PROVO, Utah — Bear Bachmeier threw for a career-high 351 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 23 BYU to a 38-24 victory over West Virginia on Friday night.
BYU (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) rolled up 517 total yards and had two takeaways. Chase Roberts had a career-high 161 yards on four catches, and Parker Kingston added a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.
Khalil Wilkins totaled 170 yards on offense and had two interceptions in his first career start. West Virginia (2-4, 0-3) forced three turnovers but also got burned repeatedly by big plays from BYU.
Kingston scored on back-to-back first-quarter drives to put BYU up 14-0. Therrian Alexander III jumped a route near midfield and returned an interception 49 yards to set up Kingston’s first TD on a 1-yard run. Kingston followed up by reeling in a short pass, weaving through traffic and sprinting 54 yards for his second touchdown.
Roberts raced downfield on an 85-yard catch-and-run late in the second quarter, setting up L.J. Martin’s 4-yard TD run that extended BYU’s lead to 21-3.
West Virgina threatened briefly after Fred Perry recovered a fumbled pitch to set the stage for a 3-yard TD run from Diore Hubbard. Bachmeier answered with a 2-yard run 19 seconds before halftime to keep the Mountaineers from drawing closer.
The Mountaineers finished plus-one in the turnover margin, but still couldn’t slow down BYU’s offense.
The Cougars should move up in the AP poll after finishing with more than 300 passing yards for the first time this season.
