Ferrin’s 44-yard field goal sends No. 9 BYU to 9-0 with 22-21 win at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — In its 100th season and 96th meeting with Utah, No. 9 BYU football etched yet another memorable win into the program’s annals as kicker Will Ferrin connected on a 44-yard game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining. 

Down 21-19 with 1:56 to play, BYU began its final drive at its own 9-yard-line and snatched renewed life from the jaws of defeat when a defensive holding call against Utah gave the Cougars a 1st down at their own 19. 

Two plays later, receiver Chase Roberts dove for a 30-yard completion from Retzlaff that kept BYU driving to its 49. Retzlaff then connected with Darius Lassiter for a gain of 12 into Utah territory. Hinckley Ropati bettered BYU’s field position with a run of 14 yards to the Utah 25 as the clock hit one minute to play. 

The Cougars used the ensuing plays to maneuver into a field goal spot and sent Ferrin onto the field as the clock wound down into the final seconds. Ferrin then sent the kick 44 yards through for three, putting BYU up 22-21. A fruitless Utah kickoff return ended the game and sent BYU to 9-0.

The special teams heroics weren’t limited to Ferrin’s field goal. In the second quarter of play, return specialist and speedster Keelan Marion posted his second kickoff return for a touchdown of the season with a 96-yarder that gave BYU its first lead at 10-7. 

Beyond Marion’s kickoff return, the Cougars were unable to muster a touchdown drive in the first half and went to the break trailing 21-10. 

BYU trimmed Utah’s lead to a single score with a nine-play, 95-yard touchdown drive that made it 21-19 with 12:35 to play. 

Despite allowing 21 first-half points, the Cougar defense adjusted at the half and pitched a second-half shutout that gave their offense the window it needed for the win. 

BYU outgained Utah 188-79 in the second half, including 113-25 through the air. Penalties hampered the Cougars on both sides of the ball throughout the game but cut the infractions to three for 16 yards in the second half while the Utes gave up a costly six for 60 yards. 

Retzlaff completed 15-of-33 passes for 219 yards, while adding a 1-yard rushing score. Roberts led BYU’s receivers with six grabs for 91 yards. LJ Martin led BYU on the ground with 68 yards on 11 carries. 

Harrison Taggart led BYU’s defense with eight tackles (four solo), while Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly put up seven tackles a-piece. The Cougars registered five tackles-for-loss on the night, with the negative plays credited to Glasker, Kelly, John Nelson, Tyler Batty and Josh Singh.

First Quarter

Both teams’ first drives resulted in 3-and-outs with the BYU run defense bringing Utah up short of the sticks and the Cougar offense sputtering with a pair of false starts.

The BYU defense took the field following a punt and quickly notched a negative play as Batty swallowed the Utah ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two. Utah attempted a double pass moments later, but Jakob Robinson was waiting and intercepted the pass, returning the ball to the Cougars at their 39 yard line.

Marion jump started BYU’s offense on the ensuing play with a sweep off tackle left for 13 yards and the first down. The Cougars continued moving the sticks as Retzlaff connected with Roberts on consecutive plays of nine and eight yards. A 14-yard Retzlaff completion to Lassiter set BYU up with 1st-and-goal at the Utah 5-yard-line. While the Cougars were unable to punch it in for the touchdown, Ferrin booted a 23-yard field goal to give BYU a 3-0 lead with 1:05 remaining in the quarter.

Second Quarter

Utah used a 27-yard run on a quarterback keeper to move downfield and take a 7-3 lead in the opening moments of the second quarter with a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive.

With Marion back to return the Utah kickoff, the Cougars wasted no time striking back. Marion took the kickoff and maneuvered through a melee of would-be tacklers before breaking into the open field and racing to the endzone for the 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Saturday marked Marion’s second such touchdown this season, making him the first BYU player to house two kickoffs in a season since Stacy Corley did so in 1989.

After a tackle-for-loss by Glasker and Marque Collins pass breakup, the Cougars had Utah in 3rd-and-11 at its own 23. The Utes extended the drive with a 36-yard completion, then ground out eight plays before finishing the drive in the end zone for a 14-10 lead with 5:31 before the half.

BYU’s offense looked to get moving downfield on its next drive and started doing so with Retzlaff finding Jojo Phillips for a gain of 22 along the near sideline. The Cougar drive stalled at midfield and a tackle-for-loss on 4th-and-1 returned the ball to the Utes.

Two penalties on the BYU defense then spurred Utah into scoring position and the Utes paid it off with a seven-yard pass out of the backfield for a touchdown. Utah led 21-10 with 1:54 remaining before the break.

Despite pickups of 19 and 10 yards on Retzlaff passes to Phillips and Parker Kingston, respectively, a pair of penalties prevented the Cougars from sustaining their final drive of the half. 

Third Quarter

BYU’s defense came out of the half and got stops on both of Utah’s first two drives. On the first 3-and-out, Collins recorded another pass breakup to put the Utes into 3rd-and-9. BYU’s  pass rush delivered pressure and forced an errant throw that sent the Utah punt team onto the field.

The Cougar secondary came up big and prematurely ended the Utes’ next drive with Crew Wakley picking off a pass to give BYU the ball back at its own 46.

Moments after the interception, LJ Martin broke loose and ran 39 yards up the middle to get the Cougars deep into Utah territory. BYU finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal from Ferrin. The field goal put the Cougars within eight at 21-13 with 8:10 left in the quarter.

BYU’s defense stood firm again on Utah’s final drive of the quarter. Isaiah Bagnah stuffed a run for no gain and Viliami Po’uha put the Utes in a 3rd-and-long with quarterback pressure forcing a slide at the line of scrimmage.

The Utah punt gave the Cougar offense starting field position at their own 5-yard-line but Retzlaff and his receivers made quick work of the long field. Retzlaff connected with Marion for 29 yards, Lassiter with 27 and Roberts for 32 as BYU moved to the Utes’ 18 by quarter’s close.

Fourth Quarter

A 5-yard keeper from Retzlaff and 4th-and-2 conversion up the middle from Hinckley Ropati set up a Retzlaff lunge over the pile for the touchdown. While BYU came up empty on the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt, Retzlaff’s rushing score put BYU within two at 21-19 with 12:35 to play. 

The Cougar defense snuffed out Utah’s attempt at a response with Kelly bringing down a ball carrier for a loss of four yards and then pressuring Ute quarterback Brandon Rose into an errant 3rd-down throw. 

Negative plays short-circuited BYU’s next two drives on offense but its defense kept it in position for the comeback with two more Ute 3-and-outs. 

Cougar corners Collins and Robinson were key to those empty drives. Collins read a pass to the sideline and immediately tackled the receiver for no gain. Robinson then came on a blitz and forced an errant throw to send Utah’s punt team back to the field. 

Down 21-19 with 1:56 to play, BYU began its final drive at its own 9-yard-line and snatched renewed life from the jaws of defeat when a defensive holding call against Utah gave the Cougars and 1st down at their own 19. 

Two plays later, receiver Roberts dove for a 30-yard completion from Retzlaff that kept BYU driving to its 49. Retzlaff then connected with Lassiter for a gain of 12 into Utah territory. Ropati bettered BYU’s field position with a run of 14 yards to the Utah 25 as the clock hit one minute to play. 

The Cougars used the ensuing plays to maneuver into a field goal spot and sent Ferrin onto the field as the clock wound down into the final seconds. Ferrin then sent the kick 44 yards through for three, putting BYU up 22-21. A fruitless Utah kickoff return ended the game and sent BYU to 9-0.

After consecutive road games, BYU returns home to face Kansas on Nov. 16 at 8:15 p.m. MST. Watch the Cougars and Jayhawks on ESPN or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.