QUARTERBACK: B-

It wasn’t Bear Bachmeier’s best outing of career, but it didn’t have to be. Overall BYU’s starting quarterback went just 12-16 through the air for 227 yards, having that yardage total boosted significantly by his 70-yard bomb thrown to Legend Glasker early in the first half. Bachmeier did try to force the ball into tight coverages, mostly when targeting receiver Kyler Kasper, and did throw his first interception of the season in doing as much. He also had negative yardage rushing, which is a very unusual stat for the duel-threat quarterback. But overall he did enough, and again, Saturday’s win wasn’t about him and the necessity to throw for big yardage.

RUNNING BACK: A

What you say negative about the running performance set forth by LJ Martin, or even players like Preston Rex and Journee Tonga, for that matter. Martin was undoubtedly at his very best, running for 176 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries, but BYU also made big gains on the ground when his backups took central roles throughout the second half. Rex had 24 yards on four carries, which included a touchdown while Tonga showed flashes of cutback brilliance in gaining 91 yards on just 10 carries. Overall it’s difficult to poke any holes in the running back’s overall performance on Saturday.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: A

Again, BYU’s receivers and tight ends weren’t showcased on Saturday, although both groups did their jobs when needed, and did them very effectively. Blocking from the wideouts and tight ends was mentioned frequently by BYU coach Kalani Sitake and players during postgame interviews, which is often an overlooked aspect of forging a productive offense. Keayen Nead laid plenty of solid blocks in seeing an uptick in reps due to Roger Saleapaga sitting out the game due to injury precautions. The best receiving performance was undoubtedly set forth by Legend Glasker who hauled in five receptions for 131 yards including the aforementioned 70-yard bomb from Bachmeier.

OFFENSIVE LINE: B+

The standout here was Trevin Ostler, who spelled Kyle Sfarcioc very effectively from the right guard position. Sfarcioc, like Saleapaga, was held out as an injury precaution, although the Cougar front didn’t miss a beat due to Ostler’s overall play. The offensive front busted open wide open holes throughout the night while giving Bachmeier ample opportunity in the pocket to operate. The only mark against the group were the holding penalties, which need to be cleaned up as the Cougars head into Big 12 Conference play.

DEFENSIVE LINE: B

BYU’s defensive front limited Colorado State to under 100 yards rushing and overall didn’t allow the high-octane Ram offense to find much of any momentum throughout, and especially following the departure of Colorado State starting quarterback Hauss Hejny due to injury. It was a relatively quiet night with regards to the pass rush, and the second unit did allow a bit too much yardage than Cougar coaches would have preferred, however. Tausili Akana was again a standout with 1.5 tackles-for-loss along with defensive tackle Justin Kirkland, who saw what was probably the most work he’s had during any game while proving effective in solidifying the defensive interior.

LINEBACKERS: B-

Much like the Cougar defensive front, the linebackers largely did their job, but didn’t make the overwhelming impact you might expect. Cade Uluave again flashed from his inside linebacker spot, but did manage to miss on several opportunities and players coming his way. Isaiah Glasker showed well, though, and probably put forth his most impactful game of the season so far, ending the evening with five tackles and a fierce quarterback hit. Nusi Taumoepeau was very quiet with his play and overall the group was fine, but not particularly dominant with its overall play.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B+

The defensive backs were definitely a mixed-bag with regards to overall play in Saturday’s win. The guy boosting the group’s play most was again Cannon DeVries, who provided an outstanding three tackles-for-loss from the slot corner position while proving effective in coverage. The cornerbacks didn’t allow many big gains although their did again appear to be confusion in applying coverages from the safeties on occasion, although those issues were cleaned up relatively well after the game’s initial stages.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Punter Fuller Shurtz let go of a beauty on his one punt of 53 yards and kicker Matthias Dunn was true on both of his field goal attempts, which included a 44-yarder in the first half. The return and coverage units were solid and overall provided BYU an advantage.

COACHING: A-

The gameplan was solid from the start. On offense the calling didn’t try to get too cute and gave Colorado State a heavy does of Martin from the very start, which is exactly what was needed. The defense again showed suspect from the start, but as it often does, buckled down and limited CSU’s gains for the remainder in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.