BYU falls short to Coastal Carolina 22-17

CONWAY, S.C. — No. 8 BYU football came up just short against No. 14 Coastal Carolina Saturday night at Brooks Stadium, falling 22-17 for its first loss of the season.

Down by five with three seconds left in the game and with the ball at the Chanticleers’ (10-0) 18-yard line, Cougar quarterback Zach Wilson connected with receiver Dax Milne inside the five-yard line. Milne was immediately met by a pair of Coastal Carolina defenders, however, and came up just one yard short from scoring what would have been the game-winning touchdown.

Wilson completed 19 of 30 pass attempts on the night for 240 yards and a touchdown for BYU (9-1) while adding a season-high 55 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Wilson connected with seven different receivers, including Milne, who hauled in a game-high six receptions for 106 yards and a score.

Neil Pau’u equaled a career-high 76 receiving yards on four catches while Gunner Romney also had four catches for 47 yards. Isaac Rex added 15 receiving yards on three receptions for the Cougars.

Tyler Allgeier led BYU’s ground attack with 106 yards on 13 attempts, including a 42-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He averaged more than eight yards per carry. Wilson was the team’s second-leading rusher with 55 yards while Lopini Katoa added four yards on two attempts.

On defense, Bracken El-Bakri led the Cougars with a career-high 11 tackles, including three solo stops. Khyiris Tonga added a personal-best 10 tackles and a pass-breakup while Keenan Pili and Payton Wilgar each recorded nine stops. Pepe Tanuvasa notched BYU’s lone sack of the game.

Box Score
BYU Photo Exposure Gallery
Postgame Notes & Quotes

First Quarter Review

After a holding call negated a would-be 91-yard touchdown reception by Pau’u on the Cougars’ first offensive play of the game, Wilson scrambled up the middle for an 18-yard gain to the BYU 29-yard line. Allgeier picked up another first down for the Cougars three plays later on a 9-yard rush. After failing to pick up another first down, however, BYU was forced to punt from its own 47-yard line.

Coastal Carolina proceeded to put together a 17-play, 94-yard drive resulting in a 6-yard touchdown run by running back CJ Marable. The Chanticleers missed the ensuing extra-point attempt, keeping the score at 6-0.

• Coastal Carolina had the ball for over 11 minutes in the first quarter compared to BYU’s 3:51 time of possession

Second Quarter Review

On the next possession for the Cougar offense, Wilson's12-yard Wilson run was followed by a 16-yard completion to Pau’u to bring BYU to the Coastal Carolina 48-yard line. Two plays later, Allgeier found a huge hole up the middle and ran 42 yards untouched into the end zone, putting the Cougars up 7-6.

The BYU defense came up with a takeaway on the ensuing drive, as Isaiah Kaufusi recovered a fumbled handoff by Chanticleer quarterback Grayson McCall at the BYU 42-yard line. BYU’s offense couldn’t take advantage, however, as an incomplete fourth-down pass to Gunner Romney resulted in a turnover-on-downs.

Coastal Carolina then used an 11-play, 51-yard touchdown drive to take back the lead, 13-7, with four minutes left in the half.

Starting at the BYU 6-yard line, Wilson opened the following possession with an 18-yard completion to a wide-open Dax Milne near the sideline. Four plays later, Wilson kept the ball on an option play for a 17-yard run into Chanticleer territory. Wilson connected with Milne again on the ensuing play, who tip-toed down the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. The score gave BYU a 14-13 lead with 1:45 until halftime.

• After tallying zero passing yards in the first quarter, BYU racked up 107 yards through the air in the second compared to Coastal Carolina’s 15
• Allgeier’s 42-yard rushing touchdown was his second-longest score of the season. His longest came against Boise State when he scored on an 86-yard run

Third Quarter Review

On the Cougars’ opening drive of the half, a 12-yard run down the sideline by Wilson was followed by a Chanticleer penalty for a late hit out of bounds to put BYU in Coastal Carolina territory. Wilson found Pau’u for a 23-yard pickup on the next play. Three consecutive runs by Wilson, however, then resulted in a fourth down. A 29-yard field goal attempt by Jake Oldroyd split the uprights and gave BYU a 17-13 advantage.

After BYU’s defense came up with a stop to give the offense the ball back, the Chanticleers recovered a fumble by Allgeier on the first play of the drive at the Cougar 29-yard line. BYU’s defense held tough once again for three straight plays, and Coastal Carolina settled for a 41-yard field goal to tighten the score, 17-16.

• Oldroyd’s 29-yard field goal was his 11th make of the year in as many tries

Fourth Quarter Review

Following a BYU punt near the end of the third, the Chanticleers drove 85 yards in 13 plays and scored on a 2-yard CJ Marable run. Coastal Carolina proceeded to attempt a two-point conversion but running back Reese White was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, keeping the score at 22-17 for the Chanticleers.

Both teams then punted on each of their following drives before the Cougars got the ball back with 6:54 left in the game. A 3-yard completion to Rex and a 5-yard Allgeier run set up third-down-and-two. Allgeier took the handoff on the following play but was met in the backfield for a loss, forcing another BYU punt with just under five minutes left.

Coastal Carolina picked up a pair of first downs before the Cougar defense forced a third-down-and-four situation at the Chanticleer 45-yard line. BYU’s defense then stopped McCall’s ensuing quarterback draw short of the first down, causing Coastal Carolina to punt it back to the Cougars with just under a minute remaining.

Down five with 55 seconds left in the game, Wilson found Romney from inside his own end zone for a 33-yard completion to BYU’s 42-yard. Wilson then connected with Allgeier for 12 yards and Milne for 15 yards to bring BYU to the Chanticleer 31-yard line. After Wilson downed the ball to stop the clock with just seven seconds remaining, Milne hauled in another reception the following play, this time for 13 yards, and stepped out of bounds to stop the clock with three seconds left.

On the final play of the game, Wilson once again connected with Milne inside the 5-yard line, but Milne was met by a pair of Coastal Carolina defenders just short of the goal line as time expired. After reviewing the play, officials confirmed Milne was stopped just one yard from scoring the would-be game-winning touchdown, sealing the 22-17 Chanticleer win.

• Neil Pau’u tallied a career-high 76 receiving yards on four catches
• Bracken El-Bakri racked up a career-high 11 tackles on the game, including three solo stops

Up next, the Cougars return to LaVell Edwards Stadium to host San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. MST. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN2.