Jake Reztlaff didn’t have his best game, struggling to get the offense going while also coughing up the ball on the first possessions of both halves (as well as throwing a pick on a screen pass). He stayed with it and made some good plays with his legs, but he clearly had plenty to do better.

Grade: D+

Running back

LJ Martin started strong but got hurt, and Hinckley Ropati and Enoch Nawahine had limited success, although Nawahine did score a big second-half touchdown. This group also didn’t do much in the pass game.

Grade: c-

Wide receivers/tight ends

Darius Lassiter made a big catch and run early in the second half that was one of the offensive highlights. Mata’ava Ta’ase scored the game’s first touchdown and made a big play on a special call, while Keanu Hill hauled in a two-point conversion. There were a few other plays there to be made, though.

Grade: C

Offensive line

Facing a good SMU defensive front, this group went through a lot of ups and downs. At times it made some big plays, while at others it struggled. Failing to get two yards on two running plays wasn’t good, nor was letting a blitzer hit Retzlaff which resulted in the interception. But they did open the way for Nawahine’s TD run on a fourth-down play.

Grade: C-

Defensive line

This unit was aggressive and forced SMU’s offense into a lot of poor plays. Blake Mangelson got another sack and BYU got quite a bit of pressure, while generally limiting the Mustang running game as well. A trio of big plays resulted in much of the yardage through the first three quarters.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker both had sacks, while this group was also a big part of limiting SMU’s run game. It also had a few pass deflections as the Cougars kept the Mustangs out of the end zone even when they got deep in BYU territory.

Grade: B

Secondary

Marque Collins came up with a big interception inside the red zone and BYU kept the SMU passing game from getting on track. There were also a number of big run tackles made by defensive backs as they came up in support.

Grade: B+

Special teams

This group had some head-scratching decisions on kickoff returns, although one did work to get out to the 29-yard line. The punting was OK, with one turning into a muffed kick when it bounced back into a blocker. Will Ferrin wasn’t able to get his 55-yard attempt to go, but he made the 25-yarder to put BYU in front late.

Grade: C+

Coaching

The BYU defense came out ready to play and performed well for the most part, although the offense was very streaky. Some of the play calls turned into complete disasters, but the Cougars were able to come back to make some good adjustments. The prep wasn’t perfect, but there were good things.

Grade: C+