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Provo • What now?
The last time BYU saw a starting quarterback go down in a game, Tanner Mangum stepped in and led the Cougars to a big win over Nebraska. He showed he could lead the team.
Now that Mangum's status for Friday's game against Cincinnati is in question, Beau Hoge quite likely will be asked to do what Mangum did, but he doesn't nearly have the track record of success.
Mangum's heroics after replacing Hoge, who had replaced him, helped the Cougars hold off East Carolina 45-38 on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Mangum said he felt "just a little tightness in my hamstring" during a fourth-down run late in the third quarter.
Asked whether he will play Friday against the Bearcats, he said: "That will be up to the training staff. I am not worried about that right now. But we are excited for the challenge. Cincinnati is a good team, a good program. They've got some big wins."
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said immediately after the game that he didn't know the extent of Mangum's injury. Offensive lineman Ului Lapuaho also left the game, but did not return, and his status is also not known.
"I'm just glad he came back," Mendenhall said of the freshman Mangum, who was clearly less mobile during the game-winning fourth-quarter drive than he was before he left in the third.
"Like I said before, [the comeback] is a tribute to our team, more than anything," Mangum said. "The fact that our team could stay together in clutch moments like that, and execute when it really matters, being at your best when your best is needed, that was huge. But it is not just me. It is the entire team."
BYU's other offensive hero was senior receiver Devon Blackmon, who had a career night.
Blackmon caught nine passes for 142 yards, including two big receptions during the final drive.
"I thought Devon Blackmon had a really nice game," Mendenhall said.
In all, Mangum hooked up with nine different receivers; Mitch Mathews (who caught Hoge's only completion on five attempts), caught four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown, recording a catch in his 30th straight game.
Houk was iffy before the game with a sprained ankle suffered in practice, but had four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, his first TD reception of the season.
Mangum's return in the fourth quarter gave the team a burst of energy, said Algie Brown, who ran 9 yards for the winning touchdown with 19 seconds left.
"You heard it," Brown said. "The stadium went crazy [when Mangum returned]. That built everyone's confidence."
Twitter: @drewjay —
A Tale of Two Quarterbacks vs. East Carolina
Quarterback C-A-I Yards TDs Sacked
Tanner Mangum 24-33-0 332 3 3
Beau Hoge 1-5-1 9 0 1