BYU survives Halloween scare, holds off Arizona State 27-20 in familiar fashion

PROVO — For the second time in two years, BYU found itself in a familiar position against Arizona State: needing to burn the final seconds off the clock to secure a victory over the Sun Devils.

Saturday's 27-20 win in Provo felt like deja vu for the Cougars, as the closing moments mirrored its last meeting in Tempe in 2024. Holding a one-score lead after recovering an onside kick, BYU needed to run out the clock and put the game away.

With just five seconds remaining, head coach Kalani Sitake elected to keep his offense on the field and put the ball in quarterback Bear Bachmeier's hands. Bachmeier scrambled before throwing the ball out of bounds, executing the play perfectly and allowing the clock to expire despite a brief review from the officials.

For the second consecutive week, things got spooky for BYU — this time on Halloween weekend. After finding themselves leading by two touchdowns, Arizona State came to life in the third quarter to tie the game up and make it a fourth-quarter ball game.

The Cougars' pass rush was haunting Arizona State quarterback Jake Fette from the jump. Nusi Taumoepeau leveled Fette on the first drive of the game and forced a fumble on the sack.

BYU took advantage of the turnover with a touchdown, but how they got on the board was unconventional.

After getting to the Sun Devils' 1-yard line, Bachmeier fumbled the ball and Sione Moa picked up the ball and advanced it into the end zone. The officials reviewed the play and ruled Moa down, but after an uncommon second review, they ruled the play a touchdown for the Cougars.

A week after they were gashed on defense, BYU had an improved effort and recorded several sacks in the first half. The pressure from the pass rush rattled the true freshman quarterback and killed a bunch of Arizona State drives in the first half. The Cougars finished with six sacks, which are the most by a BYU team in the Kalani Sitake era.

The majority of the Sun Devils' offense came on the ground in the first half, with Cardae Mack having some great runs for 123 yards on Saturday.

It took some time, but midway through the second quarter, the Cougars' offense began to get rolling. BYU found the end zone again when Bachmeier threw a 13-yard strike to Kyler Kasper.

Arizona State erased the two-touchdown deficit in the third quarter, though, thanks to a turnover of its own.

After forcing a punt from the Cougars on the opening drive of the second half, the Sun Devils marched down the field, and head coach Kenny Dillingham opted to go back to what was working earlier, which was putting the ball in Mack's hands. Arizona State finally found the end zone after Fette hit Omarion Miller for a 20-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Owen Long came in and forced a fumble on Kasper after he turned his back on the defender to cut upfield.

Sensing the momentum had flipped, Dillingham was aggressive, going for it on fourth down twice with his team paying it off with a pair of conversions. A questionable pass interference call gifted the Sun Devils a first down on BYU's 1-yard line, and Fette made the Cougars pay, as he found his tight end, Anthony Miller, wide open in the flat for a touchdown to even the score.

BYU added a field goal to retake the lead, but Sitake would have his own opportunity to be aggressive.

Stiake decided to keep his offense on the field to go for it on fourth-and-1 on their own 14. Bachmeier moved the chains with his legs before hitting Legend Glasker for a 53-yard pass to flip the field.

Facing another fourth down, Sitake decided to roll the dice again, and Roger Saleapaga II put his body on the line to get the first down. Moa capped off the long drive with a rushing touchdown to give BYU a two-score cushion.

The double-digit lead was too much for Arizona State to overcome with just two minutes remaining. The Sun Devils added a field goal but were unable to recover the onside kick, and the Cougars milked the rest of the clock.

This story will be updated.