After coming up a yard short last week and suffering its first loss of the season, No. 18 BYU (10-1) bounced back Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium with a 28-14 victory over San Diego State (4-4).
The Cougars are just one of four teams that have 10 wins this season and will look to finish the season with just one loss for the first time since 1996 when the program went 14-1. BYU’s last two-loss season was in 2009 (11-2).
Playing in likely his last home game before leaving early for the NFL, Zach Wilson completed 26 of 35 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s three touchdown passes moved him closer to legend status as he moved into a tie at No. 10 (Steve Sarkisian and Kevin Federick) in passing touchdowns (53) at BYU.
Speaking of climbing, freshman tight end Isaac Rex had another phenomenal performance as the the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder hauled in five catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Rex had the play of the game with a 20-yard diving touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to give BYU a two-touchdown lead, its biggest of the game.
Rex also joined elite company as he recorded his ninth and 10th touchdown catches of the season. The last BYU tight end with 10+ touchdowns in a single season was Jonny Harline (12) back in 2006. Rex is also just the 17th BYU player in program history with 10 or more TD catches in a single season.
BYU’s defense struggled all night as San Diego State racked up a game-high 399 yards of total offense. However, when it mattered most, the Cougar defense stood tall. BYU made three critical fourth down stops — in the fourth quarter alone — and held the Aztecs to a touchdown on four red zone trips. The Aztecs had the ball for nearly 37 minutes, compared to just 23 minutes for the Cougars.
Due to the pandemic and a late start to the college football season for most schools, Saturday’s game was the first December home football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Playing in their “blackout” uniforms, BYU rallied to finish the season undefeated at home.
Here’s how the media, fans and players reacted after the game:
BYU beats San Diego State to move to 10-1.
11-0 Coastal Carolina is the only team with a victory over a 10-win team.
— Chris Vannini ? (@ChrisVannini) December 13, 2020
Congrats @BYUfootball on reaching 10 wins. A remarkable accomplishment always, but especially in 2020 for an independent team who had a great 12-game schedule slashed to 3 yet somehow got 11 games played…and they're only one-yard short of being undefeated. An amazing story. pic.twitter.com/l1eqCvnbvu
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) December 13, 2020
FBS teams with 10+ wins in 2020:
BYU 10-1
Alabama 10-0
Coastal Carolina 11-0
Notre Dame 10-0— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) December 13, 2020
BYU (10-1) is expected to play its next game in a season-ending bowl contest.
BYU's last one-loss season: 1996 (14-1).
BYU's last two-loss season: 2009 (11-2).
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) December 13, 2020
10 Dubs with my freaks! #BlueGrit pic.twitter.com/6IJnAeAEOy
— Eric Mateos (@CoachMateos) December 13, 2020
That’s how you bounce back!! Love these boys. A great finish in Lavell Edwards stadium for this crazy year we call 2020!!!! #GoCougs ??
— Fesi Sitake (@fsitake) December 13, 2020
Love you boys to death!! Week in & week out you guys have been a great example to me of hard work & humility. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!! ? #BYUFootball #PLAYMAKERS? pic.twitter.com/fFjuShwvOA
— Harvey Unga (@unga45) December 13, 2020
One of the very best group of senior leaders in football I’ve been associated with during my 23 years at BYU. Battled through adversity – in many forms – while Cougs, and came up BIG in a year when we needed all of them. Your efforts will long be remembered. Thank you. https://t.co/X9vljgUjfI
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) December 14, 2020
Thank you seniors!???@BYUfootball
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) December 13, 2020
It's a great day to be a Cougar @BYUfootball @BYUbasketball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/n0oNhbJeDH
— Jeffrey Carroll (@jefffafa_bc) December 13, 2020
Just a reminder in case you forgot @TheShowSDSU pic.twitter.com/zxOHkrV1mV
— The ROC (@byuROC) December 13, 2020
Zach Wilson with the nice ball placement on the back shoulder throw. Nice. pic.twitter.com/cGh6SRKthC
— Crocky (@eric_crocker) December 13, 2020
Reminder: Dax Milne was a walk-on ⚡️pic.twitter.com/gXiOqtJ6nb
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 13, 2020
"we've seen this before" pic.twitter.com/wsGtrJPA3q
— Greg Welch (@ArtDirectorBYU) December 13, 2020
Zach Wilson has the most accurate deep ball I've ever seen in a college player. He completes 30+ yard go routes from the far hashes at almost the same rate most college QBs completes slants.
— Paul Duncan (@TheFootPaul) December 11, 2020
Solid gritty win for BYU.
That was not an easy win!
So many great stops and forced turnovers in the redzone.
Gritty gritty gritty win.
Says so much about this team.— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) December 13, 2020
Undefeated at home in 2020. Great season. #BYUFootball #byu
— Ys Guide (@YsGuide) December 13, 2020
What an unforgettable season. Thank you, Seniors!
Final Score: 28-14
Temperature: 21 degrees ?Now let’s go bowling ?? #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/FkKfffTwRf
— BYU (@BYU) December 13, 2020
.@TomHolmoe can we PLEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE see this BYU Football team play one more game vs a ranked opponent December 19th?!… ???
That’s ALL I want for Christmas!! ??#GoCougs ?
— Terrell Williams (@4hill2018) December 13, 2020
Kaufusi out for the kneel down and Zach gives him the game ball. Love those leaders ?
— Kenneth Cox (@KennyCoxKC) December 13, 2020
Thank you boys, this has been a fun team to watch and you seniors led the way!!! #GoCougs #Cougar4life
— GoCubsGo (@KineticCoug) December 13, 2020
Last home game as a senior for me and it’s way different than I expected it to be. Excited and blessed to see the Cougs take the field with the legendary blacked out field ? pic.twitter.com/2mycs4QbBE
— Bradley Pilkington ✪ (@bpilk10) December 13, 2020
Waking up at 5 am to watch @BYUfootball play was definitely worth it. Thank you cougars for an amazing season ??? #GoCougs
— Jack Abumanneh (@Jackabumanneh) December 13, 2020
Rematch against coastal in a bowl game pleaseeee! ???
— Raider Damuni ?? (@raiderdamuni) December 13, 2020
BYU beats Utah ✅
BYU beats SDSU ✅It’s a good day to be a Cougar!! #GoCougs
— Cougs in the Pros ?? (@BYUpros) December 13, 2020
How many wins does BYU have this year? #GoCougs #W1LSONHE1SMAN #BYUFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/EQAW7QCRkY
— Horatio Hornblower Tolkien ?? (@Taquineur) December 13, 2020
True fact: the age of the person running this account is five. That’s real! https://t.co/8fMQS1ZbDA
— The ROC (@byuROC) December 13, 2020
Marshall Faulk is embarrassed by this tweet.
— Boney Fuller (@boneyfuller) December 13, 2020
What a snag! pic.twitter.com/Zz9CmW2m4V
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 13, 2020
I-Rex pic.twitter.com/0GpxQZxJhl
— Kenneth Cox (@KennyCoxKC) December 13, 2020
Isaac Rex really just laid out for that TD and I thought I couldn’t love that man and the way he plays anymore, then he does that ?? @byuROC @BYUfootball
— Auliver Olsen (@aolsenBYU) December 13, 2020
I wish we played as hard as other teams seem to play against us.
— Mark Durrant (@DurrantMark) December 13, 2020
The top BYU tight end TD catchers over the past 15 years?
– Jonny Harline (12, 2006)
– Dennis Pitta (8, 2009)
– Isaac Rex (10, 2020)The commonality? All three were catching passes from NFL QBs.
BYU 28 | SDSU 14 – 4Q#BYU | #GoCougs | #BYUFOOTBALL | #ESPN960 |
— Hunter Miller (@MillerHHunter) December 13, 2020
The guy is underrated!! Even more ice in his veins then on the field!! @JakeOldroyd39 https://t.co/nNo2d7tyGY
— Kyle Griffitts (@kgee42) December 13, 2020
Lavell Edwards Stadium comes up with a big 4th down stop!!
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 13, 2020
George Udo with a sack.. Want to see more of him in the pass rush. #BYU #BYUFootball #ESPN960 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/hBPq8uve6I
— Benjamin Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) December 13, 2020
