BYU football: Cougars defeat UNLV on Squally Canada’s legs

BYU football defeated UNLV 31-21 on Friday night thanks to a career game from running back Squally Canada.

BYU football picked up a win on Friday night. A convincing one, too.

That’s no typo. You read it correctly. BYU football won.

Even though its been a season to forget for the Cougars, this was a solid win over a decent UNLV Rebels team.

For the first time all season it looked like BYU was playing loose and with some swagger. Sure, the Cougars demolished San Jose State – but there were plenty of expectations going into that game. BYU was supposed  to win big.

Against UNLV, the Cougars were supposed to lose. But they dug deep, played for respect, and got a good win.

BYU started slow offensively, but the defense kept hopes alive. UNLV’s first drive ended with a missed field goal, its second with a punt and its third with a Zayne Anderson interception.

Joe Critchlow, or the Ginger Gunslinger, (let’s make that thing, everyone) and did a great job of managing the game. He made some nice throws, did enough to keep the game within reach and looked like the best quarterback the Cougars have played this season. On the night, he completed 14-of-22 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown.

His score came on an impressive throw to Aleva Hifo towards the corner of the end zone. It was an equally impressive catch on Hifo’s part.

I suppose it’s time to cue up all the 2017 what if hot takes.

But the real story of the game was Squally Canada.

Canada dominated, taking 25 carries for 213 yards and a touchdown. How good was Canada on the night? He was only 120 yards from his season rushing total.

It was great stuff, especially considering how short handed BYU was at running back entering the game.

The defense also played well, forcing two turnovers and holding UNLV to 3.6 yards per carry. It was a nice showing from a unit that’s been heavily criticized.

With any luck, the Cougars can build on this win. Next week the team is back in Provo to host UMass. On paper, that doesn’t look like much. However, the Minutemen played both Tennessee and Mississippi State well this season.

Three Things We Learned

Here’s what we learned from BYU football’s 31-21 win.

1. Joe Critchlow can be the starting quarterback. He looked calm and confident – two things that Tanner Mangum and Beau Hoge struggled with. Critchlow also became just the third true freshman in BYU football history to win his first start (Mangum and Taysom Hill were the others). It will be interesting to see the QB battle next season. My money is on the Ginger Gunslinger.
2. Don’t sleep on Squally. Squally Canada’s last three games have been great. He’s seen his touches increase in each (10, 12, 25) and scored in all three. In total, Canada’s taken 47 carries for 441 yards in that span.
3. Ty Detmer (and the offense) is getting better. Things still aren’t perfect, but this UNLV team is better than ECU. Maybe things are coming together too slowly for most, but at least everything is trending in the right direction. It helps when you get decent quarterback play.