BYU’s stalled red-zone trip against Iowa State had a lot going on, but the biggest issue wasn’t the play that everyone thought it was.
On a crucial fourth down deep in Cyclones territory, Bear Bachmeier ended up throwing to Walker Lyons on a back-shoulder fade that had some people wondering why BYU would make that kind of call in that spot. Aaron Roderick said afterward that wasn’t the play at all. Bachmeier misheard the wristband number, and the Cougars ran the wrong thing.
BYU uses wristbands with numbers tied to each play, and Roderick said the quarterback had trouble hearing through the communication system. The result was a miscue at exactly the wrong time, and the pass to Lyons was nearly completed before falling incomplete and ending the drive on downs.
"We had a communication problem down there the the play called was not what we called. Bear heard the wrong wristband number...[he] had a little trouble hearing a few times through the communication device.
Unfortunately, that was not the play we were trying to run that right there... I thought we still had a chance there."
The confusion followed a sequence that already had BYU’s offense in a tricky spot. The Cougars had lined up for a field goal on 4th & 3, but Iowa State jumped offsides, giving BYU another shot and moving the offense back out there on 4th & 1. The misheard call turned that into a wasted chance.
Roderick also owned a different short-yardage failure near midfield, where Journee Tonga was stuffed on back-to-back plays and BYU turned the ball over on downs. This time, he said the call was on him.
"This probably for me is the most disappointing part of the night is just we didn't execute well there," Roderick said on the failed third down play. "That second play (the fourth down), I I would like if I could have that one back.
I would have called a different play, so I put that one on me... maybe a sneak or something to get the ball fast out on the perimeter and just run for a yard with somebody have some speed... I'll take that one I need to do better there."
That short-yardage execution will matter again against Notre Dame, where sustaining drives figures to be a challenge against a stingy defense. If BYU keeps coming up short in those spots, it could come back to haunt them.
There were communication issues on the other sideline too. After the game, Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers said the Cyclones’ coordinators had to leave the booth in the third quarter because the headset stopped working.
"Our headset went out in the third and fourth," Rogers said. "That's why you saw the coordinators come down out of the booth. It was a little chaotic there."
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