In the slot, BYU junior wide receiver Kyler Kasper saw an opportunity he wanted to take advantage of.

He was looking at man coverage against Wildcat senior cornerback Jay’vion Cole. Kasper is listed at 6-foot-6, while Cole is listed at 5-foot-10.

“I was telling my receiver coach and the QB coach this week that I think I’m a little bigger than these guys,” Kasper said. “So we need to take advantage of this.”

Kasper didn’t do anything complicated on the play, running a simple in-breaking route. Cole wasn’t in bad position but Cougar sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier fired the ball over to middle anyway.

Cole tried to reach around to knock the ball away, but Kasper’s arms were simply too long. He snagged the pass at the goal line and held one, giving his team a key score to help put the game away.

Kasper said being able to use his size like that is “a good feeling” and grinned as he said he thought they could’ve done it more often against Arizona.

“Still, we came out with the win and that’s a good feeling,” Kasper said.

Kasper, a transfer from Oregon, had plenty to celebrate as he also had hauled in a 6-yard TD pass from Bachmeier in the third quarter, giving him his first and second scoring receptions at BYU in the 28-17 win.

“It was amazing,” Kasper said. “Obviously, the atmosphere was electric. It was everything I ever dreamed of in the stadium, and an awesome experience.”

Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake said Kasper showed on Saturday what makes him so dangerous.

“It is helpful when you’re 6-foot-6 and can run really fast,” Sitake said. “We’ve had to defend that quite a bit, so I’m glad he’s on our team, and I’m glad he causes a little bit of a mismatch.”

The junior said he feels like he physically is at a point now where he can show what he is capable of.

“I think I came in with the mindset that I’m healthy now,” Kasper said. “Obviously I’ve been banged up the past two years, and I just wanted to show everyone what I can do healthy. I think I’ve done a pretty decent job with that so far through our spring ball, the off season, and fall camp. We’ll see where the road keeps going from here but I’m just going to go out there every game and work my tail off.”

Kasper had the most receptions for BYU, catching four passes for 51 yards and the two touchdowns. Bachmeier finished with 217 yards on 16-of-26 passing with three TDs and no interceptions.

In addition to what Kasper and the Cougar receivers did through the air, Sitake also lauded them for their impact on the ground game.

“The thing that I like about what our receivers do is how they help block,” Sitake said.

BYU senior running back LJ Martin, who rushed for 98 yards on 20 carries, said having the receivers tying up defenders on the edge and down the field makes his job a lot easier.

“They help a lot,” Martin said. “They just make it a lot clearer, and it just gives me a little bit more time just to see my reads and just kind of get a feel for the run before I’m getting hit by the secondary. They help a lot with running the ball.”