BYU loses QB Taysom Hill and shot at College Football Playoff in loss to Utah State
Any chance BYU had to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff came to a crushing end Friday night.
The previously unbeaten Cougars, ranked 18th in the country, were beaten by Utah State 35-20 at home and they lost star quarterback Taysom Hill to a fractured left leg in the process. The Aggies, playing without starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton, racked up 457 yards of total offense and beat BYU in Provo for the first time since 1978.
Utah State (3-2) had already jumped out to a surprising 21-14 lead late in the first half when Hill was injured on an awkward tackle from behind on a second down run. After hobbling to the sideline, Hill’s leg was placed in an air cast and he was carted off the field and into the locker room.
Five plays after Hill went down, Utah State quarterback Darell Garretson hit Hunter Sharp for a 72-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to increase the Aggies’ lead to 28-14 going into halftime.
With Christian Stewart in for Hill, BYU had a chance to slice into the deficit early in the second half, but a promising drive was halted when Stewart was intercepted by USU’s Torrey Green at the Aggies’ 2-yard line off a deflected pass.
From then on, Garretson, who completed 19-of-25 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns, led a balanced offensive attack the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Utah State defense intercepted Stewart two more times and held the Cougars to only six second half points. Sophomore linebacker Nick Vigil (who also ran for 57 and a score on offense) led the Aggies defense with 16 tackles.
As an independent with a relatively weak schedule, BYU was thought to have a great shot to finish its season without a loss and therefore work its way into the conversation for the first College Football Playoff. With Hill at quarterback, the team showcased a dynamic offense, but beyond the offense’s struggles after Hill’s injury, the Cougars’ defense was its biggest weakness Friday night. A Utah State team that had averaged only 214 passing yards per game coming into Friday night’s game managed to carve up the BYU secondary for 321 yards through the air with a backup quarterback.
In addition to Hill, offensive lineman Brayden Kearsley, defensive back Dallin Leavitt and linebacker Alani Fua, all starters, also went down with injuries against the Aggies. With its next game on the road at UCF less than a week away, it looks like it will be a difficult road ahead for the Cougars.
Utah State could be without Keeton for the rest of the season, but a win like this will undoubtedly give the team a boost as it moves forward in the Mountain West.
For more BYU news, visit CougarNation.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
