In another defensive struggle, BYU fell to 1-2 on the season with a 17-14 loss at the hands of UCLA at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night.
The Cougars did enough on defense to hang around, but the offense struggled to find its footing most of the night during the loss in the home-opener.
Scoring recap
The Bruins got on the board first on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Josh Rosen to Cameron Griffin two minutes into the second quarter. The play capped off an 80-yard drive that took 5:41 off the clock. Another key play on the drive came when Rosen connected with Darren Andrews for a 35-yard completion.
UCLA pushed the lead to 10 on a 24-yard field goal from J.J. Molson just two possessions later. Adarius Pickett gave the Bruins the short field to work with after intercepting a pass from Taysom Hill at the BYU 39-yard line.
The Bruins extended their lead to 17-0 when Rosen found Andrews for a 33-yard touchdown. Rosen was 4 for 5 passing on the drive, including conversions on all three third down attempts.
BYU finally got on the board on the next possession as Jamaal Williams found pay dirt on a 1-yard run. Hill used his legs for a key third-down conversion with an 11-yard run on third-and-4 to keep the drive alive.
The Cougars capped off the scoring when Hill found Nick Kurtz from 23 yards to finish off a nine-play, 91-yard drive in just 1:39 to cut the Bruins' lead to three. Hill completed five passes for more than 10 yards on the possession, including three to Kurtz.
Three stars
3. Nick Kurtz
Kurtz made key plays on both of the Cougars' scoring drives. He finished the night with eight receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
2. Fred Warner
Warner had another solid night with nine tackles, two pass break-ups and a first-quarter interception.
1. Butch Pau'u
Pau'u was all over the field the entire game. He finished with 19 tackles, including 11 solos and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Analyzing the stats
BYU finished with 273 yards of total offense, including just 23 yards rushing. That was the lowest offensive output since the offense managed just 105 yards in a 31-0 loss to Michigan in 2015. It was the lowest rushing total since 2011, when BYU had 11 yards on 22 attempts in a loss to Utah.
The Cougars did a nice job stopping the run, holding the Bruins to just 50 yards on 34 carries. That was their best performance against the run since they held Savannah State to 23 yards on 23 carries in 2014.
BYU scored less than 20 points for the third straight game to start the season. The last time that happened was 2011, when the Cougars started 1-2 with a win over Mississippi followed by losses to Texas and Utah.
Likewise, the defense has held opponents under 20 points in each of the first three games. That is the first time that has happened since 1984, when the Cougars allowed 14 points to Pittsburgh, 13 points to Baylor and 15 points to Tulsa.
Pau'u's 19 tackles tied Uani Unga for the most tackles in a game by a BYU player since 2000, according to BYUCougars.com.
It is the eighth time since 2004 that the Cougars have started the season 1-2.
Up next
The Cougars head east to square off with the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday. The Mountaineers are 2-0 on the season with wins over Missouri and Youngstown State.
The offense is led by senior signal caller Skyler Howard, who has thrown for 642 yards and five touchdowns.
His favorite targets are Daikiel Shorts and Shelton Gibson. Shorts leads the team with 14 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown, while Gibson has totaled 12 receptions for 210 yards and a team-leading two touchdowns.
The running game for West Virginia has also been very solid, averaging more than 230 yards a game. The players to watch in the backfield are Rushel Shell and Justin Crawford. Shell has put up 174 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries while Crawford has added 141 yards and a score.
Jay Yeomans is a sports writer for DeseretNews.com. Contact him at jyeomans@deseretdigital.com.