Jake Retzlaff's last-gasp prayer to Darius Lassiter keeps No. 13 BYU unbeaten

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

PROVO — Alan Bowman didn't get the chance to start Oklahoma State's visit to No. 13 BYU on Friday night.

The former Texas Tech and Michigan transfer had a chance to finish it, though.

Bowman capped a 17-play drive over 8 minutes, 22 seconds to give the Cowboys a 35-31 lead with just over a minute left in front of an announced crowd of 62,481 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

His only problem?

He left too much time on the clock.

Jake Retzlaff connected with Darius Lassiter for a 35-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left, and the Cougars emerged with a 38-35 win over Oklahoma State to keep their unbeaten start to the 2024 season alive with the program's first-ever win over the Cowboys.

A Hail Mary from BYU's first Jewish starting quarterback? More like, Shalom lakh Miryam.

"It was crazy," Lassiter said. "After I did my celebration, I kind of just blacked out."

Call it what you will, but the quarterback who isn't shy about professing his faith at the school owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was clear.

"That was out-of-body," Retzlaff said of the final drive. "That was a spiritual experience.

"I remember making the decision to cut inside, making the decision to slide, spiking the ball, and then I remember throwing the ball to Darius," he added. "That was sick."

LJ Martin ran for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns for BYU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12), and Retzlaff added 81 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while also throwing for 218 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Lassiter caught six passes for 129 yards and a touchdown — but none bigger than his final catch of the night in front of the Roar of Cougars student section.

Bowman, who came on in relief of first-time starter Garret Rangel due to injury, completed 11-of-19 passes for 85 yards, a touchdown and an interception — and also caught a touchdown pass in the second half.

Ollie Gordon II, the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns and also caught two passes for 22 yards and a score for the Cowboys (3-4, 0-4 Big 12).

But with Gordon hampered by a number of injuries he received in the game — injuries from which he kept coming back — Bowman found Brennan Presley for a 6-yard touchdown pass that put the visitors ahead 35-31 with 1:13 on the clock.

After the ensuing kickoff, that left 1:12 for Retzlaff to respond. Plenty of time, it turns out — but also the least amount of time for a game-winning drive since Tanner Mangun connected with Mitch Mathews on a 42-yard Hail Mary to beat Nebraska 33-28 in 2015.

Moments after entering the field, he looked on back-to-back plays to Lassiter, who had left the medical tent after landing awkwardly in the end zone on a play that set up Will Ferrin's go-ahead 41-yard field goal with 9:39 remaining.

Lassiter didn't think about missing that last drive, though — not when he walked off the field on his own power or when the medical staff took him into the pop-up tent on the sideline. There was no doubt he'd be back.

"They brought me in the tent, and I knew I wasn't going to sit out the rest of that game," Lassiter said. "I just had to toughen it up."

Retzlaff, who re-aggravated a previous injury on his non-throwing shoulder when he made a tackle following an interception to end the first half, went to work. He found Chase Roberts on fourth-and-7 to keep the drive alive with 44 seconds left, then scrambled for a 27-yard gain that gave the Cougars a first down at the Oklahoma State 35-yard line.

After spiking the ball, the Cougars had time for at least one more play — maybe two — if they could get a first down inside field-goal range, which was the initial intent.

But Lassiter didn't think about a field goal, or getting down. The fifth-year senior who grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and transferred to BYU for two seasons after initially playing at Eastern Michigan out of junior college two-handed a pass over the middle of the field.

After pulling out of an initial tackle, Lassiter charged for the end zone, cut to his right to evade another would-be tackler, and scurried into the end zone where the arms and cheers of thousands of fans in the student section awaited him.

An NFL draft prospect with 450 yards and four touchdowns this season, Lassiter has made one-handed grabs look routine with Sports Center top 10-level catches in his two years in Provo. But where does Friday night's game-winner rank in that time?

"I'm going to put that one first," he said with a smile, moments after emerging from a rowdy locker room where he went live on Instagram with older brothers Kwinton and Kwamie II. "I've never had a game-winner before. To share that moment with this team was great."

That shared moment kept the Cougars undefeated in 2024, and a potentially magical season remains alive for at least another week.

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Sean Walker

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KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter