Seventh-ranked BYU and the Big 12 are keeping games exciting until the very end. No other conference has had so many close games this season.
The Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) remain one of only four unbeaten teams in the FBS after a 22-21 win at Utah. Will Ferrin kicked a 44-yard field goal with just three seconds left in the first Holy War between these two teams since 2010, with both teams now in the same conference.
“It was good fun,” said BYU punter Sam Vander Haar, who also holds for Ferrin’s kicks. “I mean, it’s what you train all the hours for, is for moments like that.”
This was the 13th game involving a Big 12 team where the winning points were scored in the final minute of the fourth quarter, with nine of those games being conference matchups. BYU has had two such games, making them the only team in the Big 12 with two last-minute wins. The Utes lost two games in a row in this way.
Research by OptaStats for the Big 12 found that the next closest conference to the Big 12 in terms of close games is the Big Ten, with 10. The Sun Belt had nine such games, while the MAC and Mountain West had eight each. The ACC had seven close games, including two wins over the Big 12, and the SEC had five.
BYU is currently ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since they were also No. 7 in 2009 while in the Mountain West. Utah (4-5, 1-5) is in its first year as a Big 12 member and had lost its previous game 17-14 on a game-ending field goal in Houston.
So far, the Big 12 has had 24 conference games where the lead changed in the fourth quarter. The Big Ten has had 19 such games, the SEC 17, and the ACC 16.
The only loss for No. 18 Colorado (7-2, 5-1) in the Big 12 was a 31-28 defeat to No. 20 Kansas State (7-2, 4-2), when Avery Johnson threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown with 2:14 left.
Iowa State started November undefeated for the first time since 1938, with a 7-0 record and a No. 9 ranking. They won 20-19 over UCF thanks to Rocco Becht’s 1-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left. But in their next game, the Cyclones lost 23-22 to Texas Tech when Tahj Brooks ran in a 5-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left.
Iowa State also won their season opener with a last-second field goal, when Kyle Konrardy kicked a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left to beat in-state rival Iowa 20-19 on Sept. 7.
Pittsburgh from the ACC also started the season 7-0, with last-minute wins against Big 12 teams Cincinnati and West Virginia. The only loss for SMU, the top team in the ACC, was to BYU, who won 18-15 after Ferrin kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:58 left on Sept. 6.
BYU had a 5-7 record last year, including a 2-7 record in Big 12 play in their first season in the conference. This year, the Cougars are undefeated, along with No. 1 Oregon (10-0), No. 5 Indiana (9-0), and No. 16 Army (9-0).
BYU’s other last-minute Big 12 win came in mid-October against Oklahoma State, when quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Darius Lassiter with 10 seconds left, giving BYU a 38-35 victory.
Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-7) won their only game against a Power Four team in double overtime against Arkansas. In that game, the Cowboys kicked a field goal with 55 seconds left in regulation, but the Razorbacks tied it up with a field goal on the final play.
Along with Utah, Kansas and TCU are the only other Big 12 teams with two losses in the final minute of a game.
TCU (6-4, 4-3) would be just below BYU in the standings if it weren’t for those two close losses. UCF beat TCU 36-35 after scoring a touchdown with 36 seconds left, and earlier this month, Baylor won 37-34 on a game-ending 33-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins.
