Estimated read time: 11-12 minutes
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SAN DIEGO — The BYU Cougars headed to usually sunny, but currently rainy San Diego to take on old Mountain West foe Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Storylines consisted of QB Tanner Mangum taking over for an injured Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams playing in his last game as a Cougar. The game didn’t go exactly as most BYU fans had hoped, but despite some ugly play and silly mistakes the Cougars pulled out the victory.
The rain seemed to affect the passing game and a rusty Mangum made a couple of questionable throws. One turned into an easy pick for the Cowboys, but the other turned into a touchdown thanks to several tips and some help from the football gods.
Mangum finished the day with just 96 yards through the air with one crazy TD through the air and another on the ground.While Mangum didn’t have a great game Cougar fans are still excited about the future with the Boise native. Something the BYU faithful will definitely miss next year is the one and only Jamaal Williams.The senior running back had another monster game with 210 yards and a TD. He also had a lost fumble for only the second time in his BYU career, but he didn’t let that slow him down.
Williams was crowned the bowl’s offensive MVP and watched his draft stock rise while even getting some love from some NFL Hall of Famers.As much as Williams' presence will be missed on the offense senior Kai Nacua will be sorely missed on defense.The safety had another great game to end his BYU career with three tackles and the game-sealing interception.
With just over a minute to play and the Cougars leading by three, Wyoming was moving the ball down the field when the Cowboys QB let a ball hang just a little too long. Do that and Nacua will find it and take advantage.
While watching Williams run over people and Nacua seal the deal the real highlight was watching coach Kalani Sitake celebrate following the game-winning interception.In his first year with a tough schedule Sitake did a pretty fantastic job and it’s caught the attention of media and future recruits and has Cougars fans looking forward to the future.The BYU football season is over, but fans have a lot to be excited about as the Cougars finish their season at 9-4 with all four of their losses coming by a combined 8 points.i>John has grown up around movies and annoys friends and family with his movie facts and knowledge. John also has a passion for sports and pretty much anything awesome and it just so happens that these are the three things he writes about.
