Las Vegas Bowl


Las Vegas Bowl:

After a slow start and spotting Oregon State an early touchdown, the BYU Cougars scored 37 straight points Tuesday night at a windy Sam Boyd Stadium to win their third Las Vegas Bowl in the past five years, blasting the Beavers 44-20.

Quarterback Max Hall tossed three touchdowns, linebacker Matt Bauman returned a fumble for a touchdown and the Cougar defense kept the Beavers scoreless in the second and third quarters and forced three turnovers.

The Beavers started the scoring off with a 1-yard run by Sean Canfield six minutes into the game. But the Cougars, going into a wind that gusted from 45-55 mph, tied the game on a 14-play 85-yard drive that ended on Harvey Unga's 1-yard run.



About a minute later, Bauman scooped up a dropped lateral and ran 34 yards to pay dirt to put the Cougars up 14-7. Early in the second a 28-yard field goal by Mitch Payne put the Cougars ahead 17-7. The Cougars took a 23-7 lead into the break on a 25-yard TD pass from Hall to Luke Ashworth.

In the third, after the Beavers' fake punt failed, the Cougars kept the momentum with a 17-yard TD pass from Hall to tight end Dennis Pitta. Early in the fourth, BYU tacked on another score on a 15-yard TD pass to Manase Tonga.

After the Beavers scored midway through the fourth, the Cougars iced it when Scott Johnson's 55-yard interception return set up an 18-yard TD run by Tonga.

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