Jake Retzlaff's three TD passes guides BYU to 41-13 romp over Southern Illinois in opener

Updated Sep. 1, 2024 1:07 a.m. ET

Associated Press

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Jake Retzlaff threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns to lead BYU to a 41-13 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday night.

Retzlaff earned his first career victory as the Cougars’ starting quarterback after beating out South Florida transfer Gerry Bohanon for the job in fall camp. The redshirt junior went winless in four starts last season but helped BYU rack up 527 total yards this time around.

Chase Roberts led the Cougars with 108 yards on seven catches. BYU (1-0) has not lost to an opponent outside the FBS since 1960.

“It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t even our best, but there’s some moments that we had some really good things going,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think the experience and the leadership showed up.”

DJ Williams threw for 98 yards, while adding 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, to lead the Salukis. Southern Illinois (0-1) failed in its bid to defeat a third straight FBS opponent.

The Salukis averaged just 4.5 yards per play. They allowed BYU to go 7-of-15 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down.

“We have to find a way to get off the field,” Southern Illinois coach Nick Hill said. “(BYU) caught us in coverage and I thought (Retzlaff) played well. He put that ball out there really well and they hit us on some deep throws to break the game open.”

Big plays led to a big first quarter for the Cougars.

Retzlaff completed a pair of fourth-down passes to set up a 1-yard scoring plunge from Hinckley Ropati on BYU’s 13-play opening drive. Then he capped off the Cougars’ second drive with a 57-yard strike down the middle to a wide-open Jojo Phillips that gave BYU a 14-0 lead.

“We were ready to take shots,” Retzlaff said. “Big plays make offense a lot easier. Thirteen-play drives are really hard. ... Being able to have the big plays to shorten those drives makes a huge difference.”

Southern Illinois sliced the deficit to 14-6 when Williams broke a tackle and scored on a 4-yard keeper just before halftime. Williams connected with Keontez Lewis on a 43-yard dart to get into BYU territory and set up the touchdown.

The Cougars pulled away after halftime.

Keelan Marion shook off three defenders to haul in a 52-yard pass, setting up a 7-yard scoring strike to LJ Martin for BYU’s third touchdown. Then, after foiling a fake punt, Retzlaff tossed his third touchdown – a 19-yarder to Mata’ava Ta’ase – to extend the Cougars’ lead to 31-6 midway through the third quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Southern Illinois: Outside of a few solid QB runs, the Salukis struggled to do much else on offense against the Cougars. They had only two receptions longer than 10 yards through the first three quarters.

BYU: The Cougars made strides at pressuring the quarterback, tallying a pair of sacks and seven tackles for loss. Jakob Robinson also snagged an interception. BYU registered only 11 sacks a year ago, tied for last with Virginia among FBS teams.

FOURTH DOWN SUCCESS

BYU converted 50% of its fourth-down attempts in its debut Big 12 campaign. The Cougars are already showing a willingness to be equally aggressive on fourth down this season.

Fourth-down conversions kept scoring drives alive in the first quarter and the third quarter, opening the door for BYU to stay a few steps ahead of Southern Illinois at critical junctures.

“I just hope to never see the punt team or the field-goal team run on the field,” Retzlaff said. “I love to go for it on fourth down. I’ve always loved to go for it on fourth down.”

HILL HEALING

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill experienced a major scare when he suffered a heart attack on Thursday after practice. Hill was discharged from a Utah County hospital early Saturday after two stents were inserted into his arteries.

He watched the game from the press box. While Sitake officially assumed Hill’s usual responsibilities for the game, that didn’t stop Hill from donning a headset and consulting him throughout the game.

Hill’s heart attack weighed heavily on Sitake’s mind, and he expressed relief that he made a quick enough recovery to leave the hospital less than two days after being admitted.

“That was kind of hard for me to hear,” Sitake said. “All I cared about is if he’s okay. Is my friend okay? So that was a huge scare. I’m glad they were able to get him on the right path to recovery and take care of him.”

UP NEXT

Southern Illinois: Travels to play Austin Peay on Saturday.

BYU: Travels to play SMU on Friday.

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