LARAMIE, Wyo. (ABC4 Sports) – BYU had it going on offense, defense and special teams in a 34-14 blowout win over Wyoming Saturday night to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Jake Retzlaff bounced back from a shaky performance against SMU, completing 22 of 36 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars. Chase Roberts caught six passes for 129 yards, while Keelan Marion returned the second half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown as BYU rolled to victory.
Retlzaff also led BYU in rushing with 62 yards on six carries. BYU was without its top two running backs in LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, but they didn’t need them against the 0-3 Cowboys.
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After getting picked off at the 1-yard line on the Cougars’ first drive of the game, Retzlaff began the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown strike to Keanu Hill, his first TD catch of the season.
The Cougars increased its lead to 14 points when Retlzaff found Kody Epps for a 2-yard scoring strike to cap a 9-play, 74-yard drive.
The Cowboys cut BYU’s lead in half midway through the second quarter as quarterback Evan Svoboda rumbled in from two yards out. But Will Ferrin drilled a 49-yard field goal with 45 seconds left in the half to give BYU a 17-7 halftime lead.
BYU took total control of the game on the second half kickoff, as Marion fielded the kick a yard deep into the end zone, and outraced the entire Wyoming team for a 100-yard return, the first time kick return for a touchdown by a Cougar since 2014, when Adam Hine did it against Virginia.
The Cougars didn’t let up as Ferrin drilled a 37-yard field goal, while Retlzaff scrambled out of pressure to throw his third touchdown of the game, a 20-yard bullet to Lassiter, who hauled in his first touchdown of the season to give the Cougars a 34-7 lead.
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BYU allowed just 217 total yards to the Cowboys, while racking up 458 yards of their own. Wyoming averaged just 2.3 yards per carry on the ground.
Evan Johnson had his first career interception for the Cougars early in the fourth quarter. Svoboda added a 1-yard touchdown run for Wyoming with 6:29 left in the game.
BYU now begins Big 12 Conference play at home next Saturday against #14 Kansas State. The Wildcats could move up further in the rankings after a 31-7 win over #20 Arizona Friday night.