1st quarter

The BYU offense began the contest with quick moves down the field, highlighted by first-down passes from Retzlaff to Roberts and Marion. An errant handoff at the 21-yard line led to a recovery by the Houston defense.

Just two plays later, Houston gave the ball right back with an interception by Batty at the BYU 23-yard line for a four-yard return.

BYU’s offensive line opened a hole up the middle for a 15-yard run by Retzlaff. Martin saw a four-yard carry before Houston forced a BYU punt to change possession with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

Houston responded with a 10-play touchdown drive that included 19-yard and 18-yard chunk plays and was capped with a three-yard quarterback keep to make it 7 with 1:47 left in the first quarter :0 stood.

Houston tried to capitalize on the early momentum with an on-side kick attempt immediately after the touchdown. However, Talon Alfrey picked up the attempt and turned the Jets around for a 58-yard return that went untouched all the way to the end zone. Will Ferrin’s successful PAT tied the contest at 7-7 with 1:34 left.

2nd quarter

Houston wasted no time early in the second quarter, reaching the BYU six-yard line with a 39-yard pass on the second play of the drive. The BYU defense was successfully beating breaks at this point, limiting Houston to a field goal with 11:48 left in the quarter.

BYU responded with a seven-play scoring drive. It started with a 15-yard gain after a pass from Retzlaff to Marion. On the next play, Marion completed an eight-yard rush to reach the 50-yard line. Martin broke right for a 12-yard run and another first down. Moments later, BYU saw a 20-yard pickup from Parker Kingston down the left side of the field to get to the Houston 15. Sione I. Moa reached the end zone with a six-yard rush for BYU’s second touchdown of the night. Ferrin nailed the extra point to give BYU the lead for the first time in the game, 14-10, with 7:55 left in the half.

The BYU defense forced a punt on Houston’s next possession, aided by a broken up pass by John Nelson and a quarterback rush by Batty. The punt reached Kingston for the fair catch at the BYU four-yard line.

Retzlaff and Martin had an 11-yard run on BYU’s next drive, but the drive ended with a punt by Sam Vander Haar to the Houston 35.

The BYU defense forced another punt on the next Houston drive, limited the offense to 19 yards in four plays and gave the ball back to BYU with 59 seconds left in the half.

Retzlaff put the BYU offense in trouble with a six-play scoring drive. Martin started the drive with a 12-yard reception, followed by a six-yard carry on 3rd-and-1. Retzlaff then placed Roberts deep in the middle of the field for a 52-yard gain to the Houston 15. Retzlaff capped the scoring drive with a 13-yard run up the middle to reach the end zone. The extra point ended the drive and gave BYU a 21-10 lead heading into the locker room.