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Provo • Waiting for the postgame interview to begin Saturday, Southern Utah defensive lineman Robert Torgerson offered cornerback Josh Thornton a look at the stat sheet. Thornton declined.
That probably was a good choice, because the numbers showed that SUU's secondary allowed 441 passing yards to BYU quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Tanner Mangum in the Cougars' 37-7 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Thunderbird defense played respectably against the run, just as in a 24-0 loss at Utah to open the season. But the Cougars thrived through the air, much like the Utes did.
"Honestly, we made too many mistakes mentally," said SUU coach Demario Warren. "I didn't think the moment was going to be too big, but it turned out to be."
SUU (5-5) completed its in-state schedule with three losses in Warren's first season, counting a 37-36 defeat that resulted from Weber State's scoring 23 points in the final eight minutes last month in Cedar City. The Thunderbirds will try to regroup and beat Northern Arizona on the road next weekend, which could give them consecutive winning seasons.
That will require better pass defense. Thornton intercepted Hill's last pass of the game in the third quarter and Torgerson sacked Hill in the first quarter, causing a fumble that he recovered. SUU's Chance Bearnson also recovered a fumble. Otherwise, the Thunderbirds allowed too many big completions (including Hill's 31-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kurtz on a fourth-and-17 play) to the Cougars, who had ranked among the country's least explosive offenses.
BYU needed only two plays to score its first touchdown, after Warren's fourth-and-1 gamble at the SUU 47-yard failed — even though quarterback Patrick Tyler completed a pass. Tight end Steven Wroblewski was tackled by Harvey Langi and Micah Hannemann for no gain after making the catch. "I didn't think we'd get negative yards on the completion, so that was my thinking, going for it," Warren said. "We were just trying to be aggressive, trying to get the ball rolling."
After that, SUU's offense struggled, with Warren citing an injury to lineman Mark Evans as a critical element in pass protection. The Thunderbirds had eight sequences of three plays and out in the game, while scoring a touchdown only after an adventurous play that covered 53 yards to the BYU 20. Raysean Pringle took Tyler's short pass for 38 yards, then fumbled when BYU's Dayan Lake stripped him from behind. The ball rolled forward and SUU's Logan Parker recovered it.
Three plays later, Tyler hit Parker for a 17-yard score, making it 24-7.
BYU answered with a touchdown before halftime, then added two field goals in the second half. SUU played the second half without star linebacker Mike Needham, who was ejected for targeting when he hit BYU punt returner Garrett Juergens early.
Warren labeled Needham's action "out of character … he knew he was wrong as soon as he did it."
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