BYU holds SMU without touchdown in 'very gritty' 18-15 win for 2-0 start

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — Two teams that combined for 100 points a week ago played an overtly defensive game of college football Friday night that was offensive to most fans of offense.

But for as good as Jay Hill's defense was in the Dallas suburb Friday night, BYU's offense had to get the win in the second game of the season.

Miles Davis had a 37-yard run on fourth-and-1, and Will Ferrin kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:58 remaining as BYU held on to hand SMU its first loss 18-15.

Jake Retzlaff completed 15-of-28 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and Enoch Nawahine added 16 yards and a score for BYU (2-0).

Collin Rogers booted five field goals for SMU (2-1), including a career-long 58-yarder that kept the Mustangs in the game. But the hero of the game was a BYU defense that held SMU to 261 yards of offense, with Hill calling plays from the box just over a week after heart surgery.

"Gritty. A very gritty game," Retzlaff said. "It was a credit to the guys defensively for getting it done all night, and offensively for getting it done when it needed to get done.

"I think it speaks to the culture of our team," he added. "We had a tough outing offensively in the first half, but we came back and played well enough to walk away with the win."

If nothing else, it speaks to the Cougars' defense — holding SMU, which scored 29 and 59 points, respectively, in wins over Nevada and Houston Christian — without a touchdown while accumulating eight tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception and seven quarterback hurries.

"Honestly, I feel like we can just dominate games, especially with our defense having Jay Hill and stuff like that," said linebacker Isaiah Glasker, who had six tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. "He gets us fired up. I'm excited for what we have the rest of the season."

BYU held SMU to 39 yards of offense in the first quarter, including 8 yards on the ground, with an aggressive defense led by three tackles for loss and sacks by Jack Kelly and Blake Mangelson.

After his first drive ended with a lost fumble, Retzlaff gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead early, hitting Mata'ava Ta'ase with a 16-yard strike with 7:17 left in the first quarter.

Collin Rogers pulled back a pair of 50-yard field goals, including a career-best 53-yarder to open the second quarter and a 52-yarder midway through the period.

The Mustangs failed to convert on a pair of drives, even as BYU's offense stalled with tailback LJ Martin leaving with an apparent ankle injury.

The sophomore from El Paso, Texas, initially had his ankled spatted on the sideline, entered the medical tent with athletic training staff, and emerged with a hefty tape job as he trotted the sidelines with the staff.

With Martin out of the game, BYU's offense sputtered its wheels.

In three full drives without the second-year tailback, the Cougars went 3-and-out three times and added a turnover on downs after Kelly recovered a fumble on a punt return.

After Rogers' third field goal of the night gave SMU a 9-7 lead, the Cougars drove 38 yards on six plays before Ferrin's 55-yard attempt skipped wide of the uprights as time expired on the half.

Rogers' fourth field goal followed an 11-play, 24-yard drive after Retzlaff's pass was pulled down by Kobe Wilson to go up 12-9.

But BYU's defense kept the Cougars in the game long enough for Retzlaff and reserve running back Nawahine to find the offense in the third quarter.

The redshirt junior signal caller used his legs to set up a 26-yard pass to Ta'ase, and Nawahine scored on a 9-yard run on fourth-and-2 with 1:15 left in the third. Keanu Hill hauled in the 2-point conversion, and the Cougars took a 15-12 advantage into the final frame.

Marque Collins picked off Kevin Jennings at the boundary corner just in front of the end zone to open the fourth quarter, and Jakob Robinson recovered a fumble forced by Harrison Taggart to keep the Mustangs at bay with nine remaining minutes.

Retzlaff — with an assist from Ferrin and Davis, who had a key run on fourth down to set up the game-winning field goal — did just enough to take care of the rest.

"We drew it up from the beginning of the week," Retzlaff said. "It was a great play call from coach A-Rod; and once he drew it up, I knew it would be good."

BYU heads to former conference rival Wyoming next Saturday, Sept. 14 (7 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network).

Related topics