‘Fighting and clawing and digging’: Desperate BYU takes on championship-seeking OSU in regular-season finale
STILLWATER, Okla. — Nationally ranked Oklahoma State is playing for a berth in the Big 12 championship game.
Reeling BYU is playing for a chance to play in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, for the second time in three years.
“We don’t want this to be our last game and we are fighting and clawing and digging to make sure we get one more.” — BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill
Motivation, momentum and almost everything else imaginable in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. MST matchup is clearly on the side of the No. 21 Cowboys (8-3) as the 5-6 Cougars roll into 60,000-seat Boone Pickens Stadium for their final regular-season game in their first season in the Big 12.
On paper, it looks like the Cougars are in for another drubbing, much like the 44-11 loss at TCU, the 35-6 loss at Texas, the 37-7 loss at West Virginia and perhaps the most embarrassing of all, the 45-13 beatdown at home at the hands of Iowa State two weeks ago.
But wait. BYU showed last week in a 31-24 loss to No. 14 Oklahoma that it might not be ready to throw in the towel on the 2023 season just yet.
The Cougars suddenly have a glimmer of hope in their first-ever game in Stillwater, where OSU coach Mike Gundy rules the roost and has been as complimentary of BYU’s history and tradition as any member of the Big 12 from the time that BYU was just a consideration for the Power Five league until now.
BYU “is a good addition to the league,” Gundy said Monday, noting that when he was a youngster he considered the Cougars a “big-conference” program, even though they weren’t.
BYU has shown flashes of being ready to play with the big boys of college football in 2023, but mostly it has been inconsistent on both sides of the ball.
Which BYU team will show up on what is expected to be a rainy, maybe even snowy, day in northeast Oklahoma? The one that stayed with OU, defeated Texas Tech and was competitive most of the way against No. 7 Texas? Or the one that lost three games by a combined score of 117-26 before rising up against the Sooners?
“We don’t want this to be our last game and we are fighting and clawing and digging to make sure we get one more,” BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Tuesday.
So there’s that.
“The Oklahoma game showed what we can do, that we aren’t ready for the season to end,” said BYU receiver Darius Lassiter. “Sticking together is what this team does best. We are not going to hang our heads. It is all love. We know that this is the last guaranteed week that we have together, so we want to make the most of it.”
Here’s the general feeling from BYU’s players: Win this one as an 18-point underdog, and BYU’s inaugural season in the Big 12 can be called a success. All will be forgiven. Lose, and it will be an offseason full of transfer portal watching and debating whether or not the program has what it takes to thrive in the Big 12, which only gets more difficult next year with the additions of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and Arizona State.
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“We want to win, for sure. This is a huge game for us. Getting to a bowl game in our first year in the Big 12 is a huge deal,” Hill said. “I think we have had our moments this year where we have proven to ourselves that we can be really good. And that is just scratching the surface, in my opinion, on what we can become.”
He added, “But we have work to do. We gotta get better.”
Oklahoma State has also been hot and cold — but mostly hot.
And the Cowboys have one of the best players in the country: sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II. The Fort Worth, Texas, native leads the country in rushing yards, picking up 128.55 per game.
“When you talk about his running ability you have to give a lot of credit to the O line and the guys that block, (and) the tight ends,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “Then they can throw the ball up on you and make you pay when you load the box. It seems like we are saying the same thing every week with these Big 12 opponents.
“They have a lot to play for because they are trying to go to the conference championship. We have a lot to play for because we are trying to get bowl eligible. We are at their home. It is going to be their senior game.
We are excited about the matchup,” Sitake continued. “Looking forward to seeing our guys play this last game of the regular season and try to find a way to extend our season so we can hang out a little bit more and enjoy what comes with bowl games, which is the extra practices and the extra time together.”
Cougars on the air
BYU (2-6, 5-6)
at Oklahoma State (6-2, 8-3)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MST
Boone Pickens Stadium
Stillwater, Oklahoma
TV: ABC
Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM
At least one of the Cougars knows what it is like to play at Pickens Stadium. BYU offensive lineman Caleb Etienne, who could get back into the starting lineup if tackle Kingsley Suamataia doesn’t play, as expected, played for the Cowboys last year.
“For me, it is going to be a surreal moment, just going back out there where I was and see some guys I used to play on the team with,” Etienne said. “I think it will be a good game for me and for the whole team to see if we can win and go to a bowl game. I am excited.”
Another storyline surrounding the game has been BYU’s quarterback situation and whether Jake Retzlaff will get his fourth-straight start, or if Kedon Slovis will be back in the saddle after missing three straight games. BYU coaches have declined to tip their hand this week, but the expectation from insiders is that the more mobile Retzlaff will get the nod.
