Last-minute heroics over Oklahoma State show BYU is CFP contender

Down 35-31 to Oklahoma State with 1:21 left to play, Brigham Young had just enough magic left on Friday night to not only pull out a victory, but also keep its hopes for a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth very much alive.

Undefeated and ranked 13th in the latest Associated Press college football poll, BYU stormed 75 yards in eight plays to cap the last-minute comeback, with Jake Retzlaff’s 35-yard pass to Darius Lassiter putting the Cougars in the lead for good with just 10 seconds left on its way to a 38-35 win.

The winning drive not only put an end to a wild Friday night in Provo (OSU and BYU traded scores on the final five possessions of the game) but also kept the Cougars undefeated in conference play, joining Iowa State and Texas Tech as the only Big 12 teams without a blemish in conference play heading into Saturday’s matchups.

According to odds at BetMGM on Oct. 19, BYU is now at +325 to win the Big 12, with only Iowa State (+150) more of a favorite. Iowa State and BYU are not scheduled to meet in the regular season, meaning the two could only square off in the 2024 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship Game on Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas.

Iowa State and Texas Tech (now at +1000 to win the Big 12), meanwhile, will meet in Ames on Nov. 2 in what will be a pivotal matchup for the standings.

As a reminder, the CFP is set up for the four highest-ranked power conference champions to be seeded one through four and receive a bye in the CFP’s first round, so winning the Big 12 will be a big benefit for whichever team comes out on top.

Looking ahead at BYU’s schedule, the Cougars have three road conference games left (at Central Florida, Utah and Arizona State), plus two home matchups against Kansas and Houston. Of those five teams, only Arizona State entered Saturday’s action with a winning record in conference play.

BYU has shown it can win in an offensive shootout as it did on Friday night or when its defense and special teams take over (as they did in a 38-9 blistering of then-No. 13 Kansas State). That’s good news for a team that has improved greatly on both sides of the ball since last season’s 2-7 showing in Big 12 play as it missed out on a bowl game.

Picked to finish 13th in the conference in the preseason poll, Friday’s victory showed something special is brewing this season in Provo.