Holy Toledo!

After BYU took a 14-3 lead on Aleva Hifo’s 75-yard touchdown reception to start the second half, it looked like the rout was on. But as Lee Corso would say, “not so fast, my friend.”

BYU’s offense sputtered and the defense couldn’t do anything to stop the Toledo offense as the Rockets came-from-behind for a thrilling 28-21 victory at home.

BYU won nearly every offensive category, but missed field goals and failed fourth-down conversions killed drives and gave new life to the Rockets. BYU QB Zach Wilson threw for 315 yards — his second career 300-yard game — and helped the Cougars rack up a season-high 455 yards, but it wasn’t enough.

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Toledo, which was held to just 147 yards at the half, had over 300 yards in the second half as the coaching staff made adjustments to BYU’s three man pass rush. Despite having eight players in coverage, the Cougar defense — which gave soft cushion to Toledo’s receivers — couldn’t stop crossing routes, combined with the scrambling abilities of dual-threat QB Mitchell Guadagni.

After facing three ranked teams in four games, BYU fans were looking forward to the soft part of the schedule before looming games against Boise State and Utah State. Yet the stunning loss left Cougar fans with plenty of frustration due to the coaching staff inability to adjust as well as questionable decisions such as letting Jake Oldroyd — who was sick and despite having a solid backup kicker  — try two field goals, in which he missed both.

Adding insult to injury, not only did BYU lose Saturday afternoon, but it may have lost its starting quarterback for the season too.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake confirmed after the game that Wilson sustained an injury to his thumb on his throwing hand and would be out “for awhile.”

“We are still evaluating it (Wilson’s hand),” Sitake said after the game. “I don’t know the time frame, but it looks like he is going to be out for a little bit. How long that is, we have to evaluate it some more and get more opinions on it and everything. But yeah, we will have to be ready for that.”

It all depends on the severity, however, if Wilson did indeed sprain or break his thumb, he’ll likely be out for 1-3 months before he’s throwing again.

The sophomore quarterback was injured after throwing an interception with just a minute left in regulation. Wilson chased down Toledo’s Kahil Robinson and upon tackling him, got sandwiched by several other BYU players in the process. Toledo would later score the game-winning touchdown with 51 seconds to play.

Backup Jaren Hall, who finished the game, completing 3-of-6 passes for 39 yards, will start for the Cougars against South Florida in two weeks, after BYU’s bye week.

Here’s how BYU players and fans reacted after the loss, including several shots at ESPN+ after the game was only shown over the new streaming service.

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