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PROVO — On homecoming night, the Mississippi State Bulldogs came into Provo and gave us one of the most exciting BYU games of the year.
The night was filled with frustrations, big plays, broken records and two overtimes.
The Cougars may not be undefeated or even ranked in the top 25, but they may be the most entertaining team in college football right now.
Truth is I don’t even know where to start with this game. The Cougars were actually the favorite heading into the game with the SEC foe, but the offense we’ve seen the last two weeks for BYU didn’t seem to show up this time. Instead we got a pretty good defensive performance and a shaky offensive one.
While the offense struggled for much of the game, it made plays when it had to, and Taysom Hill reminded us that he has the strength of a bear.
Hill ended the night with 165 yards through the air with three TDs and one INT. He also had 54 yards rushing and one TD. That one came in overtime on a third and 3 to send the game into its second overtime.
More happened on that drive that we need to talk about, but we’ll get there.
The defense had an up and down night. On one drive it looked totally inept and the Mississippi State receivers did whatever they wanted.
Then it seemed every time the Bulldogs were in a third and long situation they converted at will.
But the Cougar defense bounced back in the second half and came up with some great stops and forced two turnovers.
There were also these two picks that are some of the most athletic plays I’ve seen in a long time. One came from Micah Hanneman and the other Kai Nacua, who now has five on the season.
The game went back and forth and back and forth until time expired and we headed to overtime. Mississippi State had the ball to start and scored on a broken play to go up seven.
The BYU offense then stepped on the field and started moving the ball thanks to Jamaal Williams, who broke the all-time rushing record at BYU with a run on that drive. LaVell Edwards Stadium erupted and it seemed to give some life to the Cougars.
Congrats to Jamaal and his accomplishment. It’s well earned.
After that moment, however, and before the touchdown, BYU was inches away from losing the game when Hill fumbled the ball. Thankfully, Tanner Balderree was able to scoop up the loose ball and run it to get close to a first down.
It should also be noted that Williams managed to run back across the field and lay a great block on a Bulldog to give Balderree a few extra yards.
After that, Hill scored and thanks to a successful, but closer than we’d like PAT, BYU went into a second overtime. The Cougars started out with the ball this time and Balderee stepped up again when Hill hit him for a 25-yard TD on the first play.
After that it was Mississippi State’s turn and the BYU defense got them to a fourth and 9 situation and the game came down to one final play.
The defense managed to pressure the QB, who delivered a ball to the end zone, but Fred Warner was there and broke up the pass and sealed the Cougar win.
The Cougars are now 4-3 on the season with wins against the Pac-12, the Big 10, and now the SEC. Up next for the Cougars is a tough one in Boise as they take on the Boise State Broncos next Thursday night.
John Clyde has been writing about movies, news, sports and pretty much anything awesome for more than five years. John is the co-host of the Flix Junkies podcast and will always entertain you with his stories.
