Cougars overpower Navy 55-3 in 2020 season opener

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – BYU overpowered Navy on both sides of the ball, winning 55-3 on Monday, Sept. 7 at Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium to open the Cougars’ 2020 football campaign.

BYU racked up 580 total yards with 301 on the ground and 279 through the air. Tyler Allgeier led all rushers with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts. Lopini Katoa scored two rushing touchdowns and totaled 80 yards on 10 attempts while adding three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Zach Wilson went 13-for-18 for 232 yards while wide receiver Gunner Romney grabbed four receptions for 134 yards with a career-long 45-yarder that resulted in a touchdown.

On defense, Pepe Tanuvasa led all tacklers against his former team, posting eight tackles, including four solo stops, and one quarterback hurry. Isaiah Kaufusi recorded a career-high two sacks and a forced fumble, finishing with five tackles overall.

BYU Postgame Notes
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First Quarter Review

The defense held the Midshipmen to a three-and-out on Navy’s first drive. Allgeier pounded through Navy’s defense on BYU’s subsequent drive, rushing 9 yards for a first down followed immediately by a 34-yard touchdown run.

After another three-and-out for the Midshipmen, the Cougars again capitalized on a three-play drive as Lopini Katoa made his way into the end zone on a 39-yard rush, putting BYU up 14-0 with 7:16 left in the first quarter.

• Allegier scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 34-yard run.
• Isaiah Kaufusi recorded his second career forced fumble and sack

Second Quarter Review

On the first drive of the second quarter, Katoa again found the end zone. Wilson dumped the ball over Navy’s defense to a wide-open Katoa for a 15-yard score, putting the Cougars up 21-0. 

BYU increased its lead to 24-0 on a 22-yard field goal from Jake Oldroyd and capped the quarter with a one-yard rushing touchdown from Katoa to make the score 31-0 going into halftime.

• As a main contributor to the run-game, Allgeier surpassed his career-high rushing yards and receptions in the second quarter (110 yards, 10 receptions), finishing the game with 132 yards on 14 receptions.
• Bracken El-Bakri recorded his second career sack

Third Quarter Review

The Cougars continued to march down the field in the third quarter, capping off the first drive of the second half with another touchdown. Gunner Romney made swift work down the field, catching a 33-yard pass followed by a 45-yard touchdown to give BYU a 38-0 lead with only 1:55 off the clock. 

On the next BYU drive, Allgeier made it into the end zone for the second time in the game with a 17-yard rush to make the score 45-0. Jake Oldroyd put the ball through the uprights on the next drive with a 34-yard field goal pushing the Cougars lead to 48-0.

Navy got its first points of the game with under a minute to go in the third quarter with a 48-yard field goal, bringing the score to 48-3.

• Gunner Romney caught a 45-yard pass from Zach Wilson, the longest reception for Romney of his career.
• Isaiah Kaufusi recorded his second sack of the game, a loss of two yards, setting a new career high

Fourth Quarter Review

The Cougars punted for the first time in the game during the fourth quarter as Ryan Rehkow booted a 56-yarder for the first punt of his career. 

Running back Jackson McChesney tacked on another touchdown as the Cougars went up 55-3 with 7:26 remaining in the game.

BYU closed out the game taking a knee on Navy’s 10-yard line to run out the clock and take the win, 55-3.

The Cougars continue with a road matchup against Army in West Point, New York, on Saturday, Sept. 19. The game will be broadcast on CSB with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT.