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PROVO — BYU recorded its largest margin of victory this year in its last home game of the season Saturday afternoon, earning a 64-0 win over FCS opponent Savannah State.
On a rainy day at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Cougars celebrated Senior Day with an easy win, despite some sloppy play.
The victory extended BYU’s winning streak to three games, moving the Cougars to 7-4 after they fell to .500 during a four-game skid.
BYU wraps up the regular season at Cal (5-5) next week before traveling to Florida for the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl Dec. 22.
Christian Stewart: One of the 26 seniors competing in their final contest in Provo, Stewart needed barely more than one quarter — 19:52 of game time to be exact — to go 12 of 17 for 196 yards passing and four touchdowns, while running five times for 44 yards and two touchdowns.
Rest for the starters: With their last chance to add to their 2-0 mark this season against power conference opponents looming, the Cougars needed just one half to put the Tigers away. The dominant efforts allowed coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff to rest the majority of their starters after going up 49-0 with 4:12 left in the second quarter.
Defense: Mendenhall and defensive coordinator Nick Howell’s focus for this group in hosting Savannah State was simple, even though it was something BYU hadn’t accomplished it all season: shut out the opposition. The defense held the Tigers to a school-record 63 yards and finished with two sacks, five tackles for loss, and interception and two forced fumbles.
Special teams: This unit made plays, namely a blocked punt for a safety and four punt returns of 11 yards or more, but it wasn’t without blemishes versus the weakest competition the Cougars have seen. Two muffed punts could’ve meant new sets of downs for Savannah State in BYU territory. Luckily, the Cougars pounced on each. BYU can’t afford to make mistakes like these against Cal.
Ball security: The Cougars fumbled five times. Fortunately, they recovered four of them. A wet football certainly complicates the issue. Still, a team doesn’t usually win when it can’t hold onto the ball. It didn’t cost BYU Saturday, but fumbling five times usually makes it extremely difficult to escape with the fewest turnovers.
Announced attendance: Although it was the home finale, no one really expected throngs of fans to show up on a cold day as the Cougars played a winless FCS team. Most of LaVell Edwards Stadium was open for guests to sit almost anywhere they liked and yet attendance was announced at 52,123. Unless each visitor was counted twice for braving the elements, it’s hard to imagine that that many people made it into the stadium.
