E. Illinois 0 0 3 7 — 10
BYU 17 14 0 14 — 45
First quarter
BYU 7, Eastern Illinois 0
BYU (11:34): Curtis Brown 1 run (Jared McLaughlin kick)
8 plays, 67 yards, 3:26
KEY PLAY: The biggest gain in the Cougars' methodical opening-game drive was a 23-yard pass from John Beck to Matt Allen down to the EIU 12-yard line.
BYU 14, Eastern Illinois 0
BYU (8:55): Beck 1 run (McLaughlin kick)
2 plays, 2 yards, 0:52
KEY PLAY: BYU gets the ball deep in Panther territory when the shotgun snap bounces off the facemask of EIU QB Mike Donato and is recovered at the 2 by Daniel Marquardt.
BYU 17, Eastern Illinois 0
BYU (2:47): McLaughlin 20 field goal
10 plays, 51 yards, 3:23
KEY PLAY: Regaining possession on a Dustin Gabriel interception, the Cougars fail to convert on their only third-down play of the drive, as Brown gets stopped on third-and-goal from the EIU 2.
Second quarter
BYU 24, Eastern Illinois 0
BYU (12:31): Todd Watkins 31 pass from Beck (McLaughlin kick)
3 plays, 29 yards, 0:50
KEY PLAY: Beck steps up out of the crumbling pocket and finds Watkins streaking down the left sideline, with the senior wideout making a leaping TD catch.
BYU 31, Eastern Illinois 0
BYU (3:46): Watkins 6 pass from Beck (McLaughlin kick)
3 plays, 41 yards, 0:57
KEY PLAY: Take your pick: Gary Lovely's recovery of a fumbled punt, Brown's 34-yard burst off tackle or Watkins' alert snagging of a deflected pass intended for Zac Collie.
Third quarter
BYU 31, Eastern Illinois 3
EIU (9:48): Zach Yates 23 field goal
5 plays, 17 yards, 2:01
KEY PLAY: Unable to break the BYU 40-yard line in the first half, the Panthers' Will Bihun recovers a Brown fumble at the Cougar 22.
Fourth quarter
BYU 31, Eastern Illinois 10
EIU (12:22): Vincent Webb 2 run (Yates kick)
6 plays, 61 yards, 2:31
KEY PLAY: On third-and-five from the Cougar 15, Donato jukes his way past several flat-footed defenders down to the BYU 2.
BYU 38, Eastern Illinois 10
BYU (6:01): Fahu Tahi 7 pass from Beck (McLaughlin kick)
14 plays, 79 yards, 6:13
KEY PLAY: With BYU punting on fourth down, the Panthers are penalized 15 yards for an illegal block behind the line of scrimmage, giving the Cougars a first down and new life.
BYU 45, Eastern Illinois 10
BYU (0:41): Tahi 6 run (McLaughlin kick)
6 plays, 47 yards, 2:40
KEY PLAY: Ground work by Tahi and Brown account for all the Cougars' yards on the final possession, with each ripping off a long-yardage gain in the drive.
EIU BYU
First downs 9 21
Rushes-Yards (Net) 30-70 32-176
Passing-Yards (Net) 126 255
Comp-Att-Int 14-29-1 26-41-2
Plays-Yards 59-196 73-431
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-2
Penalties-Yards 8-78 7-42
Punts-Avg. 10-36 3-29
Punt returns-Yards 1-1 5-29
Kickoff returns-Yards 4-58 3-39
Int. returns-Yards 2-0 1-13
Possession Time 26:20 33:40
Sacks by-Yards 1-8 2-12
3rd-down conv. 2-14 6-14
4th-down conv. 1-8 2-12
RUSHING
EIU, Bess 8-27, Webb 10-24, Owens 1-8, Donato 5-8, Smith 3-4, Kniss 1-3, Campione 1-3. BYU, Brown 18-110, Tahi 9-59, Meikle 1-11, John Beck 4-(-minus 4).
PASSING
EIU, 14-29-1. BYU, Beck 26-40-2, Berry 0-1-0.
RECEIVING
EIU, Voss 3-33, Duhai 2-15, Bess 2-13, Owens 2-11, Nozinor 1-32, Kesler 1-9, Mobley 1-6, Webb 1-4, Morris 1-4. BYU, Watkins 7-93, Coats 4-30, Brown 4-14, Allen 2-48, collie 2-20, Meikle 2-17, Griffin 2-14, Tahi 2-10, Reed 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
EIU, Burge 1-0, Sanders 1-0. BYU, Gabriel 1-12.
SACKS
EIU, Sellers 1-8. BYU, Luettgerodt 1-8, Walkenhorst 1-4.
TACKLES
EIU, Sellers 16, Burge 10, Brown 8, Seymour 6, Cleveland 5, Thomas 4, Wanzeck 3, Torres 3, Turner 2, Myers 2, Kelly 2, Brown 2, Voss 1, Sanders 1, Ponius 1, Parsill 1, Rueter 1, Morrison 1, Kosinski 1, Lothe 1, Love 1, Donato 1, Walters 1, Adams 1, Sams 1, Washington 1. BYU, Soelberg 7, Jensen 6, Brown 4, Robinson 4, Luettgerodt 4, Bates 4, Gabriel 3, White 3, Wagner 3, Walkenhorst 3, Bills 2, Gooch 2, Tafuna 2, Staffieri 2, Marquardt 2, Paongo 2, Kehl 1, J. McLaughlin 1, Luekenga 1, Lovely 1, Stacey 1.
ATTENDANCE: 52,630