Top Performers in BYU's Victory Over Utah State

#13 BYU held on to beat Utah State 34-20

Late in the first half against Utah State, #13 BYU was driving with a 24-13 lead, and the Cougars were trying to increase their lead before halftime. BYU moved into field goal position with seconds to spare, but came up empty after missing a field goal before the half. The Cougars took a 24-13 into the locker room. 

BYU's offense, which was nearly unstoppable in the first half, completely changed in the second half due to an injury to quarterback Baylor Romney. Remember, Romney started the season as BYU's backup quarterback - he was playing in the place of starter Jaren Hall who has been out consecutive weeks with a rib injury.

BYU turned the keys of the offense over to freshman quarterback Jacob Conover, with an 11-point lead, to defend its unbeaten record. 

With a freshman at quarterback, the Cougars rode star running back Tyler Allgeier in the second half on their way to a 34-20 victory. Here are the top performers in BYU's victory over Utah State.

1. Tyler Allgeier

No surprise here. Tyler Allgeier was dominant when BYU needed him most. BYU was holding onto a 27-20 lead in the fourth quarter when Allgeier iced the game with a 67-yard run. Allgeier was a yard shy from the end zone on the long run, so he punched it in for six a few plays later. 

Allgeier finished with a career high 214 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.

2. Baylor Romney

Romney, who has to be one of the best backup quarterbacks in college football, was dominant in the first half against Utah State. Romney was 15/19 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Romney helped BYU put up 24 points in the first half - a number that gave the Cougars enough cushion to ease third-string Conover into the game at quarterback in the second half.

3. Ben Bywater

BYU's defense allowed only 22 yards rushing on 35 rushing attempts against Utah State. Linebacker Ben Bywater played a major role in the Cougars' ability to stop the run.

Bywater had seven solo tackles on the night including three tackles for loss and one sack. He also stuffed a 4th & 1 rushing attempt deep in BYU territory.

4. Puka Nacua

Wide receiver Puka Nacua connected with Baylor Romney multiple times in the first half. Nacua led BYU in receiving with 62 receiving yards on 3 receptions.

His best play of the night, however, came in the running game. Nacua made key blocks on Tyler Allgeier's 67-yard run that sealed the victory. Check out Nacua at the bottom of the screen:

BYU WR Puca Nacua with the block of the night!
You GOTTA see this! This is domination. pic.twitter.com/p5bY3uNFUV

— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) October 2, 2021

 These are the kind of winning plays that BYU has made this season that don't necessarily show up on the box score.

5. Kaleb Hayes

The Oregon State transfer played the best game of his young BYU career. Hayes was targeted multiple times in single coverage downfield, and he consistently made plays. Hayes was credited with two PBUs, and he forced multiple incompletions by playing great coverage. 

6. Ilaisa Tuiaki

BYU's defense did not play a perfect game, but they held Utah State to only seven points in the second half when BYU's offense was struggling to score.

We already mentioned BYU's dominance against the run, but check out this stat courtesy of the BYU Football twitter account. 

"Utah State came into the game averaging 213.5 rushing yards per game. BYU held them to 22 rushing yards, the Aggies fewest since 2019. Utah State had gone 16 consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards."

There are still things BYU needs to clean up like getting off the field on third-and-long, but Ilaisa Tuiaki deserves a lot of credit for keeping a dangerous Utah State offense in check.

Utah State averaged 530 yards per game through the first four games. BYU held them to 336 total yards.

7. Ryan Rehkow

Punter Ryan Rehkow is a weapon for BYU. Rehkow made a major impact on field position in the second half, and he essentially closed the door on a Utah State comeback by pinning the Aggies inside their own two yard line late in the fourth quarter.