No. 13 BYU pulled off a stunning 38-35 upset over Oklahoma State on Friday night in Provo. This continued their unbeaten run at 7-0 and improved their record to 4-0 in the Big 12, much to the delight of their fans.
Advertisement
The major turning point in the game was a 35-yard touchdown connection between Jake Retzlaff and Darius Lassiter. Retzlaff completed 218 yards with two touchdowns, along with two interceptions.
“I like the play of Jake, other than the interceptions,” was the response from head coach Kalani Sitake during the post-game press conference. Although he was proud of the win, Sitake cited areas where the team needs to improve as they look to extend their winning streak.
“When we look at how many yards we gave up on the running game, some of the issues were that our guys were trying to do a bit too much in executing the scheme. But that’s on us; I’ve got to do a better job with that too—just fundamental stuff. We didn’t tackle as well as we should have.”
Additionally, he spoke about the importance of consistency and good movement while adding that the team needs to make better plays to do a better job on the offense and the defense.
“It wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of the guys, our leadership, and our culture. I’m really proud of our players for being able to make plays, and it was an exciting win. Meanwhile, we need to improve our culture. I felt like we made some good movements, but I want us to be more consistent. I’ve got to do better.”
Sitake also praised Ollie Gordon II, who unfortunately had to leave the game midway due to an undisclosed injury. This was after he rushed for 100 yards on just 13 carries. “Ollie Gordon II finds ways to break tackles; he is a dynamic back. But yeah, all those things—I’m proud of the way we got more points than them,” explained the head coach with a smile after the game.
Even though the coach was happy about the upset win, he didn’t forget to highlight BYU’s issues as they look forward to the upcoming game against UCF on Friday.
