PROVO, Utah-After suffering a 45-19 loss to nationally-ranked Washington, BYU football returns to action Saturday for a 10:00 am kickoff at the Glass Bowl against the Toledo Rockets of the Mid-American Conference.
The 2-2 Cougars are playing their first game of the season against a non-Power 5 school as they have played Utah, Tennessee, USC and Washington prior to this point.
BYU is tied for 104th nationally in scoring offense (22.5 points per game) with Arizona State. The Cougars are tied for 101st in the nation in scoring defense (32 points per game) with UNLV and Kent State.
Sophomore quarterback Zach Wilson completes 62.8 percent of his passes (997 yards, 3 TD’s/3 INT’s) on the season.
Graduate senior tailback Ty’Son Williams (49 car, 264 yards, 3 TD’s) had his season end Saturday as he tore his ACL.
In his stead, senior tailback Emmanuel Esukpa (18 car, 85 yards, TD) will have an increased opportunity.
Senior receiver Micah Simon (15 rec, 232 yards) and junior tight end Matt Bushman (15 rec, 208 yards, TD) are the Cougars’ leading receivers.
Defensively, junior defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga, sophomore defensive lineman Lorenzo Fauatea and sophomore linebacker Chaz Ah You all have a sack apiece. Furthermore, junior linebacker Kavika Fonua, senior defensive back Dayan Ghanwoloku, freshman linebacker Payton Wilgar, junior linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi and freshman linebacker Max Tooley all have an interception apiece for BYU.
The 2-1 Rockets suffered a 38-24 loss to Kentucky to start the season, but bested Murray State (41-35) and Colorado State (41-35) in their following games.
Toeledo ranks 34th nationally in scoring offense (36.7 points per game) and is tied for 59th in scoring defense (24.3 points per game) with Duke.
The Rockets are led by senior quarterback Mitchell Guadagni, who has completed 59.6 percent of his passes (31-52) for 499 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on the season.
Sophomore tailback Bryant Koback (47 car, 364 yards, 7.7 yards per carry, 5 TD’s) ranks 11th nationally in yards per tote. He was also named the MAC’s special teams player of the week for his contributions in the win over Colorado State.
Against the Rams, Koback ran for a career-high 228 yards and three scores Saturday.
Junior receiver Bryce Mitchell (7 rec, 194 yards) and his fellow junior receiver Danzel McKinley-Lewis (7 rec, 172 yards, TD) are the Rockets’ receiving leaders.
Defensively, sophomore safety Saeed Holt, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Devan Rogers, sophomore defensive end Terrance Taylor and senior defensive lineman Nate Childress have posted a sack apiece for the Rockets. Senior linebacker Jordan Fisher, junior defensive back Samuel Womack and senior defensive back Kahlil Robinson all have an interception apiece for Toledo.
The Cougars lead the all-time series against the Rockets 1-0 with a 55-53 win in 2016 at Provo.
