Three Observations From BYU’s Comeback Win In Houston

PROVO, Utah – The BYU Cougars ripped off 29 unanswered points to defeat the Houston Cougars in a wild game that featured some truly bizarre moments.

Zach Wilson was magical all night long, but especially in the second half. He threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns leading BYU back from 12 point deficit.

The Cougars were short-handed versus Houston. Gunner Romney and James Empey left the game with injuries.

This is the finest moment in the career of Zach Wilson.

He had to shoulder the load with key players injured. Center change late in the first half.

Absolutely incredible performance when #BYU needed it most. #BYUFOOTBALL

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) October 17, 2020

Because of those injuries, I believe this is the finest performance in the career of Zach Wilson. When stepped up big when the Cougars needed him most.

With that being said, here are my three observations from a thrilling win in Houston.

1. Dax Milne career night

Dax Milne has become one of the Cougars best wide receivers. A former walk-on, Milne is irreplaceable in this offense. He finished the game with nine receptions for 184 yards and three touchdowns.

He made a nice contested catch to the start the game, resulting in a 78 yard touchdown.

You probably don’t remember this play, but he had a sweet one handed grab early in the third quarter that went unnoticed because it was just a routine six yard catch for Milne.

As a freshman, I believed he would become the next slot receiver after Aleva Hifo. He’s become much more than that.

He displayed his versatilely and route running skills on his third touchdown reception of the game. Beating his man in coverage, Zach Wilson hit him perfectly in stride for the game-clinching touchdown.

🚨 3 TD DAY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/CsfYYLEGEB

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) October 17, 2020

2. Line of scrimmage struggles

Momentum switched in the second quarter as Houston took the lead 17-14. Zach Wilson led a nice drive that unfortunately stalled inside the red zone. Kalani Sitake went for it on 4th down but Masen Wake was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

I didn’t like the decision to go for it. James Empey left the field a few plays prior due to injury. Joe Tukuafu is doing a nice job as his back-up, but he’s not of the same caliber. Tristen Hoge wasn’t available as well, so the Cougars were missing two of their better offensive lineman.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and there was another moment that required push from the offensive line. Third and one from the Houston 45 yard line. The hand off to Tyler Allgeier went nowhere and the Cougars had to punt.

Until the offense line is fully healthy, it’s probably best to abandon smash mouth football in short yard situations.

3. Jake Oldroyd’s foot

It’s a shame that ESPN was focused on the Zach Wilson phone call to Aaron Roderick when Jake Oldroyd kicked the most impressive onside kick in BYU history. That might be overselling it, but the angle and trajectory on that kick was a thing of beauty.

Did it result in points? Sadly, no. But that allowed the BYU defense more time to rest and adjust after the lead was trimmed to single digits.

Talmage Gunther making the play of his career recovering that onside kick. Was named special teams MVP out of fall camp. Former QB in high school, he's a great athlete.#BYUvsHOU #BYU #BYUFootball

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 17, 2020

Jake Oldroyd is a real weapon. He’s perfect on field goals and his kick-off ability has been praised by Ed Lamb.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter here.