Who will win the BYU-Oklahoma State game? -Deseret News

Note: As EA Sports brings college football back to the video game world with “College Football 25,” the Deseret News is simulating every BYU game against an FBS opponent this season.

BYU is starting the second half of the season in high spirits.

The Cougars are 6-0, ranked 13th in the country and tied with two other 3-0 teams at the top of the Big 12 Conference.

That means a 3-3 match against Oklahoma State on Friday night should be easy, right?

Maybe not. Despite losing three straight games, the Cowboys started the year ranked in the top 15 and were favorites to win the Big 12, but they have fallen on hard times.

How will the game between the two end on Friday?

The Deseret News showed a simulation of Friday's game in the EA Sports College Football 25 video game – and the match went back and forth, with an ending that will keep fans in the stands.

How the simulation was set up

There were a few ground rules: The simulation used 12-minute quarters – I increased this from 10 minutes in the first half to better reflect an accurate number of possessions per game – and I let the computer simulate the game without user intervention .

The CPU ratings have also been adjusted slightly from standard to make pass defense more realistic. I adjusted the passing accuracy from 50 to 35 and then the pass defense ratings from 50 to 80. This helped create more realistic numbers.

Injuries and depth chart moves have also been implemented.

The Cougars played with a full stable of running backs in last week's win over Arizona, and they're all available again this week.

Wide receiver Kody Epps was sidelined for the second straight game, and with center Connor Pay still sidelined with a broken foot, Bruce Mitchell once again replaced him as center for BYU. With Sonny Makasini out at guard and Austin Leausa out of the game, Jake Eichorn came in at right guard.

Oklahoma State will reportedly sign redshirt sophomore Garret Rangel at quarterback in his first start of the season.

The Cowboys are also missing two star linebackers, with Collin Oliver and Nick Martin injured.

The uniforms that both teams will wear have also been implemented into the simulation.

BYU wears a royal blue jersey with a white helmet, white face print and white pants, all decorated with royal trim. Oklahoma State has not announced uniform choices, so I used their traditional white road uniforms with the orange helmet.

Although it was forecast to rain most of the week on Friday night, there is no rain forecast for match day, so I expected it to be cloudy at kick-off.

How accurate was the simulation of BYU's last game?

The actual score: BYU 41, Arizona 19

College Football 25 Simulation Final Score: BYU 20, Arizona 15

My analysis: The simulation was a bit more conservative offensively than the final result, although it looked like it was accurate at least until halftime of the actual game.

The Cougars led the Wildcats 14-7 at halftime in Saturday's final game before extending their lead early in the second half thanks to two Arizona turnovers.

In the simulation, BYU had to sustain a late surge before forcing a turnover to win.

How did the simulation go between BYU and Oklahoma State?

Final result: BYU 41, Oklahoma State 33

Key sequence: In a game that featured plenty of offensive fireworks, it was a defensive play that clinched the win for BYU.

The Cougars saw a 35-24 lead cut to two points with 7:14 to play on a 20-yard touchdown reception from Brennan Presley, and Oklahoma State went for two to try and tie it equalize the score.

However, Rangel was stopped for a loss on a quarterback draw, and BYU then went on a long drive before clinching the game in the final minutes.

How the simulation went: After a few early punts and turnovers, this game was mostly about offense.

The Cougars got on the field first when linebacker Sione Moa intercepted Rangel on the third play and scored a 32-yard pick-six less than a minute into the game.

After two punts from Oklahoma State and one from BYU, the Cougars had a promising drive before Chase Roberts lost a fumble after a catch and Oklahoma State recovered at its own 35 points.

Cowboys running back Ollie Gordon II took the lead on the next drive, converting four straight touches into a gain of over 40 yards, and his 4-yard run on third-and-2 put Oklahoma State within 10 with a minute left in the first quarter BYU14.

On the next play, Rangel De'Zhaun found Stribling for a 14-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.

The Cougars were outscored 14-7 in the second quarter – Oklahoma State used two long drives to score touchdowns, while BYU had one gain but had a 51-yard field goal attempt by Will Ferrin expire went wide to the right at half time.

BYU scored on a 7-yard run by LJ Martin with 7:56 to halftime, capping a 75-yard drive in which BYU converted twice on third down.

However, the Cowboys fought back, moving the ball downfield and getting a 14-yard catch from Rashod Owens to cap an 11-play, 82-yard drive and make it 14-14.

On the ensuing possession, Jake Retzlaff was sacked on third down to force a punt, and Oklahoma State quickly capitalized by quickly moving the ball downfield before making a 4-yard stribling catch with 46 seconds left before halftime.

However, the Cougars regained control in the third quarter and used two quick attacks to regain the lead.

BYU took over on the first possession of the second half and scored in three plays when Parker Kingston caught a 39-yard pass from Retzlaff. The drive covered 84 yards in 57 seconds.

After a three-pointer at Oklahoma State, BYU struck quickly again. This time, a five-play drive ended with Keanu Hill catching an 8-yard touchdown pass. The possession included catches of 28 and 26 yards for Hill and Kingston, respectively, and BYU was up 28-21.

The Cowboys responded with a drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal, but BYU once again had an answer.

This time, Hill caught a pass and ran untouched the final 45 yards for a 68-yard touchdown pass, giving BYU a 35-24 score early in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma State made the ending interesting by scoring a field goal to make it 35-27 with just over 10 minutes to play.

Then, after a BYU three-and-out, the Cowboys sliced ​​through the Cougar defense and scored on a 24-yard touchdown from Presley with 7:14 to play.

However, BYU stopped the two-point conversion and maintained its lead at 35-33.

The Cougars then used up the ensuing possession more than five minutes after halftime, scoring a 29-yard field goal with 1:49 to play – a holding penalty inside the red zone forced the three-point attempt.

BYU then stopped Oklahoma State deep down the field on the ensuing possession, and Isaiah Bagnah sacked Rangel to force a long fourth down attempt in which Rangel threw incomplete.

The Cougars got the ball back with 45 seconds left and Oklahoma State only had two timeouts, but an unfortunate circumstance led to BYU having to give the ball back.

On first down, a Cougar injury prevented Oklahoma State from having to call a timeout, and then the Cowboys stopped two BYU runs and used their final two timeouts to put the Cougars in a four-down situation with 30 seconds to play.

Ferrin added a 27-yard field goal to make it an 8-point game and then the BYU defense held again.

A few plays into the drive, Rangel found Stribling able to advance the ball to BYU's 49 line, but he couldn't get out of bounds and time expired before Oklahoma State could get a snapoff.

Star player: Retzlaff had perhaps his best day as a Cougar with 331 passing yards and three touchdowns, all in the third quarter.

Martin ran for 101 yards and the touchdown, while Hill made seven catches for 115 yards.

Jakob Robinson led the defense and finished the game with ten tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception.

Rangel threw for 266 yards and four touchdowns in his first start of the year, but his two interceptions proved costly.

Gordon ran for 125 yards with a 3.7 per carry average, while Presley added nine catches for 126 yards.

Key stats: The Cougars outgained the Cowboys by 456 to 418 yards.

Both teams had similar success in the third period – BYU went 7 of 13 while Oklahoma State went 7 of 16.

How realistic was the simulation?

My analysis: It felt like there was too much offense in this game, as both quarterbacks had no trouble finding open receivers in critical situations in the second and third quarters.

However, it wouldn't be surprising if the game remained close throughout.

The Cougars may have the edge, but the Cowboys are a dangerous team.