No. 8 BYU routs overmatched North Alabama to improve to 9-0
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Tyler Allgeier ran for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns and No. 8 BYU routed overmatched North Alabama 66-14 on Saturday to improve to 9-0.
Allgeier had his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Zach Wilson threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns before halftime and added 33 yards rushing. He had a season-high 256.3 QB rating.
BYU scored touchdowns on all six first-half drives. The Cougars rolled up 394 total yards and averaged 11.3 yards per play before halftime.
Rett Files threw for 198 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (0-4). Files played during the second and fourth quarters while starting quarterback Blake Dever took snaps in the first and third quarters. Dever threw for 107 yards.
Wilson hit Gunner Romney with a 50-yard pass in double coverage on the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage to set up a 2-yard scoring toss to Isaac Rex that put BYU up 7-0.
Allgeier scored on 2-yard runs on each of BYU’s next two drives. His longest run of the day, a 39-yard sprint down the sideline, set up a 19-yard pass from Wilson to Neil Pau’u on the next play that gave the Cougars a four-touchdown lead.
Isaiah Kaufusi scooped up a fumble and returned it 50 yards to set up a 3-yard TD catch from Isaac Rex, extending the lead to 35-0.
North Alabama finally got on the board with a 2-yard run from Ja’Won Howell with 1:37 left in the first half. Any momentum gained from the touchdown was short-lived. Wilson tossed a 58-yard pass to Dax Milne to open BYU’s ensuing drive. It set up a 22-yard score on a screen pass to Kavika Fonua that gave BYU a 42-7 lead going into halftime.
North Alabama allowed only 21 total first-half points in its first three games and held all three of those earlier opponents scoreless in the first quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
North Alabama: The Lions never seriously threatened BYU. Their defense could not get stops and their offense struggled to extend drives when it mattered.
BYU: The Cougars coasted over an overmatched FCS opponent. BYU did not punt for the first time until the third quarter and scored its most points in a game since beating Wagner 70-6 in 2015.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Obliterating an FCS opponent isn’t likely to move the needle for BYU in the AP Top 25 Poll.
UP NEXT
North Alabama: Completed its fall schedule, going winless in four games.
BYU: Hosts San Diego State on Dec. 12.
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