With 1:48 left in the fourth quarter, no. 9 BYU needed a field goal to keep its perfect season alive. Trailing 21-19, Jake Retzlaff and the offense took the field for a drive that started at BYU’s own nine-yard line. And it didn’t start very well.

After three straight incompletions, BYU was faced with 4th and 10th place finishes. The ESPN win odds at that point gave BYU less than a 1% chance of winning the game. Jake Retzlaff was sacked on fourth down and the game was supposedly over – until a flag was thrown in the defensive secondary. A defensive holding penalty gave BYU life and a first down from its own 19-yard line.

Even after the penalty on Utah, the BYU offense had to drive at least 50 yards with less than two minutes left and no timeouts at their disposal.

On the next play, Retzlaff was nearly intercepted on a pass intended for Darius Lassiter. The ball eventually fell harmlessly to the turf and the Cougars escaped another defeat.

That’s when the BYU offense found some rhythm.

82 seconds left

On 2nd and 10, Retzlaff dropped back to pass and found an open Chase Roberts 30 yards downfield. Roberts makes an exceptional catch, putting his hands under a low throw and securing it for the big gain. The play was reviewed and the on-field call was accepted.

73 seconds remaining

BYU was still 15 yards from field goal range after Chase Roberts’ catch. On the next play, Jake Retzlaff threw a perfectly thrown ball to the boundary to Darius Lassiter for the 12-yard gain. Lassiter ran a great route and Retzlaff made one of his best throws of the night. The Retzlaff-Lassiter connection gave BYU a first down and put the Cougars in extreme field goal range. It also stopped the clock and allowed BYU’s offense to reset.

67 seconds left

Against conventional wisdom, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called a running play and it worked to perfection. Hinckley Ropati took a speed option throw from Jake Retzlaff to the Utah 25-yard line. At that point, BYU was comfortably within Will Ferrin’s field goal range.

60 seconds left

After the Ropati first down, BYU was warned for an illegal procedure penalty that backed them up to the Utah 30-yard line.

Despite losing five yards, BYU was content to run the ball and set up a potential game-winning field goal.

The Cougars ran the ball on both first and second downs, forcing Utah to use the last of their two timeouts.

55 seconds left

On third down, a run by LJ Martin gave BYU a field goal attempt from the far hash. BYU was out of timeouts, so the field goal unit ran onto the field as the clock expired. The ball was snapped with eight seconds left and Will Ferrin made the winning field goal from 44 yards out.

Chase Roberts’ catch and Will Ferrin’s kick will go down in the history of the BYU-Utah rivalry. With the win, BYU improves to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play. The Cougars must win their final three games 2-1 to have a chance to play in the Big 12 championship game.