BYU's Parker Kingston had his best game of the year against West Virginia (Photo by BYU Athletics)
The Cougars beat West Virginia soundly on a soggy Friday night in Provo at LaVell Edwards Stadium. #3 BYU overcame three turnovers and some injuries on defense to take down the Mountaineers. A big game from wide receivers Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston paved the way for BYU.
BYU 38, West Virginia 24
The Cougar defense got the game going for BYU with an early three-and-out. After a stalled BYU drive ended in a missed field goal, WVU got the ball back. West Virginia then made their first mistake. They threw at Therrian Alexander III. Alexander returned the pass he intercepted 49 yards, and after a facemask on West Virginia, set up the BYU offense with first and goal at the one-yard line.
That’s when Parker Kingston, who had been having a quiet season so far, got his night started. Kingston took the handoff and ran one of Kalani Sitake and Aaron Roderick’s patented jet sweeps into the endzone for a touchdown, and BYU had a 7-0 lead. Before the first quarter ended, Kingston would take a screen pass 54 yards for another touchdown, and the lead was up 14-0.
Finishing off the Win
West Virginia would add a field goal, but BYU would answer it with an LJ Martin four-yard touchdown run. The Mountaineers would get a touchdown with 1:58 left in the first half, but that left too much time for BYU to work with. The Cougars would drive 73 yards in 1:31, and Bear Bachmeier would punch it in from two yards out. It would be 28-10, BYU at the break.
BYU would win the second part of ‘the eight’ when they opened the third quarter with a 15-play, 55-yard drive, that took 7:59 off the clock, and with a Will Ferrin field goal, gave BYU a 31-10 lead. West Virginia would score again, but BYU would answer. The Cougars would answer with another LJ Martin touchdown that would make it 38-17. BYU would cruise to a 38-24 win.
Leading the Way
BYU’s name stars led the way for this Cougar victory. None more so than receivers Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston. Kingston would have four catches for 111 yards and two total touchdowns. Roberts had four catches for 161 yards, including an 85-yarder. Bear Bachmeier would have his first game of over 300 yards passing. Bachmeier would finish the night 18 of 25 for 351 yards and a touchdown. Bear would add 43 yards on the ground and another touchdown. LJ Martin would quietly have a great night. Martin would have 23 touches for 111 total yards and two touchdowns.
The BYU defense was stout, but offered quite the scare with injuries. Especially from Jack Kelly, who looked like he suffered an injury that might have him out for an extended period. Fortunately for BYU, as of this writing, he is expected to play Saturday against Arizona.
BYU at Arizona
In the basic comparison of yards and points in this season, BYU and Arizona are both very elite defensively. BYU is 6th in scoring defense, allowing 12.2 points per game, and 8th in total defense, allowing 239.6 yards per game. Arizona is right with the Cougars at 19th in scoring defense, allowing 15.6 points per game, and 10th in total defense, allowing 244.8 yards per game. That’s only five yards and three points of difference between the two.
There is a little more separation between them in the rankings of points and yards on offense, but not significant enough to give one a large advantage over the other. The Cougars rank 21st in scoring offense, averaging 38.4 points per game, and 27th in total offense, with 451.8 yards per game. Arizona is 49th in scoring offense with 33.2 points per game and 43rd in total offense with 430 yards per game. It’s a difference of only 21.8 yards and 5.2 points.
Cougars and Wildcats History
Statistically speaking, this season, BYU and Arizona are close in offensive and defensive output. It’s no different in the history of games between these two. BYU holds a 13-12-1 advantage over Arizona. The Cougars are riding a four-game winning streak, and Arizona last beat BYU in 2008. With these teams being so close to each other, both this season and historically. It will come down to quarterback play. Bear Bachmeier and Noah Fifita are both excellent quarterbacks, but it will come down to which of them doesn’t make a losing mistake and makes a winning play.
