Jake Retzlaff hit Darius Lassiter with a 35-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left as No. 13 BYU stayed undefeated with a 38-35 Big 12 Conference win over Oklahoma State on Friday night in Provo, Utah.
The Cougars (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) trailed 35-31 with 1:13 remaining after Alan Bowman hit Brennan Presley for a 6-yard scoring strike. But Retzlaff led a 75-yard drive, capped by his second touchdown pass of the night.
Retzlaff was 13-of-26 passing for 218 yards with two interceptions, both quashing possible scoring drives in the first half. LJ Martin rushed 20 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns, while Lassiter bagged six receptions for 129 yards.
Bowman, who relieved injured starter Garret Rangel late in the first half, was 11-of-19 passing for 85 yards with an interception. Ollie Gordon II gained 107 yards on 16 carries. He also found the end zone three times (twice rushing, once receiving).
The Cowboys (3-4, 0-4) lost their fourth consecutive game.
The pregame storyline centered around Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s decision to bench Bowman, who had been pulled from two of the past three games, in favor of Rangel.
The new starter took the field facing a 7-0 deficit on Friday, as BYU ripped through the visitors’ defense to begin the game, with Retzlaff scoring on a 4-yard run just over three minutes into the contest. The Cowboys responded five plays later with Gordon’s 50-yard touchdown run.
Martin gave BYU a 14-7 advantage with 14:01 left in the first half on a 1-yard run, one play after Tanner Wall intercepted Rangel and returned it 47 yards. But Oklahoma State bounced back, as Rangel led a 10-play drive that culminated in his 17-yard touchdown pass to Gordon.
Gordon’s third score of the first half, a 2-yard run with 32 seconds remaining, enabled the Cowboys to take a 21-14 advantage into intermission.
–Field Level Media
