Quarterback: C+

Yes, it’s the quarterback position, which is normally heavily graded due to passing prowess, but most of Bear Bachmeier’s high marks in Saturday’s win are from his effective running. A week removed from his disastrous performance in a 28-20 loss to Utah, Bachmeier reverted back to his running strengths, not hesitating to look for running space when breaking the pocket and scored three touchdowns, as a result. On the passing front Bachmeier was ultra-conservative in not attempting much of anything down the field or even on intermediate routes. It all led to him not throwing an interception, sure, but also made the Cougar passing game very limited in just 104 total yards gained.

Running backs: B+

The Cougar ground game looked fantastic during the first half with LJ Martin and Sione Moa leading the way to 30 total rushes for 150 yards gained. Baylor’s defensive gameplan all but forced the Cougars to call a run-heavy slate and the offense responded well, for the most part. It all bogged down in the second half, however, with both Martin and Moa leaving the game due to injury concerns. DeVaughn Eka saw his first work in a while although his 21 yards gained on six rush attempts certainly didn’t validate him receiving more reps. Preston Rex was didn’t provide much production with his nine carries for just 32 yards.

Receivers/Tight ends: C

This is a tough grade to assign since none of the receivers were targeted much throughout the game due to offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s ultra-conservative play-calling. Legend Glasker was given opportunities to touch the ball, although every touch came right at the line of scrimmage on smoke screens and jet sweeps, none of which proved effective. Glasker did have an opportunity to score a long touchdown, but didn’t utilize his open-field blocks effectively and was held to a minimal gain. Walker Lyons saw the most targets from his tight end position, but finished with just three receptions for 49 yards. The big highlight came from Jojo Philips who caught a 23-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.

Offensive line: B

The run-blocking was on point throughout most of the game in providing a much better rushing attack that kept the Cougar offense on the field for long periods of time while aiding the overall defensive effectiveness. The pass-blocking was suspect, at times, and lack of ample time in the pocket may have contributed to the bevy of check-downs and safe throws to the sidelines throughout much of the game. But overall the offensive line performed well and managed to exert its will over Baylor’s front for much of the course of Saturday’s game.

Defensive line: A

It’s hard to poke any holes in the collective performance of BYU’s defensive front during the win. Bodie Schoonover continued to assert himself early and often and finished with four total tackles and a couple of sacks, including one on Baylor’s initial offensive possession. Viliami Po’uha also stood out with his five total tackles, which included a late sack. Keanu Tanuvasa again anchored all of it in helping limit the Bears to just 79 yards gained rushing, 42 of which were assigned to quarterback DJ Lagway.

Linebackers: B+

The linebacker play was almost as good as that of the defensive line throughout the course of play, although the group, as a whole didn’t contribute many total tackles. The game involved a lot more participation from backups and players like Ace Kaufusi, Kendal Wall and Miles Hall all largely responded well and didn’t allow much of anything to escape for big gains or even moderately-successful drives throughout the course of the game.

Defensive backs: A

The defensive back play was largely outstanding, and much like is the case with the defensive line, it’s tough to find any negatives to the group’s overall play. Therrian Alexander again deserves special mention for his lock down play on prolific Baylor receiver Gavin Freeman, who finished with just six receptions for 37 yards. Tommy Prassas made a big interception in the second half which played big while providing the defense with its first interception for almost two months. Raider Damuni also played very well from his safety position and finished with five total tackles to match Faletau Satuala’s total.

Special teams: B

There was a missed field goal, but overall the group performed very well and provided an advantage for the Cougars in the win. Most notable was Canon DeVries providing a big 44-yard return to aide the offense considerably. DeVries had a long kickoff return to begin the second half that was called back due to a holding penalty. Fuller Shurtz proved much better with his punting than a week ago and averaged 47.6 yards on his five punts. The coverage units didn’t allow anything and it was overall a solid performance from the group.

Coaching: C+

The BYU offense did well in taking what the Baylor defense gave them throughout the first half, although the play-calling was confusing and ultimately inaffective throughout too much of the second half of play. The play-calling prevented much of a chance of Bachmeier throwing an interception, but it compressed the passing attempts to at or just beyond the line of scrimmage throughout the game. Defensively the coaching was on point with Cougar defenders executing the game plan effectively and severely limiting what has been an otherwise productive Baylor offense.