BYU at UCF

BYU at UCF

This is Missed It. BYU at UCF, Saturday, October twenty-fourth, with the Cougars. 78 and overcast at Acrisure Bounce House, wind 14 miles an hour. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

Six and oh. That is what we are, coming into this one. Six and oh, and the UCF Knights are three and three, and they have the ball first. There is something in the air tonight, the kind of night where you feel the weight of every game from here on out. We have been perfect so far, and perfect is a fragile thing. UCF gets the first crack at it, and we get to see right away what kind of fight they brought.

Q1

The Knights open with the ball, and they move it, five plays of it, but they do not get far enough. Fourth down comes and they go for it, and we stop them. That is the statement. That is how you start a road game. We take over, and we do not waste the gift. Eleven plays. That is what it takes. We chew the clock, we move the chains, and then Bachmeier drops back and lets it fly deep middle. Kasper runs under it, catches it at the UCF three, and walks into the end zone. Twenty-seven yards, touchdown, and Dunn's kick is good. Seven to nothing, and the crowd on our side of the stands is loud. That is how you answer a stop. UCF gets the ball back and they try to answer. Seven plays, and they push, but they push into a wall. Fourth down again, and again we hold. Two stops in the first quarter. We are flying. We get the ball back, four plays, and we punt it away. Fine. Give the defense a breather. But UCF starts to find something. Watson takes a handoff and cuts left, thirty yards to our seventeen, and suddenly the field is short. They are breathing down our necks now. Then Chambers takes it up the middle from two yards out, and just like that it is tied. Seven to seven. The first quarter ends with everything even, but we know we let them off the hook.

Q2

We get the ball back and we go nowhere. Five plays, and we turn it over on downs. That one stings. We had momentum, and we gave it right back. UCF takes over and grinds out a long drive, twelve plays, and they come away with a field goal. Seven to ten. They have the lead now, and we have to answer. And we do. Bachmeier rolls out, throws deep right, and Kasper is there again, catching it at the UCF ten and taking it down to the one. Thirty-two yards, first down, and the whole sideline is up. Then Bachmeier keeps it himself, one yard, and he is in. Touchdown. Dunn's kick is good, and we are back on top, fourteen to ten. That is how you respond. UCF gets the ball and punts after six plays. We take over with just over two minutes left, and we are thinking about adding on before the half. Seven plays, and we are moving. Then Bachmeier drops back, and he lets it go, and Curtis steps in front of it. Interception at the UCF twenty-one, returned a yard. Just like that, the drive is dead, and UCF has the ball with a minute to go. They do not waste it. Twelve plays, and they march all the way down, and they score. Fourteen to seventeen. We get the ball back with four seconds left, two plays, and the half is over. We were up, and now we are down, and that interception is sitting in our stomachs like a stone.

Halftime

Fourteen to seventeen. That is where we stand, and it should not be. We had them. We stopped them twice in the first quarter, we took the lead, and then we gave it away. The play that turned it was Bachmeier's pass with a minute left in the half, the one Curtis stepped in front of. One mistake, and they turned it into seven points. That is the difference right now. We need to come out in the second half and take the game back. We need to remember who we are. Six and oh does not happen by accident.

Q3

We get the ball to start the half, and we go to work. Eleven plays, and we are patient, and we are physical. Moa takes it up the middle from a yard out, and he is in. Touchdown. Dunn's kick is good, and we are back on top, twenty-one to seventeen. That is the answer we needed. But UCF does not fold. They take the ball and they grind, twelve plays, and Jenkins sneaks it in from a yard out. Twenty-one to twenty-four. They have the lead again, and this game is swinging back and forth like a heavyweight fight. We get the ball back with three minutes left in the third, and we start to move. Fourteen plays. We are eating clock, we are moving the chains, and we get all the way down to the UCF thirty. Fourth down, and we send Dunn out for a forty-seven yard field goal. He lines it up, and he drills it. Twenty-four to twenty-four. Tied, and the fourth quarter is ours to take.

Q4

UCF gets the ball and they try to answer, but five plays later they are punting. We take over and we go nowhere, four plays, and we punt it right back. The clock is ticking, and this game is still tied, and every possession feels like it might be the one that decides everything.

The Sequence

This is where the game is decided. Eight minutes left, tied at twenty-four, and UCF has the ball. They start to move. Thirteen plays, and they are chewing clock, and they are driving. Then Jenkins drops back and finds Hornes over the middle, twenty-one yards down to our three. First down, and they are knocking on the door. But we hold. Fourth down comes, and they go for it, and we stop them. We take over at the three with a minute and a half left, and we just need to run out the clock. Four plays. We cannot get a first down. We punt it away, and UCF gets the ball back with thirty-seven seconds left. They take over, and they try to drive, but nine plays later we force the turnover. We have the ball, and the clock hits zero, and we are going to overtime. We get the ball first in the extra period. Bachmeier drops back, throws short right, and Glasker catches it at the UCF eleven and takes it the rest of the way. Twenty-eight yards, touchdown. Dunn's kick is good, and we are up, thirty-one to twenty-four. We just need one stop. UCF gets the ball, and they go to work. Nine plays. Jenkins throws deep left to Derry, twenty-five yards, touchdown. The kick is good, and it is tied again, thirty-one to thirty-one. They get the ball back, and they go for two. Jenkins throws short left to Brousseau, four yards, touchdown, and the two-point pass is successful. Thirty-one to thirty-nine. They have the lead, and we have six plays to answer. We get the ball, and we try. Six plays, and we cannot get it done. The clock runs out, and it is over.

Wrap-up

Thirty-one to thirty-nine. That is the final. We are six and one now, and UCF is four and three. The perfect season is gone, and it hurts. We had chances. We had the lead in the fourth, we had them stopped, and we could not close it out. That is the truth of it. We are six and one, and we have to pick ourselves up and go again.

By the Numbers

The Cougars by the numbers. Final score, BYU 31, UCF 39. 373 yards of offense to their 463, 257 through the air and 116 on the ground. 18 first downs. 8 of 17 on third down. 1 turnover for us, 0 for them. We held the ball for just over 27 minutes.

Outro

That was BYU at UCF, from the Cougars side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.

BYU at UCF

This is Missed It. BYU at UCF, Saturday, October twenty-fourth, with the Knights. 78 and overcast at Acrisure Bounce House, wind 14 miles an hour. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's a big one tonight, Knights fans. BYU comes in six and oh, one of the last unbeatens standing, and we're sitting at three and three, looking to make a statement in front of our home crowd. We've got the ball first, and the energy in this place is electric. This is our chance to show the league we belong in the conversation. Let's go to work.

Q1

We open with the ball, and the first drive has some life to it. Five plays, we're moving, but it stalls out and we come up empty on downs. Not the start we wanted, but we're only at zero-zero, and there's a lot of football left. BYU takes over, and they methodically march. Eleven plays, chewing up clock, and then it happens. Bachmeier drops back, scans, and fires deep middle to Kasper, who hauls it in at our three and walks into the end zone. Twenty-seven yards, touchdown, and just like that it's seven to nothing. They came in undefeated for a reason, and that drive was a reminder of why. We get the ball back, and we need an answer. Seven plays, we're grinding, but again we come up short on downs. Two drives, no points, and the frustration is starting to build on our sideline. BYU gets it back, but this time our defense holds. Four plays, punt, and we've got the ball again with a chance to shift the momentum. And shift it we do. Watson takes the handoff, cuts left, and rips off a thirty-yard gain down to their seventeen. The crowd is on its feet, the sideline is alive, and suddenly we're in business. That run changed everything about how this drive felt. A few plays later, Chambers takes it up the middle from two yards out, and he's in. Touchdown, and Stone's kick is good. Seven to seven, and we've answered the bell. The first quarter ends with us right back in this thing.

Q2

We're tied at seven, and BYU gets the ball back. Five plays, and our defense stands tall again, forcing them to give it up on downs. We've got the momentum, and we need to cash in. Twelve plays, we're driving, but we stall inside their territory and settle for a field goal. Stone knocks it through, and we take our first lead, ten to seven. It's not a touchdown, but it's points, and right now we'll take them. BYU answers. They're methodical, they're patient, and then Bachmeier uncorks another one deep right to Kasper, thirty-two yards down to our one-yard line. The air goes out of the building for a second. A couple plays later, Bachmeier sneaks it in from a yard out, and just like that they're back on top, fourteen to ten. We need a response. Six plays, but we can't get anything going, and we're forced to punt. The defense has to make a stand. And they do. Bachmeier drops back, tries to force one, and Curtis steps in front of it. Interception at our twenty-one, and he returns it a yard to the twenty-two. The sideline erupts, the crowd is roaring, and we've got the ball with a minute and change left in the half. Twelve plays. We're driving, we're fighting, and with four seconds left on the clock, we punch it in. Touchdown, Stone's kick is good, and we go into the locker room up seventeen to fourteen. That interception changed everything.

Halftime

Seventeen to fourteen at the break, and we're feeling good. That interception by Curtis right before the half was the turning point. We were down four, the clock was ticking, and he stepped up and made a play that flipped the entire feel of this game. Instead of going in trailing, we go in leading, and that's huge against a team like BYU. But we know the job's not done. They're going to come out firing in the second half, and we need to match their intensity. We need to keep the pressure on, keep making plays, and most importantly, keep them out of the end zone. This one's far from over.

Q3

BYU gets the ball to start the half, and they do what they do. Eleven plays, grinding, and Moa punches it in from a yard out. Twenty-one to seventeen, and they've taken the lead back. We knew they'd come out swinging, and they did. Now it's our turn. Twelve plays, we're moving the ball, and Jenkins takes it himself from a yard out. Touchdown, Stone's kick is good, and we're back on top, twenty-four to twenty-one. That's the response we needed. BYU gets the ball back, and they're chewing up clock. Fourteen plays, they're driving, but our defense bends without breaking, and they settle for a field goal. Dunn hits it from forty-seven yards out, and we're tied at twenty-four. This game is exactly what we thought it would be.

Q4

Tied at twenty-four, and we've got the ball. Five plays, and we come up short on downs. We had a chance to take the lead, and we couldn't get it done. The defense has to hold. They do. Four plays, punt, and we've got the ball back with under nine minutes to play. This is where games are won or lost, and we need to find a way.

The Sequence

This is it. Eight minutes left, tied at twenty-four, and we've got the ball. We start moving, methodical, patient. Thirteen plays, we're eating clock, we're driving. Jenkins drops back, finds Hornes over the middle, and he takes it twenty-one yards down to their three. First down, we're knocking on the door. The crowd is deafening. But we can't get it in. Four plays, we're stopped, and we turn it over on downs. The air goes out of the building. We had them, and we let them off the hook. BYU takes over with a minute and a half left. Four plays, and they're punting. We've got the ball back with thirty-seven seconds left, tied at twenty-four. This is our chance. Nine plays. We're driving, we're fighting, but time runs out. We can't get a shot off, and the clock hits zero. Tied at twenty-four, we're going to overtime. BYU gets the ball first, and on the very first play, Bachmeier finds Glasker short right, and he takes it twenty-eight yards to the house. Touchdown, and just like that they're up thirty-one to twenty-four. We're on the ropes. But we don't quit. Nine plays, we're driving, and Jenkins drops back, fires deep left to Derry, and he hauls it in for a twenty-five-yard touchdown. Stone's kick is good, and we're tied again, thirty-one to thirty-one. We're still alive. And then, the play of the game. Jenkins rolls out, finds Brousseau short left, and he fights his way in from four yards out. Touchdown, and we go for two. Hornes takes the pass, and it's good. Thirty-nine to thirty-one, and we've taken the lead for the first time since the third quarter. BYU gets the ball back, six plays, but they can't do anything. The clock hits zero, and it's over. We win.

Wrap-up

Final score: BYU thirty-one, UCF thirty-nine. We win by eight. We're four and three now, and BYU drops to six and one. That was a statement. That was a game we had to have, and we found a way. The series moves on, and we're right back in the race. Knights fans, that's how you do it.

By the Numbers

The Knights by the numbers. Final score, UCF 39, BYU 31. 463 yards of offense to their 373, 293 through the air and 170 on the ground. 26 first downs. 9 of 16 on third down. 0 turnovers for us, 1 for them. We held the ball for just under 33 minutes.

Outro

That was BYU at UCF, from the Knights side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.