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PROVO — BYU’s offensive woes from the past year returned in the Cougars’ home opener Saturday.
Chase Garbers completed 18-of-28 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and backup quarterback Brandon McIlwain ran for 79 yards and a score to lead Cal to a 21-18 road win Saturday night at BYU.
Kanawai Noa caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown for Cal, which outgunned the Cougars 387-287, including a 173-91 yard advantage on the ground.
Squally Canada ran for 49 yards on 16 carries to lead BYU, and Tanner Mangum completed 22-of-41 passes for 196 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Cougars (1-1). Mangum also took two sacks, and only completed two passes during an 11-yard third quarter.
“We made a lot of mistakes, and didn’t have enough time to fix them by the end of the game," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "Cal deserved to win that game; we didn’t help ourselves with some errors and drive killers, though. We have to be better.”
Garbers started Cal’s rotating quarterback carousel, and he opened the scoring by tossing a 25-yard touchdown strike to Laird with 1:46 left in the first quarter.
Cal’s defense nearly picked off Tanner Mangum twice in the first quarter, and the Cougars were lucky to trail just 7-0 after the opening 15 minutes.
BYU out-gained the Bears 193-124 in the first half, but converted just one field goal from 36 yards by Skyler Southam to trail 7-3 at the break.
Cal doubled its scoring output on the first drive of the second half. Garbers completed his second TD strike of the day, a 52-yard strike to Kanawai Noa that saw the junior from Honolulu, Hawaii streak convert a wheel route into six points for a 14-3 lead.
BYU's best offense, at least early, came from its defense.
Dayan Ghanwoloku scored the first touchdown for the Cougars, picking up a loose ball in the third quarter and returning the scoop-and-score 36 yards to the end zone. It was Ghanwoloku's first fumble return for a touchdown in his career, and first touchdown since a pick-six as a freshman in 2015 against Boise State.
Butch Pau’u forced the jarring hit on Cal’s Derrick Clark the caused the fumble, and Ghanwoloku was in the right place to pick up the ball and house it with 10:07 left in the third.
“I give a lot of the credit to Butch, of course," said Ghanwoloku, who also had seven tackles. "I was just in the right spot at the right time, Butch made the play, and I thought I’d take advantage of it.
“That’s why I picked it up and ran it into the end zone.”
Isaiah Kaufusi added another interception — the first of the sophomore’s career — in the third, but BYU’s offense could not convert the turnover into points.
After McIlwain scored on a 2-yard TD plunge to give Cal a 21-10 lead, Ghanwoloku recovered a muffed punt in the fourth quarter. But the short-field drive stalled with an illegal pick play and an interception by Cal’s Traveon Beck.
BYU finally scored an offensive touchdown in the final minute of the game, when Brayden El-Bakri hauled in a touchdown after Dylan Collie brought the Cougars to the one-yard line. Mangum completed the two-point conversion to Micah Simon to pull the Cougars within three, but the ensuing on-side kick attempt was unsuccessful.
But Sitake didn't put the blame on the game's final moments, or even some erratic quarterback play.
"Dropping the ball doesn’t help either, and pass protection wasn’t there," he said. "We were really excited about the O-line, and thought we’d see a physical game — but that was non-existent in the second half. They’re going to be challenged this week, and they’ll respond.
“We have to be better.”
Notes
Southam converted his first field goal, a 36-yard attempt in the second quarter for the Cougars. Southam, a former U.S. Army All-American from Wasatch High, recently returned from a two-year church mission in Santiago, Chile.
Gunner Romney had his first career catch Saturday night. The former four-star wide receiver from Chandler, Arizona hauled in an 18-yard pass from Mangum in the second quarter, one of 12 passes the senior quarterback completed in the first half.
Romney finished with 29 yards on two receptions.
Zayne Anderson, the former safety-turned-linebacker, posted a career-high 11 tackles for the Cougars. Anderson had 10 stops and a tackle for loss in just three quarters of play.
Next up
Cal returns to the Bay Area to host FCS opponent Idaho State next Saturday.
BYU travels to Madison, Wisconsin for an early afternoon kickoff against No. 5 Wisconsin, which routed New Mexico 45-14 earlier Saturday afternoon.
