No. 19 BYU took down in-state rival Utah State Thursday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium as the Cougars came from behind for a 38-26 victory.
With the win, BYU improved to 4-1 on the season and most importantly, kept the Wagon Wheel for another year as the Cougars won their third consecutive game in the series against the Aggies.
Despite being 24-point favorites, playing on ESPN in primetime, and with more than a dozen NFL scouts in attendance, the Cougars didn’t live up to expectations as the team played sluggish and uninspiring for much of the game. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that fans could relax as Christopher Brooks ran for an 18-yard touchdown to give BYU a 38-20 lead with just over 8 minutes left in the game.
This is the same Utah State team that lost to FCS Weber State 35-7 at home two weeks ago. As noted in my preview, I expected Utah State would keep the game close in the first half as this game was the program’s Super Bowl. And that’s exactly what happened as the game was tied at 17 at the half. However, what I didn’t expect was a close game in the second half as the Cougars failed to put the Aggies away.
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The Cougars had plenty of chances to turn the game into a blowout in the second half, however, with several missed field goals, a missed fourth down conversion among many other things, and the Cougars held on for a 12-point win.
Jake Oldroyd continued to struggle as the junior went 1-for-3 on his kicks, and has now missed five of his last six field goal attempts — will all five misses being under 40 yards.
On the positive side, Jaren Hall continued his stellar play as he threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Hall had another mistake-free game as the 6-foot-1 dual-threat quarterback did not throw an interception, extending his streak to 144 passes without an interception — the sixth-longest streak in BYU history.
On defense, the Cougars gave up 392 yards of total offense, however, when the team needed stops, the defense came through in the bend but don’t break defense. BYU forced three turnovers — a season-high — including a pick-six from linebacker Max Tooley. It was Tooley’s second pick-six this year, making him the sixth player in program history (Todd Shell, Kai Nacua, Lloyd Brink, Frank Linford, Dan Hansen.) to have multiple pick-sixes in a season.
JUST. LIKE. THAT. ⚡
BYU takes the lead with a pick-6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/15QRy0kxf2
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 30, 2022
With the victory, the Cougars can now turn their attention to Notre Dame as the programs will face off next Saturday at Allegiant Stadium — home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Here’s how the media, fans, coaches, and players reacted after the win:
Thank you, Provo. 🏈👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/wJkst8liFU
— Matt Barrie (@MattBarrie) September 30, 2022
Thanks @BYUfootball for taking care of us. 👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/u10wDoS0I2
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) September 30, 2022
Alexa, play Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker 🤠#BYUFOOTBALL | #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/zfJIVKTaLP
— BYU Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) September 30, 2022
It stays 🏠 pic.twitter.com/K61q9Hxn70
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 30, 2022
A win is a win! 1 week, 1 game at a time. Thanks Cougar Nation for coming out and supporting tonight!! #GoCougs 🤙🏽
— Fesi Sitake (@fsitake) September 30, 2022
BYU showing off its depth at WR. Epps looking like a real dude
— Brandon Gurney (@BrandonCGurney) September 30, 2022
Second pick-six of the year for Max Tooley. Also had one at USF to start the year. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) September 30, 2022
Tooley's INT return went for 34 yards, topping his 33-yard pick-six at USF in game one. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) September 30, 2022
So, this is the Chris Brooks I saw in Spring and Summer camps. pic.twitter.com/VMqvIgM5il
— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) September 30, 2022
The last 3 drives BYU has been to at least the USU 23 and have come away with zero points.
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) September 30, 2022
Too many things to work on for Notre Dame. Glad we have a long week to get right and fix some mistakes. Defense needs to figure out how to play aggressive early.
— Ys Guide (@YsGuide) September 30, 2022
BYU literally every game pic.twitter.com/UdkYakteuC
— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) September 30, 2022
After some independent charting, I've got Jaren Hall on play-action passes over the last two games:
25-of-27, 235 yards, 5 touchdowns
He's ridiculously efficient (all the time) when this rushing attack is humming
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 30, 2022
Back-to-back games with 10+ penalties for the first time in the Sitake era (11 v. Wyoming, 10 v. Utah State).
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) September 30, 2022
Crazy what happens when you stop running outside zone and you encourage your big boys to get off the ball
— Ryker Mathews (@ryker_mathews) September 30, 2022
Christopher Brooks is at 6.0 yds/run for the season. Tyler Allgeier averaged 5.8 in 2021.
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) September 30, 2022
Brutal…..
I'll have to fight all instincts to take anything other than missed field goals from this game.— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) September 30, 2022
Take aways:
Jaren Hall has so many gifts.
USU came to play. I was proud of what they put on the field.
Cooper Legas gave it all he had at this point in his career.
BYU's Oline wore em down and wore em out in the end.
BYU coaches have failed in the kicking game.
Entertaining game!— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) September 30, 2022
No one could top yours🤣 https://t.co/yL3cMT3OFg
— Maxwell Tooley (@maxtooley23) September 30, 2022
Proud of these guys. Tough, hard-fought game on both sides. Lots of positives tonight. Lots of learning opportunities too—but I’d much rather learn from a win. #GoCougs
— Zack Vandermyde (@Zack_Vandy) September 30, 2022
1. Don’t hate a win. It may be ugly, but remember there are teams that are sitting at 1-4 instead of 4-1.
2. Trust Kalani. He may not be as relentless as you’d like with the score but trust him. He knows what he’s doing and has proven as much. #GoCougs 🤙🏼
— Conner Nicol (@cnicroute49) September 30, 2022
Seriously scratching my head on this #BYUfootball team. I don’t get many of the play calls. I don’t understand why Hall is still in the game. I don’t understand why we can’t get pressure on the QB. So many questions…#GoCougs
— HQ (@harveyjscott) September 30, 2022
really wanted to see a lot of Jacob Conover in this one. Didn't even get a little
— Brandon Gurney (@BrandonCGurney) September 30, 2022
Weber might be the best team in the state
— Jonny Linehan (@jlinehan9) September 30, 2022
Thankful BYU has Utah Tech on the schedule and not Weber State 🙏
— Kung Fu Kevy (@DJ_Kevy_Kev) September 30, 2022
John Nelson and Micah Harper are for real. Jakob Robinson was great in coverage. Our LB's are still elite. Jaren Hall didn't get hurt. This might–no exaggeration–be the deepest WR room I've ever seen at BYU.
— Waiting for the Big XII 🇺🇦 (@JFloyd314) September 30, 2022
I get that BYU has to adjust to life in the B12, but that was a fun game tonight. Hate to see this go away.
Hope to see future football and basketball games in the future between these schools.
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) September 30, 2022
LOL pic.twitter.com/0dRWlzEUsR
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) September 29, 2022
1. A Win is a Win. Hard to Win when any team can beat any team at any given time.
2. Jaren Hall.
3. Much needed break this weekend for a big game next week.
4. Don’t have to play Utah this year…👀😂❤️ https://t.co/c62zKsNPul
— Isaac Asiata (@AsiataFive4) September 30, 2022
I have this t-shirt ready to FedEx to Jaren Hall pic.twitter.com/TLiqh8YSeU
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) September 28, 2022
This photo is wild 💀 @byu_cosmo
(via @BYUfootball) pic.twitter.com/M63A9HcZWy
— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) September 30, 2022
BYU football: Cougars pull away in second half to defeat motivated Aggies