BYU Football Questions Answered In Win Against Utah Tech

Nov 19, 2022, 5:12 PM | Updated: 5:23 pm

Jaren Hall and Keanu Hill celebrate for BYU football (Courtesy of BYU Photo)

(Courtesy of BYU Photo)

KSL Sports

PROVO, Utah – The BYU football team became bowl eligible after defeating Utah Tech 52-26 in the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Let’s answer some questions about an important win to secure a postseason.

Who was the MVP for BYU Football?

In what could be his last football game at Lavell Edwards Stadium, Jaren Hall demonstrated what makes him a special college quarterback.

Hall threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter when the offense needed points to keep pace with Utah Tech.

Three of his touchdown passes went to Keanu Hill.

Jaren Hall worked all off-season on his deep ball accuracy and there’s no doubt his work with John Beck and others paid off.

His accuracy is night-and-day better than last year.

Hall with 3 30+ yard passing touchdowns in the first half against Utah Tech. #BYU #BYUFootball

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) November 19, 2022

All five of his scoring passes were impressive, but the touchdown pass to Chase Roberts stood out.

It was a 59-yard scoring play that was one of his best passes of the season.

Roberts was double-covered. An under-thrown football would have been intercepted and an overthrown ball would have been incomplete.

The ball had to be thrown perfectly. All of his touchdown passes were right on the money.

Hall has taken tremendous strides this season. The question remains, however, has he done enough to jump to the NFL? I’d say yes.

What was the most impactful play of the game?

Late in the second quarter with Utah Tech only trailing by one, Trailblazer quarterback Victor Gabalis threw his only interception of the game.

Jakob Robinson was able to haul in an interception off a wobbly throw.

On the ensuing drive, the BYU offense drove 84 yards in 10 plays that resulted in a short touchdown pass to Keanu Hill.

BYU took an eight-point lead into the locker and never looked back.

It was a big moment for the defense, who previously struggled to slow down the Trailblazer offense.

What was the most interesting stat of the game?

Jaren Hall threw for over 400 yards for the first time in his career.

In fact, he threw for a career-high 456 yards.

The last time a BYU quarterback threw for over 400 yards was the final game for Zach Wilson against UCF in 2020.

Hall had passing touchdowns of 59 yards, 45 yards, and 30 yards as well as two shorter touchdown throws.

Jaren Hall's first 400-yard passing game for a new career high (424 yards). Previous high was 377 last game vs. Boise State #BYUFootball

— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) November 19, 2022

He completed 66 percent of his passes in addition to a quarterback rating of 216.6.

The BYU quarterback also passed 3,000 yards passing for the season.

It’s been an outstanding season for Hall, who I believe has a strong case to be considered the best quarterback of the independent era.

There are still two games remaining for Hall to continue to put up impressive stats for a singular season.

When was the game won for BYU Football?

After a BYU offense drive that was littered with penalties, Jaren Hall found his way into the end-zone with a 10-yard rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter.

Hall kept the ball on a read-option play and easily got in for a score.

It was his 5th touchdown of the game and the 8th rushing touchdown of his career.