QUARTERBACK: A

There’s an argument to be made that Bear Bachmeier played his best game during the win. One week after not forging much of anything through the air, Bachmeier was on point from start to finish, going 22-30 through the air for 329 yards a two touchdowns. All but one of his passes were on target as the Cougar passing attack came alive and proved very effective from the first drive to the last. Oh yeah, Bachmeier also ran for 109 yards on nine carries and proved to be his team’s best running back by a large margin in the absence of LJ Martin.

RUNNING BACKS: C-

BYU needs this group to step up during the 4-6 weeks LJ Martin is out, and after one of those weeks, the group showed to have much to work on. The trio of Journee Tonga, Preston Rex and DeVaughn Eka weren’t effective and unable to break many tackles, and especially during critical short-yardage situations. Iowa State did stack the line, for the most part, which does allow at least some allowance to the group’s overall performance, but still, the group was largely ineffective while providing no reason to believe BYU can withstand the injury to Martin moving forward to big games versus Notre Dame and Utah.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: B

The tight ends were heavily involved, particularly Walker Lyons with his five receptions for 61 yards, most of which came early during the win. Roger Saleapaga broke free from a big 63-yard reception to set up a touchdown in giving a glimpse of the potential displayed throughout fall camp yet waiting to be revealed during games. The receivers had at least two drops — most notably one by Kyler Kasper that would have gone for big yards. Other than that, the group found open spaces, for the most part, and played a big role in helping Bachmeier throw for a career-high 329 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: B-

The offensive line was good, but not great with its overall play during the win. Bachmeier was allotted ample time on most throws, but did take too many hits while standing in the pocket to deliver accurate passes. The run-blocking could have been better, and especially during short-yardage situations and the lack of an effective push prevented BYU from completing at least two drives while keeping the game closer than it should have been.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A

The pass rush was on point throughout and proved extremely effective while the rush defense was stout in limiting running back Aiden Flora from making the big gains he had prior to Friday night’s game. It all begins with solid defensive line game and it’s hard to poke many, if any holes in the group’s execution from start to finish on Friday. The edges and perhaps particularly the interior linemen beat assignments time and again while showing aggressive and impactful on most passing and running plays. The group also batted down several passes at the line of scrimmage in aiding the pass defense considerably.

LINEBACKERS: A-

Much like the overall play of the defensive line, BYU’s linebackers provided nearly perfect execution from the first drive to the last. Leading the way were both Cade Uluave and Jake Clifton, with their six and five tackles, respectively. Clifton hasn’t missed much of a beat in filling in for the injured Isaiah Glasker. The linebackers did lose contain on a few plays, which is largely the only mark against the group, although backup Ace Kaufusi provided one of the better plays in clipping Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor just prior to him running for what appeared to be a big-gainer and a converted first down.

SAFETIES: A-

Faletau Satuala seemed to be in on most plays, providing a lot of pressure from his backfield position and forcing aggressive action on Iowa State’s running backs and receivers. Tommy Prassas had his best game as a Cougar in providing three solo tackles and defending two passes. Like the linebackers, the only mark against the group was when they lost contain on Jaylen Raynor primarily.

CORNERBACKS: A

It’s hard to imagine a better all-around outing from the BYU cornerbacks. Therrian Alexander was especially impactful, providing great coverage down the field, but proving most impactful in his tackling in the flat on attempted screens and passes to the flat. Jayven Williams provided perhaps the hit of the year with one of his pass breakups while Evan Johnson wasn’t noticed throughout which is due to him locking down his coverage assignments.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-

The field goal kicking, punting and kick coverages were very good throughout, and that’s the good news. The bad news was the subpar punt fielding by Tiger Bachmeier, who muffed two punt returns, the latter of which changed the course and momentum of the entire game. Tiger hasn’t proved to have enough field awareness throughout his career to work as an effective returner, and it’s doubtful he’ll be seen back there again this year. Had the game proved more competitive then his foibles could have proved disastrous.

COACHING: B

Coming off of BYU’s bye week, the team’s defensive coordinator, Kelly Poppinga, stated that his main focus was for his defenders to start better and provide more consistent play throughout any game’s 60 minutes of play. Friday’s game showed that this prerogative has been well-adhered to. The defensive gameplan was nearly flawless and well-executed from start to finish. On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick deserves praise for opening up the passing game and involving the tight ends more with his overall play-calling. The marks against Roderick come with the lack of effective short-yardage and redzone execution. Play-calling during these critical situations becomes much more important with the absence of LJ Martin, and the calls to simply run it up the middle with lighter backs like Journee Tonga didn’t pay the necessary dividends.