Utah State 35, Brigham Young 20

[October 04, 2014]  Utah State 35, No. 19 Brigham Young 20: Darell Garretson threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns as the visiting Aggies shocked the Cougars in the nonconference game.

Garretson, starting in place of the injured Chuckie Keeton, completed 19-of-25 passes without an interception and was especially sharp in the first half, when he threw for 256 yards and all three TDs. Hunter Sharp caught five passes for 173 yards and a touchdown and Devonte Robinson finished with six receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Utah State (3-2).

BYU quarterback Taysom Hill, an early Heisman Trophy candidate, suffered a fractured left leg late in first half and will undergo season-ending surgery, coach Bronco Mendenhall said after the contest. Christian Stewart took over and was intercepted three times in second half before finishing 10-for-29 for 172 yards for BYU (4-1).

Hill was injured during a sequence in which Utah State scored three touchdowns in the final 4:40 of the first half to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room. The Aggies tied the score at 14 on a 13-play, 88-yard drive that took 8:26 off the clock, recovered a fumble on the ensuing BYU drive and capitalized one play later when Garretson hit Robinson for a 22-yard touchdown strike and they got the ball back once more before Garretson capitalized with a 72-yard touchdown pass to Sharp with 55 seconds left in the half.

Trevor Samson kicked a 41-yard field goal to pull BYU within 11 points with 4:39 left in the third quarter but Utah State came back with a 1-yard TD run by Nick Vigil and Stewart was intercepted for the second time on the next drive. Vigil, a sophomore starting linebacker for the Aggies, made his first collegiate appearance at running back and finished with a team-high 57 rushing yards and a touchdown.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Garretson is the grandson of Darell Garretson, an NBA referee for 27 years. … BYU also lost S Dallin Leavitt, LB Alani Fua and OG Brayden Kearsley to second-half leg injuries. … Hill scored a rushing TD before he was injured, giving him 22 for his career and moving him into 10th place on the school’s career list.

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.