PROVO, Utah — BYU opened Big 12 play on Saturday with a thrilling 28-17 victory over Arizona.
The Cougars ultimately broke away in the fourth quarter, as wide receiver Kyler Kasper caught a 12-yard pass from quarterback Bear Bachmeier to seal the win for his team. Two plays prior, Bachmeier connected on a 61-yard pass to wide receiver Legend Glasker.
Coming into this season for BYU, there was a question at wide receiver as starters departed in the off-season. But the position group put that narrative to rest as they proved when needed most, they’ll come up clutch.
“We got playmakers at wide receiver,” BYU running back LJ Martin explained. “We took a shot and he came down with it. That’s something we look to be doing all year.”
The touchdown drive for BYU where Kasper scored to put the game away followed a key stop from the defense just prior. The group turned Arizona over on downs to give the ball back to its offense, swinging the momentum back to the home team.
“Man, that was probably the biggest single point of the game,” Kasper said. “I was beyond excited in that moment, and I knew we were about to go shut the game out.”
“I saw the (referee) looking to give them the first down at first, and I was like, ‘No, there’s no way,’” BYU linebacker Cade Uluave said with a grimace about the initial call from the officials. “I was like, ‘(Referee), you’ve got to review this.’ Then they reviewed it, and it fired everyone up. I think the whole sideline felt it, and you know, the whole crowd, so it was definitely a game-changing moment.”
“Guys, I wish I could say I watched it, but it wasn’t until I saw the replay, where I was like, ‘Yeah, there’s a line right there. He didn’t get it. The ball’s in his right hand,’” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said about the play. “This is a game of inches. That was a big momentum swing for us to step up in those moments, and sometimes things have to go your way.”
The complementary football really came together for BYU after halftime adjustments, something key for the Cougars as they vie for a Big 12 title.
“The only thing we did as coaches is say, ‘Let’s try and figure out what we’re good at, and let’s do that in all three phases,” Sitake said. “To (Kelly Poppinga)’s credit, he did that defensively, and (Aaron Roderick) did it offensively. Justin (Ena) did it on special teams. I wish we could just do that for 60 minutes. That would make my life a lot easier.
“But the adversity part and responding, the players and the leadership was always super positive, and they’ve been the ones that ... you could just tell they were waiting for this momentum swing to eventually go our way.”
“Just the mentality change of just like, alright, now it’s go time,” Uluave described his team’s shift in mindset. “It’s time for us to step it up. I think both sides of the ball did it as well. It was just flipping our mindset, and then people just making plays and flying out there. Really credit to all the coaches for making adjustments and for the guys buying in and changing the tone.”
Up next, BYU heads to Colorado State this upcoming Saturday.
