Punter keeps Utah in front as offense sputters in Las Vegas Bowl victory

A serious case could have been made for a punter winning the Las Vegas Bowl's Most Valuable Player award on Saturday. The honor, instead, went to Utah defensive back Tevin Carter, whose two early interceptions set up the 20th-ranked Utes' 35-28 victory over Brigham Young at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Utah's Tom Hackett displayed why he's the best punter in the nation. After Utah scored 35 points off five first-quarter turnovers, the Utes went ice cold on offense and punted the ball on six straight drives between the second and third quarter. The Cougars could have climbed back into the game sooner than the team's fourth-quarter rally, but Hackett refused to give them breathing room.

The winner of the Ray Guy Award in back-to-back seasons, Hackett's six punts all covered more than 42 yards and pinned BYU within its own 20-yard line on five kicks. The senior from Melbourne, Australia, averaged 49.5 yards per punt.

Hackett kicked a beauty on a 51-yard punt that put the Cougars at their own 2-yard line in the second quarter. Here are Hackett's six punts in order: 42 yards, BYU on 3-yard line; 51 yards, BYU on 2-yard line; 56 yards, BYU on 11-yard line; 55 yards, touchback; 48 yards, BYU on 28-yard line; 45 yards, BYU on 19-yard line.

Hackett also had a fake punt on a fourth-and-7 and rushed for 21 yards. He was 4-for-4 on fake punt attempts this season.

Even after Hackett's excellent punts, Utah didn't let their punter put the game away. Utah chose to go for a fourth-and-1 on the BYU 40-yard line instead of letting Hackett try to pin the Cougars deep in their own territory. The Utes failed on a Joe Williams rush for no gain and then saw BYU score a touchdown to cut the lead to 35-28 with 3:23 left.

BYU TURNOVERS — It was a nightmare first quarter for the Cougars. In a quarter that lasted 65 minutes in real time, BYU turned the ball over five times, which Utah converted into five touchdowns. BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum suffered the most agony, fumbling the ball away after a sack on the first drive and then throwing three interceptions on the next three possessions.

Mangum threw the most interceptions in Las Vegas Bowl history.

"I've never been part of a game where the first five possessions were turnovers," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "It was a challenge for us. Our team tried really, really hard to the very end. I'm proud of the way they battled."

Carter recorded the first two interceptions off two tipped passes from Mangum. The senior defensive back returned the first interception for a 22-yard touchdown, he returned the second one 33 yards to give Utah the ball on its own 1-yard line. Dominique Hatfield also had a pick-six in returning Mangum's third interception 46 yards.

The fifth possession to start the game for the Cougars ended on a Squally Canada fumble. Canada, a redshirt freshman, made his debut for BYU after sitting out the regular season due to NCAA transfer rules. Canada played at Washington State last season.

UTAH OFFENSE — There's a reason why Hackett got to show off his leg often on Saturday. The Utah offense was horrendous for the majority of the game. Besides cashing in on the turnovers, the Utes did nothing after the first quarter.

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson had 34 yards passing through three quarters. The Cougars struggled to capitalize on the Utes' scoring drought, but eventually found themselves down 35-21 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Utah had a streak of six punts and two failed fourth down attempts in BYU territory in eight possessions.

"We were pathetic in the third quarter and half the fourth quarter," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Special teams and defense were very good. You're not going to lose a lot of games plus-five in the turnover margin."

Gilbert Manzano can be reached at 702-383-0492 or gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter:@gmanzanzo24