Big 12 leads the way in nail-biters

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

13 games decided in final minute

BYU place kicker Will Ferrin, second from left, kicks a game-winning field goal in the second half against Utah, just after midnight on Sunday in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Stephen Hawkins

The Associated Press

Seventh-ranked BYU and the Big 12 are taking games down to the wire.

No other conference is keeping things so close this season.

The Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) are one of four remaining undefeated FBS teams after their 22-21 win at Utah. Will Ferrin kicked a 44-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first Holy War since 2010 with the instate rivals in the same conference.

“It was good fun,” said BYU punter Sam Vander Haar, who is also the holder for Ferrin’s kicks. “I mean, it’s what you train all the hours for, is for moments like that.”

That was the 13th game involving a Big 12 team when the winning points were scored in the final minute of the fourth quarter, and nine of those came in conference play. It was the second for BYU, the only league team with two last-minute wins, and the second game in a row the Utes lost that way.

According to research for the Big 12 by OptaStats, the next-closest league with games decided in the final minute is the Big Ten with 10. The Sun Belt had nine through last weekend, ahead of eight each for the MAC and Mountain West. The ACC has seven, two of those wins against the Big 12, and the SEC five.

BYU has its highest AP ranking since peaking at No. 7 in 2009 while still in the Mountain West with the Utes (4-5, 1-5), the Big 12 newcomer this season that had lost its previous game 17-14 on a game-ending field goal in Houston.

In all, the Big 12 has had 24 conference games with lead changes in the fourth quarter. The Big Ten has 19, the SEC 17 and the ACC 16.

The only Big 12 loss for No. 18 Colorado (7-2, 5-1) was 31-28 to No. 20 Kansas State (7-2, 4-2) after Avery Johnson’s 50-yard TD pass to Jayce Brown with 2:14 left.

Iowa State went into November undefeated for the first time since 1938, with a 7-0 record and No. 9 ranking, after quarterback Rocco Becht’s 1-yard TD run with 30 seconds left to beat UCF. In their next game at home, the Cyclones lost 23-22 loss when Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks had a 5-yard TD with 20 seconds left.

The Cyclones got through non-conference play unscathed thanks to Kyle Konrardy’s 54-yard field goal with six seconds left in a 20-19 win over instate rival Iowa on Sept. 7.

ACC team Pittsburgh also won its first seven games this season, including last-minute wins against Big 12 teams Cincinnati and West Virginia in September. The only loss for ACC newcomer and league leader SMU was at home Sept. 6 when Ferrin kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:58 left to give BYU an 18-15 victory.

BYU was 5-7 last year, including a 2-7 conference record in its Big 12 debut after 12 seasons playing as an independent team. Now they are undefeated along with No. 1 Oregon (10-0), No. 5 Indiana (9-0) and No. 16 Army (9-0).

The other last-minute Big 12 win for BYU was in mid-October against Oklahoma State, when Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff hit Darius Lassiter for a 35-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left for a 38-35 win.

Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-7) notched its only win against a Power Four team in double overtime against Arkansas, when the Cowboys went ahead with 55 seconds left in regulation on a field goal and the visiting Razorbacks tied it with a field goal on the final play.

Along with Utah, Kansas and TCU are the only other Big 12 teams with two conferences losses in the final minute.

TCU (6-4, 4-3) would be just below BYU in the league standings if not for those losses. UCF beat TCU 36-35 after a TD with 36 seconds left and Isaiah Hankins’ game-ending 33-yard field goal gave Baylor a 37-34 win over the Horned Frogs earlier this month.