Jake Reztlaff looked brilliant for the first four drives, leading the Cougars to four straight touchdowns. His deep ball to Darius Lassiter was about as perfect as it could be. But things broke down later in the game, with a couple of interceptions and no more TDs. He ended up with 269 total yards (216 passing, 53 rushing).

Grade: B+

Running back

The numbers don’t look great for BYU’s running backs with Enoch Nawahine finishing with just 51 yards on 19 carries, but a large part of that was due to struggles at the point of attack. The Cougar backs didn’t put the ball on the ground and Miles Davis caught a TD pass, plus they did help in pass protection when the offense was clicking early.

Grade: B

Wide receivers/tight ends

Darius Lassiter had a career game, catching eight passes for 120 yards and a touchdown (although the first thing on his mind was a couple of other misses he wanted back). Chase Roberts also officially had a TD run, although it might have actually been a pass. This group started well but didn’t get many chances as the game progressed.

Grade: B+

Offensive line

This unit did some great things, particularly at the start of the game. BYU was finding running room on the ground and making plays through the air. But injuries and Baylor adjustments took a toll, and it struggled down the stretch. Still, it didn’t allow a sack despite the blocking issues.

Grade: B-

Defensive line

Baylor only netted 63 rushing yards, aided in large part by three BYU sacks. Many of those yards came on scrambles by Bear QB Sawyer Robertson, but the Cougars also got an interception by Blake Mangelson after John Nelson tipped the ball in the air. This unit was aggressive throughout the game but didn’t always disrupt Robertson and the Baylor offense as much as they wanted to.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

Injuries forced the Cougars to rely on their linebacker depth for much of the game. BYU got some good plays in stopping the run but had a tough time when dropping into coverage against Baylor’s pass game for key stretches. Fourth down plays were an adventure as well, as the Bears converted 4-of-7.

Grade: B

Secondary

This was by far the biggest test of the year for the Cougar secondary as the Baylor line allowed Sawyer Robinson time to find open receivers. Crew Wakley had a sack on a safety blitz and his game-sealing interception in the final minute elevated the grade, but there were a lot of holes BYU needs to fix in this area.

Grade: B

Special teams

BYU gave up a couple of good returns while having limited success in their own return game. Sam Van der Haar had a big kick flip the field and his fake punt worked for 22 yards. It set up one of the two Will Ferrin field goals (one from 54 yards) that turned out to be the difference in the game. Ferrin did have one sail wide, though.

Grade: C+

Coaching

BYU came out well-prepared and built a huge lead, but the decision to be more conservative offensively when the run game was struggling almost cost the Cougars the game. BYU’s defensive plan didn’t work as well in the second half but the adjustments were enough to hold on and stay undefeated.

Grade: B