Instant Takeaways From No. 19 BYU’s Victory Over Wyoming

PROVO, Utah – No. 19 BYU football takes down Wyoming 38 to 24.

The victory gets BYU back in the win column and improves their record this season to 3-1.

Here are some instant takeaways from BYU’s victory over their old conference rivals from Laramie.

Hard fought W. pic.twitter.com/k36bxXBAd9

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 25, 2022

Jaren Hall was brilliant

BYU quarterback Jaren Hall was a bright spot on a night where the Cougars had a pedestrian performance against Wyoming. For the first time in his BYU career, Hall passed for four touchdowns against an FBS opponent.

4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ CAREER PASSING YARDS!! pic.twitter.com/T0Yss0VLuL

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 25, 2022

Without tight end Dallin Holker, who abruptly transferred out of the program this week, then in-game injuries to Puka Nacua and Chase Roberts, it didn’t matter for Hall. He still had a big night completing 81% of his passes. Hall quietly continues to show he’s one of the best QBs out west.

Hall finished the night 26-of-32 for 337 yards, four touchdowns, and a QB Rating of 211.

Running Back carries were surprising

Cal grad transfer Christopher Brooks ended up with only two carries on the night. One of those carries was a touchdown run. Brooks was BYU’s feature back coming into the season. Fast forward to week four, he barely played against the Cowboys.

The featured back for BYU in the second half was redshirt freshman Miles Davis. A versatile athlete that was positionless when he signed with BYU out of Las Vegas High School, Davis appears to be climbing up the depth chart.

Davis had a 100-plus yard night taking over as the number one running back in replace of Brooks.

. @Md3baller33 was COOKIN' pic.twitter.com/jn2uCUplqb

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 25, 2022

Keanu Hill puts together a career night

Fourth-year sophomore Keanu Hill put together the best game of his BYU career on Saturday night against Wyoming. Hill had five catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns on six targets.

Despite all of the injuries piling to BYU’s receiver room, the depth is there by how well Hill performed.

a dime. @jarenhall3 👉 @kloading18 pic.twitter.com/xjXi56Oep1

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 25, 2022

The injury bug has hit BYU football again

During Saturday night’s win over Wyoming, BYU lost starting safety Malik Moore, wide receiver Chase Roberts, defensive tackle Joshua Larsen, offensive tackle Kingsley Suamatia, and star wide receiver Puka Nacua due to injuries in the game.

A lot has been made this year about BYU’s sports scientists and the support staff on hand to help prevent injuries, but through four games, the injuries are piling up at a similar clip as they did last season.

Sending good vibes to @AsapPuka. 🙏 #BYU #GoCougs #BYUFOOTBALL #WYOvsBYU https://t.co/UIFcE0xtnj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 25, 2022

Micah Harper is one of the best hitters on the team

BYU redshirt freshman Micah Harper had his best game since suffering an ACL injury that sidelined him last season. A former starting cornerback in 2020, Harper was one of the top tacklers on the team on Saturday night in the win over Wyoming.

On some of his tackles the former Basha High star out of Arizona, showed the hard-hitting ability he has from the safety spot. Coming into the season, some BYU players called Harper the hardest hitter on BYU’s defense this year.

Wyoming’s first half put BYU on notice

BYU went into the halftime locker room with a 14-10 lead, but no one was impressed with how the nationally-ranked Cougars played in the first 30 minutes against Wyoming.

Wyoming played keep away from BYU, and the Pokes had a lot of success. Running back Titus Swen had 14 carries for 62 yards in the first 30 minutes.

Luckily, Jaren Hall had big connections with Puka Nacua and Brayden Cosper, which included a touchdown catch. BYU was able to go into the halftime break with a lead.

Rhythm Game

Before Kalani Sitake left the field, he told BYU Sports Network sideline reporter Mitchell Juergens on KSL NewsRadio, that BYU wasn’t playing “rhythm football” in the first half. The message from Sitake was heard by BYU at the break.

BYU’s offense and the defense began getting into a rhythm as they pulled away from the Pokes. The defense came up with pressure on Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley and stifled some Cowboy drives.

But no one will look at this game as one where BYU was playing anywhere close to its best product.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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