It was the perfect situation.

Leading 28-10, BYU faced a third-and-3 at the the Utah State 40 midway through the fourth quarter of Friday's 35-17 win.

Enter former Aggie Riley Nelson at quarterback.

"I only had one play," Nelson said. "I'd gone over it a million times in my head. I'm just glad it come out successful."

Nelson handled the shotgun snap and took off on a quarterback draw for a 13-yard gain to the Utah State 27.

First down, and a well-deserved first pump by Nelson.

"People will say (of the first pump), 'Oh, it's because it's against his old team," Nelson said. "But I was just glad we could convert on third down."

Nelson actually came into the game for a similar situation earlier in the game but the Cougars were charged with a false start before the play began.

"We installed a draw that I was going to run on a third down in that exact situation -- third and 4, third and 5," Nelson said. "The false start was my fault. I got in there and tried to hurry up the cadence. That was a big mistake on my part. I have to try and not break the rhthym when I come in. That kind of backfired a little bit."

BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he likes Nelson in those situations.

"He runs the ball well," Mendenhall said. "He's certainly tough. And he has a lot of grit and determination. I would have liked the opportunity to play him more at the end of the football game, but we did have some plays mixed in for him."

Nelson will spend most of his first year at BYU as Max Hall's understudy, and that suits Nelson just fine.

"I just sit back and learn from Max," Nelson said. "And I'll take any opportunity to participate. I just try and learn, and tonight was a good example of that."

Nelson said he was glad to see some of his former teammates and greet them after the game.

"No. 31, Paul Igboeli, he was a great friend of mine up there. Junior Keiaho, he's like my brother. He lived with our family in high school (Logan). Josh Flores, Tanner Richens, I was glad to see all those guys. It was obviously a tough loss for them and no one likes to talk much after losing. But those guys are still close friends."

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 801-344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com.