Highlights, key plays and photos from No. 25 BYU’s 66-49 win over Virginia

The Deseret News is providing live coverage from tonight’s game between BYU and Virginia. Follow along for updates throughout the night.

Final

BYU 66, Virginia 49

Tyler Allgeier had a career night with five rushing touchdowns and the Cougars outlasted the ACC’s Virginia in a game full of offensive fireworks.

Allgeier rushed for a career-high 266 yards and BYU scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter — scoring two off Virginia turnovers — after going into the final quarter down 49-45.

Jaren Hall passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns to lead a BYU offense that put up 734 yards of total offense. 

While the BYU defense gave up touchdowns on six straight possessions, they stiffened in the second half, giving up just one score after the break. Brennan Armstrong, the nation’s leader in passing yards, threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns against BYU before leaving in the fourth with an injury, though the Cougars intercepted him twice. Both of those interceptions led to BYU touchdowns.

The win moves BYU to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 against Power Five opponents.

4th quarter

7:12 — The Cougars have a little breathing room after Virginia’s third turnover of the night led to another BYU touchdown, this time a 4-yard Tyler Allgeier touchdown run, his fifth of the night. Drew Jensen intercepted a hurt Brennan Armstrong and BYU marched 65 yards in seven plays to add a third touchdown this quarter. The drive included a key third-down catch from Masen Wake for 7 yards that gave BYU a first-and-goal, leading to Allgeier’s touchdown.

14:22 — BYU has pushed its lead back to double-digits after capitalizing on a Virginia fumble forced by Uriah Leiataua. Two plays after the turnover, Tyler Allgeier rumbled 31 yards for his fourth touchdown of the night, and the Cougars lead 59-49. Allgeier has rushed for a career-high 222 yards with nearly an entire quarter to go.

14:49 — Neil Pau’u caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jaren Hall on the second play of the final quarter, and BYU is back in front in the sixth lead change of the night. The Cougars moved the ball 65 yards on just eight plays, aided by multiple big runs from Tyler Allgeier.

3rd quarter

Virginia 49, BYU 45

The scoring slowed down considerably in the third quarter, as both teams went on touchdown scoring drives. BYU had another drive end without points when Jake Oldroyd missed a field goal. The Cougars have 578 yards of total offense, to 517 for Virginia.

2:10 — Virginia is back out in front, after scoring on a 2-yard Keytaon Thompson pass on fourth-and-1. The Cavaliers drove 80 yards on nine plays to regain the lead, after BYU failed to score on its previous possession when Jake Oldroyd clanked a 33-yard field goal attempt off the upright and no good.

13:08 — The offensive fireworks have extended to the opening minutes of the second half, as Tyler Allgeier scored on a 49-yard run to give BYU the lead back. The Cougars marched 75 yards on just four plays on a drive that took under two minutes, the 10th scoring drive of under two minutes so far in this game.

2nd quarter

Virginia 42, BYU 38

What a disaster of a quarter for the BYU defense, and the Cougars in general. After BYU went up 28-7 early in the quarter, the Virginia offense just torched the Cougar defense. The Cavaliers scored five touchdowns in the second, with four of those scores coming from 40 yards or more. Virginia, led by former BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae in the same position with the Cavaliers, put up 367 yards of total offense in the second quarter alone and 448 for the half.

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0:22 — Billy Kemp caught a 12-yard pass from Brennan Armstrong for Virginia’s fifth touchdown of the second quarter, and the Cougars are likely going into the half down four points. The Cavaliers made it look easy again, as Virginia drove 75 yards in six plays and took just 1:05 off the clock.

1:27 — The Cougars find their own quick score answer, as BYU drives 75 yards on just three plays before Samson Nacua caught a 40-yard touchdown from Jaren Hall. With that, BYU is back ahead 38-35.

1:59 — BYU finds itself down, after Virginia scored its fourth touchdown of the quarter, this time on a 30-yard Brennan Armstrong run. The Cavaliers moved the ball 77 yards on just four plays, and Armstrong made several nice moves, including avoiding a sack, on the touchdown run.

5:53 — Devin Darrington ran 49 yards for a touchdown, and Virginia has three touchdowns of 40 or more yards in the first nine minutes of this quarter. This time, it came on a three-play, 75-yard drive. The Cavaliers offense is picking apart BYU, and now the Cougar offense must respond again.

7:27 — BYU scored again, this time on a 32-yard Jake Oldroyd field goal following an eight-play, 60-yard drive. With the way the Virginia offense is playing, though, the field goal feels a bit empty, even as it gives the Cougars a double-digit lead again.

9:59 — This high octane Virginia offense is humming now. After BYU punted for the first time, the Cavaliers respond with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Armstrong to Dontayvion Wicks, and it’s a one-score game on a one-play drive.

12:29 — It’s turning into a track meet, as Virginia quickly responded to BYU’s latest touchdown with one of its own. Brennan Armstrong hit Jelani Woods for a 40-yard touchdown pass, and the BYU lead is cut in half to 28-14 following a four-play, 75-yard drive.

14:13 — Tyler Allgeier scored on a 4-yard touchdown run — his second score of the night — and BYU has scored a touchdown on its first four possessions of the game. The Cougars drove 75 yards in 10 plays on this possession to go back up 21.

1st quarter

BYU 21, Virginia 7

The Cougars put up 226 yards of total offense in the first quarter and Jaren Hall has completed 9 of 11 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. It’s the kind of start BYU needed in the matchup with the ACC’s Virginia and former Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall.

3:22 — Virginia is finally on the board with a much-needed scoring drive. The Cavaliers went 75 yards in 12 plays and capped the possession with a 5-yard Brennan Armstrong run. It was a drive that took almost five minutes off the clock.

8:04 — BYU has scored again to go up 21-0 less than halfway through the quarter, as Virginia punted for the second time on the night. The Cougars then drove 74 yards in five plays, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jaren Hall to Puka Nacua.

11:16 — After Payton Wilgar intercepted Brennan Armstrong and returned the pick to the Virginia 11, BYU scored another quick touchdown on a 1-yard Tyler Allgeier run. Jaren Hall ran for 8 yards on third-and-8 to keep the drive alive and set up the TD.

12:43 — BYU strikes first, going 83 yards in four plays — 81 through the air — before Jaren Hall scores on a 2-yard run. Samson Nacua had two catches for 67 yards on the drive.

Pregame prep

Here are a few stories to get you ready for the game: