive back on a long interception return and heroically punched the ball out, handing the ball back to BYU and halting Arizona State’s momentum. It was an eye-popping play, and one that perfectly encapsulates Allgeier’s heart, hustle, and crazy athletic ability. It also probably made him a pretty solid chunk of money at the NFL level.
— Hey, look, the Cougars have tight ends on their roster! Isaac Rex, Dallin Holker, and Masen Wake all had highlight plays against Arizona State. This was a refreshing change after two games where the position group was essentially nonexistent in the receiving game. Rex in particular reminded us all how valuable he is when he used his height and wingspan to full effect in hauling in the game-winning TD from Baylor Romney. Speaking of which…
— We were all reminded in this game of how deep the Cougars are at quarterback. Jaren Hall took a hard hit on one of BYU’s last offensive plays and appeared to land on the ball, which knocked the wind out of him. He wasn’t seriously injured, but it definitely hurt. Onto the field came Baylor Romney, who hadn’t played a snap this season prior to this moment. With the Cougars on the goal line and facing 3rd down, Romney confidently took the snap, rolled to his right, and delivered a gorgeous, perfectly placed ball to Isaac Rex with a defender right in his face. It was a beautiful play, and particularly impressive given that Romney had essentially come into the game cold. While Jaren Hall is a special talent, it’s comforting to know that there is talent and poise behind him on the depth chart.
— I have to mention the ROC specially after this game. Talk about LOUD! My seats were about 15 rows above the ROC in the south endzone, and I could not believe how deafening it was the whole game. By causing so much noise that ASU false-started four times in one series, the students ended the Sun Devils’ final meaningful drive before it could really get going. It was the most incredible example I think I’ve ever seen of a crowd directly impacting a game and making things easier for their team.
The bad
— Arizona State is a good, but very undisciplined, team. The Sun Devils committed SIXTEEN penalties and four turnovers. And yet, the Cougars only won by 10 and very easily could have lost their lead in the fourth quarter if not for Tyler Allgeier’s aforementioned brilliance. In other words, BYU should have completely dominated this game and didn’t. The culprit was, more than anything, yet another bad 3rd quarter by the Cougars. For the third straight game, BYU has built a comfortable lead after an impressive first half, only to lose most of that lead and wind up in the dogfight after a defensively lackluster 3rd. This tendency to come out flat after halftime is concerning.
— Injuries are starting to rear their ugly heads for the Cougars after three straight grueling P5 matchups. Keenan Ellis is still out following his scary head injury against Arizona; Gunner Romney is playing on a dinged-up knee (albeit, by the way, performing great); Isaiah Herron, Atunaisa Mahe, and Jaren Hall were all injured at various points against Arizona State but are expected to play against South Florida; and most tragically, defensive captain Keenan Pili tore his ACL against the Sun Devils and is done for the season. Mercifully, the Cougars don’t play another P5 opponent until October 16, when they take on Baylor. That run of South Florida, Utah State, and Boise State can’t be overlooked, but those games should lend themselves to slightly less physically demanding matchups, giving time for players to recover.
This was a big win for BYU, and it showed as the Cougars rocketed up eight spots in the AP poll on Sunday, checking in at #15. The upcoming slate for BYU, which I mentioned above, consists of three potentially tough but very winnable games. If the Cougars can open up a 6-0 start going into their road matchup with Baylor, the seeds could be sown for a very, very special season.