Jake Retzlaff scored two rushing touchdowns and threw for 167 yards to help No. 19 BYU defeat Houston 30-18 on Saturday night.
LJ Martin added 87 rushing yards on a season-high 22 carries, and Chase Roberts had three catches for 76 yards. BYU (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, No. 19 CFP) forced four turnovers, including two in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and ended a two-game losing streak.
Even with the win, BYU will not be playing in the conference championship game. Iowa State and Arizona State will compete in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday.
“We were close to being in a conference championship game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The guys are thirsty for it and they’re hungry for it. … We’ve got some goals I think we can achieve. We’re so close now.”
The Cougars are likely headed to a bowl game after having a winning season for the third time in the last five years. This is a big achievement for a team that only won five games and did not qualify for a bowl game last year.
“This is my first bowl game, so I’m just really excited for it,” Martin said. “It just feels good to win. You never want to be on the losing side.”
Zeon Chriss threw for 156 yards and ran for two touchdowns to lead Houston (4-8, 3-6), which ended the season with three straight losses.
“I thought we played extremely hard,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “When you play the No. 19 team in the country at their place, you got to play smart the whole game and we didn’t do that the whole time.”
Houston scored its first offensive touchdown in three games when Chriss ran for a 3-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. BYU responded with Talan Alfrey recovering an onside kick and running 58 yards untouched to tie the game.
BYU took a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter when Sione Moa scored on a 6-yard run. Retzlaff threw a 52-yard pass to Roberts and then ran for a 13-yard touchdown to give BYU a 21-10 lead with nine seconds left in the first half.
Chriss brought Houston closer with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 24-18. After forcing a three-and-out, Houston had a chance to take the lead, but Jack Kelly stripped Chriss of the ball on a fourth-down sack. Blake Mangelson recovered the fumble at the Houston 18-yard line.
Retzlaff sealed the win with a 7-yard touchdown run with 2:52 left.
“We were able to lock in a little more and execute what was called,” defensive end Logan Lutui said.
Houston cornerback AJ Haulcy and BYU receiver Darius Lassiter were both ejected after a scuffle in the end zone following Retzlaff’s second touchdown run.
