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Logan • Utah State had BYU on the ropes Saturday, but nobody told the Cougars.

BYU converted a handful of critical Aggie mistakes into 28 straight points — including 21 during a four-minute span surrounding halftime — and the Cougars rallied for a 51-28 victory at frigid Maverik Stadium.

BYU improved to 9-3 with its fourth win in the past six games over Utah State. The Aggies slipped to 6-6.

"It wan't our night," said Utah State coach Matt Wells. "Congratulations to them. They played well enough to win it."

Utah State out-gained BYU by nearly 100 yards. The Aggies also had nine more first downs and converted 10 of 23 attempts on third and fourth down.

Still, the Cougars were coasting at the finish, thanks to four touchdown passes by quarterback Tanner Mangum and a 37-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tomasi Laulile on the final play of the first half.

"That's the game-changer right there," Mangum said. "We were able to let that momentum carry us through the second half."

Asked about his team's comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter, coach Bronco Mendenhall said, "I think they're resilient. I think they're tough. They find a way to make plays when they need to."

Utah State was close to take control of the game when quarterback Chuckie Keeton passed 24 yards to Hunter Sharp for touchdown with three minutes left in the first half. It gave the Aggies a 21-10. It gave Keeton the school record for career touchdown passes.

The senior quarterback sensed it was going to happen when the Aggies broke the huddle.

"As soon as they called the play, as soon as I stepped up and saw the coverage, I knew I was going to Hunter," Keeton said. "I didn't know it was going to be a touchdown. But it was straight man coverage and we tried to make them pay for it."

Utah State's momentum didn't last long.

On the first play after Sharp's touchdown, Magnum found Mitch Mathews for a 72-yard score.

"Anyone in this [interview] room could have caught that one," Wells said later. "We have to get better coverage because the guy was running wide-smokin' open."

Utah State had a chance to get to halftime with a 21-17 lead but, on the final play, Keeton rolled left and dropped the ball as he tried to tuck it away. Laulile recovered and rumbled for a touchdown that gave BYU an unimaginable 24-21 advantage.

"More than anything, it was me trying to do a little bit too much," Keeton said. "I was trying to switch the ball to my left hand, like we talk about every day. You run with the ball on your outside hand. I was trying to get down, too, which is ironic. Even more ironic is that's the area on the field where I blew out my knee two years ago. … It's not really a good spot for me."

BYU received the second-half off and quickly drove for another score. Mangum threw 35 yards to Mathews to make it 31-21.

Utah State trailed, 38-28, early in the fourth quarter, but Mangum's 35-yard pass to Devon Blackman on third-and-10 from the Cougar 10 kept BYU's clinching touchdown drive alive.

"It's a game you always want to win," said Utah State linebacker Nick Vigil. "Disappointing."

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Storylines

R Tanner Mangum throws four touchdown passes and BYU defeats Utah State, 51-28.

• The game turns on Tomasi Laulile's 37-yard fumble return on the final play of the first half.

• BYU finishes the regular season with a 9-3 record. Utah State ends up 6-6.