BYU Football: Is 2019 lost after stunning South Florida loss?

BYU football had hoped to claim a win on the road against South Florida, but the Bulls overcame a nine-point deficit to upset the Cougars at home in Tampa.

A pair of 2-3 teams matched up against one another in Tampa on Saturday afternoon, as BYU traveled from Utah to take on AAC East stalwart South Florida at Raymond James Stadium. Chipping away after the Cougars built up an early lead, the hosts were able to walk away with a 27-23 surprise that allowed the Bulls to progress closer to bowl eligibility.

Kalani Sitake’s team found itself undermanned entering the contest, with quarterback Zach Wilson and running back Ty’Son Williams both sidelined by injuries. Ultimately, their absence was not the main reason why BYU lost. Instead, it was the defense that betrayed the Cougars in the waning moments of the contest.

That opened the door for Jaren Hall to make BYU history as the first black quarterback to make a start for the Cougars. The freshman quarterback went 15-of-23 for 148 yards and a touchdown, and the dual-threat passer also led the team in rushing, with 83 yards and a running score on 16 carries.

But he was unable to seriously challenge the Bulls downfield, finishing with just 6.4 yards per passing attempt. Baylor Romney also got snaps under center for the Cougars, finishing 6-of-10 for 73 yards as the two combined to complete more than 63 percent of their passes for 221 combined passing yards.

Similarly, on the ground the absence of Williams allowed running backs Emmanuel Esukpa and Lopini Katoa to get more opportunities to carry the ball. Katoa led the way out of the backfield with 11 carries for 73 yards, and Esukpa contributed another 43 yards on his 13 touches. As a team, the Cougars finished the day with 218 yards on the ground as they easily topped 400 total yards of offense against South Florida.

That allowed BYU to build up a 23-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to survive and get back to .500 for the visitors. South Florida, led by Jordan Cronkrite’s 148 rushing yards and two touchdown runs, were able to flip the script in the final 15 minutes as they prevailed by four points in the comeback win.

The veteran running back’s performance was critical, as young quarterback Jordan McCloud threw for only 72 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 7-of-14 passing. He did add 23 yards and a rushing touchdown on a half-dozen carries, as the South Florida offense found it much easier to move the ball on the ground than through the air against a tough BYU secondary.

For Sitake’s squad, this game by no means killed the chances that BYU will reach the postseason in 2019. But the margin of error gets thinner and thinner with each passing week, and things could get critical soon in Provo if they continue to lose critical cogs to injury.