On Saturday, no. 15 BYU took care of business in a 28-17 win over the Wildcats. Arizona controlled in the game in the first half, taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room that, frankly, could have been more lopsided.Then, the Cougars took control of the game and pulled away in the second half. After Arizona was +10% in net success rate in the first half, the Cougars were +37% in success rate in the second half. These were the four events that allowed BYU to pull away and extend its winning streak over Arizona.That was a dominant second half from BYU. +35% or better in both the third and fourth quarters. pic.twitter.com/zNvGg7wTYv— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) September 13, 20261. BYU Sets the Tone with the Opening DriveThe BYU offense set the tone for the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive that took 5:23 off the clock. After running the football only seven times in the first half, the Cougars emphasized the ground game to kickoff the second half and it paid off. BYU handed the ball to LJ Martin on three of hte first four plays of the drive, and then play action started to open up for the passing game.The drive was capped off by a touchdown pass to 6'6 Kyler Kasper. Kasper was Bachmeier's favorite target in the redzone in camp, and that has carried over in games. Kasper is nearly impossible to stop with a single cornerback given his frame.— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 12, 2026Kasper had 77 receiving yards in 4 years at Oregon. He has surpassed that number in just two games at BYU. He is a as big of a redzone weapon as BYU has had in recent memory.2. The Defense Gets a Clutch Fourth Down StopAfter a strong drive to start the second half, the BYU offense got sloppy and had to punt on two consecutive drives. While the offense was getting back into a rhythm, the defense forced back-to-back Arizona punts.On their third drive of the second half, the Wildcats were driving down the field and were nearing the redzone. Facing a 4th & 4, Noah Fifita found Rodney Gallagher III short of the sticks. Gallagher III was tackled by Cannon DeVries and Tommy Prassas right at the line to gain. The play was originally called a first down, but after further review, Gallagher III was marked short of the first down marker and the BYU defense got the ball back to the BYU offense.That was the turning point in the game, as Arizona was knocking on the door of taking a lead. Instead, BYU maintained a 21-17 lead with a chance to take a two-score lead.3. Legend Glasker Gets Behind the DefenseWhen BYU got the ball back, the Arizona defense committed to stopping the run. On one play, every Arizona defender was within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. BYU took advantage of a compact defense and called Legend Glasker's number. Glasker got behind the defense and Bachmeier hit him in stride for the 61-yard gain. The ball traveled 57 yards in the air as Bachmeir showed off his improved arm strength.A BIG 61-yard pass puts @BYUfootball knocking on the door! 👀 pic.twitter.com/kyaztZiI2V— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 12, 2026Two plays later, Bachmeire found Kyler Kasper (again) in the endzone to give BYU the 28-17 lead.— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 12, 20264. The BYU Pass Rush Takes OverNow leading 28-17, the BYU defense took the field once again. Arizona had to throw the football with only six minutes remaining. That's when the BYU pass rush took over. On first down, Tausili Akana stunted inside the offensive line and took down Noah Fifita. It was Akana's second sack of the game. The sack was assisted by Keanu Tanuvasa who stunted to the outside and took the offensive line with him. — BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 12, 2026On the very next play, both Akana and Tanuvasa got into the backfield and sacked Fifita again.We have been waiting to see if the BYU defensive line could take over a game, and on this drive, that's exactly what they did. Akana finished the game with 2.5 sacks. Akana has been BYU's best pass rusher through two games.On third down, Fifita was forced to get rid of the ball quickly and the Cougars forced an Arizona punt. The offense closed out the game in the four-minute drill and instead of adding to the final score, took a kneel inside the Arizona 10 yard-line to seal the win.Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X and Facebook for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow