Punter Jonny Linehan was the first-half star against East Carolina, coverage specialist Brayden El-Bakri was the early star against San Jose State, and kicker Rhett Almond shined in the first two quarters Saturday night against Fresno State.
Almond booted a pair of field goals of 27 and 46 yards, the latter a career-long, to account for BYU’s only first-half points.
Almond’s previous career-long was 38 yards. The Cougars racked up 202 yards of offense to Fresno State’s 153 in the first half, but did not register a touchdown.
The Cougars flew into Fresno, Calif., on Friday afternoon, and the game did not start until 8:51 p.