Lightning fast: No. 25 BYU storms to 50-21 season-opening win at South Florida

TAMPA, Fla. — It took an extra 2 hours and 35 minutes for BYU to open the 2022 college football season thanks to a weather delay and severe thunderstorms Saturday afternoon against South Florida.

Puka Nacua wasn't about to wait another minute.

Nacua took the first play of the game from scrimmage 75 yards for a touchdown just 11 seconds into the game, and No. 25 BYU rolled to a 50-21 win over South Florida to kick off the final season as an FBS independent.

You want fast starts? BYU's season-opening start was gasping for air at sea level. Nacua finished with 98 yards of offense and two touchdowns, despite limited minutes after an apparent ankle injury in the first half, and the Cougars (1-0) piled up 575 yards of offense, led by as much as 28-0, and never looked back.

"We were very excited to play," said junior quarterback Jaren Hall of the fast start. "I think we were very excited to be out here. There was a lot of talk about the weather and some other things going against us; I think it fired us up and got us really going and energized. And then we made plays to build off that. We did a good job of making plays quick, pushing the tempo, kept the defense out of the loop; they were uncomfortable, and we kept using that against them. It was basic stuff that we do every day in practice, and just rolled through it in the first half."

Hall threw for 261 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for BYU, and Christopher Brooks added 135 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries as the Cougars scored 50 points or more against an FBS opponent for the sixth time in the last four years.

It's a far cry from the last time Hall played at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where the then-sophomore started his first-ever game for BYU and left early with a concussion in a 27-23 loss to the Bulls.

"I watched that game before this game to see myself. And I'm really just allowing the game to come to me, to not have to feel it out," Hall said. "Today, we started fast and were able to throw the ball a lot early — simple plays to get it into your players' hands, and that's something I learned that I didn't do much in 2019. You use your experience, and learn that a quarterback is only as good as the guys around him.

"There are a lot of good guys around me. I just had to get them the ball."

Few were better — at least to start — than Nacua. After spending at least part of the week (and fall camp) with legitimate questions over his health, perhaps it was Nacua who showed his best usage may be … running back?

Move over, Brooks; the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Orem High product who transferred from Washington had 80 yards for two touchdowns on his first two carries, a pair of swing plays that BYU used to take a 14-0 lead — with 8:44 left in the first quarter (Brooks did well enough, too).

Just 46 seconds after Nacua's second touchdown, Max Tooley jumped a route to intercept a pass from Gerry Bohanon, and returned it 33 yards for a score that gave the Cougars a 21-0 advantage before the middle of the opening quarter.

The rout was on.

The Cougars piled up 314 yards on the ground, including 55 yards on 10 carries from backup Lopini Katoa, and added 261 through the air with at least one catch by a dozen different receivers from Hall.

It wasn't a perfect performance — the Cougars did give up 21 points to a team that finished just 2-10 last year and is 3-19 under third-year coach Jeff Scott. Sitake admitted there's a lot of work to do — perhaps most notably on special teams and kickoff return — but came away impressed by his offensive performance and boosted by a defense that allowed just two touchdowns and limited Bohanon to 17-of-30 passing for 172 yards and an interception and Colorado transfer Jaren Mangham to 39 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

"There are a lot of things that we can fix," Sitake said. "But credit to South Florida; they have a great return team, and we tried to test it probably too many times. They were No. 1 in the country last year, and they might be No. 1 right now with what we gave up. That's on the coaches. We've got to figure out a way to improve our kickoff team."

BYU opened the door just slightly for USF around halftime, with a pair of touchdowns coming in and out of the break. A safety on a poorly-snapped punt and a 52-yard touchdown run from Brooks slammed the door shut, however, and a field goal by Jake Oldroyd pushed BYU to the half-century mark to open the season.

Other than the final drive of the first half, when the Bulls piled up 84 of their 179 offensive yards to that point, it was all BYU.

Nacua finished the break with 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead all rushers, and added a 22-yard catch before an apparent ankle injury kept him sidelined in the second quarter.

"It was more precautionary," Sitake said of Nacua, who emerged from the medical tent with his ankle taped, wore a protective boots for stints on the sideline, and was spotted after the game on crutches. "Puka could've kept going. All the x-rays and everything say it's good; he could've gone, but we made the decision to pull him out, to get him in the boot, and to try to help him recover.

"He's sore ... But I think once the adrenaline eased out and we told him he's out, then it became about rehab and getting him healthy. And I thought the other guys around him filled in well. Brayden Cosper played well, Chase Roberts, Kody Epps; Keanu (Hill, who had 21 yards and a touchdown) played well, even though I know he wishes he had that one play back."

Hall completed 16-of-21 passes to 10 different receivers for 178 yards and two touchdowns, and Holker had a team-high 39 yards on three catches with a touchdown at the break.

The Cougars gave up an 89-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff of the second half, but rallied to pull back a safety following Jacob Boren's sack. Brooks scored his first touchdown in a BYU uniform with a 52-yard run with 5:32 left in the third, and Oldroyd added a 37-yard field goal to account for the only scoring in the fourth quarter.

Boren led BYU with six tackles, including his sack, and Tooley, Payton Wilgar and Ben Bywater added five stops apiece for a defense that rotated 26 players and featured several alignments — including one with as many as six linebackers and hybrids playing together.

The Cougars open their home campaign next week against Baylor, which rolled by Albany 69-10 in Week 1. Kickoff from LaVell Edwards Stadium is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. MDT Saturday on ESPN.

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