Advertisement

BYU staves off Virginia 41-33, remains undefeated

BYU staves off Virginia 41-33, remains undefeated

BYU's undefeated season continues after the Cougars defeated Virginia 41-33 on Saturday.

Virginia's trip to Provo, Utah, was a potential trap game for the Cougars after the Cavaliers defeated Louisville in week three. Plus, The Cavaliers got the Cougars at Virginia last year, winning 17-14.

There was no Virginia win this season.

The Cavaliers led at halftime but BYU scored 14 points in the third quarter to take control of the game. Both touchdowns were on the ground. One was courtesy of QB Taysom Hill on a tackle-breaking 15-yard run and the other was from RB Jamaal Williams, who scored from two yards out.

Virginia tried to answer in the fourth quarter, but with the exception of the Cavaliers' final score, which came with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter, the next score after every Virginia one was by BYU.

Hill finished with 187 yards passing and 72 yards rushing.

BYU's schedule is one of the most favorable of anyone's to go undefeated. While the Cougars' schedule isn't easy -- trips to Central Florida and Boise State aren't guarantees -- they now have potentially the best shot of anyone in college football to go undefeated.

However, it may not do them any good. If the Cougars keep winning, you'll keep hearing about it. Because of its schedule as an independent, a potentially undefeated BYU team has a miniscule chance of making the College Football Playoff.

But if the Cougars keep winning, who knows. College football armaggedon may happen and we may be left with an undefeated BYU team as the only team without a loss.

For Virginia, it's a promising loss. It's an adjective that doesn't fit well with the noun, but the Cavaliers, projected to be one of the worst teams in the ACC, have lost to two top-25 teams by single digits. In a weak ACC, the bowl chances for Virginia look much higher than they were before the season and another upset or two in the ACC doesn't look farfetched at all.

- - - - - - -

Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!