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LANDOVER, Md. — BYU showed off more offense in its fourth game of the season.
But West Virginia showed off a little more.
The Mountaineers piled up 481 yards of total offense to BYU’s 521 to send the Big 12 newcomers to a 35-32 win over the expansion hopefuls at FedEx Field on Saturday afternoon.
Skyler Howard threw for 332 yards and a touchdown, and Rushell Shell added 35 yards and two scores on the ground for West Virginia (3-0).
Jamaal Williams led BYU with 169 yards and two touchdowns, and Taysom Hill supplied 241 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions through the air.
Hill tossed an 18-yard touchdown strike to Moroni Laulu-Pututau to pulled BYU within a field goal, 35-32 with 5:55 left in the game.
Just as West Virginia jumped into the red zone with just over two minutes left, Francis Bernard pounced on a fumble in the back field, but Hill threw his third interception of the game to give West Virginia the victory.
Here are a few quick thoughts as the Cougars fall to 1-3 on the season.
West Virginia offense > BYU defense
After keeping BYU in three-straight games to start the 2016 season, BYU’s defensive players gave up more in the fourth contest of the season, albeit against a high-octane West Virginia offense that averaged 32 points per game and was coming off a bye week.
Quarterback Skyler Howard, who sustained a rib injury in the Mountaineers’ season opener, showed off his arm against the BYU secondary. The senior signal caller threw for 332 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 27 yards and another score as West Virginia didn’t trail beyond the second quarter.
Howard was allowed to operate almost uninhibited, and the BYU defense only forced three tackles for loss with one sack on the afternoon. The lack of quarterback pressure was startling for a BYU defensive line that consistently pressured even the best quarterbacks on is schedule to date, such as Utah’s Troy Williams and UCLA’s Josh Rosen. More shocking was the lack of pressure in the return of defensive tackle Travis Tuiloma, who made his (limited) return from a Lisfranc injury in the second quarter.
Known for its sure tackling, BYU defenders missed several elusive WVU receivers. Fred Warner led all tacklers with 14, Kai Nacua had six, and Butch Pau’u added five tackles and his first career interception.
Jamaal Williams’ swag day
BYU’s offense received a boost in the former of running back Jamaal Williams, who continued his pregame ritual of throwing passes to fans in the stadium with a standout day on the ground. His first attempt carved up the middle of West Virginia’s defense for 11 yards, and he didn’t stop there.
Williams, who ran for just 28 net yards on 14 carries in the 17-14 loss to UCLA, finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He had 101 yards on just 9 carries in the first quarter.
The running back also passed his current coach, Reno Mahe, for No. 11 on BYU’s all-time career yardage with a first half that put him over the 3,460-yard mark.
Lost Oldroyd, found special teams
Before the game even started, BYU was down significant firepower in its quest to score as much as the high-powered West Virginia offense. Freshman kicker Jake Oldroyd, who nailed the game-winner against Arizona, did not make the trip after picking up an injury against UCLA.
In addition, offensive lineman Ului Lapuaho did not play and his spot in the interior space was filled by freshman Thomas Shoaf.
To be fair, Rhett Almond filled in admirably for Oldroyd, converting on both of his field goal attempts for six points. Special teams didn’t lose the game for BYU, which reeled off its longest kick return of the season Saturday.
