Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Howard and West Virginia hold off BYU
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Skyler Howard passed for 332 yards and accounted for two touchdowns and Rasul Douglas returned an interception 54 yards for a score as West Virginia beat BYU 35-32 Saturday to head into Big 12 play unbeaten.
Howard went 31 for 40 with an interception and Rushel Shell had two short TD runs for the Mountaineers (3-0). West Virginia grabbed a 35-19 lead with 11:27 left in the fourth quarter when Howard hit Daikiel Shorts for a 9-yard score.
Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said he could sense his team got too excited about being up 16.
“We have to be one of those teams that’s constantly on the gas pedal and we let up,” West Virginia tackle Kyle Bosch said.
The Cougars scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes to cut their deficit to three with 5:55 remaining and got one last chance to put together a game-winning drive after a miscommunication between Howard and center Tyler Orlosky led to a West Virginia fumble near BYU’s goal line.
Taysom Hill drove BYU to the West Virginia 28, but his last pass to the end zone was tipped away from a receiver by West Virginia’s Nan Kyeremeh and intercepted by Maurice Fleming to seal it.
“When they’re driving down the field, they’re completing things. They’re getting some calls. They’re inching down the field, you’re hoping for another opportunity,” Howard said.
BYU (1-3) has lost three straight by a total of seven points after opening the season with a two-point win on a last second field goal.
BYU was one of 11 teams Big 12 officials met with earlier this month in Dallas as they consider whether to expand the 10team league. The Cougars’ performance on the field against West Virginia is not likely to sway things. If nothing else, their fans did a nice job of showing off the school’s national reach. The lower level of FedEx Field behind the BYU bench was well stocked with the white and blue of the Cougars — despite being 2,000 miles away from their campus in Provo, Utah.
The Big 12 is all about offense, and the Cougars did their best to keep up with the fast-paced Mountaineers. Hill threw for 241 yards and ran for 101 and Jamaal Williams had 169 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, but each of the Cougars’ stars had key turnovers. Hill threw three interceptions, two on tipped passes, and Williams lost a fumble that led to a West Virginia touchdown.
“It’s easy to sit there and say I wish we had done things differently,” Hill said. “That’s kind of like the story of life.”
The takeaway
BYU: The turnovers stand out, and Hill now has thrown seven picks, but this was his best performance of the season. He looked more like his pre-injury self when he leaped into and off of a couple of defenders during a third-quarter run.
West Virginia: The season started with some uncertainty as to what the future holds at WVU for coach Dana Holgorsen. A perfect start with a couple of solid wins against Missouri and BYU is a nice way to turn down the heat.
Up next
BYU: On Friday night, the Cougars play a team from outside the Power Five for the first time this season but Toledo coming to Provo is no break. The Rockets are 3-0 and coming off an open date.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers get Big 12 play started at home against Kansas State on Oct. 1. …
Iowa State 44, San Jose State 10: For once, there wasn’t a quarterback controversy for Iowa State.
The Cyclones excelled behind both Joel Lanning and Jacob Park, who helped deliver first-year coach Matt Campbell’s first win.
Park threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns and Iowa State thumped San Jose State.
Mike Warren rushed for a seasonhigh 103 yards for Iowa State (1-3), which finally had some success rotating Lanning, the starter, and Park.
Lanning was 5 of 8 passing for 136 yards and two TDs. The pair rotated on what appeared to be a pre-planned schedule — and the Spartans couldn’t stop either one of them.
“You can call it a rotation or us competing or whatever you want. But we don’t see it as that. We’re just taking our opportunities that we get and try to execute,” Lanning said. “We just kind of fed off each other.”
The Cyclones needed just 7:51 and 24 plays to put up 23 points — a season high for a game — in the first half. Lanning’s 49-yard TD pass to Deshaunte Jones made it 30-3 early in the second half.
“It was efficient. That’s the thing we have to be to have success,” Campbell said of the offense, which finished with 503 yards.
San Jose State freshman Josh Love threw for 155 yards, but he was also picked off four times. The Spartans (1-3) sorely missed starter Kenny Potter, who was out with a right leg injury.
The takeaway
Iowa State: Campbell has preached about “the process” it takes to be successful from the day he arrived in Ames. The Cyclones finally got to see what he meant on Saturday. Despite some struggles containing the run, Iowa State was the better team on both sides of the ball. For a program that dropped its previous two games by a combined 60 points, that’s progress. “It wasn’t perfect. But I think you saw improvement,” Campbell said.
San Jose State: Love might be good someday for the Spartans. But his interception total didn’t include a handful of picks that Iowa State just missed out on. San Jose State desperately needs a healthy Potter if it hopes to push for a bowl bid.
Park vs. Lanning
Though Lanning has been the starter since the middle of last season, Park has impressed the coaching staff enough to earn snaps. Park, a sophomore, played like a senior against the Spartans. Park’s pocket presence and awareness was fantastic, as was his touch on both short and deep balls. Park got himself in trouble on a few quick tosses that San Jose State’s cornerbacks nearly picked off, but overall he looked like a Big 12 quarterback.
Notables
San Jose State has lost 12 straight regular season games against non-conference FBS opponents. Its last win came at home against BYU four years ago . ... Warren has rushed for 198 yards in his last two games. He had just 58 in his first two . ... Cyclones kicker Cole Netten connected on a 49-yard field goal, his 12th straight dating back to 2015. That’s a new school record. ...Zamore Zigler rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries for San Jose State, which had 177 yards on 47 attempts. Though that looked like a strong effort from Iowa State’s rush defense, the Cyclones allowed three different the Cyclones allowed three different Spartans to pick up 13 or more yards on a single carry.
Up next
Iowa State hosts Baylor, its third opponent to be ranked at some point this season. Both Iowa and TCU, which beat the Cyclones by a combined score of 83-23, dropped out of the Top 25 after early losses.
San Jose State opens Mountain West play when travels to face New Mexico, a matchup of two teams expected to finish in the bottom half of the league. … Kansas State 35, Missouri State 0: Jesse Ertz threw two touchdown passes, Winston Dimel added two touchdown runs and Kansas State beat Missouri State on Saturday night in a game called at halftime as lightning lit up the skies around Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
With rain having already lashed the area and more lightning on the way, Kansas State (2-1) made quick work of the overmatched Bears (2-1). The Wildcats jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and added three more touchdowns by halftime to make it an easy choice to call the game complete.
Ertz was 7 of 8 for 94 yards with TD passes to Byron Pringle and Dominique Heath, and the junior quarterback also ran for 85 yards on just three carries in a Collin Klein-esque performance.
Brodie Lambert and Michael Briggs were a combined 3 for 12 for 24 yards with an interception, and Missouri State only managed four first downs and 54 yards of offense in the first half.
The takeaway
Missouri State: The Bears don’t have to play anymore Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. And they got a nice paycheck for their trip to Manhattan.
Kansas State: The Wildcats once again dominated on defense. They have not allowed an opponent to gain more than 300 yards in their first three games.
Up next
Missouri State: The Bears begin Missouri Valley Conference play at Indiana State.
Kansas State: The Wildcats open their Big 12 schedule next Saturday at West Virginia. The Mountaineers have yet to defeat coach Bill Snyder’s team since joining the league in 2012.