Hall Impresses, BYU Wins Big at Wyoming

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LARAMIE -- Highlighted by an impressive performance from quarterback Max Hall, No. 25 BYU dominated Wyoming 52-0 in Laramie to improve to 7-2 on the year and 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference.

Hall completed 20-of-22 passes for 312 yards and a season-high four touchdowns while rushing for an additional 30 yards in just over two quarters of action Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. His 90.9 percent completion percentage was just shy of the Steve Sarkisian’s school-record 91.2 percent against Fresno State in 1995.

After missing the last four games due to injury, wide receiver McKay Jacobson made his presence known in his return, totaling 100 yards receiving, including a 79-yard touchdown reception. All-American tight end Dennis Pitta also set a school record by making a catch in 39 consecutive games, moving past former standout wide receiver Glen Kozlowski on BYU’s all-time list.

The Cougars were dominating from the opening kickoff, scoring on all five first-half possessions while not allowing a Wyoming first down until the second quarter. In the first quarter, BYU totaled 175 yards of total offense to go up 10-0 while the Cougar defense held Wyoming without a single yard on its six offensive plays from scrimmage.

Running back J.J. Di Luigi was a top performer early for the Cougars, totaling 72 receiving yards on three catches in the first quarter. BYU opened the game with an 80-yard drive that was capped off with Hall finding Di Luigi down the right sideline for a 44-yard scoring play.

Mitch Payne converted a field goal from 36 yards on BYU’s next possession, and the Cougars were driving again when Pitta made his record-setting reception with a 13-yard grab on the last play of the first quarter. The Cougars completed the drive in the opening minutes of the second quarter to go up 17-0 with Manase Tonga taking a 2-yard pass from Hall into the end zone.

Hall guided BYU to a 31-0 lead at the half with two more touchdown drives. The senior signal caller took all of 12 seconds to put BYU’s next score on the board when he found Jacobson behind the defense for a 79-yard touchdown with 10:41 to go in the half. Hall then orchestrated a 10-play, 80-yard possession that Tonga culminated with a six-yard run up the middle to pay dirt.

The closest Wyoming came to the end zone was on the final play of the half. After converting on fourth down to extend the drive, the Cowboys ultimately weren’t able to take advantage, throwing incomplete in the face of strong defensive pressure from seven yards out as time expired.

The Cougars’ first-half dominance was not only reflected in the score but also on the stats sheet as BYU produced 358 yards of offense compared to Wyoming’s 108 yards. BYU averaged 10.2 yards per play compared to a 3.7-yard average by the Cowboys. Hall was a sizzling 16-of-17 in the first half for 265 yards and three touchdowns while gaining another 21 yards on four carries on the ground.

Hall provided more of the same stellar performance in the early moments of the second half before leaving the game for good with BYU up 45-0 at the 7:17 mark of the third quarter. He led the Cougars to touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half with running backs Bryan Kariya (two-yard run) and Di Luigi (15-yard reception) earning the honors.

The Cougars did not attempt a pass the remainder of the game but reserve quarterback Riley Nelson used his legs to gain 71 yards on 10 carries. Harvey Unga, who like Hall left the game in the third quarter, totaled a game-best 85 yards on 16 carries to give him an MWC-leading 783 yards on the season.

BYU’s defense created three turnovers with defensive backs Brian Logan and Craig Bills each making interceptions and fellow DB Brandon Bradley forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Shawn Doman. The Cougars also recorded three sacks with defensive linemen Jan Jorgensen (1.5), Matt Putnam (1.0) and Brett Denney (0.5) each finding the quarterback.

Overall, BYU amassed 543 yards of total offense with 312 yards through the air and 231 on the ground. The Cougars held Wyoming to 225 total yards, surrendering just 113 passing yards and 112 rushing yards.

Wyoming falls to 4-5 on the year and 2-3 in the MWC. BYU will stay on the road next week for a noon MT matchup on Saturday with New Mexico.

Box Score (Final)

 

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

----------------- -- -- -- -- -----

BYU................. 10 21 14 7 - 52 Record: (7-2,4-1)

Wyoming............. 0 0 0 0 - 0 Record: (4-5,2-3)

Scoring Summary:

1st 10:17 BY - DI LUIGI, JJ 44 yd pass from HALL, Max (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 7-80 4:43, BY 7 - WY 0

02:33 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 36 yd field goal, 12-67 5:57, BY 10 - WY 0

2nd 13:12 BY - TONGA, Manase 2 yd pass from HALL, Max (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 6-37 2:05, BY 17 - WY 0

10:41 BY - JACOBSON, McKay 79 yd pass from HALL, Max (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 1-79 0:12, BY 24 - WY 0

04:24 BY - TONGA, Manase 6 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 10-80 4:10, BY 31 - WY 0

3rd 10:10 BY - KARIYA, Bryan 2 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 8-65 3:25, BY 38 - WY 0

07:17 BY - DI LUIGI, JJ 15 yd pass from HALL, Max (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 4-38 1:36, BY 45 - WY 0

4th 04:48 BY - NELSON, Riley 10 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 8-80 4:34, BY 52 - WY 0

BY WY

FIRST DOWNS................... 30 13

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 45-231 32-112

PASSING YDS (NET)............. 312 113

Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 22-20-0 27-15-2

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 67-543 59-225

Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0

Punt Returns-Yards............ 3--2 0-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 0-0 5-107

Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-42 0-0

Punts (Number-Avg)............ 1-39.0 7-43.0

Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards............... 5-50 5-46

Possession Time............... 34:25 25:35

Third-Down Conversions........ 5 of 9 4 of 12

Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 1 of 1

Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 6-7 0-1

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 3-17 1-1

RUSHING: BYU-UNGA, Harvey 16-85; NELSON, Riley 10-71; HALL, Max 5-30; DI

LUIGI, JJ 7-30; KARIYA, Bryan 3-13; TONGA, Manase 1-6; TEAM 3-minus 4.

Wyoming-ALEXANDER, A. 10-49; STEWART,Brandon 7-42; BENJAMIN,Robert 2-19; BOLGER,

Zach 2-13; SWEEN, Karsten 2-minus 1; CARTA-SAMUELS,A 8-minus 3; LEONARD, David

1-minus 7.

PASSING: BYU-HALL, Max 20-22-0-312; NELSON, Riley 0-0-0-0.

Wyoming-CARTA-SAMUELS,A 14-23-0-108; SWEEN, Karsten 0-2-1-0; BENJAMIN,Robert

1-2-1-5.

RECEIVING: BYU-DI LUIGI, JJ 5-94; JACOBSON, McKay 3-100; ASHWORTH, Luke

3-36; CHAMBERS, O'Nei 3-35; PITTA, Dennis 3-35; TONGA, Manase 2-5; UNGA, Harvey

1-7. Wyoming-LEONARD, David 7-53; BOLGER, Zach 3-32; MCNEILL, Chris 2-6; TOOLEY,

David 1-14; ALEXANDER, A. 1-5; STEWART,Brandon 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: BYU-BILLS, Craig 1-24; LOGAN, Brian 1-18. Wyoming-None.

FUMBLES: BYU-CHAMBERS, O'Nei 1-0. Wyoming-BENJAMIN,Robert 1-1.

SACKS (UA-A): BYU-JORGENSEN, Jan 1-1; PUTNAM, Matt 1-0; DENNEY, Brett

0-1. Wyoming-BIEZUNS, Josh 0-1; UNREIN, Mitch 0-1.

TACKLES (UA-A): BYU-JORGENSEN, Jan 1-5; DOMAN, Shawn 1-4; JOHNSON, Scott

4-0; AGUIRRE, Lee 4-0; DENNEY, Brett 2-2; HOOKS, Terrance 2-2; MORGAN, Blake

2-2; NELSON, Grant 1-3; BRADLEY, Brando 2-1; FISHER, Steven 1-2; OGLETREE, Brand

1-2; BAUMAN, Matt 0-3; RICH, Andrew 0-3; CLAWSON, Coleby 2-0; PENDLETON, Jord

1-1; BILLS, Craig 1-1; THOMAS, Steven 1-1; PUTNAM, Matt 1-0; EASON, Corby 1-0;

RICHARDSON, Jor 1-0; HUNTER, Shane 1-0; FUGA, Romney 0-1; UALE, Travis 0-1.

Wyoming-PROSINSKI,Chris 6-10; BIEZUNS, Josh 3-8; GARY, Shamiel 1-9;

HENDRICKS,Brian 2-6; JOHNSON, Weston 0-6; FLETCHER, John 4-1; GIPSON, Marcell

2-3; GIPSON, Tashaun 1-4; TONEY, Alex 1-4; KNAPTON, Gabe 1-4; PURCELL, Mike 0-5;

BROWDER, Kenny 1-1; MCNEILL, Chris 1-0; GIVENS, Fred 1-0; LEONARD, David 1-0;

UNREIN, Mitch 0-1; RUFF, Luke 0-1; STUDNICKA, B. 0-1.