Written by Adrian Beecher
Boise, ID – Quarterback Zach Wilson was perfect on the night for BYU, completing 18 of 18 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cougars to a 48-18 win over the Western Michigan Broncos in the 2018 Idaho Potato Bowl. The 18 straight completions by Wilson set the BYU single-game record, which was previously 14, held by former quarterbacks Steve Sarkisian and Steve Young. Here’s how it all went down on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.
On the Broncos opening possession, they were able to drive the ball down the field pretty easily and would get to the BYU 21-yard line. They were faced with a 4th and 2, and elected to go for it instead of attempting a field goal and were unable to convert.
The first quarter was rather eventless other than that, until late. Western Michigan had been forced into the first three-and-out of the game on their third drive. As punter Nick Mihalic setup to punt the ball, he lost his footing and shanked one for only 9 yards.
This set BYU up with a 1st and 10 at the Broncos 27-yard line. Then on the second play of the drive, Wilson threw a 26-yard strike over the middle to Dylan Collie for the touchdown. This made it 7-0 with 2:20 left to play in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Cougars elected to go for it on a 4th and 1 from the Western Michigan 45-yard line and were unable to convert after a two-yard loss on a run by Wilson.
Later on in the quarter, with the Cougars still on top, running back Tyler Allgeier would get hit and fumble on a 7-yard loss, with the ball being recovered by Western Michigan defensive back Stefan Claiborne.
This turnover gave the Broncos prime field position at the BYU 40-yard line. Four plays later, Western Michigan was faced with a 4th and 3, and they elected to go for it. Western Michigan running back Jamauri Bogan found a seam and took it 33 yards to the house to tie things up at 7.
Then just before the end of the first half, Western Michigan kicker Gavin Peddie would knock through a 37-yard field goal to give the Broncos the 10-7 halftime lead. This is where the excitement for Western Michigan would peak.
In the second half, BYU started with possession and wasted no time at all getting the action started. First, Wilson connected with BYU wide receiver Neil Pau’u for a 48 yard gain, which put the Cougars at the Western Michigan 21-yard line. Two plays later, Wilson threw a strike to the left sideline to Collie for an eight-yard touchdown, giving BYU a 14-10 lead.
The first possession of the second half for Western Michigan ended swiftly as BYU held them to a three-and-out and forced them punt. However, a 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty against BYU would extend the drive. This didn’t help the Broncos though as they would have to punt just four plays later.
This was just the beginning of a total collapse by Western Michigan and a complete second-half domination by BYU. The Cougars would score four touchdowns in the third quarter alone to take a 35-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. One of these scores included a 70-yard connection from Wilson to wide receiver Aleva Hifo.
In the fourth quarter things slowed down a bit on offense for the Cougars, but the bleeding didn’t stop for Western Michigan. After the Broncos turned the ball over on downs, BYU took just four plays to get into the end zone as Wilson hooked up with BYU wide receiver Dax Milne for a five-yard score.
This was Wilson’s final drive of the game and upon coming off the field, he became aware that he went the whole night without throwing an incompletion.
“To be completely honest, I actually had no idea until they told me I was done playing,” said Wilson. “When they told me they were going to put Tanner (Magnum) in and give him the rest of the game, honestly it was kind of surprising. The game flashes by so quick. I was way off; I thought I had at least six or seven, to be honest. I didn’t realize it was that low, but these guys, that’s really where everything falls.”
Western Michigan was able to get back into the end zone on the ensuing possession and converted a two-point conversion to with 11:38 left to play. This made the score 42-18. However, the Broncos would only scrounge up three more yards the rest of the game, sealing the victory for BYU.
