PROVO — BYU is headed to the Miami Beach Bowl (Dec. 22, noon MST).
The Cougars used the second and third quarters to pull away from the visiting Rebels of UNLV to earn the 42-23 victory and become bowl eligible.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 6-4 on the year and face Savannah State Saturday, Nov. 22, at LaVell Edwards Stadium (kickoff at 1 p.m. MST).
Offense:
On BYU’s second offensive possession of the game, Christian Stewart found Jordan Leslie with a pass behind the line of scrimmage, so the 30-yard touchdown was ruled a run instead of a pass.
For the game, Stewart completed 18 of 32 passes for 325 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Wide receiver Mitch Mathews, tight end Devin Mahina and running back Paul Lasike were on the receiving end of Stewart’s touchdown passes.
Lasike also had a great game on the ground with eight carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Grade: A-
Defense:
BYU faced two quarterbacks Saturday night.
Early in the third quarter, UNLV starting quarterback Blake Decker went down after taking a hard hit and backup Jared Lebowitz replaced him.
Decker completed 10 of 25 passes for 90 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.
Lebowitz completed 10 of 20 passes for 114 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.
Despite having to defend UNLV twice on short fields (fumbled kick return and punt return), BYU held UNLV to two field goals on those possessions.
BYU played the pass well but struggled defending the run.
UNLV starting running back Shaquille Murray-Lawrence finished with 20 carries for 143 yards and one touchdown.
Grade: B+
Special teams:
The only turnovers on the day for the Cougars came on special teams.
A pooched UNLV kickoff was fumbled and recovered by the Rebels.
BYU punt returner Devon Blackmon misplayed a punt and tried to run up to the ball to make the catch but muffed it, and UNLV recovered.
UNLV punt returner Jay Mitchell returned two punts for a total of 47 yards (31 yards was his longest).
Scott Arellano had seven punts for 287 yards (41.0 average/per punt), but zero inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Grade: D+
Coaching:
BYU coaching helped the players clean up the penalties.
The offense played mistake-free football and the defense improved covering the pass.
The Cougars will now look to improve on their poor special teams performance and make sure to stop the run more consistently.
Grade B+
Clark Richardson is a graduate of Brigham Young University. EMAIL: clark.richardson13@gmail.com