Houston Cougars at BYU Cougars

No. 19 BYU beats Houston 30-18 to snap two-game skid

LJ Martin added 87 yards on a season-high 22 carries and Chase Roberts had three catches for 76 yards. BYU (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, No. 19 CFP) forced four turnovers, including two late in the fourth quarter, and snapped a two-game losing streak.

Despite the victory, BYU won’t play in the conference championship game. Iowa State and Arizona State will meet in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday.

“We were close to being in a conference championship game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The guys are thirsty for it and they’re hungry for it. … We’ve got some goals I think we can achieve. We’re so close now.”

The Cougars are likely headed to a bowl game next after a winning season for the third time in in the last five years. It’s a significant milestone for a team that won five games and did not qualify for a bowl a season ago.

“This is my first bowl game, so I’m just really excited for it,” Martin said. “It just feels good to win. You never want to be on the losing side.”

Zeon Chriss threw for 156 yards and ran for two touchdowns to lead Houston (4-8, 3-6) which finished the season with three straight losses.

“I thought we played extremely hard,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “When you play the No. 19 team in the country at their place, you got to play smart the whole game and we didn’t do that the whole time.”

Houston scored its first offensive touchdown in three games when Chriss scored on a 3-yard keeper late in the first quarter. BYU answered when Talan Alfrey snagged a subsequent onside kick and raced 58 yards untouched to even the score.

BYU took a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter when Sione Moa went off tackle and scored on a 6-yard run. Retzlaff threw a 52-yard pass to Roberts and then scored on a 13-yard QB keeper a play later to extend the Cougars’ lead to 21-10 with nine seconds left before halftime.

Chriss narrowed the deficit to 24-18 on a 1-yard keeper with 8:34 left. Houston had a shot at a go-ahead score after forcing a three-and-out, but Jack Kelly stripped the ball from Chriss on a fourth down sack. Blake Mangelson recovered the ball at the Houston 18.

Retzlaff scored on a 7-yard run with 2:52 left to seal the win.

“We were able to lock in a little more and execute what was called,” defensive end Logan Lutui said.

Houston cornerback AJ Haulcy and BYU receiver Darius Lassiter were both ejected following an end zone scuffle that occurred after Retzlaff’s second touchdown run.

Takeaways Houston: A promising start on offense quickly fizzled over the final three quarters. Houston forced three turnovers but could not move the chains or take care of the ball well enough to seriously threaten BYU.

BYU: For the first time this season, BYU lost three fumbles in a game. The uncharacteristic string of turnovers, coupled with numerous dropped passes, kept the Cougars from pulling away from Houston until late.

Trickery backfires Houston put itself in an early bind after a pair of trick plays backfired.

BYU’s opening drive ended in a fumble when Martin and Keelan Marion collided on a handoff and the ball popped up and came down in the hands of Carlos Allen. The junior nose guard rumbled 57 yards down to the BYU 14. Houston immediately turned the ball back over to BYU when Tyler Batty picked off a pass from receiver Joseph Manjack IV.

“When we have opportunities to score, we got to score and take advantage of it and we didn’t do that,” Fritz said.

Houston later opted to try an onside kick following Chriss’ first TD run. The ball went straight to Alfrey and he raced the other way for BYU’s first touchdown. It offered a moment of redemption to Alfrey who had the ball bounce off his leg on an onside kick against Arizona State a week earlier, leading to a recovery by the Sun Devils.

“It just makes sense he would be the one to get the ball and take it the other way for a touchdown,” Sitake said. “I like the fact these guys will work hard and they’ll try to find ways to get better. There’s never been a lack of effort.”

Poll implications BYU will likely move up a spot or two in the upcoming AP Top 25 Poll.

Up next Houston’s season is over.

BYU will wait to learn its bowl game destination.

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