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Provo • Brigham Young linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a banner day against Idaho State Saturday, but all anybody could talk about was one yellow penalty flag.

The sophomore tallied two sacks, a punt block and recovery in the 56-3 win over the Football Championship Subdivision Bengals. Early in the second quarter, however, Van Noy hit Idaho State punter David Harrington during a return by the Cougars' J.D. Falslev, drawing a personal foul penalty and leaving the punter writhing on the grass.

Idaho State coach Mike Kramer had to be restrained after angrily chasing after the officials no fewer than three times, presumably arguing that Van Noy be ejected.

"I apologized to the coach because I didn't want to come off as a dirty player or make our team look bad," Van Noy said. "I didn't want any controversy with that. So I just wanted to show him some sportsmanship and apologize."

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said he also apologized to Kramer in the postgame handshake.

"Clearly, the coach wouldn't have reacted that way if it wasn't a penalty," he said.

The play underscored the subtle differences between aggression and dirty play.

"We're taught to be basically animals by coach Mendenhall, and it starts in practice," Van Noy said. "And we're always going to be aggressive, no matter what. That's just how we're taught to play here at BYU."

Van Noy, the defense's emotional leader and top playmaker, was all over Idaho State. After the Bengals went three-and-out to start the game, Van Noy blocked Harrington's first punt, recovered it, and nearly returned it for a touchdown.

"What game hasn't he contributed to?" Mendenhall said. "The guy makes a lot of football plays."

The block set up a one-play, 15-yard drive for the BYU offense, which scored on six of its first seven drives.

The defense, however, struggled on its first couple of series. On Idaho State's second possession, the Bengals ran 19 plays and took the ball to the BYU 17 before stalling and settling for a field goal.

The defense tightened after that, however.

The Cougars allowed 110 yards in the first quarter, but only 251 for the game. Jordan Pendleton also recorded a pair of sacks, while he and Spencer Hadley led the defense with six tackles apiece.