PROVO, Utah — The BYU football team defeated No. 14 Boise State 28-25 on Saturday behind a big third quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Homecoming night.
The Cougars (3-4) scored 21 unanswered points in the third to build a 28-10 cushion heading into the fourth and hung on to hand the Broncos (6-1) their first loss of the season. The defense held Boise State to 359 total yards and forced two turnovers on a cold, rainy and windy night.
Redshirt freshman Baylor Romney, making his first career start at quarterback, went 15 of 26 for 221 yards and connected with tight end Matt Bushman for two touchdowns. Bushman hauled in a game-high five receptions for 101 yards, followed by receiver Talon Shumway, who had three catches for 74 yards. Running back Sione Finau had 89 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Lopini Katoa rushed for 37 yards and added a touchdown of his own.
Tyler Allgeier led the defense with nine tackles, all solo stops. Dayan Ghanwoloku added six tackles and a sack, while Lorenzo Fauatea recorded five tackles and a sack. Isaiah and Jackson Kaufusi each had an interception for the Cougar defense.
Box Score
Photo Gallery
Postgame Notes
FirstQuarter
Boise State opened the game with a nine-play 70-yard drive, capped off with a 12-yard touchdown run by Bronco wide receiver CT Thomas.
On the BYU offense’s first drive, Romney found Shumway down the sideline for a 22-yard completion to the Cougar 47-yard line. Two plays later, Katoa dragged a couple of defenders during an 11-yard run into Bronco territory. A nine-yard completion from Romney to Aleva Hifo put BYU in the red zone at the Boise State 17-yard line. The Cougars finished off the 78-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Katoa, evening the score at 7-7.
The BYU defense came up with a turnover on the third play of the Bronco’s following drive after Isaiah Kaufusi dove in front of a Boise State receiver and intercepted a Chase Cord pass at the Bronco 43-yard line.
- Katoa scored his first rushing touchdown of the season
- Hifo became the 36th Cougar to reach the 100 career reception mark
- Isaiah Kaufusi recorded his second interception of the season, the fourth of his career
Second Quarter
Following Kaufusi’s interception, a 16-yard Sione Finau rush put the Cougars at the Boise State 17-yard line. Two plays later, Gunner Romney hauled in a 10-yard reception to set up first-and-goal from the six. An offensive holding call negated a would-be Baylor Romney eight-yard touchdown run a few plays later, pushing BYU back to the 18-yard line. After Katoa was dropped for a loss on third down, Oldroyd attempted a 38-yard field goal but pushed it wide right, keeping the score at 7-7.
After both teams punted the ball back and forth to each other six consecutive times, the Broncos put together an 11-play 42-yard drive toward the end of the quarter, ending it with a 38-yard field goal to give them a 10-7 halftime lead.
- Lorenzo Fauatea sacked the quarterback for the second time this year bringing his career total to 4.5
Third Quarter
BYU opened the quarter with the ball and, after an 18-yard completion from Romney to Bushman, put themselves in Boise State territory at the 49-yard line. Two plays later, Finau broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run to give the Cougars their first lead of the game, 14-10.
On the ensuing possession, the Broncos drove 71 yards to the BYU 19-yard line before an incomplete pass set up fourth-and-six. Boise State then lined up for a field goal attempt but hooked it wide to the left, keeping the score at 14-10.
On the second play of the BYU offense’s following drive, Romney found Shumway over the top of the Boise State defense for a 39-yard gain to the Bronco 36-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-one situation at the 27-yard line, the offense remained on the field and Romney hit a wide-open Bushman on a play-action pass. Bushman run untouched into the end zone, increasing the Cougars’ lead to 21-10.
BYU’s defense came up with its second takeaway of the game on the ensuing Boise State possession after Jackson Kaufusi picked off a Cord pass and returned it 13 yards to the Bronco 41-yard line. The Cougar offense capitalized on the turnover two plays later, as Romney once again found a wide-open Bushman after a reverse flea-flicker for a 39-yard touchdown. The score gave BYU a 28-10 lead with 3:10 remaining in the quarter.
- Sione Finau’s 46-yard touchdown run marked the first score of his career and is the longest rush by a Cougar this year
- Baylor Romney’s threw his first and second career touchdowns to Matt Bushman
- Matt Bushman’s 39-yard touchdown reception ties his career long reception
- Jackson Kaufusi intercepted his first pass of his collegiate career
Fourth Quarter
The Broncos scored their first points of the second half after capping off a 14-play 81-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. Boise State proceeded to convert on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, cutting the Cougar’s lead to 28-18 with just over 12 minutes left in the game.
After forcing a BYU punt, the Broncos put together another long drive, marching 79 yards in nine plays and scoring on a five-yard touchdown completion. The score put the game at 28-25 for the Cougars with 3:17 remaining.
BYU picked up a gutsy first down on fourth-and-one at its own 34-yard line after the Cougars’ lined up in a scrum formation with Austin Kafentzis in at quarterback. BYU kneed the ball on each of the following three plays to run out the clock and give the Cougars the 28-25 win.
Following their second bye-week of the season next week, the Cougars travel to Logan on Nov. 2 to take on Utah State at Maverik Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN networks and can be heard on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM and KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM. Kickoff time will be announced in the coming week.