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BYU football grades vs. Baylor: Receivers gets top marks, others not so much

By Jared Lloyd - | Oct 17, 2021

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

BYU wide receiver Puka Nacua waves to Cougar fans after the 38-24 Cougar loss to Baylor in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

BYU football beat writer Jared Lloyd gives his grades for the Cougar position units and coaches for Saturday’s game against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas:

Quarterback

Jaren Hall had moments that were really good, hitting multiple deep passes to Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney as well as taking off for a 56-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-short. There were mistakes, however, including getting stripped on a blindside sack and getting sacked five times total. He couldn’t keep the offense consistently scoring to keep the Cougars close.

Grade: C+

Running back

Tyler Allgeier couldn’t find any holes to run through and got tagged with a holding penalty when blocking. The fact that BYU was behind big meant the running backs got limited opportunities.

Grade: C

Wide receivers/tight ends

Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney came up with nice catches on deep throws, while Nacua’s TD catch was excellent sideline positioning. Isaac Rex and Neil Pau’u also made some nice plays. This was definitely the best unit for the Cougars on Saturday.

Grade: A

Offensive line

This group made some costly mistakes that killed BYU drives, including allowing a strip sack. It also did nothing at all to get the run game on track, which has to be disappointing. The Cougars were missing some players but still have to be much better here to win against a good opponent on the road.

Grade: D

Defensive line

The Cougar defensive line was simply not up to the challenge presented by the Baylor offense. This unit got pushed off the ball, failed to shed blocks and often missed tackles when they did get opportunities. It definitely has some things to work on.

Grade: D-

Linebackers

Ben Bywater had nine tackles and Payton Wilgar made a nice interception in the end zone, but overall this group has to be embarrassed by how easily the Bears moved the ball. Failure to fill gaps and make tackles was evident on almost every play, allowing Baylor to control the game.

Grade: F+

Secondary

The Cougars were often in good positions in the pass game but just couldn’t always make plays. Baylor did have 231 yards passing a lot of those were set up by the rushing success. This unit wasn’t able to do much on the edges to slow the ground attack of the Bears.

Grade: D

Special teams

Ryan Rehkow was OK, making a couple of decent punts. Jake Oldroyd missed a 50-yard field goal, which was unusual considering his standard from last year. The BYU kick return unit let the team down when it failed to get Baylor’s surprise onside kick late in the first half, although the coverage unit did well at keeping the Bear return game pinned down.

Grade: D+

Coaching

The Cougar coaches were never able to do enough to win in any phase of the game. Baylor looked confident against everything BYU threw at it. Many times players were in decent positions but the lack of consistent playmaking indicates that the team still has a lot of growing to do.

Grade: D

 

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