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ATLANTA — The BYU Cougars traveled to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets just a week after they missed a huge opportunity to beat No.5 Notre Dame in South Bend.
Mendenhall had his crew focused and they delivered on both offense and defense to dismantle the high-powered running attack of Georgia Tech.
"I admit. I was wrong about my prediction of this game. Hats off to coaches & players for outstanding preparation & execution. #BYU," tweeted @5lbtrout.
That was the feeling of a lot of people after coming off a tough loss and then staying on the road against a BCS team. Besides a few mistakes the Cougars owned the entire game on both offense and defense.
Riley Nelson gave up a pick six, but other than that he made some good decisions and kept the Cougars offense on the field. But despite his solid performance people were still critical of the QB.
"When Riley Nelson doesn't lose games, everyone else is good enough to win them," tweeted @rakoto10.
"Stat of the year for #BYU: Riley Nelson 8 passing TD's, 11 INT. He almost has as many pick 6's as he does touchdowns," tweeted @brianspittler.
Nelson had his flaws, but he did what he needed to do to help the Cougars not only win on the road, but win big.
The defense also had a huge day giving up only three points despite Georgia Tech scoring 17 points. The two touchdowns came off of a pick six and a kickoff return.
"For all the #naysayers #BYU defense allowed 3 points today. An shut down #3 rushing attack in the nation. That's our defense," tweeted @Matt_Quinney.
"Crazy to me that there were hand-wringers about BYU's defense throughout the week. Amazing performance," tweeted @VanquishTheFoe.
While the defense was great and Nelson and his receivers were solid, it was running back Jamaal Williams day.
"Nothing like watching a 17yr. old run all over your defense!!!! BYU are a class act!...#Horriblehomecomingscheduling," tweeted@ACCPastor.
"Man, Williams is the real deal for #BYU. Nice to see a good running back emerging," tweeted @RileyJensen.
"What's the record for td's by a 17 year old at #BYU? Believe the hype! Jamaal Williams!" tweeted @tsperkins.
"Jamaal Williams finishes with 161 total yards and four touchdowns," tweeted KSL's @JJSportsBeat. "One shy of the BYU record for touchdowns scored in a game. #star."
BYU is now one win short of becoming bowl eligible and their next matchup is against Idaho for their last home game of the season.
