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Provo • Vic So'oto made his first career interception for the Cougars on Saturday night in their 27-13 loss to Nevada.
Yes, that really was So'oto.
The defensive end decided to wear teammate Romney Fuga's jersey at halftime, after Fuga was injured by what the Cougars say was a cheap shot in the first half from Nevada senior offensive lineman John Bender.
"Wasn't really anything special," So'oto said of the interception. "The defense we ran, I just tried to contain the ball. Like coach says, there are no free sacks, so when their guy let go of me, I just stopped and the ball was there."
The crowd lustily booed the officials' decision not to call a penalty on the play.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Fuga will undergo an MRI on his right knee on Monday to determine the damage. He had to bite his tongue when asked what he thought of the play.
"Not a positive football play," he said.
As for So'oto, he said he decided to wear Fuga's jersey after talking to the fallen teammate at halftime.
"Just as a symbol for my buddy. I mean, he's probably the best player on defense. Seeing someone go down like that on a play like that, kind of hurts the morale of the team. … I talked to him, and he was feeling bad about it, so I just decided to put his jersey on," So'oto said.
DiLuigi does OK
J.J. DiLuigi took a shot to the quad during the first kickoff return of the second half and was replaced briefly by freshman Josh Quezada. However, DiLuigi returned to the game. He said he just needed to loosen it a bit and he was back.
He finished with 123 all-purpose yards.
First-half firepower
The Cougars struggled against Nevada's offense in the first half, as the Wolf Pack rolled up 15 first downs and 313 total yards.
Nevada didn't punt in the first half, but was stopped twice. The first time came when Zeke Mendenhall caused a fumble that Andrew Rich recovered. The second came when the Cougars stopped the Wolf Pack on 4th-and-1 with 4:18 remaining in the second quarter.
The Cougars turned that stop into a 27-yard field goal by Mitch Payne.
Briefly
Former receiver Danny Plater carried the alumni flag onto the field. … McKay Jacobson carried the team flag out. … Zeke Mendenhall got the start at free safety in place of the injured Steven Thomas. … The Cougars ran a reverse on a kickoff in the first half, with Cody Hoffman picking up 33 yards after taking a handoff from McKay Jacobson. … Attendance was 61,471, snapping BYU's string of 19 consecutive sellouts.