The first half was nothing too memorable for BYU’s offense but the Cougars somehow reached halftime with a lead on Middle Tennessee State. BYU has turned the football over three times in the first half but a strong running game and a complimentary defensive effort has allowed for BYU to get past the sloppy play. BYU got on track to take a 23-10 lead at halftime.
Quarterback Taysom Hill has once again done plenty of damage on the ground, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Hill also lost a fumble for one of BYU’s three first-half turnovers. Hill has had to carry the bulk of the offense tonight with receiver Cody Hoffman suspended for the game against the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee took a 10-7 lead in the first quarter when Logan Kilgore connected on a touchdown pass to Marcus Henry in the red zone. Early in the second quarter BYU started to fight back by picking up a safety by bringing down Middle Tennessee running back Jordan Parker just inside the goal line. Hill later rushed 50 yards for a touchdown for the play of the half, giving BYU a 16-10 lead and Michael Alisa added a late half touchdown to pad the lead before the break.