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MADISON, Wisc. — BYU had a chance to stun the college football world Saturday afternoon at Wisconsin.
And they did it the way the Badgers rose to become a top-10 team — with a stout run game, strong defense and a little help from the kicker.
Squally Canada ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns, wide receiver Aleva Hifo threw for his first career touchdown (yes, threw), and BYU blocked a potential game-tying field goal with 41 seconds left to lift the Cougars to a stunning 24-21 win at No. 6 Wisconsin.
“The players were gritty, and they played hard, and they played with a lot of toughness,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I was really pleased with their effort. But more than anything, I’m pleased with how mentally strong they were throughout this game. They kept believing, they kept competing, and it worked out in our favor. We’re happy to have the win.”
The win was BYU’s first victory over an AP-ranked Top 10 opponent since a 14-13 win over Oklahoma on Sept. 5, 2009. Of course, those Cougars were led by future NFL players Max Hall at quarterback and Dennis Pitta at tight end.
This BYU squad was coming off a 4-9 season, and had lost 21-18 to Cal a week prior.
But for one afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium, on the 100-degree turf in the middle of a hot Wisconsin day, that didn’t matter.
“All I care about is that we won that game. I don’t rank anything,” Sitake said. “Wins are hard to come by, so I love them all. I don’t have a favorite; I’ll take them any way I can. They’re like my children.”
Sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 117 yards to pace the Badgers (2-1), who got 190 yards through the air from quarterback Alex Hornibrook.
But the quarterback’s leg gave Wisconsin its biggest play of the game. His 16-yard rush with just over a minute remaining put the Badgers in field-goal range. But Wisconsin’s Rafael Gaglianone missed a potential game-tying 42-yard field goal attempt with 41 seconds remaining to hold on for the win.
The missed field goal snapped a streak of 13-consecutive makes by Gaglianone, one shy of setting a Wisconsin school record.
“It was disappointing, letting the team down,” he said. “But I’m not going to let one play define me — or define this season.”
Perhaps it was freshman kicker Skyler Southam who should be celebrating the most, then. The former U.S. Army All-American from Wasatch High booted a 45-yard field goal with 9:58 left proved to be the difference.
Southam missed a 52-yard attempt in the first half. But Sitake had more confidence than his kicker who recently returned from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile.
“I really wanted it, to go for it on the first field goal attempt, and he wanted it,” Sitake said of the missed attempt. “I gave it to him, but right after he missed, I told him to ready again; we are going right back. He’s such a mentally strong kid, and I’m glad he’s here.”
And the little things came together, Sitake added, giving credit to starting holder Gavin Fowler and long snapper Andrew Mikkelsen.
Tanner Mangum completed 12-of-22 passes for 89 yards, but Aleva Hifo threw the touchdown pass — a loosely-wound, 31-yard spiral to a wide-open Moroni Laulu-Pututau that gave the Cougars a 14-7 lead on the opening drive of the second quarter.
The game was far from over after the play that the Cougars called "Bucky" and installed just last Monday.
Canada ran for his second touchdown of the game as BYU’s defense blanked the Badgers, 7-0 in the third quarter. When Wisconsin fullback Taiwan Deal romped into the end zone for his second TD with 12:43 on the clock, it seemed the Badgers were taking back the momentum and shrugging off a slow start to become the highly-regarded sixth-best team in the Associated Press Top 25.
But that was the last time either team found the end zone, thanks to a heavy dose of Sione Takitaki, Zayne Anderson and the BYU defense.
“We knew that we had to play stout up front, because they like to pound the ball,” Takitaki said. “Since Monday, we’ve been preparing and I tip my hat to the coaches. They put us in a good situation to make plays; it was a good scheme.”
Takitaki finished with a career-high 13 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, and nearly had an interception just before the half that likely would’ve gone for a touchdown.
Anderson finished with 11 tackles, and his interception off Hornibrook in the third quarter helped maintain the third-period shutout that paved the way to a win that many will call the biggest since BYU went independent in football in 2011.
It’s hard to argue against the case.
“It was a lot of fun,” Sitake said. “We had so much fun on the sideline, just having a great time, not worrying about the score and trusting each other.”
