BYU football: Cougars and Oregon State tied at halftime, 14-14

PROVO — BYU and Oregon State are tied, 14-14, at halftime of Saturday’s football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Quarterback Riley Nelson led the Cougars with 123 passing yards and 39 rushing yards. BYU’s Cody Hoffman caught seven passes for 58 yards.

Junior signal caller Cody Vaz sparked the Beavers, completing 12-of-18 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite targets included Markus Wheaton (five catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns) and Brandin Cooks (three receptions, 73 yards).

Oregon State received the opening kickoff and quickly marched down the field. Vaz was 5 for 5 for 75 passing yards on the drive, which culminated with an 11-yard scoring strike to Wheaton for a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars, however, answered right back with their own scoring drive. Riley Nelson completed 5-of-6 passes for 48 yards, and BYU tied the score at 7-7 when freshman running back Jamaal Williams ran for a 1-yard touchdown.

After both teams traded punts, the Beavers needed only two long Vaz passes to cover 67 yards. Wheaton’s 24-yard touchdown catch with three minutes remaining in the first quarter put the Beavers back ahead, 14-7.

Midway through the second quarter, BYU took possession at the Oregon State 30-yard line. The Cougars needed 12 plays and three fourth-down conversions to cover that distance, but Nelson’s 2-yard toss to Devin Mahina evened the game at 14-14.

Jamshid Ghazi Askar is a graduate of BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School and member of the Utah State Bar. Contact him at jaskar@desnews.com or 801-236-6051.