CFP NC Game – Glendale, AZ - #3 BYU vs #4 ASU

BYU is the higher ranked team in the 2nd ever CFP NCG…let me say that again, BYU is the HIGHER ranked team in the 2nd ever CFP NCG. The sponsors in AZ are giddy about having their home-town Sun Devils in the game and know that BYU fans will flock to Glendale and fill the stadium. They do. In an interesting move they allow ASU to go with their classic maroon tops and bottoms and BYU is donning their royal blue and white home uniforms. Great color matchup.

The media is in love with both Taysom and Bercovici. It’s a heart-throb media frenzy to talk with these Heisman contenders and very good looking Heisman contenders. ESPN does an hour-long special on both of their very unique journeys to start at their respective schools and now play in NC game. For Taysom they highlight his Stanford recruitment with Harbaugh, his mission, transfer, injuries, etc. They use a lot of clips from the new BYU “hard knocks” series and it’s a very touching piece. Nashty is torn and wearing an ASU hat and BYU royal blue shirt in the stands. He cries like a wuss during both team introductions.

Bercovici strikes first when he nails all-star RB DJ Foster out of the backfield on a wheel route for a 30 yard TD pass. BYU seems stuck in the mud a bit on O and can’t get out of their own way. Taysom throws a pick, Hine fumbles and ASU turns that into another TD. Finally Taysom connects with Mathews and sets up a nice FG by Samson to get them on the board before the half, but a pretty uninspired effort by the Cougs. Nashty runs to the face painting station and paints his face gold and buys a life size Sparky doll for his home.

Somehow ESPN has cameras in the locker room and a few seconds of Taysom delivering a speech heretofore unseen in sports lore is shown over the screen. He shocks the world by announcing: “This is the last football game of my life and I’m NOT going out a loser!!!” (rumor has it he has been offered a six-figure signing bonus by an investment firm and he will forgo NFL route unless a first round pick) Herbie, obviously choking up from emotion cuts to Holly Rowe on the field who has mascara running down her cheeks. BYU enters the field hand in hand with made up flag in the locker-room that simply says “band of brothers”. (Of course, “captain Moroni” (MLP) carries it out) Nashty’s heart begins to tremble knowing what is about to happen.

Taysom then proceeds to go absolute beast-mode on the Sun Devils. The first drive to open the half he rushes 5 times for 49 yards, and goes 3/3 with a TD to make it a 14-10 ballgame. After Hanneman makes an incredible pick, Taysom does a Texas 2.0 and leaps over FS Simone and stiff arms the persuing CB into his own sideline injuring an ASU position coach. He is freaking SUPERMAN. 17-14 BYU. Nashty then runs to the bathroom to wash his gold facepaint off. He then puts a BYU shirt on his Sparky doll and has them face paint a human face on it and he puts it in the seat next to him.

BYU then proceeds to force ASU into another punt and Blackmon almost takes it to the house…a shoelace tackle by the punter saves a TD. 2 plays later Taysom finds Kurtz in the back of the endzone. 24-14 BYU. ASU responds when DJ Foster finds a hole from 13 yards out to make things interesting. 24-21 BYU leads with just over 5 minutes left. On the ensuing kickoff Blackmon is hit really hard and fumbles and there is a scrum for the ball. While replay appears to show BYU recovered first, the officials declare ASU ball and then say “call stands” on review. Bercovici finds one of his favorite targets, TE Kohl, over the middle for a TD just a few plays later and ASU goes up 27-24. The saving grace is Bronson gets his hand on the ball and blocks the PAT somehow! Now all BYU needs is a FG!

Hill hits Brown out of the backfield, scrambles for a gain of 12, nails Juergs on a slant for 7 then Mathews on a quick out for 9. That gets them just passed midfield. Hill then is flushed out of the pocket and scrambles for another gain of 15 that puts them well into range…on the 31 yard line. 35 seconds left. Taysom just misses Kurtz on a streak, then gets hit and almost picked off when he tries to get the ball to Mathews instead of take the sack. A delay of game penalty on 3rd and 10 moves them back to the 36 and it’s now 3rd and 15. Taysom hits Houk who is dropped immediately 5 yards shy of the first down…22 seconds left…4th and 5 from the 26…timeout BYU.

The books say you run the clock out and kick a FG and get to overtime. But it’s still a 43 yard FG and Samson is only 4/8 from 40+ on the season. In an unprecedented move BYU breaks the huddle with Mangum at QB…the announcers don’t even know his name for a second and keep saying “uh…number 12, number 12 is playing QB…tanner magnum…is hill hurt? What is going on?” Then everyone sees Hill line up at RB with Harvey Langi at FB. This is obviously some trick play as taysom motions out to the slot…tejon hikes the ball to Tanner and he rolls toward Taysom’s side, Taysom stops on a dime and reverses back toward tanner, takes the pitch and follows the Beast Harvey Langi down the right sideline. Taysom avoids the DE, Langi destroys the LB and then lays out the incoming safety clearing a path for Taysom to sprint down the sideline for a TD! BYU wins 31-27.

Nashty lights his sparky doll on fire and then chucks it into the ASU student section and goes and gets a new tattoo “BYU 4 life” on his chest. BYU is national champions for the second time in the last 31 years…joining an elite group of schools to make that claim. Bronco reveals after the game the choice to go for it and the play call were both Taysom’s idea and all credit goes to him. “We’ve been saving that one in our back pocket all season…practice it every week and it worked…when it works you look really good!”

In a shocking move, the Big12 lures ND away from the ACC and adds the 2 independent programs left to P5 conferences and greatly bolsters their SOS and image in the process. NBC balked on contract re-negotiations and thus lost out on the bid…they do however retain third tier rights and ND is now the richest school in the country with ESPN/Fox deal + NBC deal. The Big12 also now has the 2 biggest brands in college football and is poised to cement itself in the national picture. BYU is now in the Big12 “west” with the 4 Texas schools and KSU. KU/OU/OSU/ISU/ND/WVU make up the Big12 “east”. Kansas schools were furious but they hold less weight than OU and were told it was “…better than going to the MWC when the Big12 blows up!” Big12 plays 5 division games plus 3 cross overs (including OU/Tex and KSU/KU guaranteed games every year during rivalry week) plus they are asked to play 1 P5 OOC game every year. The 8 conf games allows ND to keep Stan/USC/Navy rivalries alive. They also have a new championship game in Jerry World every season and are allowed to put the two highest ranked teams in the championship game if a division champion is not ranked (top 25) by the end of the season.

BYU ditches their Indy schedules and keep only their Utah contract alive…Tom Holmoe tweets out picture of an amended contract to play Utah from 2017-2057 with his signature on it and simply says “…paging Dr. Hill.” BYU’s first season in Big12 include home games against TCU, Texas, KSU, ND and ISU…all is happy in Provo. The Cougs even decide to officially ditch the navy and go back to royal blue, with Nike’s blessing (finally!), after all their success in various royal/white combos this year.

Ironically, BYU opens the 2016 season in the same stadium they ended in 2015…vs UofA and the UOPHX stadium officials allow them to do a banner unveiling at that stadium in celebration of the national championship. The Tanner Mangum era has begun…To be Continued…