BYU’s Baylor Romney to start at quarterback for Cougars vs. South Florida

The No. 15 BYU Cougars will start fourth-year junior Baylor Romney at quarterback after an injury to starter Jalen Hall has him unavailable against the South Florida Bulls in Provo on Saturday night.

In parts of three seasons for the Cougars, Romney is 79/121 for 1011 yards and nine passing touchdowns with three interceptions. Romney graduated high school in 2015, but after a two-year LDS mission and a redshirt season in 2018, he actually has two more seasons of eligibility after the 2021 campaign ends.

Romney’s first term as quarterback came late against South Florida in 2019 as an injury replacement, a game the Bulls won 27-23 in Tampa.

Hall was injured late against Arizona State in a game where the Cougars got a 27-17 win against a ranked opponent for the second straight week in LaVell Edwards Stadium. The sophomore has done well in replacing the Jets Zach Wilson, going 51 of 85 for 561 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions in 2021.

Right now the Cougars are a 24-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, about where they were before the injury announcement was made official. It looks like bettors saw this as a possible outcome after last week’s hit on Hall.