Field Level Media
Sep 27, 2020
Zach Wilson passed for a career-high 392 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for two more touchdowns as 18th-ranked BYU cruised to a 48-7 victory over Troy on Saturday night in Provo, Utah.
Wilson completed 23-of-28 passes before departing after three quarters. Dax Milne caught seven passes for 140 yards and a touchdown and Gunner Romney had five receptions for 138 yards for BYU (2-0) which was playing for the first time since opening the season with a 55-3 victory at Navy on Labor Day. The Cougars had to postpone a Sept. 19 contest at Army after a number of players tested positive for the coronavirus.
BYU showed no ill effects from the 19-day layoff, jumping out to a 21-0 second quarter lead and a 38-7 third quarter advantage. The Cougars, who took two knees inside the Troy five to run out the clock, finished with a 664 to 181 edge in total yards and have now outgained their first two opponents, 1,244 to 330.
Gunnar Watson led Troy (1-1) offensively completing 21-of-33 passes for 162 yards.
Troy, which opened with an impressive 47-14 victory at Middle Tennessee last weekend, squandered a chance to take an early lead when Jaylon Beasley recovered a muffed punt at the Cougar 22. But the Trojans shunned a field goal try and came away with no points when Kimani Vidal was stopped a yard short on a 4th-and-2 run at the BYU 13.
The Cougars took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when fullback Masen Wake plunged in from a yard out on 4th-and goal to cap an eight-play, 64-yard drive.
Wilson made it 14-0 with a one-yard scoring run early in the second quarter on the first play after a 41-yard completion to Romney and then 21-0 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to tight end Isaac Rex. Troy cut it to 21-7 with 1:05 left in the half on a two-yard run by B.J. Smith but the Cougars answered with a 54-yard field goal by Jake Oldroyd, tying his career long, on the final play of the half.
It took BYU just 33 seconds to extend its lead to 31-7 in the third quarter when Wilson connected with Milne up the left sideline for a 70-yard touchdown. Wilson made it 38-7 with a two-yard run later in the quarter to cap a seven-play, 64-yard drive.
Wake scored his second touchdown on a 10-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to boost the lead to 45-7. Oldroyd finished the scoring with a 20-yard field goal.
--Field Level Media