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Provo • Christian Stewart had his chance to put up big numbers against sad-and-sorry UNLV at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night. And that's exactly what he did.

The BYU quarterback threw the ball 32 times, completing 18 of those attempts for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-23 win. He also ran for 38 yards.

It was obvious from the Cougars' first possession that they intended to throw deep and often, with Stewart continually going downfield. The senior QB, who stepped in when Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury against Utah State, missed some open receivers, often overthrowing them, but he was accurate enough to key the victory.

He connected with eight different targets, and when he floated a perfect looping throw to running back Paul Lasike for a 26-yard score — "I knew he was wide open," Stewart said, "I didn't want to overthrow him" — late in the third quarter, the Cougars went ahead, 35-16.

Game pretty much over.

After UNLV later cut that lead to 35-23, Stewart fired a strike to Mitch Mathews for another BYU touchdown.

Game completely over.

Earlier, Stewart had flicked a backward pass to Jordan Leslie for a 30-yard score that counted as a rushing TD. He also hit tight end Devin Mahina for a 15-yard score. Lasike, who caught the 26-yarder at the 5:42 mark of the third quarter, was Stewart's counterpunch, gaining 70 yards on the ground, and accounting for three touchdowns.

Stewart said one of his "biggest weaknesses" is being a perfectionist. And while the QB wasn't perfect, he said he was OK with his performance.

"For the most part," he said, "I'm happy."

The Rebels weren't the most worthy of opponents, having lost now nine of their 11 games, typically by giving up bunches of points. But Stewart wasn't about to let that fact tarnish the good feeling he had postgame.

"There's no sweeter feeling than throwing a touchdown pass at LaVell Edwards Stadium," he said. —

Stewart's stat line

Completions • 18

Attempts • 32

Yards passing • 325

Touchdowns • 3

Interceptions • 0