BYU Football Questions Answered In Win Against No. 9 Baylor

PROVO, Utah – The No. 21 BYU football team fought and clawed all night with the defense making a key stop in overtime to defeat the No. 9 Baylor Bears.

Let’s break down the game with some key questions answered.

Who was the most valuable BYU player?

When the stage is the biggest you find out which players can elevate their game to match the moment.

Without Puka Nacua, Gunner Romney, and a running game, Jaren Hall needed somebody to step up.

That man was freshman wide receiver Chase Roberts.

My oh my 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3fglVo52xS

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 11, 2022

Roberts quickly became Halls most targeted receiver. He hauled in a team high eight receptions for 122 yard and a touchdown.

He led the team in targets with 15.

His first career touchdown catch was a thing of beauty right before halftime.

The Cougars struggled to move the football for the most of the first half until Hall started targeting Roberts.

Roberts created the most separation of any receiver as well. His post corner route on the final drive of regulation would make Austin Collie proud.

He won the third receiver job with his performance today and when Nacua and Romney return, this will be a great receiver group.

Most impactful play of the game?

In a game like this, there are dozens of impactful plays that affect the outcome.

With that being said, I thought the pass in the second overtime to Keanu Hill from Jaren Hall was massive.

The Cougars could not run the football agains the Bears.

What a finish.

No. 21 #BYU 26, No. 9 Baylor 20.

2OT thriller in #Big12AfterDark

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 11, 2022

They rushed for under 100 yards in both meetings against Baylor.

After watching another Jake Oldroyd kick sail outside the field goal posts, the BYU offense needed a big play to regain momentum.

The 20 yard completion to Keanu Hill put BYU back in scoring position.

A few plays later, Lopini Katoa scored a touchdown putting the pressure back on Baylor.

It was critical that BYU scored a touchdown on that series after two consecutive misses from Oldroyd.

Most impactful stat of the game?

Last season, the BYU offense ranked 15th in the country on third down conversion.

They weren’t efficient on third down and it nearly cost them the game.

Baylor converted 50 percent of their 18 attempts on third down while BYU only converted three of their 14 attempts.

The Bears also possessed the ball for 34:15 seconds.

Considering the stats, it’s pretty remarkable that BYU was able to win this game despite those struggles.

When was the game won for BYU Football?

On the final play of the game.

Blake Shappen misfired on a throw out of the end zone which secured the win for BYU.

Career win No. 50 for #BYU coach Kalani Sitake.#BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/K5Gptf7JWd

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 11, 2022

It looked like Baylor was going to run the ball all the way into the end zone to tie the game.

Credit the BYU defense, who were without Tyler Batty in the second half, for plugging up the run on that final drive.

The BYU “ROC” deserves some credit as well. There were two false start penalties on that final drive that made things more difficult for the Baylor offense.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter.