Postgame notes and quotes from BYU's 29-16 win over San Jose State:
BLOWING THE TOP OFF
Junior Riley Nelson surpassed his previous career high of 144 yards passing on a 40-yard touchdown pass to McKay Jacobson in the second quarter that gave him 145 yards on 8 of 9 passing for a rating of 334.2. Nelson finished with 219 yards on 14 of 24 passing with three touchdowns – all career highs. Nelson also finished second on the team with 65 yards rushing on nine carries.
GROUND GAME
BYU rushed 44 times for 224 yards. The Cougars finished with more rushing yards (224) than passing yards (219) for the first time this season. The Cougars did so five times last year, most recently against New Mexico.
CHANGING DIRECTION
Kyle Van Noy had his second interception of the season in the second quarter. This season, Van Noy has been part of four of BYU’s nine forced turnovers, adding a forced fumble and a fumble recovery this season.
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
With two pass breakups, senior Corby Eason has nine on the year, good for fifth place on the Cougar record book for most in a season (since 2000 when defensive records were officially kept by the NCAA).
GO LONG
Justin Sorensen kicked field goals of 42 and 45 yards. The last time a BYU kicker converted two field goals of 40 or more yards was Mitch Payne at Utah in 2010.
A NEW EXPERIENCE
Running back Bryan Kariya’s 1-yard touchdown reception was the senior's first TD catch since the SDSU game in 2009 and his first scoring reception at LaVell Edwards Stadium in his career.
TIGHT END SIGHTINGS
After getting the first touchdown by a tight end last week vs. Utah State (game-winner by Marcus Mathews), sophomore TE Richard Wilson caught a 21-yard scoring reception in the first quarter for his first-career touchdown. Wilson set a new career high with 66 receiving yards and three catches.
SAFETY FIRST
BYU scored its first points of the night on a safety, the first by a BYU opponent since Wyoming last season. The last time BYU scored its first points off a safety was against Washington in the 2010 season opener.
MORE CAREER HIGHS
Junior linebacker Brandon Ogletree totaled a new career best with 10 tackles. On the offensive side, sophomore running back Michael Alisa had a career night with 16 carries for 91 yards.
AND THE STREAK CONTINUES
Sophomore receiver Cody Hoffman has caught a pass in 12-straight games. Hoffman has caught at least one pass in 18 of 19 career games.
RUNNING OUT THE FLAG
BYU was led out of the tunnel today by senior Jordan Pendleton carrying the team flag and junior David Foote with the special teams flag. The special teams flag, highlighted by an old school BYU logo adopted by the special teams, is a new addition this season. Tight end Gabe Reid (1999-02), who played four seasons in the NFL and participated in the 2007 Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears, carried out the alumni flag.
POSTGAME QUOTES
BYU HEAD COACH BRONCO MENDENHALL
“It was a good football game especially from an offensive growth perspective. I think we made ourselves more difficult to defend. The running game was the key determinate in our win. The downside from the offensive perspective was the three interceptions. I liked what I saw; I liked the energy and the balance."
“From a defensive perspective, it’s difficult to beat us. I thought San Jose State was a very much improved football team. I’m impressed with the direction their program is taking.”
“I was really encouraged and pleased by how [Riley Nelson] played. He managed the game very well. What I hoped I would see from him at quarterback is what I saw. Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, I love the energy of our team and the diversity.”
“We did well with the few sacks here and there, but I didn’t think field goals were going to beat us. I didn’t think they could run the ball effectively enough."
“We’re still growing, still maturing and are still a work in progress. We haven’t reached our potential yet. There’s so much more to be seen. I’m anxious for the next test because I know they can play better and they know they can play better.”
BYU QUARTERBACK RILEY NELSON
“It wasn’t about me. We relied on our offense’s running backs and o-line.”
“We didn’t punt once the whole game, so the only time we did not score was on turnovers, so it was a great offensive performance. A 13-point win is as great as a 30-point win.”
“We do like to have an effective play action game. We have very talented tight ends. We’re trying to get as many involved as possible. The most successful teams out there are the ones who get as many involved as possible.”
SAN JOSE STATE HEAD COACH MIKE MACINTYRE
“This is a game that our kids did not believe they could win in the first half, which is very disappointing because we could have won this football game and should have won this football game. We finally came to play in the second half but dropped some passes we normally catch.
“I am very frustrated with the outcome of this football game. Our defense has played poorly and they have to play better. They finally played in the second half but they played pitiful in the first half.”
“I was so disappointed about our defense at halftime I couldn’t see straight. They came out and played in the second half but we gave BYU too big of a head start.”
On Tyler Ervin:
“Tyler is a young freshman that we really like. We know he has ability and that’s what I thought he could do tonight. No one every gets a nice hit on him because he has a way of slithering through. He is a guy that we will keep using.”
On Brandon Rutley not playing:
“Huge. He is number eight in the nation in total offense. He is a huge difference. But we were able to use the backs well to create enough offense. The defense just played so poor in the first have that it gave us no chance.”
On red zone offense:
“Real disappointed. We dropped a couple passes that one of our kids always makes. He usually makes those plays and he will make them next week.”
On defensive mistakes:
“We could have tackled better, we missed some checks, we dropped down wrong and our eyes were in the wrong place. We were just not very good. We have got to improve on defense. There is no doubt about it that we have got to improve drastically in the next few days.”
SAN JOSE STATE LINEBACKER KEITH SMITH
“I think we all know we didn’t play well in the first half. Going into halftime we knew we needed to make adjustments and just start playing hard like we usually do because we didn’t start fast. We need to do everything from the beginning.”
“I am never satisfied. I don’t feel like I had a great game at all because as a defense we didn’t play very well. I don’t feel like I set myself apart from anybody on the defense.”
“Everybody on this team believed that we could win that game. But we just didn’t start fast and sometimes it’s too late. We have to fix that.”
“We have changed. We are a different team. We just didn’t come out like we wanted to. In the second half our offense and defense stepped it up but it was just too late. Sometimes things just don’t go our way.”
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