PROVO, Utah -- Jaren Hall threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 19 BYU to a 38-26 victory over Utah State on Thursday night.
Hall, who favored his right shoulder after a late hit near the end of the third quarter, has thrown for at least 250 yards in nine consecutive games. Kody Epps finished with 86 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Christopher Brooks ran for 90 yards and a score on 11 carries.
BYU (4-1) beat Utah State for the third consecutive time in the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel.
Cooper Legas threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns while adding 54 yards and another score on the ground to lead the Aggies. Legas, who filled in for injured starter Logan Bonner, also threw a pair of interceptions. Calvin Tyler, Jr. added 104 yards on 18 carries.
The Aggies (1-4) lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 6-65 all-time versus AP Top 25 teams.
Utah State took a 7-0 lead after Legas capped the Aggies' opening drive with a 7-yard run. Things were on the verge of unraveling for Utah State after that early score.
BYU covered 65 yards in two plays -- a 34 yard catch by Gunner Romney and 31-yard catch-and-run by Keanu Hill -- to even the score. Then, Max Tooley reeled in a tipped pass from Legas and returned it 32 yards to give the Cougars their first lead at 14-7.
Utah State bounced back and shut down BYU's offense after its initial drive. The Cougars went three-and-out on three consecutive possessions, opening the door for the Aggies to retake a 17-14 lead on a 14-yard catch by Brian Cobbs. BYU lost a total of nine yards on those three drives.
The Cougars found some life on offense again in the third quarter. Ethan Erickson snagged a high pass for a go-ahead 14-yard score to cap off BYU's opening second-half drive. Then, on the Cougars' next drive, Kody Epps caught three consecutive passes -- culminating in an 8-yard score that extended BYU's lead to 31-20.
BYU averaged 9.0 yards on 22 third quarter plays after totaling only 107 yards on 19 plays during the first half.
SEC
SOUTH CAROLINA 50,
SOUTH CAROLINA ST. 10
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Spencer Rattler threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in South Carolina's victory over South Carolina State in a game moved from Saturday to Thursday night because of Hurricane Ian.
Rattler finished with 212 yards, completing 21 of 27 passes including a 5-yard scoring strike to tailback MarShawn Lloyd and an 11-yarder to tight end Austin Stogner, his teammate at Oklahoma, to help South Carolina (3-2) rout the FCS Bulldogs (1-3).
Administrators at both schools agreed to the change because of the hurricane's approach. Ian moved through Florida into the Atlantic and was expected to re-enter land in the Palmetto State as a Category 1 storm today.
Many parking areas were half-filled at best and the normal, SEC-style tailgating setups were absent for this one. South Carolina said 61,551 were at Williams-Brice Stadium, which lists a capacity of 77,559. But the upper decks were largely empty and it wasn't a stretch to think only about the announced crowd came out.
The Gamecocks overcame a sluggish start, including two interceptions off Rattler's receivers' hands, to take control in the opening half.
The Gamecocks broke through on Rattler's first-quarter TD toss to Lloyd, which was followed by a funky, "swinging gate" formation on a successful two-point conversion by defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway.
South Carolina pulled out the wishbone on its next touchdown, a 1-yard handoff to versatile tight end Jaheim Bell. Rattler ran his way to a score from 6 yards out with 37 seconds left in the half to put Gamecocks up 22-0.
South Carolina State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference had more penalty yards than offensive yards, 112 to 83, in the first 30 minutes.