The following notes and quotes are from No. 9 BYU's 51-17 win over No. 21 Boise State on Friday night at Albertsons Stadium.
FLAG BEARERS: Austin Riggs, Hayden Livingston, Morgan Pyper
COIN TOSS: Troy Warner. Boise State won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
SERIES RESULTS: 4-7
TEAM NOTES
8-0
BYU is 8-0 for the first time since 2001. It is the fourth time the Cougars have started 7-0 (2001, 1984, 1979).
First win on the blue turf
The win marked BYU’s first win against Boise State in Boise on the blue turf the history of the series. The Cougars were 0-5 entering the game. The Cougars did get a win vs. Western Michigan in Boise on the blue turf in 2018.
40+ and 50+
BYU scored more than 40 points for the seventh time in eight games for the first time. The Cougars also topped 50 points for the third time this year.
Scoring
BYU’s 51 points against the Broncos are the most the Cougars have scored against Boise State in the history of the series. The previous high was 37 in a 37-20 win over Boise State in Provo in 2013. BYU had scored 40-47 points against ranked teams on 6 different occasions but never scored more than 50. The points tonight is a school record vs a ranked team.
Margins
The 34-point win for the Cougars was the largest margin of victory over the Broncos. It was Boise State’s worst loss since a 48-13 loss to Georgia in 2005. It was the worst home loss since a 63-19 loss to Idaho in 1996.
200+
BYU has thrown for 200+ yards in 23 consecutive games with another 360 tonight. It is the longest streak since 26 in a row over the 2007-09 seasons.
PLAYER NOTES
Zach Wilson
Wilson completed 22 of 28 passes for 360 yards, three touchdowns and another rushing touchdown. It was his fourth 300-yard game this year and seventh of his career. It was his sixth game with a pass efficiency rating of 200+ (221.9) this year. On the blue turf in his career, Wilson is 58 of 73 for 929 yards with seven passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
Tyler Allgeier
Allgeier opened the game with an 86-yard touchdown run on BYU’s first possession. It was just the eighth BYU run of 80 yards or more and the longest since an 87-yarder by Mike Hague in 2006 against UNLV. Allgeier finished the game with 14 carries, 123 yards and two touchdowns. It was his third 100-yard game this season.
Gunner Romney and Dax Milne
Romney finished with six receptions and 133 yards. Dax Milne finished with three receptions for 99 yards. It was just the second time this season that neither scored a touchdown (UTSA).
Notable career highs/career firsts
First career interception: Caleb Christensen
First career fumble recovery: Keenan Pili
Career-high receiving yards: Neil Pau’u (76)
Career-high receptions: Isaac Rex (Tied, 5), Neil Pau’u (6)
Career-high touchdown receptions: Isaac Rex (Tied, 2)
Career-high rushing touchdowns: Tyler Allgeier (Tied, 2)
Career-high tackles: Keenan Pili (Tied, 9), Bracken El-Bakri (9)
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake
I’m happy we got the win. I’m proud of our players, our coaches and our support staff. Everybody worked hard for this win and I’m glad that it worked out the way that it did. I’m really proud of the effort that we saw out of our boys. A lot of credit to Boise State, they’re a really good team. We knew it would come down to controlling the trenches and trying to be physical. They’re a physical team and I’m glad things went our way. There are still a lot of things to fix and a lot of things we know we can do better. We got a lot of bodies on the field and get a lot of guys playing time. We’re looking forward to building off of this and getting better next week.
I’m really proud of the physical play our guys had and the effort that they showed. I loved the way they played with sportsmanship tonight as well. It was a good moment at the end of the game, we were able to say a prayer with Boise State midfield and share that moment with them. With the pandemic and all the things going on in this world, it was good to do that with our opponents and share that moment with them.
On the adjustments made during halftime that sparked the second-half performance
I think the guys were really frustrated with their performance. The first half wasn’t our best. When I walked into the locker room, they were already talking. There were already conversations going on and leaders were speaking up. It was a good moment for me to take a step back and let the players and leaders work with each other. I went and talked to the coaches to talk about things we could do and adjustments we could make on offense, defense and special teams before going out and challenging the players.
The truth is, the players had the answer for themselves. They know exactly what is expected from our coaching staff and me as a head coach. They know what our standard is and they knew they weren’t playing to our standard and they corrected it. By the time I was able to talk to the team before we took the field, they were ready to go. I’m grateful we have coaches and leaders on this team that take initiative themselves and they don’t need to listen to the head coach. The head coach speech has been going on all week in preparation so they knew what the expectation was.
On BYU’s overall team performance
We had a great game plan in all three phases. I felt really good about our coordinators and coaches. I felt great about Ed Lamb and the things he was able to do to get our special teams ready. I felt great about Jeff Grimes and what he was able to do with our offense and the same with Ilaisa Tuiaki with our defense. We had a great game plan going into this game. I’m thankful that the players were able to execute it. They knew when there were issues and it wasn’t working out what to fix, but I give a lot of credit to our coaches for getting them ready.
I’m really not worried about the score and when things aren’t going you’re way, you just stick to the fundamentals of the game. Having our players and coaches be focused on that is a huge positive for us. We know that we’re going to lean on all three phases as a team and back each other up. We want to be aggressive and play a team football game and this was a team win. I know there are times when the defense needs to step up and times when the offense and special teams need to step up. We saw some really great things from all three phases.
On how the team remains focused
The focus of the team is not to talk about anything that they can’t control. They can only control tonight. They can only control being ready and one play at a time. Keeping our guys focused is the key. I don’t think the past can help you in this situation and if we live in the moment we get to enjoy every part of it. This team has been razor-sharp in their focus and I’m really proud of them. Everyone is on the same page here and I love seeing it as a head coach.
On the remaining schedule and the possibility of adding games
Tom Holmoe is a great athletic director and he’s done a great job at organizing the schedule. I think a lot of teams know how to communicate with him. He told me to get the team ready to play 12 games back in August and so we’re ready for 12 games. If that works out, then great. If not, then we’ll just be thankful for what we have. A lot of gratitude for him and his staff for getting this schedule going. A lot of gratitude for Boise State for taking this game and the other opponents for putting us on their schedules. With all that being said, we’re just grateful to be playing this game. We may have some byes here and there, but we’re going to get better. We’re going to find ways to get better during the week and improve, whether we play a game or not.
BYU quarterback Zach Wilson
On adjusting to start clicking as an offense
Those guys made some plays and came out with some good schemes so we had to adjust. It was a lack of capitalizing on plays. They made some good plays and I don’t think it was anything we did. We adjusted to what they were doing and we decided to stretch the field a little more and I think that was when it started to change. We put it in the receivers hands to go down the field. They did a great job and the offensive line gave me a lot of time. It helped the run game open up too and we got the ball moving.
On what being 8-0 and winning at Boise State says
We are a good team and there isn’t much else to say. People still doubted us and I don’t blame them for that. It’s hard to tell with how our season has been switched up and each week is another opportunity to keep proving ourselves. Tonight was a big one for us and these guys don’t like to lose at home so to come out with a win like that was huge. To come out with that statement means nothing unless we keep winning.
On the halftime adjustment
The halftime adjustment was just to keep the energy up and to keep going. We knew we had some tricks up our sleeve and that we’d be able to come out and fire. Not every drive will be perfect and credit to those guys. They are a good football team and even though we put up that many points, they are still great and I wouldn’t say anything different. That’s a good football team and a great defense so we had to earn it tonight. We had to react to what they were giving us.
On how the team is improving each week
You really gauge it by watching the film and not looking at the score. There was no score in this game that we couldn’t learn something. We are all going to go back and watch it on the flight and there will be something we all want back. Learning from experience is everything. No matter how much you win a game, there is always something you can learn from and that’s the message each week –going and watching the film and finding something we can get better at and improving on that.
BYU defensive lineman Kyhiris Tonga
On the defense’s performance in the first half
We knew coming into the game how important it was to keep our composure, especially with the defense. We trust our offense and everything they do. If they are going for it and if they don’t get it then we will come out and three and out is the goal. It was super fun to go out tonight with the boys and play hard.
On adjusting to Boise State’s Cade Fennegan
We knew that they had a great quarterback and offense. We couldn’t get down on ourselves if they were going to make plays. Play after play we continued to come out and try to stop him and we were able to do that.
On the halftime adjustment
The leadership on the team is unbelievable. We didn’t get the points before halftime and we knew that we were getting the ball in the second half so we rallied behind the offense and told them that no matter what happens we will get the ball back. We were excited to get back out and when Kalani Sitake came in we didn’t really need to say anything because we had our minds right and we were ready for the second half.
BYU wide receiver Neil Pau’u
On being a spark early in the game
Whenever you catch the ball as a receiver you are just super happy. Not just the matchup, but the coverage was favorable to me this game compared to the past so Zach Wilson kept coming to me and I am glad I was able to come down with the balls that he threw.
On scoring six-straight touchdowns
It was a team effort and I think we did a great job of coming out and not letting off the gas. Although we were up at half, we wanted to do more. We knew that we could so that was our mindset at halftime so when we started the second half we continued to keep our foot on the gas. I am happy we came out and everyone knew what we were supposed to do. We knew we could do it and I am glad we were able to do it.
On the success this season in the red zone
I think it’s just maturity across the group. We are able to play more formations and change it up. I think it’s just maturity and we understand that when we get down there we need to be more consistent than we are when we aren’t in the red zone.
On seeing improvement every week
I think it’s a special group. We wish we could have them all like Matt Bushman or guys that are done for the year. We know that we have a special group and we are excited to see what else is put in front of us. We hope that we can continue to do what we know we can do. We are taking care of business the way we know we can.