Provo • Maybe it was bound to happen sooner or later, but No. 15 BYU returned to earth on Saturday.
Grinding out the yards but struggling to score, the Cougars found themselves in a close game for the first time all season. Yet, they did rise to the occasion when it counted, holding off the upset-minded Roadrunners 27-20 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
It was a wake-up call.
For the first time in four games, the Cougars trailed and failed to score in the first quarter. BYU started the game started the game looking a little out of sorts, and never really did get untracked save some explosive bursts.
Example: Midway through the first half and facing a fourth-and-short on the UTSA 4-yard line, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson was forced out of the pocket, but found wide receiver Neil Pau’u tucked away in the back right corner of the end zone — where the redshirt junior managed to keep his feet inbounds to score for the Cougars less than two minutes in the second quarter.
By halftime, BYU extended its lead to 14-7 thanks to an 11-yard reception by Lopini Katoa.
Toward the end of the third quarter, the Cougars added another score on a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Wilson, but the Roadrunners responded at the start of the fourth quarter with a 32-yard touchdown reception.
With a tight score, 21-13, BYU saw its first competitive fourth quarter of the season. In all three previous games, the starters had been pulled from the field by the fourth quarter or shortly thereafter.
This time, the Cougars had to leave the starters in.
Playing his first complete game of the season, Wilson finished the day with 292 passing yards (22 of 30) and two touchdowns. The junior also added a rushing score.
Wilson also made a little BYU history.
With his first two completions of the day, the junior quarterback surpassed 1,000 passing yards this season. The 73 attempts it took to get the mark is the fastest of any BYU quarterback in school history
This story will be updated.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2020/10/10/no-byu-struggles-with/
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