This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • BYU's defense had a new look Saturday night, courtesy of a season-ending knee injury to starting strongside linebacker Jordan Pendleton.
The Cougars were typically stingy, however, during their lopsided 42-7 victory over Idaho at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
BYU's defense completely controlled Idaho, which became the Cougars' sixth opponent this season to score 17 points or less.
In all, Idaho managed 10 first downs and 241 total yards, including 82 on Princeton McCarty's third-quarter touchdown run.
BYU allowed only 50 passing yards as Idaho quarterbacks Taylor Davis and Brian Reader threw almost exclusively to the sideline, into the flat or to backs and receivers on screens.
Vandal running back Kama Bailey caught a team-high four passes, good for 3 yards.
"I don't think they believed their [pass] protection would hold for downfield throws," coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "... It's hard to score points if [you] can't throw."
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy praised the Cougar secondary.
"Our DBs did a wonderful job tonight," he said. "... We give them all the props in the world."
Van Noy finished with a career-high 10 tackles, including nine unassisted. He also forced a fumble.
"He's a student of the game," Mendenhall said. "... He's not in the right place at the right time by accident."
Idaho, of course, isn't the most explosive offensive team in the country. It entered the game averaging 291.2 yards and 21.2 points per game.
Still, the Vandals were coming off a 32-29 win at San Jose State last week, when they gained 219 yards during a 21-point rally in the fourth quarter.
Idaho's offense, it seemed, was gaining some confidence and momentum — at least until the Vandals ran into BYU.
In the first half against the Cougar defense, Idaho managed only four first downs and 63 yards of offense.
Davis completed 4 of 7 passes, but those completions lost 2 yards.
It got worse.
After Idaho received the opening kick in second half, its offense gained 2 yards on three plays and punted for the fifth time in the game.
After BYU scored again to make it 35-0, the Vandals got the ball back and gained another 2 yards on three plays before punting again.
You get the idea.
"Defensively," Mendenhall said, "I thought we played very well."
Idaho likely agrees.