Hill's career-night helps No. 19 Cougars down Cowboys

PROVO, Utah — Backed by 526 yards of total offense and steady defense, No. 19 BYU football defeated Wyoming 38-24 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night.

Redshirt sophomore Keanu Hill had a career-night for the Cougars as he hauled in five receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns as BYU pushed their home win streak over the Cowboys to 10 games. The Euless, Texas native wasn't the only player to have a career night as Miles Davis rushed the ball 13 times for a career-high 131 yards. 

Jaren Hall completed a pass to eight different Cougars as the redshirt junior went 26-of-33 for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Brayden Cosper caught his first career touchdown pass while Kody Epps reached the end zone for a second consecutive game. 

Defensively, BYU had seven tackles for loss and four pass breakups. Defensive back Micah Harper led the Cougars with six total tackles, including four solo tackles. Linebackers Ben Bywater and Keenan Pili contributed five tackles each. 

BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
POSTGAME NOTES

BYU overcame 11 penalties for 109 yards with large chunk plays on offense and timely plays defensively. At 30:23, the Cougars had possession of the ball just longer than Wyoming's 29:37. BYU nearly doubled up the Cowboys' in yards per play, finishing with an 8.3-yard average to Wyoming's 3.6-yard average.

First Quarter
BYU went three-and-out to open the game, punting to Wyoming just a minute and six seconds in. The Cowboys ran the ball almost exclusively on their first drive, picking up two first downs on the ground with rushes of 10 and 19 yards before settling for a 28-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 9:59 left in the opening quarter. 

After trading empty possessions, Hall connected with Keanu Hill for 47 yards. Hill and Chris Brooks then participated in a flea flicker with Hall, who hit Isaac Rex on a 32 yarder. Brooks punched it in for six, from six yards out, as the Cougars drove 91 yards in just four plays to go ahead 7-3 with 2:50 remaining.

Second Quarter
BYU had Wyoming backed into a 3rd-and-7 to start the second, but a 19-yard completion from quarterback Andrew Peasley to Wyatt Wieland extended the Cowboy drive, paving way for rushes of five, nine, six and four, the latter into the end zone, putting Wyoming back in front at 10-7, with 13:03 to go in the second quarter. 

Punter Ryan Rehkow helped flip the field, pinning the Cowboys at their own 3-yard line. Wyoming got out of the back of its own end zone with two first downs, but an 11-yard sack of Peasley by John Nelson forced a Cowboy punt, and the Cougars regained possession at their own 24-yard line with three and a half minutes left in the half. 

Facing 3rd-and-8, Hall and Hill again connected, this time for 23 yards, to extend BYU’s next drive. Needing six yards to move the sticks a few plays later, Hall hit Puka Nacua, playing in his first game after sitting out the last two, for 13 yards. 

After a first down run by Katoa and 15-yard completion to Brayden Cosper, the Cougars had 1st and Goal from the Wyoming 3-yard line. Two Cowboy timeouts later, Hall, rolling left, delivered a strike to Brayden Cosper, who toe-tapped his way to his first-career touchdown, putting BYU ahead 14-10 with four seconds remaining. 

Third Quarter
The BYU defense held strong on Wyoming’s first offensive possession of the second half, forcing a punt after surrendering a first down on a defensive holding penalty. Taking over at their own 17-yard line, the Cougars went to Nacua on a jet sweep that picked up 14 yards and two Miles Davis rushes for 25 and 17 yards before Hall found Cosper for BYU’s second 17-yard pickup on the drive. 

A Wyoming pass interference call in the end zone set up the Cougars with 1st-and-Goal, and they scored two plays later as Hall hit Kody Epps breaking towards the right pylon for his second touchdown in as many games, giving BYU a 21-10 advantage with 7:51 to go in the quarter. 

Also returning after a game out, Tyler Batty’s 13-yard sack of Peasley forced a Cowboy punt after their second-straight scoreless series, and the Cougars took over at their own 33-yard line. Back-to-back completions from Hall to Cosper and Hill for a total of 39 yards set BYU up just outside the red zone. 

Hall helped move the chains with an option keeper on 3rd down, and then tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Hill a couple plays later, putting the Cougars up 18, at 28-10, with 1:13 left in the quarter. 

Fourth Quarter
Wyoming scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Peasley to Treyton Welch on its first play of the quarter, again making it an 11-point game, at 28-17, just six seconds into the final 15 minutes.

After two Davis rushes later in the fourth quarter, Hall aired it out to Hill for a 68-yard touchdown pass, with Hill dragging his defender from nearly 20 yards out into the end zone, to put BYU ahead 35-17 with 5:31 left in the game. 

Highlighted by completions for 28 and 31 yards, the Cowboys quickly marched down the field, and aided by two BYU penalties, scored on a four-yard touchdown from Peasley to Joshua Cobbs to make it 35-24, BYU, with 3:15 remaining. 

Davis busted a 70-yard run down the left sideline after the Wyoming kickoff, finally getting caught at the Wyoming 5-yard line. He ran in a touchdown on the next play, but a holding call nullified the play and eventually brought Justen Smith to kick a 25-yard field goal, giving the Cougars a 38-24 lead with 1:24 to go. 

The Cowboys returned the kickoff 37 yards, but the BYU defense held strong, ultimately forcing a turnover on downs in four plays and bringing Hall back on the field to kneel out the 14-point victory.

The Cougars will remain at home next week, hosting Utah State on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Fans can also listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio SiriusXM 143, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App or KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.