Neil Pau’u Among Top Observations From BYU Win Over Arizona
Sep 5, 2021, 1:25 AM | Updated: 3:02 am
BYU WR Neil Pau’u dives for a touchdown (Courtesy of BYU Photo)
(Courtesy of BYU Photo)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The BYU football team survived a third quarter scare from the Arizona Wildcats to win their first game of the 2021 season 24-16.
This was the largest crowd ever for a football game in the state of Nevada with an announced attendance of 54,541 fans inside Allegiant stadium.
BYU had sizeable home field advantage in the desert. It made a difference during the second half when Arizona missed two field goals.
Victory formation. #BYU is 1-0.#BYUvsAZ #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/YNxtj5uAFx
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 5, 2021
It’s going to be difficult to choose three, but here are my observations from the desert.
1. Neil Pau’u is clearly WR1
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick referred to Neil Pau’u as one of the most “underrated” players in the program in fall camp.
I don’t think he’ll be underrated anymore after his performance against the Wildcats.
Pau’u was the best receiver on the field by a wide margin hauling in eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
The Pass ➡️ The Catch pic.twitter.com/tkwBc03vW9
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 5, 2021
BYU needed a monster performance from Pau’u with the injuries to the Nacua brothers and Gunner Romney, who suffered a leg injury in the first half.
Chris Jackson and Keanu Hill filled in nicely for the injured wide receivers, but it was Pau’u who stole the show in the pass game.
Arizona has physical defenders, but Pau’u was open often. Hall targeted him 11 times.
The wide receiver depth is real in Cougar country, but don’t sleep on number two.
2. Jaren Hall looked comfortable
Things didn’t start pretty for Jaren Hall. At one point in the first quarter he was 2 of 7 passing for 11 yards.
It’s understandable that the offense got off to a slow start. The atmosphere to begin the game was unreal inside Allegiant stadium. Players admitted to early game jitters in the post game pressers.
Hall finished the game throwing 18 for 28 with 198 yards and two touchdown passes. He rushed for 44 yards as well. Most of them coming on a broken play that he turned into a 39 yard scamper down the Arizona sideline.
The most important stat in a close game, however, was zero turnovers.
Zach Wilson just now on ESPN talking about Jaren Hall: “Dude is a great player. He’s going to get better every single week. He’s got all the tools. I’m excited to see where it takes him.”@kslsports #BYU #BYUFootball
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) September 5, 2021
This was the first game he started and finished healthy. That’s a positive sign for BYU heading into rivalry week.
3. Blitzing from the linebackers
The linebackers registered several sacks against an experienced Arizona offense.
Kalani Sitake joked in his postgame press conference that he doesn’t want any complaints about blitzes from the second level.
Late in the third quarter Payton Wilgar came flying up the middle to sack Gunner Cruz and the Wildcats out of field goal range.
Unfortunately that led to a fantastic punt and BYU safety that changed the game.
Ilaisa Tuiaki's defense: 3 sacks
Dr. Blitz's defense: 0 sacks#BYU #BYUvsAZ #BYUFootball— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 5, 2021
Keenan Pili had an outstanding game as well for Ilaisa Tuiaki. He set a new career high in tackles with 17.
Ben Bywater got the start in place for an injured Max Tooley pulling down 10 tackles.
That trio combined for 36 tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss.
Linebacker “U” is becoming a real thing.
LB Keenan Pili has a career high 17 total tackles. It is the most tackles in a game since LB Sione Takitaki posted 19 in the 2018 Potato Bowl against Western Michigan. #BYUFootball
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) September 5, 2021
It wasn’t all positive for the Cougars in Vegas.
There was a scary injury to Keenan Ellis in the first quarter that delayed the game for over 15 minutes.
He was taken to a local trauma center for further testing. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.
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.
