Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | BYU
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FOR STARTERS: • Saturday's game at BYU will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and the Cougars on the gridiron.
• Utah Tech and BYU are also scheduled to open the 2026 in Provo (9/5/26).
• Saturday's game at BYU will mark the second time Utah Tech will have faced an NCAA D-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent since beginning its D-I transition in 2020-21.
• UT squared off against FBS independent New Mexico State in the 2021 spring season in El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl), in a game that the Blazers actually led 14-10 at the half before the Aggies rallied for a 36-29 victory. 
• The Trailblazers enters Saturday's 2022 season finale riding a three-game winning streak. It's the longest win streak in UT's brief FCS transition and is the second-longest streak in Head Coach Paul Peterson's tenure as head coach (six-straight in 2019 - UT's last D-II season). 
• Head Coach Paul Peterson makes his return to Provo, which is where he started his college coaching career as an offensive assistant at BYU (2006-07). 
• Meanwhile four other members of UT's coaching staff have either played and coached, or have ties to the BYU program, and are all also BYU alums, including co-defensive coordinator Shane Hunter (LB, 2008-10; asst. coach 2013-15), defensive line coach Loni Fangupo (played DL 2010; asst. coach 2015-16), and offensive assistant Kalama Kaluhiokalani  (played OL 2010). In addition, defensive assistant coach Jamison Clark is the son of currently BYU tight ends coach Steve Clark.

QUICK HITS: • Utah Tech's "Spread-N-Shred" offense has gotten back on track as the Trailblazers racked up an FCS-era high 603 yards of total offense in their Homecoming win over in-state rival Southern Utah (11/5). 
• The 603 yards marked the seventh time in the program's NCAA era that UT gained more than 600 yards in a game and were the most since a 591-yard effort vs. Colorado Mesa (W, 42-32; 11/1/19) nearly three years to the day during the 2019 season. 
• UT followed that up with 502 total yards in last week's win vs. Tarleton State in a balanced attack that featured 272 yards in the air, and another 230 on the ground.
• Utah Tech has gained more than 1,600 yards, and has averaged 43.0 ppg, during its modest three-game win streak.
• RS-Freshman quarterback Victor Gabalis has thrown for 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns over his last three starts. Gabalis has only thrown one interception and has been sacked just three times during this current stretch (113 plays).
• Sophomore RB Quali Conley (1,034) became UT's first 1,000 rusher in a season after he ran for a career-high 215 yards and a touchdown last Saturday vs. Tarleton. That effort earned him WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
• Sophomore WR Joey Hobert (1,034) currently leads all of FCS in receiving yards (1,158), receiving yards per game (115.8 ypg) and receiving TDs (14), all of which are new UT single season school records. 

HI MY NAME IS...: The Trailblazers began the 2022 season with a new institutional name - Utah Tech University. 
            This past July 1, the university re-branded to the new moniker, replacing "Dixie State University," while the "Trailblazers" nickname remained in place. 
 
NEW RADIO HOME OF UT ATHLETICS:  Along with the new name, Utah Tech University Athletics announced in July a new five-year multimedia agreement with Canyon Media Corporation. 
            Beginning this fall through the 2026-27 season, all Trailblazer football and men's basketball games, including comprehensive pregame and post game coverage, will be broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City).
            The agreement will also feature select coverage of several other Trailblazer Athletic events throughout the year.
 
AND A NEW VOICE: In conjunction of the new radio home announcement, longtime Utah sportscaster Rod Zundel was introduced as director of broadcasting and multimedia content for Trailblazer Athletics, and will serve as the new radio voice for football and men's basketball.
            Along with complete radio coverage, Zundel will host "The Paul Peterson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network at 6 p.m. He will also oversee the production of several weekly Trailblazer student-athlete, coach and team online video feature stories, along with other digital content throughout the year. 
            Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth this season is former NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl winning quarterback Jay Schroeder, who will provide color analysis for eight of UT's 11 2022 games, including Saturday's finale at BYU.
 
WELCOME TO THE WAC: Utah Tech kicked off the 2022 season as a full football member of the Western Athletic Conference.
            Though the pundits picked the Trailblazers to finish last in the WAC, UT won its final two conference games, including a big 47-44 road upset of then No. 19 Stephen F. Austin (10/28), followed by last Saturday's 34-28 home win vs. Tarleton.
            Those two wins moved the Blazers to 2-2 in WAC play, which is good for third place at the moment. However, Utah Tech could finish in a tie for second with SFA and own the tiebreak on the Lumberjacks should they lose at WAC leader Abilene Christian on Saturday. 
 
HITTING THE TRAIL: After logging more than 6,100 round-trip air miles and just over 6,900 total miles during its first five road trips this season, Utah Tech will have played its final three games inside the 'Beehive State." Including their last two home dates vs. SUU (11/5) and Tarleton State last Saturday, the Blazers will close the campaign up the road in Provo (516 total miles) this Saturday at BYU.
            In fact, three of UT's six road games will have been played in the State of Utah, including road games at Weber State in Ogden (676 total miles), and the WAC opener at SUU in Cedar City (102 total miles). 
            The Blazers traveled 912 miles round trip to Sacramento (9/3) to open the season, and flew 2,544 miles to and from Cedar Falls for their road date at Northern Iowa (10/15). UT also racked up 2,674 miles on its longest road trip of the year last weekend to SFA in Nacogdoches, Texas.
            Last season, Utah Tech traveled 13,300 miles for its five road dates, including a 4,697 round trip to play at Delaware (10/30/21), which was the longest trip to play a football game in the program's NCAA era.
 
O CAPTAINS! MY CAPTAINS!: Utah Tech will take the field in 2022 with five team captains leading the charge. As selected by their teammates, senior offensive lineman Nathen Aceves, redshirt freshman quarterback Victor Gabalis, senior linebacker Malaki Malaki, and senior safety Darrius Nash were all announced before the season opener. In addition, sophomore WR Joey Hobert was named a captain prior to the SUU road game. 
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech pushed its winning streak to three-straight after topping Tarleton State, 34-28, last Saturday on Senior Day at Greater Zion Stadium.
            Trailing 14-7 late in the second quarter, the Blazers rallied for 27 unanswered points to take a commanding 34-14 lead with 11 minutes to play in the game. 
            Tarleton countered with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, and made it a one-possession game with 1:11 on the clock. However Utah Tech managed to field a Texan onside kick and ran out the clock to escape with the victory. 
 
TRAILBLAZERS COLLECT TWO MORE WAC WEEKLY AWARDS: Sophomore RB Quali Conley and senior DB Darrius Nash both earned WAC football weekly honors on Monday after the Blazers' home win over Tarleton.
            The awards marked the third-straight week that the Trailblazer program has garnered at least the conference's offensive and defensive weekly awards. 
            Conley was named Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after he rushed for a career-high 215 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown.
            The sophomore, who also earned the WAC's weekly offensive award back on Sept. 12, became the first running back to record a 1,000-yard season (1,034 yds) in Utah Tech's NCAA era and was the first to post a 200-yard rushing game in the program's brief Division I transition. 
            Nash garnered WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after he recorded five solo tackles, one interception and one pass break up in his final home game as a Trailblazer.
            The senior turned the tide for Utah Tech late in the second quarter after he picked off Tarleton quarterback Beau Allen at the Texan 5-yard line and returned the interception a school record-tying 95 yards for his first collegiate touchdown, which gave UT a 17-14 halftime lead.
 
THIS RICKIE IS ONE THE GREATEST: Junior WR Rickie Johnson broke one school record and tied another in UT's Homecoming win over in-state rival Southern Utah back on Nov. 5.
            Johnson caught a career high nine passes for a school record 277 yards and a school record tying three touchdowns. He racked up 213 yards-after-the-catch thanks in part to a 79-yard first quarter TD reception, which was UT's longest scoring play of the year, and a 75-yard third quarter catch-and-run for his third touchdown of the night.
            Johnson's 277 yards receiving are currently the second-highest single game total in NCAA Division-I ranks this season in both FCS and FBS subdivisions.
            The junior, who earned WAC OPOW recognition for his efforts, became just the fifth different Trailblazer receiver to go for 200 yards or more in the program's NCAA era. The junior wideout passed former UT standout receiver Dejuan Dantzler, who racked up 241 yards on 11 catches and three touchdowns nearly four years to the day in a Trailblazer Homecoming win vs. Colorado School of Mines back in the 2018 season (11/3/2018).
            Johnson was also the eighth different Trailblazer receiver to record three TD receptions in one game in the program's NCAA era, and was the second to do it in as many weeks. Three weeks ago at Stephen F. Austin (10/29), sophomore WR Joey Hobert caught three TD passes in the big upset road win.  
 
HAT TRICKS: Johnson became the 17th different player in UT's NCAA era to score three touchdowns in one game. In fact, three Trailblazers have added their names to that list this season. Along with Johnson's career night vs. SUU, and Hobert's day at SFA, Conley rushed for a career-high three TDs in the home-opening win vs. Chadron State (9/10)
 
MR. 1000: Speaking of Hobert, the sophomore wideout caught 10 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the Tarleton win, and in the process, etched his name atop the Utah Tech record books in five statistical categories.
            Hobert enters Saturday's finale at BYU as the FCS leader in receiving yards (1,158), receiving yards per game (115.8 ypg) and receiving TDs (14), all of which are new UT single season school records set last weekend.
            Not only did the sophomore become the program's single season leader in TDs and receiving yards, he also broke UT season records for catches (79) and scoring (84 points). 
            In addition, Hobert moved into second place on UT's single season all-purpose yards list (1,343 yds), and he needs only six more yards to vault over former UT running back DeJon Coleman (1,348 in 2015) to the top spot on that list. 
            Meanwhile Hobert's 14 touchdowns also places him sixth and 10th on UT's career receiving and total TDs lists, respectively.
            Hobert's 140 yards vs. Tarleton was his team-leading seventh 100-yard receiving game this season, while he has made at least one TD catch in five-straight games and in nine of 10 games overall this season.
            Hobert is in line to become the second pass catcher to earn All-American honors, joining former All-American tight end Joe Don Duncan (1,045 and 13 TDs; 2013), who Hobert passed for first place on both the UT  single season yards and TD lists.
 
YO JOE: Prior to Johnson's career night vs. SUU, Hobert became the seventh different Trailblazer receiver to record three TD receptions in one game in the program's NCAA era with his trifecta three weeks ago at Stephen F. Austin (10/29). 
            Hobert was also the first one to do it during UT's D-I FCS transition, with the last Trailblazer to achieve that feat being former tight end Chase Hess, who did it against Adams State (11/16/19) during the 2019 campaign.
            In addition, Hobert is the fourth player in the program's NCAA era to score at least 10 touchdowns in one season, joining Duncan, former UT receiver Mitch Frei (10 TDs, 2013), and Coleman, who rushed for 10 TDs in 2015. 
            Earlier this season, Hobert became the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to record four-straight 100-yard receiving games in his first four career games.
            The sophomore also became just the second player in the program's four-year era to record four-straight, 100-yard receiving games overall. The last to do it was Duncan, who achieved the feat twice in 2011 (five-straight) and 2013 (four-straight) during his All-American career.
            Hobert announced his presence with authority in his Blazer debut at Sacramento State (9/3), against which he caught 11 balls for 183 yards and a touchdown. His 183 yards were the eighth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, while his 11 catches were tied for sixth-most. 
            He followed that up with six receptions for 161 yards and two TDs in the Chadron State home win (9/10), both of which came in the second half on receptions of 38 and 50 yards. He then went for 10 receptions for 123 yards and a score at Weber State (9/17), and caught six passes for 105 yards and a TD at SUU (9/24). 
            Along with owning the top spot in the FCS in three statistical categories, Hobert also leads the WAC in receptions/game (7.9 rpg - #4 in FCS) and all-purpose yards/game (134.30 - #16 in FCS). 
 
DIALING LONG DISTANCE: After a rough start to his Blazer debut season, redshirt freshman QB Victor Gabalis has been on fire over his last three starts, throwing for 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns in all three Blazer victories.
            Gabalis became just the sixth different quarterback in UT's NCAA era to throw for at least 400 yards in one game with his 463-yard night vs. SUU (11/5). That performance came on the heels of his 377 yards and five TD effort three weeks ago at SFA (10/29), for which he was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week. 
            Meanwhile, his 463 yards were the third-highest single game total in program history overall and are sixth most by an FCS quarterback this season (15th in Division I overall, including FBS).
            In addition, Gabalis became the fifth different quarterback in UT's NCAA era to throw five touchdown passes in one game (at Stephen F. Austin, 10/29) and was the first to do it in consecutive games as part of his career night vs. SUU.
            Gabalis has also recorded four of UT's five longest completions of the season, all of which have gone for more than 70 yards, and three have resulted in touchdowns.
            Along with Gabalis' two TDs to Johnson vs. SUU (79 and 75 yards), the freshman QB connected with fellow freshman Daniel Thomason for a 72-yard score at SFA. Gabalis also had a 72-yard completion to sophomore David Fisher in the first quarter at Sacramento State (9/3).
 
QUALI-TY OUT OF THE BACKFIELD: Conley posted his sixth 100-yard game of the year with his 215-yard effort vs. Tarleton last Saturday, and in the process, became the first running back in the program's NCAA era to post three-straight 100-yard games.  
            The sophomore's performance vs. Tarleton featured a 35-yard TD scamper in the third quarter, followed by a career-long 45-yard run in the fourth quarter.
            Conley's 215 yards were the fourth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, while he became the sixth different back in program history to record at least 200 rushing yards in one game.  
            Conley's effort last Saturday came on the heels of his previous career-best 155 yards on 22 carries two weeks ago vs. SUU (11/5).
            Conley put the T-Birds on notice when he busted loose for a 44-yard scamper on UT's first touchdown drive in the opening quarter.
            He then collected his seventh rushing touchdown of the year to salt away the victory in the fourth quarter, which was highlighted by a monster Heisman-worthy stiff-arm of a would-be T-Bird tackler. 
            Conley (1,697 yds), who also scored his eighth rushing TD of the season (t-3rd on UT's single season list) in third quarter of Saturday's win vs. Tarleton, moved to within three yards of becoming the third back in program history to rush for 1,700 career yards. Additionally, the sophomore's touchdown was his 13th-career rushing TD (#4 on UT's career list) and 15 career score overall (t-8th on UT's career list). 
 
MORE QUAL-ITY CONTENT: Conley earned WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors this past Sept. 12, after he rushed for a career high three touchdowns and a then-career high 139 yards (first career 100-yard game) on 21 carries in the win over Chadron State (9/10). 
            Conley, who is averaging 6.69 ypc over his last seven games, enters the weekend as the WAC's leading rusher (1,034 yds; 103.4 ypg), and is first in rushing TDs (8).          
 
MORE HAT TRICKS: For the third time this season, and just the sixth time in the program's NCAA era (178 games), Utah Tech turned the offensive "Hat Trick" in the Homecoming win over SUU (11/5) by having a 300-yard passer (Gabalis 463), 100-yard rusher (Quali Conley 155) and 100-yard receiver (Johnson 277/Hobert144). 
            However it marked the first time the feat was accomplished with a 400-yd passer (Gabalis) and 200-yd receiver (Johnson).
            The trio of Gabalis (377), Conley (131) and Hobert (109) also did it three weeks ago at SFA (10/29). The Trailblazers turned the first trick in the Chadron State win (9/10), when Kobe Tracy threw for 388 yards, while Conley rushed for 139 yards and Hobert racked up 161 receiving yards.
            UT turned the trick three times during the Division II era, the last coming all the way back in 2013 in a road loss at Central Washington (10/12/13). In that game, QB Griff Robles threw for 362 yards, while RB Myles Burton rushed for 106 yards, and both Frei (159 yards) and Duncan (150 yards) had more than 100 yards receiving. 
 
BLAZING TRAILS
• Prior to Gabalis, former UT QB Kody Wilstead was the last signal caller to record five TDs in a game, doing so in the Blazers' 2021 spring season finale home victory vs. Fort Lewis (3/27/21).
• Tracy became the third signal caller in the program's NCAA era to surpass 3,000 passing yards after he threw for 277 yards on 19-of-36 passing at SUU (9/24) ... Tracy, who has not played since being injured at Northern Iowa (10/15), has thrown for 3,063 career yards in the air, and also stands third in career total offense (3,065). 
• Tracy's 388-yard night vs. Chadron State (9/10) was his fourth-career 300-plus passing game, which moved him into a tie for second place (Griff Robles 2012-13) on UT's career list. 
• Utah Tech's 506 yards passing at Sacramento State (9/3) was the highest total since the program began its NCAA FCS transition in 2020-21, and is the third-highest single-game total in the program's four-year era.
• Meanwhile, UT's 579 total yards at Sac State were the most yards gained in a season opener since the Blazers went for 640 yards on the road at Colorado Mesa (9/6/14). 
• The 603 yards gained last Saturday vs. SUU are the second most in Paul Peterson's tenure as head coach, behind only a 677-yard day vs. Black Hills State (10/5/19).
• UT has posted five 500-plus yard games this season overall, including 561 yards vs. Chadron (9/10), and 517 yards at SFA (10/29).
• The two 500-plus yard games at both Sac State and vs. Chadron marked the first time in the program's NCAA era that the Trailblazers gained more than 500 yards in back-to-back games to start a season.
• Last Saturday's win over Tarleton marked the seventh time overall that UT/DSU posted consecutive 500-plus yard games, and the first time it's been done in three-straight games. 
• While Hobert was doing his thing at Sac State (9/3), fifth-year WR Deven Osborne caught six balls for 113 yards and a TD, which was his third career 100-yard receiving game.
• Hobert and Osborne's combined effort at Sac State marked the first time since the 2019 season that Utah Tech had two 100-yard receivers in one game (Kasey Allison – 126/Chase Hess – 107, vs. Black Hills State; 10/5/19) ... Hobert and Johnson later followed with the second such instance two weeks ago vs. Southern Utah (11/5).
• In fact, Utah Tech's receiving corps just missed making history at Sac State as sophomore WR David Fisher tallied 96 yards on three catches, including the 72-yard first quarter connection with Gabalis.
• Utah Tech has never had three receivers go for 100 or more yards in a single game in the program's NCAA era, with the Sac State game marking the closest UT has come to achieving that feat.  
• Utah Tech's 463 yards passing vs. SUU (11/5) broke a string of 23 games between 400-yard pass games (430 vs. Adams State; 11/16/19), while Gabalis became the first Blazer QB to throw for 400-plus yards in a game since former QB Michael Sanders passed for a school-record 553 yards vs. Colorado School of Mines (11/3/18) during the 2018 season - a span of 36 games. 
• While UT's offense was racking up the numbers vs. SUU, the Blazers defense posted season highs with seven sacks and 13 TFLs against the Thunderbirds.
• Utah Tech, which only had five sacks heading into the SUU game (11/5), got a career-high three sacks from sophomore DL Syrus Webster, which earned him WAC defensive POW honors ... Webster is currently ranked ninth on UT's career sacks list (7.5), while he now has 15.0 TFLs, which leaves him four shy of cracking the career top-10 on that list.
• Sophomore safety Tyrell Grayson also got into the act as he notched his second career sack and recorded a career-high 3.0 TFLs vs. SUU (11/5) ... Grayson collected his first collegiate sack last season at Montana (10/9/21). 
• Grayson continues to lead the Trailblazer defense with WAC-highs of 51 solo tackles and 79 total stops ... Grayson led all of FCS, albeit unofficially, in solo tackles with 79 and led the WAC with 103 total tackles last season on his way to freshman All-America honors. 
• Two other Blazers tallied multiple TFLs vs. SUU, including sophomore DB Jordan Scott with 2.0 TFLs and one sack, while freshman DL Justin Kirkland racked up his first career sack to go with 2.5 TFLs ... Kirkland did not wait very long for sack No. 2 as he collected it last Saturday vs. Tarleton.
• Utah Tech's defense wound up with six total sacks and 9.0 TFLs in the Tarleton win, highlighted by a career-best 2.0 sacks for junior DL Sam Kanongata'a.
• Senior DL Dylan Hendrickson also accounted for one of UT's sacks vs. Tarleton, and in the process moved him to within one sack of becoming the program's all-time sack leader (Chad Frank - 13.5 sack; 2007-08) ... in addition, he collected one other TFL to give him 20.0 for his career (10th all-time in program history). 
• Senior DB Darrius Nash recorded Utah Tech's third interception return for a touchdown with his school-record tying 95-yard pick-six last Saturday vs. Tarleton ... his backfield teammate, sophomore CB Devyn Perkins, also housed a 95-yard pick six in last season's finale vs. Missouri State (11/20).
• Earlier this season, Nash became the eighth player in the program's NCAA era to surpass the 200-tackle plateau after he tallied four total tackles vs SHSU (10/22) ... Nash currently fifth on UT's career list with 211 stops. 
• Utah Tech also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in its win over Chadron State back on Sept. 10 ... senior linebacker Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz (32 yards) and Grayson (51 yards) both scored their first collegiate touchdowns in the lopsided win.
• UT's three pick-sixes this season are the most in its brief FCS transition, and matched its NCAA-era record of three set in 2018. 
• Senior LB Malaki Malaki (301) collected nine more tackles on Saturday vs. Tarleton to become the first player in program history to reach the 300-tackle plateau ... Malaki recorded a season-high 12 tackles vs. Sam Houston (10/22), and in the process, became Utah Tech's career tackles leader, passing former UT defensive standout Chad Frank (2007-08), who tallied 275 total tackles over his two seasons at UT. 
• Sophomore LB Will Leota posted his third double-digit tackle outing in his last four starts with 12 tackles and a TFL vs. Tarleton last Saturday ... Leota recorded a career-high 16 total tackles in the win at SFA (10/29) and made 14 stops last month at Northern Iowa (10/15).
• Kanongata'a made a little history as he recorded the first blocked field goal in UT's FCS era just before halftime vs. ACU (10/1) ... prior to Kanongata'a's block, the Trailblazers had gone 22 games since they blocked a field goal, which was done by former UT lineman Tyler Heaton at home vs. Colorado Mesa (11/2/2019). 
• Freshman DB Jaxson Smith also made history on special teams as he notched first blocked punt in UT's FCS transition late in the first quarter at SFA (10/29) ... Smith's punt block came 26 games since the last, which happened nearly three years ago at Colorado School of Mines (Jalen Powell - 11/9/19).  
• Sophomore PK Connor Brooksby collected WAC Special Teams Player of the Week accolades following the SUU win (11/5) when he hit all six PAT attempts and went 2-for-2 in field goal tries, including a school record 55-yarder late in the second quarter. 
• Brooksby became UT's career leader in made field goals (22-for-32; .687) vs. SUU, and he is currently third on UT's career PAT list (53-of-54).
 
#AB3FOREVER: Senior linebacker Malaki Malaki has once again been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2022 season. The senior captain is the second Trailblazer player to wear the coveted number since the 2021 spring season. 
            The awarding of the No. 3 jersey has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best exemplified Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field. 
            "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
            "Malaki exemplifies everything that we are trying to build here at Utah Tech. He is tough, works tremendously hard, is a great student and leader. Malaki will continue to wear AB3's jersey this season in honor of his legacy."
 
ABOUT THE BYU "COUGARS": BYU heads into Saturday's game coming off a bye and with an even 5-5 record after the Cougars halted a season long four-game slide with a 31-28 road win on the blue turf at Boise State back on Nov. 5.    
            The Cougars got off to an impressive start, winning four of their first five games, including home wins over reigning Big-12 champion Baylor and in-state rival Utah State.
            RS-junior quarterback Jaren Hall has thrown for 2,622 yards on 218-330-5 passing with 24 touchdowns. Hall's favorite target is junior WR Puka Nacua, who has caught 40 balls for 539 yards and five touchdowns, while he has rushed for 157 yards and four more scores.
        On defense, the Cougars are led by a stout linebacker corps, highlighted by sophomore Butkus Award watch list candidate Ben Bywater, who is BYU's leading tackler with 75 (24 solo), while juniors Keenan Pili (51 tackles) and Max Tooley (57 tackles) have combined for 108 stops on the year.
            BYU is averaging 29.6 ppg and 416.0 ypg of total offense, while allowing 30.8 ppg and 412.6 ypg on defense through 10 games this season.