31. 12/21/16 - Poinsettia Bowl: BYU - 24, Wyoming - 21

             After a disappointing beginning to the season (1-3), first-year head coach Kalani Sitake took the BYU Cougars (8-4) to San Diego to play their former conference rivals, the Wyoming Cowboys (8-5), in the Poinsettia Bowl. In addition to trying to get Coach Sitake his first bowl victory, the Cougars were trying to end a 3-game losing streak in bowl games. Ironically, their last bowl victory, had come in their only previous Poinsettia Bowl appearance - a 23-6 win over the SDSU. Unfortunately, star QB Taysom Hill was injured against Utah State in the last game of the regular season. Taking his place would be sophomore QB Tanner Mangum. Although Mangum had an excellent freshman season, he hadn’t started a game all year. The Cowboys, meanwhile, were trying to end a 7-game skid against the team they considered one of their biggest rivals - a rivalry that began in 1922 and would now span 78 contests.

On the initial kickoff, Aleva Hifo found a seam, and returned the ball 39 yards to the BYU 45-yard line. Unfortunately, Mangum couldn’t get anything going and the Cougars had to punt. On their second possession, RB Jamaal Williams, BYU’s all-time leading rusher, busted out a 36-yard run. Unfortunately, on 2nd down, Williams broke free again, but this time, he fumbled the ball and Wyoming recovered. With both teams scoreless late in the first quarter, the Cougar D stopped the Cowboys for the fourth straight time. With the rain coming down in buckets, the Wyoming punter mishandled the snap. Wyoming recovered, but turned the ball over on downs, handing BYU a gift on the Wyoming 3-yard line. On second down, Mangum went back to pass, but saw an opening and scrambled up the middle, diving into the end zone with the first score of the game.

Jamaal Williams Runs for 210 Yards
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Early in the second quarter, Wyoming’s Andrew Wingard intercepted a pass and ran it back 20 yards to the Cougar 39. The Cougars averted disaster when, after forcing a fourth down, Harvey Langi batted down a Cowboy pass on a fake FG attempt. Relying heavily on Williams, the Cougars marched 66 yards on ten plays to the Wyoming 9. From there, Rhett Almond booted a 27-yard FG, giving the Cougs a 10-point lead at halftime.

The Cowboys came out of the break with a 60-yard TD drive, extended by a fourth down quick-snap quarterback sneak, and ended with a 4-yard power rush by Wyoming star RB Brian Hill to cut the lead to three. The Cougars responded on their next possession. Beginning on their own 27, the Cougars quickly drove up the field to the Cowboys’ 5-yard line on a 39-yard pass to Nick Kurtz. On third down, Mangum ducked away from the blitzing Cowboys, then lofted a floater into the middle of the end zone. The pass bounced off multiple players' hands before coming to rest in the arms of Tanner Balderree in the back of the end zone. Late in the third, Dayan Lake picked off a Cowboy pass, giving the Cougars the ball at their own 45, leading by ten.

On third-and-six, early in the fourth quarter, Jamaal Williams scampered up the right sideline for a 36-yard TD in his final game as a Cougar. Up by 17, BYU fans started to breath easier; but the Cowboys weren’t done. On their first drive of the fourth, they drove 76 yards on 14 plays, punctuated by a 9-yard TD pass by Josh Allen to Tanner Gentry in the back of the end zone. The Cowboys completed a third-and-20 on their next drive to keep their hopes alive with less than four minutes to play. Allen and Gentry connected for another touchdown, this one a 23-yard pass on a broken play to pull within three with 2:11 left to play. After Mangum was sacked at the BYU 10, on third down, the Cougars were forced to punt. Wyoming fans were charged up as the Cowboys took over near midfield with 1:44 to play, and drove to the BYU 32. Senior DB Kai Nacua made a career of being in the right place at the right time. This time he picked off a pass headed for the end zone to preserve the 24-21 victory. It was his sixth interception of the year, and fourteenth of his stellar career.

Kai Nacua's Game-Saving Interception
Courtesy of BYU Photo

The Cougars finished Coach Sitake’s first season with an impressive 9-4 record. Jamaal Williams gained 210 yards for his team-record 16th career game with 100+ rushing yards. He finished his BYU career with a team record 3,901 career rushing yards.

Game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z37XqoC_vkQ

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