A Completion By Completion Look At Wilson’s Flawless Bowl Performance
Dec 22, 2018, 5:56 PM
BOISE, Idaho – BYU true freshman quarterback Zach Wilson caught the nation’s attention with a perfect 18-for-18 throwing performance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Wilson’s stellar play led to a 49-18 win for BYU over Western Michigan.
Pumped we ended it the right way. Love my brothers. Until next year Cougar Nation✊ pic.twitter.com/NsrTIGLqk3
— Zachary Wilson (@zachkapono) December 22, 2018
Here’s a look at Wilson’s amazing game, completion by completion:
Completion No. 1
After the Cougars forced a turnover on downs on Western Michigan’s first drive of the game, BYU took over on the 20-yard line.
Wilson completed a pass to Aleva Hifo for 15 yards on the Cougars’ first offensive play of the game.
On the next set of downs, the Cougars were forced to punt and the Broncos took over on their own 14-yard line.
Completion No. 2
After Western Michigan kicked a poor punt, putting BYU on their 27-yard line, Wilson and company worked quickly for the game’s first score.
After a one yard rush by Brayen El-Bakri on first down, Wilson and Dylan Collie connected for a 26-yard touchdown strike to put the Cougars up 7-0 with 2:21 remaining in the first period.
26-yard dart from Wilson ➡️ Collie!!
BYU 7 – 0 WMU | 1Q 2:20#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/upXnl5s4eX
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 21, 2018
Completion No. 3
After Western Michigan punted again and gives BYU the ball on the 22-yard line, Wilson and the offense took over again.
On the first play of the drive, Wilson and Collie combined again for a 12-yard gain.
Completion No. 4
On third down with six yards to go, Wilson found Matt Bushman for an eight-yard gain to move the chains and keep the drive alive.
Completion No. 5
A holding penalty on first down gave the BYU a long ways to go for first down. Wilson scrambled on first and second down to cut it to third and six.
Wilson then found Talon Shumway for a five-yard gain.
On fourth down and with one yard to go, Wilson was stuffed for a two-yard loss to surrender the ball.
Completion No. 6
On second down and eight yards to go for a first down, Wilson hit Bushman for a 19-yard gain to collect a new set of downs.
Completion No. 7
With a new set of downs, Wilson lost yardage after his completion to Tyler Allgeier, who was stopped three yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Completion No. 8
Alligeier gained some yards back with a six yard rush on second down, and Wilson moved the chains again with a 13-yard pass to Shumway for another first down. It would be the final completion of the first half for Wilson.
Completion No. 9
The Cougars received the opening kickoff, trailing 10-7.
On the first play of the new half, Wilson found Neil Pau’u for a monstrous 48-yard gain to put the ball on the Western Michigan 21-yard line.
Completion No. 10
Nearly inside the red zone, Wilson and Bushman hooked up for a nine yard gain.
Completion No. 11
After a pair of Broncos penalties advanced the ball to the eight yard line, Wilson and Collie connected for their second touchdown of the game to retake the lead at 14-10.
Wilson came to play 😤
11-11 for 160 yards and 2 TDs so far#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/7TSbSC7jIl
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 21, 2018
Completion No. 12
Following an 11-yard rush by Wilson to collect a first down on the Cougars’ next possession, Wilson completed another pass to Collie for a six yard gain.
Completion No. 13
With four yards to go on second down, Wilson dished it out to Dallin Holker, who gathered 20 yards to move the ball past the 50 and into Broncos territory.
On the next play, Riley Burt scrambled into the end zone on a 37-yard scamper. BYU led 21-10.
Completion No. 14
A Western Michigan fumble gave the ball back to BYU, who gave up a seven yard sack on Wilson on the first play of the possession.
On the very next play, Wilson had his biggest completion of the day, a 70-yard touchdown bomb to Hifo. With the completion, Wilson tied Steve Sarkisian and Steve Young for consecutive completions in a game.
BYU held a 28-10 lead.
70 yards is a career long for both Hifo and Wilson. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) December 21, 2018
Completion No. 15
Wilson set the new school record on the first play of the next possession with a nine yard completion to Pau’u. He was tackled at the 23 yard line, but a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the 11-yard line.
Dayan Ghanwoloku ended the drive with a one-yard run to put up BYU 35-10.
Wilson: 15-15, 265 yards, and 3 TDs through 3 quarters
The next 3 years are gunna be good 😏#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/yYj6fNdUh5
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 21, 2018
Completion No. 16
On first down near midfield, Wilson and Bushman linked up for a 16-yard gain to move past the 50 and to the Western Michigan 38-yard line.
Completion No. 17
Arguably one of Wilson’s best completions came on the next play when he dropped a dime down the right sideline to Collie for a 31-yard gain.
Completion No. 18
Wilson’s final completion of the game put BYU up 42-10 when he found Dax Milne for a five yard TD.
Wilson ➡️ Milne for 6️⃣
BYU has scored 35 unanswered in the 2nd half
BYU 42 – 10 WMU | 4Q 11:38#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/NdGTnevHMX
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 21, 2018
Zach Wilson with his 18th consecutive completion of the game (18 of 18) owns the new BYU record for consecutive completions in a single game. Previous high was 14 set by Steve Sarkisian (Fresno State 1995) and Steve Young (Wyoming 1982) #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) December 21, 2018
Sitake Speaks On Wilson’s Big Day
Following his 18th completion, Wilson was pulled from the game in favor of senior Tanner Magnum, who threw for a touchdown on the next BYU drive.
On his quarterback’s performance, head coach Kalani Sitake said “It was good to see Zach just throw it and let loose. I’ve mentioned that he’s a gunslinger, and that’s kind of what we need to let him.”
