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Provo

In the Hannemann household, the matchup of BYU and Southern Utah played out evenly. Family members wore specially designed, red-and-blue T-shirts with their last name and No. 7, thanks to the convergence of a starting defensive back playing for each team Saturday and wearing the same number.

No such equality existed on the football field or the scoreboard. SUU found itself overmatched in a 37-7 defeat at LaVell Edwards Stadium, roughly replicating the team's season opener at Utah. The Thunderbirds gained 323 total yards in those two games while allowing more than 1,000 yards and being outscored 61-7 in Salt Lake City and Provo. In exchange, SUU took home $835,000 — and other, if less spendable, rewards in the sense of memorable experiences for a bunch of players who "deserve that opportunity," SUU coach Demario Warren said.

BYU's side of the transaction was a solid defensive effort and the Cougars' best passing performance in eight years. The 441-yard production made you wonder how the perception of quarterback Taysom Hill and offensive coordinator Ty Detmer may have improved if the Cougars had mixed in a lower-level opponent in September, as the rest of the college football world does. Or, considering how Tanner Mangum went 10 for 10 in the second half, maybe it would have increased the volume of calls for him to play. Who knows?

What became clear on a pleasant November afternoon is that if the Cougars are going to play an FSC opponent, hosting SUU or Weber State is exponentially better than playing Savannah State or Wagner, as they had done the previous two seasons. SUU's visit created a reunion of brothers, former teammates and coaching colleagues. The Cougars were "motivated, because of the crossover," said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

Same story with the Thunderbirds, with Cougar offensive linemen Keyan Norman and Andrew Eide having transferred to BYU after graduating from SUU. "I knew coming in there were going to be a lot of emotions," said SUU defensive lineman Robert Torgerson, who sacked Hill, forcing a fumble that he recovered in the first quarter. "We handled it pretty well, all three of us."

As for the Hannemann family, Warren said SUU's Kyle Hannemann was too emotionally wired at the start and the coaches were "trying to get him lined up correctly." But he delivered a tough hit on Hill, among his game-high 12 tackles. Micah Hannemann's four tackles for BYU included a fourth-stop on SUU's opening drive.

Warren worked under BYU assistant coach Ed Lamb for eight years in Cedar City before taking over the program and facing SUU's historic schedule of facing Utah and BYU for the first time each. The Thunderbirds are booked to play Utah again in 2022 and he'd like to promise every recruit the chance to meet the Utes and Cougars during their careers.

BYU's front-loaded schedule was similarly challenging in its own way. Even so, on a 67-degree afternoon in November, the Cougars (6-4) clinched their Poinsettia Bowl bid — presented by bowl rep Ted Tollner, who coached BYU quarterbacks Jim McMahon and Steve Young in 1981 and witnessed BYU's passing outbreak Saturday.

The weather helped, but BYU fans remain interested. The announced crowd of 59,302 was validated by the actual attendance, even if thousands of fans trickled in during the first half and many departed at halftime with the outcome decided.

Those who left missed BYU's scoring six more points, even though Mangum completed all 10 of his passes for 109 yards in the second half — after a 1-for-3 stint in the second quarter. "It was a lot of fun, just to get out there and play … get the blood pumping a little bit," Mangum said.

BYU's win was a less of a novelty for others involved Saturday, but everybody got what they expected.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribkurt