Instant Observations: Williams helps BYU out-MAC Toledo in offensive showcase


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PROVO — Once again, it all came down to a two-minute drill — or 1:11, to be exact.

With just over a minute remaining and down by one, Taysom Hill led an eight-play, 71-yard drive capped by Rhett Almond’s 19-yard field goal as time expired to help BYU outlast Toledo, 55-53 and snap a three-game losing streak Friday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Jamaal Williams broke Eldon Fortie’s 54-year-old single-game rushing record at BYU, and the Cougars (2-3) handed high-scoring Toledo its first loss of the season in front of just over 62,000 fans Friday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Williams ran for a career-high 286 yards and five touchdowns on 30 carries, averaging an eye-popping 9.5 yards per rush as BYU won its 10th-ever game against a school from the Mid-American Conference.

The Cougars took a 21-14 lead after the first quarter, thanks in large measure to Williams and the BYU run game. Williams ran for 90 yards in the opening quarter alone, including two short touchdowns, to give BYU the early lead.

Toledo took its first lead of the game on Jon’Vaea Johnson’s second touchdown catch, a 12-yard grab from Logan Woodside just under four minutes into the second half. The Cougars took the lead right back 38 seconds later, though, on Wiliams’ fourth touchdown before Johnson’s third TD gave the Rockets (3-1) a 38-35 lead going into the final quarter.

Squally Canada gave BYU back the lead in the fourth with a 17-yard TD run, his first as a Cougar.

After Rhett Almond tied the game at 45-45 on a field goal with 5:01 left in the game, Kai Nacua picked off Woodside and set up Williams’ fifth touchdown run on which he broke Fortie’s record of 272 rushing yards set Sept. 29, 1962, against George Washington.

Kareem Hunt dove into the end zone ahead of the final minute, and a two-point conversion gave Toledo a 53-52 lead with 1:11 left.

Here are a few thoughts on Williams’ record-breaking night in an offensive shootout.

Feed Jamaal

Taysom Hill didn’t have his best night in a BYU uniform; after he opened with a 75-yard TD strike to Jonah Trinnaman on the first play of the game, Hill completed just two of his next 10 passes for 22 yards as the passing game stagnated.

But Williams’ monster game made up for it as Hill went into “game-manager mode.” The fifth-year senior running back cleared the 100-yard mark in the first quarter, topped 200 yards midway through the third, and paced a BYU rushing attack that piled up 294 yards.

The son of a former UCLA sprinter went for broke on several occasions, and was aided by an intense downfield blocking scheme that included Nick Kurtz’s option on a 62-yard run in the third quarter. Williams became the third BYU player to rush for 3,000 career yards Friday night, and he has the program’s all-time rushing record of 3,455 yards held by Harvey Unga in his sights — and at the rate he’s moving, he can break it.

#MACtion comes west

It wasn’t just Williams who had a splendid night on offense in BYU’s 10th all-time meeting with a MAC school.

If you were looking for BYU to put a stop to Toledo’s offense that averaged 42 points per game, you were disappointed early. The two teams combined for two touchdowns in the first eight plays of the game, including Trinnaman’s 75-yard TD reception — the first of his BYU career — on the opening play from scrimmage.

Squally Canada also rushed for his first touchdown in a BYU uniform, and Almond hit his fourth-straight field goal since freshman kicker Jake Oldroyd went down with an injury.

MAC teams are known for high-scoring offenses with limited defense, and Tuesday night #MACtion is a staple on ESPN once conference play begins midway through the season. So the Rockets fell right in line Friday night in Provo, and BYU did what it had to do to keep up on the scoreboard in a game that resembled a pinball machine throughout the night.

Toldedo’s offense was bolstered by the lack of BYU linebacker Butch Pau’u, who missed Friday night’s game with a knee injury.

Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside (11) throws a pass during a game against BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside (11) throws a pass during a game against BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)

Toledo piled up 304 yards of offense in the first half, while BYU totaled 198 of its 192 first-half yards in the first quarter. Hunt ran for 152 yards for Toledo, and Johnson hauled in nine catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns.

The Rockets finished with 692 yards of total offense, including 505 yards from Woodside. BYU, by comparison, had a season-high 586 total yards.

Off target

For the third time in four games, BYU had a player ejected for targeting. After Kai Nacua and Austin McChesney were disqualified with illegal hits against Utah, Sae Tautu connected with Woodside’s facemask in the third quarter on a much-less-controversial call.

Tautu’s intent is unclear, and the hit wasn’t overly vicious. But it was a clear violation of the NCAA’s stance against helmet-to-helmet contact, and cannot be appealed because it was upheld via video replay in Provo.

The American Fork native had five tackles and shared a tackle for loss before his disqualification Friday. He will not be eligible for the first half when BYU travels to face Michigan State next Saturday.

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