USF’s Michel Dukes is tripped up throughout BYU’s season opener towards USF on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Robert W. Grover, for the Deseret Information
TAMPA, Fla. — The 2022 BYU Cougars proved to be well worth the wait, and never for simply eight months after a tortuously lengthy offseason — however for an extra two and a half hours on opening day.
Certain, there have been some hiccups after the opening kickoff was pushed again by a two-hour, 34-minute climate delay, however for essentially the most half, No. 25 BYU performed and acted the a part of a extremely good faculty soccer staff Saturday in entrance of an introduced crowd of 31,521 at Raymond James Stadium.
The Cougars rolled to a 50-21 win over South Florida after scoring the sport’s first 38 factors in arguably their most dominant half for the reason that 2020 opener at Navy.
BYU is now 6-1 in season openers below Kalani Sitake. Hey, these guys may be fairly good, however actual barometers come the following two weeks within the type of Baylor and Oregon.
“We all know how good we're, and we all know how good we will be. We simply gotta keep hungry.” — BYU operating again Lopini Katoa
Some puzzled how the Cougars would deal with the famed Florida humidity, the warmth, the two-hour time change and all of the unknowns surrounding the new-look Bulls. They handed with flying colours, proving their rating correct and expectations for one more sturdy season on level.
“Simply actually completely satisfied,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake stated. “We're 1-0 and looking out ahead to transferring on and yeah, … nice method to begin a sport.”
And a season.
In placing a fifty-burger on the Bulls, the Cougars rolled up 575 yards of offense and held USF to below 300. They took an enormous lead and coasted residence — simply what Sitake needed to see.
In brief, there was little or no to nitpick about, aside from the kickoff protection staff that allowed USF’s Jimmy Horn Jr. to return a kickoff 89 yards for a TD and one other one to midfield that led to the Bulls’ third landing.
“For essentially the most half, protection holding them to 14 factors, I'm actually pleased with that,” Sitake stated. “Particular groups giving them seven factors, I don’t like that. … And I believed with the offense we might have scored somewhat extra.”
Maybe as a result of the Cougars have been nonetheless on the stadium some eight hours after they arrived — due to the sport not kicking off till 4:36 p.m. MDT (6:36 within the East), BYU’s celebration after the victory was considerably muted.
Working again Lopini Katoa, who had 10 carries for 55 yards, stated his teammates within the postgame locker room have been pleased with the win, however removed from happy.
“We all know how good we're, and we all know how good we will be,” Katoa stated. “We simply gotta keep hungry.”
Not like final 12 months, when BYU jumped out to a 21-0 lead over the Bulls and sputtered within the second half earlier than finally taking a 35-27 win, Sitake stored the pedal down many of the means, and his guys delivered.
Other than these kickoff returns and USF’s 84-yard landing drive on the finish of the primary half — which solely lower BYU’s result in 31 — there wasn’t a lot for BYU followers to get upset about.
“There are locations we will enhance,” Sitake stated. “Obtained sloppy within the second half. …. Too many penalties.”
Really, that they had simply two penalties all sport. He’s a troublesome man to please, evidently.
Fifth-year junior quarterback Jaren Corridor completely out-dueled Baylor switch Gerry Bohanon, finishing 25 of 32 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns for a passer ranking of 161. That’s stable.
Bohanon, who guided Baylor’s 38-24 win over BYU final 12 months in Waco, confirmed he’s common when taking part in with a mean staff. He was 17 of 30 for 172 yards and no TDs and gave up a pick-six to BYU’s Max Tooley.
Corridor did throw a choose that value BYU factors, as Mekhi LaPointe intercepted a toss on the objective line.
“I had an errant throw and a nasty learn,” Corridor acknowledged.
In any other case, he was his regular self, dashing for 17 yards and avoiding sacks.
Corridor stated “all of the discuss was going towards us” main as much as the sport, and the Cougars answered all of the questions.
With BYU taking part in with out star receiver Gunner Romney — Corridor let it slip that the staff knew all week that Romney wouldn’t play — and Puka Nacua leaving the sport with an ankle sprain earlier than halftime, a bunch of different guys stepped up in an enormous means.
Corridor accomplished passes to 12 completely different pass-catchers, with Kody Epps main the way in which with 4.
“That was one among my favourite components of tonight,” Corridor stated.
The Cougars couldn’t have requested for a greater begin, the Bulls couldn’t have had nightmares a couple of worse one after the prolonged delay. Out of the locker rooms after the delay, USF seemed energetic and enthused, whereas the Cougars seemed virtually torpid. Then the sport began.
On the primary play of the season/sport, Nacua took a fly sweep operating to his left, bought blocks from Masen Wake and Chris Brooks, and sprinted previous the USF secondary for a 75-yard landing.
Nacua additionally scored BYU’s second TD, punching it in from the 5 to make it 14-0 lower than seven minutes into the sport. The group was shocked.
Tooley’s pick-six of Bohanon two performs from scrimmage later made it 21-0, and the Cougars have been rolling. The Bountiful Excessive product stated he returned a pair picks for touchdowns in highschool, however Saturday’s felt good as a result of towards Washington a couple of years in the past, he took plenty of ribbing for “diving” throughout the objective line when he was on the 5.
“We took the problem and fought exhausting and got here out on prime,” Tooley stated.
Brooks’ 40-yard run arrange the Cougars’ fourth landing, a 21-yard throw from Corridor to Keanu Hill.
BYU’s 28 factors within the first quarter tied a program file.
The Cougars stored coming, at the same time as Nacua went out for good with a sprained ankle with about six minutes left within the first quarter. Specializing in tight ends Dallin Holker, Isaac Rex and Wake, Corridor drove the Cougars 65 yards for a fifth TD halfway via the second quarter.
His 12-yard TD throw to Holker made it 35-0.
BYU’s offense punted as soon as within the first half — Sitake efficiently went for it on fourth-and-2 from his personal 43 on the second possession — however did have one different iffy possession within the first half after USF’s fourth-and-4 go fell incomplete.
BYU bought the ball to the USF 14, however two performs misplaced 7 yards and Corridor needed to throw the ball away on third-and-18. Jake Oldroyd’s 39-yard subject objective made it 38-0.
Nacua’s 75-yard TD run was BYU’s first rating on the primary play of the season since Bob Jensen threw a 73-yard TD go to Richard Zayas in 1987.
“I believe these guys have been prepared for something,” Sitake stated. “We have been prepared for the warmth. We have been prepared for the 4 p.m. (EDT) kickoff. … To have our trainers, sports activities scientists, nutritionists all work collectively and collaborate (in the course of the delay) was good to see.”
The Cougars’ protection performed virtually flawlessly till the top of the primary half, when USF went on an 84-yard landing drive within the closing minutes. A 50-yard strike from Bohanon to Xavier Weaver bought the Bulls into BYU territory, and Jared Mangham’s TD dive on fourth-and-goal from the 1 lastly put the Bulls on the scoreboard.
“Giving up that rating within the first half, I didn’t like,” Sitake stated. “We simply bought sloppy with our approach and had some missed assignments we have to repair.”
After Horn’s TD and a security that was produced when a punt snap sailed out of the top zone, BYU regained the momentum when Brooks went 52 yards for a rating, channeling his interior Tyler Allgeier, and the Cougars might begin making ready for Saturday’s residence opener towards Baylor.