Quarterback: D

Bear Bachmeier has put forth some amazing performances throughout his still young BYU football career, although Saturday’s loss to the Utes, where he threw four back-breaking interceptions, has to be the low point. Sure, the four interceptions were bad, but the fact is that he got away with at least four more as he proved uncharacteristically careless with his throws and apparently confused to what type of coverages he was seeing. Bachmeier proved just okay with his effectiveness in running the football, and he did throw a perfect 75-yard bomb to Legend Glasker for a touchdown, but overall it was flat out the worst performance of his career with his four turnovers proving to be the primary reason for the loss.

Running backs: C-

Sione Moa did look better than he did a week ago although his 37 yards gained on 10 carries weren’t nearly enough to keep Utah’s defense honest and not honed in on Bachmeier and the passing game. LJ Martin returned to action, although his just 19 yards gained on seven carries certainly wasn’t the boon most hoped for with his inclusion in the lineup. The group did well with its pass protection, and did prove slightly more effective than it did over last week’s performance, but still, the overall performance was meager and constrained the offensive production considerably.

Wide receivers/Tight ends: B

Legend Glasker provided the offensive play of the game with his 75-yard touchdown reception, but managed just 43 yards on six receptions beyond that standout play. Tight end Walker Lyons was great with his seven catches for 97 yards, although only two of those receptions came during the second half during BYU’s somewhat desperate final possession. Kyler Kasper deserves mention with his body-twisting grab of a 27-yard reception early in the third quarter, but was otherwise too quiet and not impactful enough with his play. Still, the group was relatively solid throughout and certainly not the cause of BYU’s offensive deficiencies.

Offensive line: C

The lack of a running game is certainly due, at least in part, to the offensive line’s inability to punch open enough holes to run through. Indeed the running lanes were tight, for the most part and not enough was done upfront to kickstart enough of a running threat to take necessary pressure off of the passing game. Two of Bachmeier’s interceptions came with him forcing throws off of his back foot due to too much pressure being applied in the pass rush, which again falls on the offensive line. Overall the group was merely okay and didn’t provide nearly enough to alleviate the pressures that hampered BYU’s meager offensive performance.

Defensive line: B+

BYU’s defensive front was probably the best unit on the field for BYU throughout Saturday’s loss. Bodie Schoonover deserves particular mention for his play, which included a couple of sacks and a forced fumble. Overall the group managed to stalemate much of Utah’s ground attack, but did allow Devon Dampier to break the pocket on too many occasions for big gains. Keanu Tanuvasa was also impactful with his three tackles-for-loss and in playing big to limit Utah running back Wayshawn Parker to just 36 yards gained on 14 carries.

Linebackers: B-

Overall the linebackers performed relatively well outside of some critical missed tackles which played big in helping secure a win for Utah. Cade Uluava was a standout with his team-leading seven tackles and a sack although a missed sack by Isaiah Glasker during a 3rd-and-7 situation proved big in promoting a Ute touchdown just a few plays later.

Safeties/Cornerbacks: C+

The group deserves a big negative mark for blowing coverages early that enabled Utah to jump out to a 14-0 lead. And Utah could have provided even more save for more than several drops by Utah receivers. Tommy Prassas did force a key fumble while playing perhaps his best game as a Cougar safety, and the coverages did tighten up and adjust from the early deficiencies to lift the group’s overall grade. Also deserving of mention is how officials seem intent on picking on Jayven Williams, who was again flagged with an extremely questionable pass interference penalty for a second straight week.

Coaching: C

BYU came out unprepared to play and that has to fall, at least in part, to the preparations administered by the coaching staff. The play did improve from the initial blow as productive adjustments came about. Defensively it’s tough to assign much fault to BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga’s play-calling after Utah’s first two possessions. On the offensive side it seemed as if Aaron Roderick called a too aggressive slate when going conservative was perhaps the better option and vice versa. But it was the lack of appearing prepared to play at the outset that is the biggest mark against the coaching, as a whole.