BYU (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) at SMU (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
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Kickoff: Friday, 5 p.m. MDT
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Venue: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Capacity: 32,000)
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TV: ESPN2
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Livestream: ESPN.com/watch
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Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143
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Series: BYU leads, 4-0
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Weather: Mostly sunny skies at kickoff, with temperatures in the high 80s, but dropping to the high 60s throughout the night. Winds will be light and variable, with gusts up to 15 mph from the Northeast. Very little chance of rain throughout the game.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars have lost five straight road games dating back to last year, but played significantly better in their last road game of 2023, a 40-34 overtime loss to Oklahoma State. Last year, they opened Big 12 play on the road at Kansas and lost 38-27 in a turnover-filled affair.
The Cougars are 6-9 overall against ACC teams (SMU joined the league this year) and 62-41 in head coach Kalani Sitake’s nine-year tenure. BYU is 8-4 in Friday night regular-season games under Sitake.
For Southern Methodist: The Mustangs are averaging 44.0 points per game and giving up just 15.5 points per contest. This is their third game of the season because they downed Nevada in Week 0 and upended Houston Christian in Week 1.
SMU is receiving votes in The Associated Press Top 25 after winning the American Athletic Conference last year. They are meeting BYU in the regular season for the first time since 1997. They lost to BYU 24-23 in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl when their last-second two-point conversion try was stopped by BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson.
What to watch for
Junior college transfer Jake Retzlaff earned the starting nod over former Baylor and USF QB Gerry Bohanon and guided the Cougars to a 41-13 win over FCS Southern Illinois. Expect Retzlaff to look for receiver Darius Lassiter, who missed the SIU game due to an issue with the NCAA and his eligibility waiver for a final season of college football.
The Cougars enter the game fairly healthy, although cornerback Mory Bamba didn’t play against the Salukis and watched the game from the sidelines with a protective boot on his left foot.
BYU’s offensive line of center Connor Pay, guard Weylin Lapuaho and tackles Caleb Etienne and Brayden Keim picked up where they left off last year against the Oklahoma schools and turned in outstanding performances. They were joined in the starting lineup by redshirt freshman Sonny Makasini, who is expected to make his second career start Friday against the Ponies.
Southern Methodist coach Rhett Lashlee is in his third year and has a career record of 20-9. One of those nine losses was against BYU when he elected to go for two and the win in the New Mexico Bowl two years ago and QB Tanner Mordecai was stopped a yard or two short of the goal line.
They rank fourth in the country in three-point conversion percentage (54%) and are No. 1 in total first downs, with 51 in two games.
Key player
Jake Retzlaff, junior, BYU, quarterback: For BYU to have any chance of pulling off the upset as a double-digit underdog, Retzlaff will have to play as cleanly and impressively as he did against Southern Illinois. And BYU will have to establish the same kind of running game to keep the Mustangs’ pass rush honest. Retzlaff completed 20 of 30 passes for 348 yards and three TDs against the Salukis.
Another key player to watch is BYU sophomore running back LJ Martin, who is from El Paso, Texas. Martin will be called on a lot to not only pick up tough yards on the ground, but slow SMU’s blitzing linebackers.
Quotable
“Obviously there is room for improvement. We know how to fix them. Looking forward to doing that. … Going against SMU, the head coach is a good friend of mine. Rhett Lashlee is an amazing coach. He knows how to run an offense and call a game and run a program.
“I think he’s one of the best coaches in college football. He has done a great job with that program.
“It is going to be tough for us to go in there and play against them. We have to get some things fixed for us to be at our best.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
“Ten straight power games is what we asked for. That’s what we wanted. I think there’s a lot of buzz around our program, which is great. There’s a lot of overzealous people out there prognosticating what we’re supposed to do. I mean, there’s no pressure on us. We’re not supposed to win these games, right? … I think we got a good team. We’re not there yet.” — SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, whose team is a 10.5-point favorite.
Next up
BYU schedule
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Aug. 31 — Defeated Southern Illinois, 41-13
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Friday — at SMU, 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN2
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Sept. 14 — at Wyoming, 7 p.m. MDT on CBS Sports Network
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Sept. 21 — Kansas State
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Sept. 28 — at Baylor
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Oct. 5 — Bye
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Oct. 12 — Arizona
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Oct. 18 — Oklahoma State, 8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN
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Oct. 26 — at Central Florida
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Nov. 2 — Bye
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Nov. 9 — at Utah
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Nov. 16 — Kansas
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Nov. 23 — at Arizona State
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Nov. 30 — Houston
