BYU Runs Over Longhorns
{fshare id=4284}
PROVO, Utah — Enduring another long lightning delay did not prove to be an obstacle to BYU the second time around. Neither did the Texas defense.
The Cougars rushed for a school record 550 yards to upset the No. 15 Longhorns 40-21 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night. It snapped the previous record of 465 yards on the ground set in 1958 against Montana.
Sophomore quarterback Taysom Hill led the way with 259 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries for BYU, who snapped a 13 game non-conference road winning streak for Texas. Hill finished just 13 yards shy of tying the individual BYU single-game rushing record set by Eldon Fortie in 1962 against George Washington.
Sophomore running back Jamaal Williams had a career-high 182 yards on 30 carries and Paul Lasike added 87 yards on 15 carries for the Cougars (1-1).
BYU’s offense totaled 679 yards over four quarters.
David Ash threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-34 passing for Texas, who allowed
the most single game rushing yards in school history. The Longhorns (1-1) previously yielded 452 yards to Rice in 1997.
BYU revamped its offensive line after a season opening loss to Virginia. The shuffling worked out perfectly in the first half. The Cougars amassed 349 yards on the ground and kept the Longhorn defense on its heels throughout the second quarter.
Texas used big plays to get out in front early. The Longhorns went up 7-3 after David Ash hooked up with Mike Davis for a 57 yard touchdown pass as he streaked down the sideline. BYU retook a 10-7 lead on a 68 yard run by Taysom Hill less than a minute later. The Cougars set up the Longhorns next touchdown — a 2-yard run from Joe Bergeron — when Duke Thomas intercepted Hill.
Trailing 14-10, BYU went to the ground to take control of the game. The Cougars ran off 17 unanswered the points before halftime, retaking the lead on Hill’s second touchdown run from 20 yards out, getting a Paul Laskie 10-yard run to the end zone, and capping the spurt with a 32 yard field goal from Justin Sorensen just before halftime.
BYU extended its lead to 34-14 early in the third quarter on a 26 yard run from Hill — his third touchdown of the game.
The Longhorns were able to cut the lead to 34-21 on a second TD pass from Ash to Davis — this time for 23 yards — but BYU extended its lead on a pair of field goals from Sorensen.
Kickoff was delayed 1 hour and 47 minutes from its original start time because of a violent rainstorm accompanied by lightning that hit an hour before the original kickoff time. It was the second week in a row BYU endured a lightning delay, following a 2 hour and 9 minute delay between the first and second quarter against Virginia.
