Freshman QB’s stellar debut boosts BYU

PROVO, Utah - Freshman quarterback Taysom Hill ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and passed for two scores in his first start as Brigham Young cruised to a 47-0 win over Hawaii on Friday night, spoiling former Cougars assistant coach Norm Chow's return.

Freshman running back Jamaal Williams ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries for BYU (3-2).

Starting in place of the injured Riley Nelson, Hill was 12 of 21 for 112 yards, with TD passes of 22 and 12 yards. His yards rushing were the most by a BYU quarterback since Brandon Doman - the Cougars' offensive coordinator - ran for 164 yards in 2001. BYU finished with 396 yards on the ground.

"We started fast," Hill said. "It was the first time we scored on the first drive, which was phenomenal. And to come out and win the way we did was great."

Williams replaced starting running back Michael Alisa, who broke his right forearm in the first quarter.

The Cougars' seventh-ranked defense set up two other scores by forcing quarterback Sean Schroeder into two fumbles.

Hawaii (1-3) was held to 41 yards rushing and outgained 540-149. BYU also had a 30-9 edge in first downs. It hardly was the return the 66-year-old Chow, in his first season at Hawaii, had hoped for in his first time back as a head a coach.

"We've got to grow up," said Chow, who spent 27 years at BYU, from 1973 to 1999, from graduate assistant to offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, and helped the team win a national title in 1984. "This is a big-boy business; nobody is feeling sorry for us. We can't feel sorry for ourselves."

Nelson started the season strong for the Cougars but suffered a back injury in the second game and hadn't played well since, committing four turnovers in a 7-6 loss to Boise State last week.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall waited until game time to announce his starter and said at halftime that Nelson still was his guy once healthy.

Other than a second-drive interception, Hill did everything he could to show he deserved another start. His 68-yard touchdown run left defenders diving at air and gave BYU a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

"On the sideline I've been asking for that play," Hill said. "They were gassed, and when we could go no-huddle and run something like that, it works pretty well."