QB Jake Retzlaff Speaks On Path To BYU, Expectations

PROVO, Utah – In a recent interview on Cougar Sports Saturday, BYU QB Jake Retzlaff went over his path to becoming a Cougar and what his expectations are for the upcoming season.

Jake Retzlaff Is A Cougar

“It was a long recruitment process,” Retzlaff said. “It was, honestly, just right from the beginning. I knew when I got here that it was going to be a warm welcome, and it was. I’m just excited to be here and excited to get going.”

Retzlaff comes to BYU from Riverside City College. In his one year at RCC, Retzlaff was very successful. Against Mt. San Jacinto on September 3, 2022, Retzlaff set a school single-game passing record with 529 yards in his first start. Retzlaff also set a school record for touchdown passes in that same game with six.

With BYU’s schedule still yet to be released, there’s a lot of unknown for the Cougars currently. Retzlaff explained that he is just ready to get to work in Provo.

“I want to go in there and give it my best shot to get the starting spot,” Retzlaff said. “Me and Kedon (Slovis), who I met earlier this week, we’re ready to push each other in practice everyday. The competition only makes us better.”

Retzlaff is ready for his move to BYU. He made his confidence in the program well known.

“I believe that, our guys on the field, our eleven versus any eleven. Anytime. Anywhere.” Slovis said. “You got to line your eleven against our eleven at the end of the day.”

With the recent addition of Pitt and USC QB Kedon Slovis, is likely that Jake Retzlaff will be the backup for the Cougars in 2023.

Canceled BYU/USC game left the Trojans with an unusual bye week

BYU was scheduled to take on USC in a regular season finale on November 25, 2023. The move to cancel that third game in a three-game series was announced last April, leaving the Trojans with some challenges in their final Pac-12 season.

The Los Angeles Times reported that after the BYU game went away, USC was facing 12 consecutive weeks without a bye.

On Wednesday, the Pac-12 Conference released the 2023 schedule. Sure enough, USC’s bye week lands on Thanksgiving weekend, where the BYU game was originally going to be played.

The Trojans got creative and scheduled a game against San Jose State for Week Zero on August 26. That move allowed USC to break up its 12-game grind, giving them an early bye week on September 16.

BYU will open its 2023 schedule against Conference-USA’s Sam Houston on September 2, Southern Utah on September 9, then a trip to SEC Country to face Arkansas on September 16 before facing nine yet-to-be-announced Big 12 games.

BYU football always played Pac-12 teams as an Independent

When BYU was an FBS Independent, the Cougars helped fill late November dates for Pac-12 programs. The Pac-12 allowed programs like USC and Stanford to play mid-season rivalries at Notre Dame. Due to this, BYU was the perfect filler at the end of the regular season.

BYU closed out four Independent regular seasons against Pac-12 teams: Cal (2014), Utah (2018), USC (2021), and Stanford (2022).

The next time BYU will play a team from the Pac-12 is in 2024. That’s when they renew their rivalry with two-time Pac-12 Champion Utah again. Utah is on the schedule annually from 2024 to 2028. BYU also has games scheduled against Arizona in 2026 and 2027. Plus a home game against Stanford in 2031.

Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.

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