BYU’s First Half Against UMass Ties Team Record For Points

AMHERST, Ma. – BYU’s offense was rolling against the UMass Minutemen on Saturday.

The Cougars scored 49 points in the first half in Amherst, which tied a team record for the most points in a half by a BYU team against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. Last time BYU scored 49 against an FBS foe was in 2001 against the Tulane Green Wave in Gary Crowton’s debut as head coach.

49 points by #BYU is the most points scored in a half by the Cougars against an FBS team since Tulane in 2001 (Gary Crowton's debut).#BYUFootball #KSLsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 23, 2019

Prior to that was a 49-point half in the 1989 rivalry game against Utah with Ty Detmer as the quarterback. In both games, BYU scored 70 points in those historic offensive performances.

How many points will the Cougars score against the Minutemen? There’s still another half of football to find out.

The highest amount of points the Cougars have ever scored in a half was five years ago against Football Championship Subdivision foe Savannah State. In that game, BYU scored 51 points en route to a 64-0 drubbing of Savannah State.

.@BYUfootball scores 42 points in the second quarter alone, and leads #UMass 49-0 at the half. All #GoCougs in this one. Total domination.

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 23, 2019

During BYU’s first half, the Cougars racked up 147 yards on the ground, 293 through the air, for a total of 440 yards in the first 30 minutes. The 440 yards is the fourth most yards in one half of football for a BYU football team.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.