No. 10/11 BYU tops Western Kentucky 41-10 on Halloween

PROVO, Utah – No. 10/11 BYU beat Western Kentucky 41-10 in a Halloween matchup at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Quarterback Zach Wilson finished the night with 224 passing yards going 18 for 32 with three touchdowns and one interception. He added five rushing attempts for 35 yards and one touchdown.

BYU’s top receivers Dax Milne and Gunner Romney both finished the night with five catches apiece with 67 and 59 yards, respectively. Milne, Isaac Rex and Lopini Katoa all accounted for one of BYU’s receiving touchdowns. Running back Tyler Allgeier led the run game with 16 carries for 95 yards and one touchdown.

Linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi led the charge on defense nabbing nine total tackles with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Drew Jensen and Payton Wilgar both racked up six total tackles with Jensen adding an assisted sack.

BYU scored at least 40 points for the sixth time in the first seven games, a first for the program. 

Box Score
Postgame Notes & Quotes
Photo Gallery

First Quarter Review

Set up by a diving 38-yard catch from Romney, the Cougars got on the board first as Allgeier pushed his way into the end zone with a 2-yard rushing score on the first drive of the game. The Hilltoppers closed the gap kicking a 44-yard field goal on the next drive to make the score 7-3 with 2:24 left in the quarter.

It wasn’t long before BYU added another touchdown. A 32-yard rush from Allgeier moved the Cougars down the field and Milne capped the drive with a 23-yard reception as BYU pushed ahead to 14-3 with under a minute left in the quarter.

Isaiah Kaufusi closed out the first quarter forcing a fumble and also recovering it. The turnover ultimately led to another BYU touchdown as Wilson ran the ball 5-yards into the end zone to start the second quarter. The Cougars forged ahead 21-3 with 12:45 left on the clock.

• Bracken El-Bakri grabbed his second sack of the season and third of his career
• In the first quarter, Zach Wilson set a new BYU record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception at 165.
• Isaiah Kaufusi recorded both a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. It was his fourth career forced fumble and third career fumble recovery. Kaufusi has tallied three forced fumbles already this season.

Second Quarter Review

For the second consecutive week, the Cougars scored on the first four drives of the game as Lopini Katoa grabbed a 42-yard reception for a touchdown and the Cougars maintained their lead pushing to 28-3. BYU then put another score on the board on the ensuing drive as Isaac Rex brought in a 4-yard reception in the end zone to close out the second quarter at 35-3.

• BYU scored a touchdown on all five of its drives in the first half for the first time this season. It was the first time since Wagner in 2015 that BYU scored touchdowns on its first five drives of a game. 
• After connecting on the PAT following BYU’s fifth touchdown, Jake Oldroyd set a new BYU record for PAT’s with 71 in his career.

Third Quarter Review

A Western Kentucky interception that was returned 28 yards put the Hilltoppers on the 3-yard line and on the next play WKU got into the end zone. Despite the touchdown, BYU still led 35-10 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. BYU got the final say of the quarter as Oldroyd connected on a 49-yard field goal pushing the Cougars to a 38-10 lead.

Fourth Quarter Review

Oldroyd scored the only points of the fourth quarter, connecting on a 45-yard field goal. After the field goal, Western Kentucky received the ball with under a minute left in the game. The Hilltoppers were unable to capitalize and BYU took the win 41-10.

BYU now travels to Boise State for a Friday night matchup at Albertsons Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 with a kickoff time at 7:45 MT.