Cougars reverse the curse
BYU notched its first-ever win against Boise State by doing what it couldn’t do last year: put points on the board. Last year the Cougars managed just six points against the Broncos. This time, the team exceeded last year’s point total early in the first quarter and didn’t look back. BYU won 37–20 and racked up 568 yards on offense. Boise State had not lost a game in October since 2001.
Bowl bound
The win assured a bowl appearance for BYU. This will be the eighth year in a row the Cougars will play in a bowl game — a streak that coincides with Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure as head coach. Barring an improbable at-large BCS bid, the Cougars will play in the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 27 against the sixth-place finisher from the Pac-12 conference.
Another great performance for Hill
Sophomore quarterback Taysom Hill shined in the BYU victory. He completed 66 percent of his passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns. He added 69 yards on the ground, including his 20-yard touchdown run.
Move over, Collie
When senior receiver Cody Hoffman caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Taysom Hill in the second quarter, he became the BYU record-holder for career touchdown receptions with 31. Hoffman caught his first touchdown pass from Jake Heaps on Sept. 18, 2010. Hoffman passed current NFL receiver Austin Collie to secure the record.
Spreading the wealth
Hill connected with nine different receivers in the win. Cougar receiver Marcus Mathews had his first reception of the season, while Kurt Henderson recorded his first career catch. Five different Cougars carried the ball in the game, and each averaged over four yards per carry.
Big game for Bills
Craig Bills’ outstanding play anchored a banged-up secondary. Bills forced two fumbles in the game — both recovered by the Cougars. The junior defensive back ended the game with seven tackles and his first ever tackle for loss.
Forcing the issue
BYU forced four turnovers in the game — a season high. In addition to two fumbles forced by Bills, linebacker Tyler Beck forced a fumble and defensive back Skye Povey intercepted a pass. The interception was Povey’s first. Defensive lineman Remington Peck recovered two of the Cougars’ forced fumbles and linebacker Kyle Van Noy recovered the other.
