It was huge. But there were a lot of things that factored into it, not just the loss of him. – Kalane
PROVO — Not only is BYU losing games, but it is also losing turnovers and losing quarterbacks.
The Cougars suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in a 40-24 defeat at Utah State Friday night.
In the process, BYU (1-4) surrendered seven turnovers — marking the first time that the Cougars had seven turnovers in a game since a 54-10 loss to Utah in 2011 — while quarterback Beau Hoge, who started his second straight game in place of injured Tanner Mangum, sustained an undisclosed injury in the second quarter.

With a game against Boise State coming up next Friday (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN), BYU is facing a quarterback quandary.
Hoge completed 5 of 9 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns and one interception while rushing three times for 25 yards before leaving the game.
Sophomore Koy Detmer Jr. replaced Hoge and completed 7 of 20 passes for 91 yards and three interceptions.
Hoge’s status is uncertain at this point. His exit from the game played a big factor Friday night.
“It was huge. But there were a lot of things that factored into it, not just the loss of him,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “There were way too many mistakes, too many errors. We still had some positive things, but definitely (we had) a lot of mistakes and negative things that just overcame the positives.”
Mangum is wearing a protective boot on his left foot. What is his status?
“He keeps improving. We’ll see how that goes. He’s anxious,” said Sitake. “He’s from Boise, so I think that’s a personal thing for him. We’ll have to evaluate it. The main thing is to take care of our guys and make sure they don’t put themselves in a risky position. We want to win but not at the expense of hurting their livelihood.”
If Mangum and Hoge are unable to play next Friday, Koy Detmer, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound nephew of offensive coordinator Ty Detmer, may get his first career start.
“He works just as hard as anyone I know on the team. He’s a phenomenal player,” BYU wide receiver Beau Tanner said of Koy Detmer. “All the guys love him. All the guys trust him. I’m sure he would have liked to have done better. We all would have liked to do a lot better. That’s not acceptable with us. We need to win these games.”
Freshman Joe Critchlow, who joined the program in June after finishing a mission to Montreal, Canada, could see his responsibilities increase this week. Coaches have been planning to redshirt the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder from Franklin, Tennessee.
Regardless of which quarterback is taking snaps, BYU must stop turning the ball over. The Cougars coughed up the ball six times in nine possessions during the second and third quarters. The Aggies erased a 21-7 deficit due to those takeaways.
On the night, USU scored on two interception returns for touchdowns by Jalen Davis, who finished with three picks.
“It’s embarrassing how many turnovers we’re having out there,” Tanner said. “It’s on everyone. All you can do is go back to work.”
“There were a lot of errors that were made,” Sitake said. “I’m the coach. I’ve got to fix it.”
BYU turned in its best offensive showing of the season, rolling up 396 yards of total offense, including 210 yards rushing. Freshman running back Ula Tolutau ran 21 times for 102 yards. But he fumbled twice while fighting for more yardage.
“We pride ourselves in taking care of the football. I’ll have to look at the film and see it,” Sitake said of Tolutau. “He’s such a big guy, the extra effort stuff comes into play. When that happens, you have to take care of the football because guys are teeing off on you whether it’s from the back or the front or the side. The intent is nice — he wants to gain more yards — but not at the risk of losing and getting turnovers. But he wasn’t the only one who had that issue.”