Cougar offense struggles in 19-13 loss to Utah

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Dani Jardine
BYU running back Kavika Fonua is tackled near the goal line by Utah’s Boobie Hobbs. (Dani Jardine)

The BYU football team suffered a 19-13 loss to rival Utah on Saturday despite a late comeback attempt from the Cougars.

“I’m disappointed with the result of the game,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “There are a lot of things we need to work on. Congratulations to Utah. I thought they played a great game, especially defensively.”

BYU’s offense struggled mightily in the game. Quarterback Tanner Mangum threw just one touchdown and three interceptions on the night and ended with an 83.5 passer rating.

Even with the turnovers, BYU had a chance to win the game after Utah punted the ball with 1:34 to play.

Wide receiver Aleva Hifo dropped a pass that would have given BYU a first down at the Utah 20-yard line before tight end Matt Bushman caught a 6-yard pass from Mangum.

Two more incompletions quickly ended the final drive for BYU and Utah took two knees to finish the game.

“We dug a hole early on in the game with turnovers and interceptions, and we put our defense in some bad situations,” Sitake said. “I am not happy about it, and I am going to fix it. We need to fix the problems we are having on offense. It is frustrating that we couldn’t put together a drive to win the game.”

The Cougars’ defense did all it could to keep BYU in the game, holding Utah to three field goals in the first half and just one touchdown on the night.

Fred Warner and Corbin Kaufusi led BYU with eight total tackles.

Fred and his brother Troy Warner each recovered a fumble as well.

BYU falls to 1-2 on the season after the loss and will prepare to welcome No. 9 Wisconsin to Provo on Saturday, Sept. 15th.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 MDT.

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