BYU Football: Bowl Eligibility, Milestones And Reactions As BYU Seniors Shine On Senior Day

By
Justin Giles
-
BYU-Football

Merry Christmas… or should I say Mele Kalikimaka, Cougar fans.

BYU is going bowling after a 42-10 blowout victory over Idaho State Saturday afternoon in front of 57,379 at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 14-0 against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision and also moved to 6-0 all-time against Idaho State. The victory also pushed BYU’s winning streak to four games this season as the Cougars became bowl eligible for the 14th time in 15 seasons.

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Before players and coaches gathered in the locker room for their traditional celebratory dance after a win, the team accepted an invite to play in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. With Saturday being Senior Day, the next home game for Cougar fans will be Sept. 12, 2020, against Michigan State. The Spartans will be looking for revenge after falling to BYU, 31-14, at home in Kalani Sitake’s first season.

Players and coaches pulled out all the stops in front of the home crowd on Senior Day. Austin Lee got things started as the 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety gave the Cougars their first score of the game thanks to pick-6 early in the first quarter. It was Lee’s first touchdown of his BYU career after transferring from Utah in 2016.

Talon Shumway also had one of his best games as a Cougar as the senior hauled five catches for 41 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Micah Simon, who had an incredible one-handed catch negated by a holding penalty in the first quarter, finished the game with a game-high seven catches for 76 yards to go with three carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Even defensive end Khyiris Tonga got in on the action as the junior, who is likely was playing in his final home game as he expects to declare for the NFL after the season, scored his first career touchdown.

With the ball inside the five-yard line and with BYU in its scrum package — with Tonga featured as the fullback — the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder surprised everyone when he got the handoff as he rumbled into the end zone to give the Cougars a 42-3 lead.

Nearly everyone got into the game with a number of players making their first appearance of the season, including last year’s starting corners Troy Warner and Chris Wilcox. On the offensive side, freshmen Carter Wheat and Keanu Hill recorded their first career receptions.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Wilson also made his return after missing the last four games when he suffered a thumb injury against Toledo on Sept. 28. The dual-threat quarterback completed 19 of 31 passes for 187 yards to go with two touchdowns and an interception. His longest run of the day was 21 yards, but because of sacks, the sophomore finished the game with just 19 yards on the ground. With 187 passing yards Saturday, Wilson became the 21st quarterback in program history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in his career.

Fourth-string quarterback Joe Critchlow played all of the fourth quarter as the sophomore finished the day completing all of his passes (5-for-5) for 58 yards. Freshman running back Sione Finau finished with 15 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown to become BYU’s first 100-yard rusher this season. Ty’Son Williams was close as the senior had 99 yards in a win over USC.

With 245 passing yards today, BYU continued its streak of throwing for more than 200 yards in a game. Dating back to last season, the Cougars have now done so in 12 consecutive games, tying a streak from 2011-12 and the longest since 19 games in a row spanning the 2007-08 seasons.

With Matt Bushman hardly targeted because of double teams, the junior did have an 18-yard reception which pushed his total receiving yards for the season to more than 500. Bushman joined some elite company as he became just one of three BYU tight ends — joining Dennis Pitta and Gordon Hudson — to have three consecutive seasons of 500 receiving yards. Both Pitta and Hudson went on to become consensus All-Americans.

Dayan Ghanwoloku — BYU’s Mr. Everything — added another interception to his stellar career as the senior picked off Idaho State’s Matt Struck in the third quarter. The Cougars entered the game tied for No. 9 nationally in interceptions (12) and will continue its climb up the rankings after another multiple interception performance Saturday afternoon.

Last but not least, former BYU star Jamaal Williams was in attendance as ran out the alumni flag before the game. Williams left BYU as the school’s all-time leading rusher and  current plays for the Green Bay Packers.

Here’s how players, fans and coaches reacted after the game:

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