Top Performers from BYU's Win Over Wyoming
Kalani Sitake and the 19th ranked BYU football team took down Wyoming 38-24 on Saturday night. Several individual performances stood out, here are six of the top performers from BYU's win over Wyoming.
1. Keanu Hill
On the first two drives of the game, BYU's offense sputtered to consecutive three-and-outs. During that span, Wyoming took a 3-0 lead and was controlling the game at the line of scrimmage. On the first play of the Cougars' third drive, Keanu Hill caught a back-shoulder pass from Jaren Hall and added some yards after the catch for a 47-yard gain. That was the spark that BYU's offense needed - the Cougars would score just three plays later.
Hill was Hall's top target throughout the game. He finished with 160 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on 5 receptions. In the fourth quarter, Hill connected with Hall for a 68-yard touchdown reception. Hill caught a perfectly thrown ball from Hall and dragged his defender 10 yards into the endzone.
2. Jaren Hall
Jaren Hall has been incredibly consistent and accurate this season. Saturday night was no different as Hall threw for 337 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. His performances over the last three weeks have been especially impressive considering BYU's struggles to run the football.
Hall did a lot of things well against Wyoming, but perhaps nothing was more important than the touchdown drive he led at the end of the first half. On that drive, Hall converted three third downs of six yards or more. With the score, BYU took a 14-10 lead and changed the course of the game. Hall found Brayden Cosper in the endzone with seconds remaining before halftime.
Through four games, Hall has shown why he is on the radar of NFL scouts. He has thrown for over 1,100 yards, 9 touchdowns and 1 interception. Of note, he surpassed 4,000 career passing yards on Saturday night.
3. Miles Davis
BYU's offense struggled to run the football against Baylor and Oregon. Those struggles continued in the first half against Wyoming - BYU averaged just 3.0 yards per carry. The Cougars needed a spark in the run game and they found it in third-string running back Miles Davis.
On the first drive of the second half, Davis had the first explosive run play of the game with a 25-yard run. Two plays later, Davis broke a tackle to the outside and gained another 17 yards on the ground.
Simply put, Davis displayed speed that Chris Brooks and Lopini Katoa have not shown this season. On one play in the fourth quarter, Davis shot through a hole and ran for 70 yards before being tripped up inside the Wyoming 10 yard line.
Davis finished with 131 yards on 13 carries and he made his case to be BYU's starting running back moving forward.
4. Micah Harper
Seemingly every time BYU's defense made a big play on Saturday, Micah Harper was in on it. Harper looked like BYU's best open-field tackler against the Pokes. He finished with a team high 6 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. His best play on the night came against a jet sweep in the red zone. Harper avoided a blocked and blew up in the play in the backfield.
5. Brayden Cosper
BYU's depth at wide receiver has been tested this season. 2018 signee Brayden Cosper played arguably his best game as a BYU Cougar on Saturday night. Cosper finished with 58 receiving yards and a touchdown on 4 receptions. Cosper was the targeted receiver on the last two plays of BYU's game-altering touchdown drive at the end of the first half.
Cosper's touchdown was his first in a BYU uniform.
6. Tyler Batty
Tyler Batty made the defensive play of the game with a sack on Andrew Peasley. In the third quarter on first down, Peasley turned his back to the defense with a fake handoff. Batty diagnosed the play instantly and took the perfect angle to both contain Peasley in the pocket and bring him down for a sack. Peasley has been slippery this year - he had been sacked just twice out of 23 pressures this season. Even with his ability to avoid pressure, Peasley had no where to go on that Tyler Batty sack.
