Note: With college football returning to the world of video games thanks to EA Sports’ College Football 25, the Deseret News is simulating every game between BYU and an FBS opponent this season.
BYU plays Wyoming on Friday with a chance to finish non-conference play undefeated.
Can the Cougars pull off a win on the road against an old conference rival while still missing their top two running backs?
The Deseret News simulated the game on EA Sports College Football 25, and it was a good night for the Cougars, at least according to the video game.
How to set up a simulation
There were some ground rules in place: the simulation used 10-minute quarters (down from 12 minutes last week, allowing for adjustments to be made as needed in future simulations), and we let the computer simulate the game without any user interaction.
Injuries and depth changes also impacted the running back corps for both schools this week.
Both LJ Martin and Hinkley Ropati left the roster after suffering injuries during BYU’s 18-15 win over SMU last week and will not play in the Cougars’ game against the Cowboys, so I left them off the roster.
Wyoming’s Harrison Whaley was also moved down the roster after undergoing surgery last month and has not played yet this year.
I have also tried to match up the uniform combinations that appear in the game as far as I know.
How accurate was your simulation of BYU’s last game?
Actual score: BYU 18, SMU 15
College Football 25 Simulation Final Score: SMU 38, BYU 33
My Analysis: The simulation was wrong, but that’s understandable, as the Cougars were a double-digit underdog. They beat the Mustangs with some strong defense, including forcing two turnovers in the red zone.
In the actual game, the scoring was much lower as both teams struggled with turnovers and ball movement.
How did the simulation between BYU and Wyoming unfold?
Final score: BYU 41, Wyoming 20
Key sequence: The Cougars faced a third-down, 18-yard situation from the Wyoming 42 early in the third quarter with a chance to build a three-point lead. BYU had a short field after a failed Cowboys punt.
The Cougars took advantage, as Jake Retzlaff threw a pass to a wide-open Chase Roberts at the 10-yard line, and the wide receiver carried the rest of the way for a 42-yard touchdown pass to put BYU ahead, 28-6.
BYU’s offensive line gave Retzlaff good protection, giving him enough time to get going until he found Roberts open deep downfield.
How the simulation played out: With Martin and Ropati sidelined, the Cougars relied heavily on running back Miles Davis, who two years ago (in real life) ran for 131 yards in a 38-24 BYU-Wyoming game in Provo.
In the video game version, he was relied upon to help the Cougars maintain ball control while gaining crucial first downs in third-down and short-down situations.
The emphasis on the run early in the game allowed BYU to take control of the game by passing the ball late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter.
Davis scored on two short touchdown runs of 11 and 1 yards in the first half, and Keanu Hill had a 1-yard scoring catch to give the Cougars a 21-6 lead by halftime.
Roberts’ touchdown catch early in the third quarter set the tone for the second half, and BYU took a 38-6 lead on a short touchdown catch by Kieran Marion and a 48-yard field goal by Will Ferrin, but Wyoming scored two more touchdowns in the closing seconds, including a 52-yard field goal by Ferrin with just over a minute left in the game.
Star player: Oddly enough, Davis matched his game time against Wyoming with 131 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Retzlaff threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted in the red zone a minute into the second quarter. Hill caught eight of those passes for 115 yards and one score.
Isaiah Bagner led BYU’s balanced defense with three tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack.
Wyoming’s Evan Svoboda threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns late in the game.
Key stats: The Cougars had 448 yards of total offense, compared to 282 for the Cowboys.
BYU held Wyoming to 40 rushing yards and 2.9 yards per carry.
The Cougars also made 12 of 15 third-down attempts, while the Cowboys only made 3 of 10.
How realistic was the simulation?
My Analysis: Overall, other than feeling like there was still too much offensive direction (I tweaked my CPU ratings a bit after last week to combat this, and may tweak them a bit more next week), it felt like a reasonable result.
I don’t see BYU winning by more than a point or two, but with the Cougars in control for the majority of the game and Wyoming struggling a bit at 0-2, it’s possible that it could play out that way.