Everything was on the line for no. 11 BYU against Cincinnati. A spot in the Big 12 title game. A potential at-large playoff bid. The Cougars rose to the occasion and delivered a gritty win over a motivated Cincinnati team. The Bearcats still had conference title hopes of their own and BYU went into their building and ended those title game aspirations. Here were the 10 highest-graded players from BYU’s win.
Anyone that watched this game could have predicted that LJ Martin would be the highest-graded player. BYU had 392 yards of total offense against the Bearcats and Martin accounted for 266 of those yards. Martin had a career high 222 rushing yards on the ground and he had two touchdowns, including the game-sealing touchdown in the final minute. His previous career high was a 162-yard outing against Arizona.
119 of Martin’s 222 yards came after contact. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry after he was contacted.
San Diego State transfer Tayvion Beasley came in at the nickel spot and made a big impact. Starter Jonathan Kabeya got burned a few times, so Beasley came in and played 25 snaps. He forced a critical fumble in the second half.
BYU held Cincinnati to its lowest rushing output of the season. Big man John Taumoepeau played a big role in that. Taumoepeau was consistent against both the run and the pass as well. He was credited with three quarterback hurries.
Another Tanner Wall interception in a critical moment? You bet. Tanner Wall made one of the most important plays of the game when he intercepted Brendan Sorsby and gave the ball back to BYU’s offense. That turnover completely changed the complexion of the game.
Tausili Akana is starting to reach his potential in this BYU defense. Akana has become BYU’s pass-rush specialist along with Nusi Taumoepeau. He’s also starting to get more playing time on early run downs. Akana played 21 snaps and he rushed the passer on 11 of those snaps. He generated four quarterback pressures, tied for a team high. He also had three defensive stops, tied for a team high.
His 87.1 pass rush grade was one of the best pass rush grades of the season for the BYU defense.
Tight end Keanyen Nead played a role as a run-blocking tight end. He had the second best run-blocking grade on the BYU offense.
Safety Faletau Satuala continues to find ways to impact games. The true sophomore had the best run defense grade per Pro Football Focus. He was credited with one defensive stop and he had a solid 67.7 coverage grade.
Veteran defensive end Logan Lutui generated a quarterback pressure and a top five run defense grade.
Mory Bamba had the second best coverage grade among BYU defensive backs. He was targeted just once and allowed only seven yards.
Tre Alexander had his first career sack against the Bearcats. It was only the fourth sack that Cincinnati had allowed all season. He also came up and made some critical tackles. He was credited with three defensive stops.
