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BYU football grades vs. Washington State: RBs go to the head of the class

By Staff | Oct 24, 2021

BYU sophomore running back Tyler Allgeier runs the ball for a touchdown during the 21-19 BYU win over Washington State at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash., on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

BYU football beat writer Jared Lloyd gives his grades for the BYU position units and coaches for Saturday’s game against Washington State at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington:

Quarterback

Jaren Hall had a slow start but made some nice throws. He wasn’t asked to do all that much, finishing 15-of-20 for 143 yards. He also gained 32 yards rushing on eight carries but was sacked twice. He managed the game well overall for BYU.

Grade: B

Running back

Tyler Allgeier was in full beast mode, breaking tackles, running over defenders and carrying tacklers. He was the workhorse as he had 32 carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Lopini Katoa also had a touchdown and gained 15 yards on three carries.

Grade: A+

Wide receivers/tight ends

Neil Pau’u led the way with six receptions for 70 yards and Puka Nacua had two jet sweep carries for 26 yards, but the main contribution of this groups was blocking downfield to help Tyler Allgeier get extra yards. There was one costly drop that likely prevented BYU from putting the game away earlier.

Grade: A-

Offensive line

This group wore down the Washington State defense, even though they were missing a couple of starters. It just kept opening holes for Tyler Allgeier and was pretty good in pass protection, although there were two big sacks.

Grade: A-

Defensive line

BYU didn’t want to rely on 1-on-1 matchups on quick passes so the defensive line was given limited help. It wasn’t perfect but did get some pressure and a sack on mostly three and four-man rushes. Washington State only gained 93 yards rushing, which wasn’t great but much better than the last two weeks.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

Ben Bywater tied for the team lead in tackles with five, but this group would say it missed too many tackles throughout the game. Still, it did the job of limiting points and helped get some key stops when it needed to.

Grade: C+

Secondary

Malik Moore was excellent from his safety position, making an interception and having a shot at a couple of others as he patrolled the defensive backfield and limited WSU’s deep passing game. Jacob Boren had five tackles from the nickel spot. This unit was under pressure throughout the game but didn’t allow Washington State to truly get comfortable.

Grade: B

Special teams

Ryan Rehkow had a booming, 66-yard punt and was great at flipping the field. He was clearly the bright spot in special teams. Jake Oldroyd missed a 45-yard field goal, while the kickoff return and kickoff coverage teams weren’t great. Hobbs Nyberg did have a 21-yard punt return and BYU did enough to prevent a conversion after WSU has a bobbled snap on a PAT.

Grade: B+

Coaching

The BYU coaches had game plans on both sides of the ball and stuck to them, even when things weren’t working great. It proved to be just enough to get the win, which is the bottom line, although they certainly would’ve liked to be cleaner in many areas of the game.

Grade: B

 

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