1. I really liked the all-royal uniforms. I also loved the visual of the all-royal BYU unis and the all-red Utah unis and the green grass. It was really sharp looking.

2. Rose is a good QB and will only get better with time. Some of his throws were amazing, and he was an elusive runner as well.

3. Related to #2, Even before the game I felt like one of the keys to a BYU victory would be to get consistent pressure on the Rose. BYU failed to do that until the 2nd half. It was frustrating that BYU wasn’t able to make adjustments until halftime.

4. One kind of ongoing frustration with this team is the inability to convert 3rd or 4th down short-yardage situations or to punch the ball into the end zone from the 1 or 2 yard line. If BYU had been able to get a TD instead of a FG in one of those situations or to get a first down in another situation, the game likely would have been different. Hopefully they can get these situations fixed going forward.

5. How awesome is it to have a FG kicker that can make all the kicks and we’re confident in? His winning FG last night was terrific. Never a doubt.

6. Overall, the O-line has played well this year, but the Utah D-line was awesome, consistently getting pressure on Retzlaff. I was a little concerned that BYU wasn’t more equipped to counteract the blitz on a consistent basis. With the improvement in recruitment, I’m confident that the O-line will continue to get better and better in the years to come.

7. Clock management, especially at the end of the 1st half was concerning. BYU really should have gotten at least a FG before halftime but came away empty, primarily due to poor clock management.

8. REALLY impressed with the resiliency of this team, and especially Retzlaff and the offense. There were so many times during this game when they could have just packed things in, but they just kept plugging away. The final drive (after the holding penalty) was a thing of beauty. Retzlaff now has two last minute drives to secure wins. VERY impressive.

9. Shutting Utah out in the 2nd half was very impressive!

10. I’m convinced that one of the reasons Ute fans are so upset with the holding call is because they have gotten away with blatant holding so much that they feel it should never be called on them. And the fact that a legitimate hold was called at that point goes totally against their perspective of how things should be.

11. So much talk about the game being “stolen” from the Utes because of the holding call, but I don’t hear any of those talking about the “steal” talking about how BYU still had to drive from their own 15-yard-line to get into FG range, and they successfully did that against the vaunted Ute defense with the clock running down. Such an impressive thing that no Ute wants to talk about.

12. Impressed with Scalley taking time to talk to Retzlaff after the game. Classy. Especially in contrast to Whitt and the AD.

13. Gotta do better than 1/12 on 3rd down conversions.

14. Next 3 games won’t be easy. Kansas, ASU, and Houston have all looked a lot better in recent weeks. The game in Tempe will be especially challenging. Hopefully, BYU will be focused. Excited to get Pay back.

15. So far, this season is beyond my wildest dreams. They just continued to do whatever is needed to win. I’m hopeful it can continue. This team is not perfect, they’ve got flaws, but they just keep moving forward. It’s particularly amazing that BYU is doing this in just their 2nd year in the B12, after a very mediocre season last year.

16. The really exciting thing is that this team still has a lot of room for improvement. Hopefully, over the course of the next few weeks BYU can do the things necessary to realize that improvement. The other hope is that they can stay as healthy as possible.

17. I have to admit, I nearly turned the TV off and went to bed at halftime. I’m really glad I stuck it out and got to see the beautiful ending of the game and the meltdown of Ute fans.

18. I’m so excited for the next 3 weeks of the regular-season and the weeks beyond!

Go Cougars!