Big Plays Lead BYU to 35-27 Win Over Cincinnati
In front of the largest home crowd since 2009, Kalani Sitake and the BYU football program took down Cincinnati 35-27 on Friday night. The box score wasn't pretty - the Bearcats outgained the Cougars by 203 yards and possessed the football for 35 minutes. However, BYU made enough big plays in critical moments to pull away in the second half and hold on for the win. Below are the highlights and summaries of the biggest plays the led to BYU's first Big 12 win.
Big Play #1: Jakob Robinson Pick-Six
Credit: BYU Photo
On Cincinnati's first drive of the game, the Bearcats faced a 3rd & 4 from their own 39 yard-line. Jakob Robinson intercepted an Emory Jones pass in the flat and returned it 39 yards for the touchdown. That play changed the course of the game and made BYU competitive even when the offense was struggling.
Big Play #2: Kedon Slovis Throws Touchdown to Darius Lassiter
Credit: BYU Photo
BYU's offense was completely stagnant for the first 29:24 of the first half. The Cougars got the ball on their own 18 yard-line with 36 seconds before halftime and they trailed 10-7. Before this drive, BYU had just 38 total yards of offense and 2 passing yards.
On the first play of the drive, Kedon Slovis found Keanu Hill over the middle for a 23-yard gain. With the clock working against them, BYU rushed to the line of scrimmage and Kedon Slovis found Chase Roberts for a 24-yard gain. On those two plays alone, BYU had more than doubled its offensive output from the first 29 minutes. After a pass interference call, BYU was on the Cincinnati 22 yard-line with 14 seconds left. BYU offensive coordinator dialed up the perfect call and Slovis found Darius Lassiter for the touchdown to take the 14-10 lead into the locker room.
The last 36 seconds of the first half completely changed the momentum of the game. Cincinnati outgained BYU 254-107 in the first half, yet they trailed 14-10 after the first half. BYU never gave up that lead.
Big Play #3: LJ Martin Touchdown
Credit: BYU Photo
After a three-and-out by the BYU defense to start the second half, BYU quickly marched down the field and into Cincinnati territory. A few plays later, BYU faced a 3rd & 13 from the Cincinnati 29. BYU true freshman LJ Martin found a seam in the defense and bounced off a would-be tackler for the touchdown. That touchdown gave BYU a 21-10 lead.
Big Play #4: Kedon Slovis Finds Chase Roberts for the Touchdown
Credit: BYU Photo
With five minutes left in the third quarter, the BYU offense got the ball back with a 21-13 lead. A holding penalty put BYU in 2nd & 21 from the BYU 41 yard-line. Kedon Slovis side-stepped a Cincinnati defender in the pocket and delivered a pass that was caught by Chase Roberts. Roberts outran the Cincinnati defense and scored the 59-yard touchdown. Roberts had 6 receptions for 131 yards against the Bearcats.
It's unclear who this pass was intended for. In the opinion of this author, the pass was originally intended for Keanu Hill. Roberts stepped in front of the overthrow and scored the touchdown.
Big Play #5: Austin Riggs recovers the muffed punt
Credit: BYU Photo
Just before the fourth quarter, BYU punted the ball away to Cincinnati with a 28-20 lead. Cincinnati punt returner Braden Smith made a catastrophic mistake and jumped to tip the punt, making it a live ball. BYU's Marcus McKenzie beat Smith to the ball but was unable to recover it. The football bounced out of a group of players and BYU long snapper Austin Riggs recovered the fumble. BYU capitalized on the turnover and scored the game-sealing touchdown. BYU held on to win 35-27.
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