How Did BYU Win This Game?

First Downs: 17-21, Total Yards: 281-484, Rush Yards: 77-177, Possession Time: 24:50-35:10. By looking at these stats you would think one team absolutely dominated the game and this was a lopsided win for that team, but it wasn't. BYU was able to come out of DWR Razorback Stadium with the win without the stats.

Now, the stats that stand out to me as the reason why BYU was able to overcome these dominant factors are turnovers, penalties, and big-moment plays. BYU had one turnover while the Hogs had two. BYU had only 7 penalties for 45 yards while Arkansas had 14 for 125. BYU took stands in big game moments and shifted the tide in their favor multiple times.

BYU was able to capitalize on short fields with two turnovers, a turnover on downs and Ryan Rehkow's punting flipping the field over and over again. Ryan Rehkow had 7 punts for 45.4 yards with a long of 54. Only 2 of BYU's scoring drives started further on their own side of the field than the 47.

BYU had a big stop on the 4th down in the middle of the 3rd quarter. BYU was down ten with Arkansas putting together a pretty nice drive when BYU held them to a third down. On that third down, KJ Jefferson threw a completed pass right at the line to gain which was originally called a first down. After review the pass was just short of the first down and Arkansas had a 4th and 1 at the 50-yard line. They opted to go for it. Instead of using their 6'3", 247-pound quarterback to just sneak it for a yard, they handed it off to Rashod Dubinion who was stuffed at the line for no gain. This gave BYU the ball at the 50, as well as momentum.

BYU went only 24 yards on their next drive, settling for a field goal after a fake field goal was stopped by Arkansas but luckily was called back due to a delay of game penalty.

The next drive for Arkansas seemed to be the big turning point late in the game. Going only 12 yards in 6 plays, Jefferson threw an interception to Max Tooley on the Arkansas 32-yard line which he returned to the 20. BYU then scored a touchdown on the very next play with a screen pass to Parker Kingston.

With the game now tied at 31, Arkansas knew it was time to make something happen. Arkansas started this drive off hot and was moving the ball. They started to gain some momentum back and then the third quarter ended and it seemed to give BYU's defense a few minutes to just catch their breath after the offense was only on the field for 1 play. Once play resumed in the 4th Arkansas couldn't get their rhythm back and stalled out at the 31 of BYU after a 3rd down open field tackle by Heckard. On the field goal attempt, Little hit the right upright and missed which gave BYU a full head of steam of confidence after that.

BYU used that confidence to march down the field and go 69 yards in 9 plays to score the go-ahead touchdown and what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown with an impressive one-handed grab by Chase Roberts!

After trading a couple three and outs, BYU was able to get the KJ and strip the ball to again have a short-field opportunity. BYU was only able to go 6 yards and settled for a 50-yard field goal attempt. Will Ferrin, who transferred from Boise State where he was a punter, was converted to the field goal kicker by BYU this year and was having his first in-game attempts ever, but ended up missing this field goal barely right.

Arkansas then went a hard-fought 52 yards in 8 plays but were unable to finish, largely due to the pressure BYU was able to get on KJ with only rushing three and four linemen. As well as multiple holding and false start penalties that called back big plays for Arkansas.

BYU's defensive line looked impressive. They were able to get consistent pressure without the help of the linebackers. That is something BYU fans have desperately been wanting to see out of their defense for years now. I was worried after only having one sack against SUU the week before.

BYU's offense still has some work to do. As I mentioned before, they only had 281 yards of offense and that much offensive production isn't always going to equate to 38 points. I've seen this comment a few different places now but it really fits how I feel after this game. I've never been so impressed with a defense that gave up 31 points and so worried about an offense that scored 38 on the road against an SEC team!

Player Of The Game - BYU

Tyler Batty

Tyler Batty had a career day with 9 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Not only that but Batty was in the backfield all game, pressured KJ Jefferson many times, and caused havoc for the Arkansas line who was caught holding Batty more than once during the game.

Up Next

Kansas

3-0 Kansas vs 3-0 BYU. With a lot of unknowns still this far into the season for BYU, I think there may be even more with Kansas. Kansas was looking very impressive in their first two games of the season but then had a lackluster outing last week with a one-score victory over winless Nevada. BYU has had rough games after big wins in the past. Last year after BYU beat Baylor at home, the next week they lost to Oregon 41-20. Can BYU put together another strong performance on the road? We will see on Saturday!

Go Cougs!