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Provo • Believe it or not, BYU was in a little bit of trouble Saturday afternoon before an eventual 52-10 blowout win over Fresno State.
The Cougars' Jonny Linehan had just been tripped up short of the line to gain on a fake punt play late in the first quarter, and Fresno State took over at the BYU 24-yard-line.
However, BYU's defense held the Bulldogs to a field goal after Fresno State had a first-and-10 at the BYU 11, and disaster was averted.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Linehan "made the right decision" to try and run for a first down on fourth-and-8 because there were three blockers in front of him and just one Fresno State defender, but Delvon Hardaway made a great play.
"We will execute better next time," Mendenhall said.
Luckily for the Cougars, their defense didn't allow Fresno State much closer until garbage time, when backup quarterback Kilton Anderson sprinted untouched 29 yards for the visitors' only touchdown. The Bulldogs had a 37-yard field goal attempt blocked by Bronson Kaufusi just before halftime.
Fresno State finished with just 275 yards.
"I think they have played fairly consistently the whole year," Mendenhall said of the defense, which ranks 40th in the country in total defense and 39th in scoring defense. "I think the group as a unit played well for the entire game."
Junior safety Kai Nacua made the biggest defensive play of the game, picking off FSU starter Zack Greenlee and returned the interception 32 yards for a touchdown. That play swung the momentum totally in BYU's favor.
"When the pick-six made it 16-3, that was huge for us," said BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum. "It was a huge boost. It got everyone fired up. Then Fred [Warner] got his pick on the next series and it was big and gave us great field position. So obviously, it started with the defense."
There was a light-hearted moment involving Mangum right before halftime when the quarterback ran off the field and into the locker room thinking time had expired. But Fresno State had called timeout with two seconds left, and Mangum had to be retrieved to run one last play.
Of the turnovers forced by the defense, Mangum said "that's a quarterback's best friend, and they've helped us out all year and put us in good position."
Another defensive standout was Kaufusi, who recorded three sacks (he almost had a fourth, but Sae Tautu got to the quarterback a split-second before him) and knocked down a pass in addition to the blocked field goal, his second blocked kick of the season.
"Man, I was really happy with the way our team played today, led by our senior [captain] Bronson Kaufusi," Mendenhall said. "He continues to play really, really well."
The coach was especially happy with the way the defense played on third down. After allowing Mizzou to go 13 for 20 on third down last week, the Cougars gave up just seven third-down conversions on 19 FSU opportunities on Saturday. Also, Fresno State picked up just 85 rushing yards.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Cougars with claws
BYU's Defensive Stars vs. Fresno State
Player Year Highlights
Bronson Kaufusi Senior Three sacks, one blocked field goal, one pass breakup
Kai Nacua Junior Two interceptions, one returned for a 32-yard touchdown
Fred Warner Sophomore One interception returned for 27 yards, four tackles
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere Senior Four tackles, one tackle for loss
Michael Davis Junior Two pass breakups