BYU football: Cougars win big over Idaho State 56-3

PROVO — In what had to be the most unsurprising result of the year, BYU blew out FCS opponent Idaho State, 56-3, Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Teams like BYU aren't supposed to struggle against FCS opponents, and the game saw few, if any, struggles in the Cougars' dominating performance.

Overall, the Cougars provided 572 yards of total offense to Idaho State's 251.

BYU went on top early, benefiting from a blocked punt by Kyle Van Noy, which quarterback Riley Nelson quickly turned into a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ross Apo on BYU's first offensive play from scrimmage to go up 7-0 with 12:16 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bengals responded with a seven-minute, 63-yard drive that culminated with a field goal, but that was as close as they'd come.

The Cougars (6-2) took a 35-3 lead into the halftime locker room.

Nelson led the Cougars to 318 yards to the Bengals' 132 yards.

Nelson was pulled with 6:57 left in the third quarter and with the Cougars up 42-3 after he hit Cody Hoffman in the endzone from 19 yards out for the score.

Nelson finished the day with 11-for-17 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns while running for another 71 yards on seven carries, including a 16-yard touchdown run.

His main targets on the day were Apo and Hoffman, who each caught five passes for 71 yards.

Michael Alisa led all running backs with eight carries for 66 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run early in the first half.

Daniel Sorensen led the defense by picking off a Michael Yost pass and returning it 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:26 left in the third quarter to put BYU up 49-3. Jordan Johnson and Travis Uale also had interceptions.

Former BYU starting quarterback Jake Heaps had mixed results upon entering the game midway through the third quarter. He completed 8-of-10 passes for 67 yards.

He threw and interception on his first drive, but he responded well helping to guide the offense to a seven-play 64-yard scoring drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown run by Joshua Quezada with 7:46 left in the game.

The Cougars travel to Arlington, Texas, next week to take on former conference rival TCU at Cowboys Stadium.

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney

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Idaho State (2-5) at BYU (5-2)

Today, 1 p.m. MT

TV: BYUtv (DirecTV 374, Dish 9403, Comcast 647)

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

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