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(JTA) — Jake Retzlaff capped his breakout 2024 with two important milestones in the closing moments of the year.
On Dec. 28, Retzlaff and the Brigham Young University Cougars beat Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl, setting viewership records for the game. Retlzaff threw 151 yards to put a bow on his stellar season.
But that wasn’t the QB’s biggest Jewish news of the past week. On Dec. 30, the self-proclaimed “BY-Jew” and his new sponsor, Manischewitz, released their first commercial.
It features Retzlaff wearing an orange No. 12 “Manischewitz” jersey and running football drills in front of snow-capped mountains while talking about what “fuels” him. The answer, of course, is Manischewitz matzah — and the minute-long ad culminates in an unexpectedly intense supercut of Retzlaff posing with, and munching on, the unleavened bread.
The video ends with a klezmer riff. The ad was directed by comedian Eitan Levine, who brought Retzlaff-branded matzah to the bowl game.