Starkville, Miss. • BYU was defeated handily by Mississippi State on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, but it could have been worse if not for sophomore cornerback Dayan Ghanwoloku.
The former Northridge High star intercepted two passes off Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who otherwise had a sensational game. Ghanwoloku’s first interception came in the Cougars’ end zone, and he returned it 67 yards to the MSU 33. His second pick came deep in BYU territory, and he returned it to the BYU 42. A face mask penalty moved the Cougars into Mississippi State territory, and they scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Mangum to Aleva Hifo.
Ghanwoloku now has five career interceptions. He had three last season and was No. 14 in the country in interception return yards, with 113.
That’s not helping
BYU had three possessions in the first quarter, and crossed midfield once. Twice, the Cougars came up 1 yard short on a third-down play, a screen to Trey Dye and a keeper by wildcat specialist Austin Kafentzis.
The Cougars had the ball for two plays on their fourth possession after Ghawoloku’s first interception. But Ula Toluta’u fumbled for the third time this season on his fifth carry, and Mississippi State recovered.
Toluta’u did not return in the first half after the fumble, and fullback Brayden El Bakri was the Cougars’ leading carrier in the first half, with four rushes for 18 yards.
Jamaal Williams fumbled twice in 726 carries in his four-year BYU career that ended in 2016.
Not on the bus
Receiver Talon Shumway, linebacker Matt Hadley and offensive lineman Kieffer Longson are injured and did not make the trip to Starkville. Hadley recently had surgery and is likely out for the season. Linebacker Johnny Tapusoa, who started against Boise State, did not play.
GameDay groans
BYU’s mascot Cosmo and Cougarettes were featured on ESPN’s College GameDay before kickoff and lauded for their performance during the Boise State game last week that went viral. However, the football team was not praised in the slightest.
“Didn’t you used to be BYU? My goodness, those guys are bad,” said host Reece Davis.
Briefly
Creed Richardson, Riggs Powell, Mitch Harris and Nate Sampson brought out the team flags for BYU. Linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi carried out the American flag. … Temperature at kickoff was 78 degrees.