by Daniel Olsen | With no fans present, BYU Football got their statement win with a final score of 55-3 over a Navy Midshipmen team that finished last season ranked 20th in the AP Poll. The Cougars led 14-0 after the first quarter and 31-0 at half but would show no mercy even in the second half.
With 54 seconds left in the third quarter, the Midshipmen finally put some points on the board with a 48-yard field goal to make the score 48-3. Through three quarters, BYU was doing everything. They threw for two touchdowns, rushed for four and connected on two field goals.
Navy looked out of sync and Coach Niumatalolo took the blame. He did say it was his fault for not having any contact practices. If he had to do it over again though, he would do the same thing due to the risks of COVID-19. Both teams reported zero players sitting out due to the virus so that was a success for this primetime Labor Day matchup.
This is the first time the Cougars have played on Labor Day and boy did they go to work. Even though quarterback Zach Wilson was not named a team captain, he played like a leader. The only error he made all game was an early interception but the Midshipmen could never convert on that turnover. BYU doesn’t usually win in games where they don’t win the turnover battle but this game was the exception. While the Midshipmen didn’t commit any turnovers (except for one fumble with 6 minutes left in the game), their offense was nowhere to be found. The Navy offense combined for just 149 total yards.
Game Ball
The game ball tonight has to go to the BYU run game, especially Tyler Allgeier. While Lopini Katoa finished with the longest rush of the night at 38 yards, Allgeier ran for 132 yards on 14 carries. Allgeier and Katoa did have the first two touchdowns of the night and Katoa finished with 80 yards on his ten carries.
Featured image via Deseret News.