BYU Football Guide: 2008 Recap

Led by Harvey Unga’s 149 yards rushing and Max Hall’s 320 yards passing, No. 18 BYU crushed UNLV, 59-21, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The team scored early and consistently over the entire game to reach double-digit points in every quarter for the first time since 2006 and only the second time since 1982. The Cougars scored on their first four possessions and never looked back. After driving 70 yards for a 28-yard Mitch Payne field goal on their first drive, the Cougars quickly increased the advantage to 10 points after getting the ball right back thanks to an athletic, one-handed interception by Jordan Pendleton. Two plays later, Unga raced 33 yards to the end zone for the first of his three first-half touchdowns. The MWC’s leading rusher added a one-yard score and a 52-yard gallop on BYU’s next two possessions to give BYU a 24-7 lead early in the second quarter. Senior safety Scott Johnson joined Pendleton with an interception in the first half, his first career pick and the first of two on the night. The Cougars scored three touchdowns on their four third-quarter possessions with a 35-yard catch by tight end Dennis Pitta, a one-yard run by running back Jo Jo Pili and a 15-yard reception by Di Luigi. O’Neill Chambers raced 97 yards on a kickoff return before being knocked out at the 2-yard line. Reserve quarterback Riley Nelson took his first snap of the game on the next play and used his legs to complete the one-play drive to put BYU up 52-21 with 13:17 remaining. Di Luigi scored a 2-yard touchdown with 8:17 left to complete the scoring.

TEAM STATS	byu	unlv
First Downs	27	17
Rushing Yards (Net)	43-291	19-45
Passing Yards (Net)	320	292
Passes Att-Comp-Int	27-21-0	41-25-3
Total Offense Play-Yrds.	70-611	60-337
Fumble Returns-Yards	0-0	0-0
Punt Returns-Yards	4-31	0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards	3-150	8-214
Interception Returns-Yards	3-1	0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)	2-37.5	5-44.0
Fumbles-Lost	2-1	0-0
Penalties-Yards	6-50	6-35
Possession Time	35:09	24:51
Third-Down Conversions	8 of 11	6 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 0	0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	6-6	1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards	2-18	0-0

SCORING SUMMARY

TEAM	QTR.	TIME	PLAY	PL-YRDS	TOP
BYU	1st	5:20	Payne 28 yd FG	12-70	5:00
BYU	1st	3:36	Unga 33 yd run (kick)	2-36	1:09
BYU	2nd	13:18	Unga 1 yd run (kick)	8-64	3:40
UNLV	2nd	13:05	Purvis 94 yd kickoff return (kick)	N/A	N/A
BYU	2nd	11:12	Unga 52 yd run (kick)	4-73	1:47
UNLV	3rd	10:20	Johnson, M. 75 pass Clayton (kick)	1-80	0:11
BYU	3rd	8:33	Pitta 35 yd pass Hall (kick)	4-69	1:40
BYU	3rd	4:41	Pili 1 yd run (kick)	7-76	2:38
BYU	3rd	2:44	Di Luigi 15 yd pass Hall (kick)	2-58	0:35
UNLV	4th	13:40	Anthony 4 yd pass Clayton (kick)	10-75	3:56
BYU	4th	13:17	Nelson 2 yd run	1-2	0:05
BYU	4th	8:17	Di Luigi 2 yd run (kick)	7-57	3:54

SCORING BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final	RECORD
No. 18 BYU	10	14	21	14	59	(5-1, 2-0)
UNLV	0	7	7	7	21	(2-4, 0-2)