What You Missed in BYU's Convincing Win Over Baylor

On Saturday, no. 10 BYU cruised to a convincing 28-7 win over the Baylor Bears. After Dave Aranda was fired, Baylor was 2-0 and averaging 41.5 points per game. The Cougars held the Bears scoreless through three quarters in a game that was never in doubt.

In this article, we will highlight the things you may have missed from BYU's win over Baylor.

Fresh(men) Faces

As early as the first quarter, true freshmen were playing critical snaps for BYU. True freshman wide receiver Jaron Pula saw his first real snaps as a BYU Cougar. Pula started the season buried on the depth chart as he missed time due to injury in spring and fall camp. Pula was moved up to second-string on the depth chart and he has earned a spot on BYU's wide receiver rotation.

Pula was targeted once in the 14 snaps he played. He forced a pass interference call on third down with a crisp route. He has a very high ceiling - it's a very good sign that he has worked his way into the rotation as a true freshman.

Fellow true freshman Devaughn Eka was the third running back off the bench behind LJ Martin and Sione Moa. Eka had 6 carries for 19 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, youngsters Kennan Pula, Matthias Leach, and Jordyn Criss played key snaps for BYU. Perhaps most notably, Jonathan Kabeya played his first real snaps of the season. Kabeya was banged up throughout Fall Camp.

Explosive Plays

Going into the game, we highlighted that Baylor's offense relies on explosive plays to score points. BYU's defense suffocated Baylor's big-play ability. The Bears didn't have a single explosive play until the fourth quarter. They finished the game with five explosive plays.

BYU's offense only had seven explosive plays on the night . The Cougars moved the chains by methodically marching down the field, primarily on the ground. BYU finished the game with a 45% success rate compared to 28% for Baylor.

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Third Downs

You may not have noticed that BYU was a perfect 6/6 to start the game on third down. All six conversions came on the ground and Bear Bachmeier was the ball-carrier for five out of the six runs. BYU converted third downs of 2 yards, 4 yards, 5 yards (x2), 6 yards, and 8 yards. Baylor had no answer for BYU's physicality to start this game.

BYU's conversion down proficiency came back down to earth as the game progressed. BYU finished 9/17 on conversion downs.

Bodie Schoonover Has Emerged as a Star Pass-Rusher

Bodie Schoonover is in his fifth year with the BYU football program. Going into the Arizona State game just three weeks ago, Schoonover had three career sacks. Over the three games, Schoonover has tallied four sacks. He has more sacks in the last three games than he had in his previous four years combined.

Schoonover has been relentless getting after opposing quarterbacks, and it comes at a perfect time as BYU has been waiting for a consistent pass-rusher to emerge.

With/Without LJ Martin

Star running back LJ Martin only had six carries in this game, but he was highly effective when he had the ball in his hands. Martin finished with 49 yards, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. Martin got carries on the first three drives for BYU and all three drives ended in a touchdown.

Martin left the game after a Baylor player accidentally stepped on his injured ankle, and Martin did not return. BYU didn't really need him at that point as it was up three scores. According to Kalani Sitake, Martin could have returned to the game but BYU opted to hold him out.

In the non-garbage drives where Martin did not play, BYU punted four times, missed a field goal, and scored one touchdown. The difference between BYU's offense with LJ Martin and without LJ Martin is night and day.

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