On Saturday night, BYU trailed Arizona 24-14 with five minutes to go. The Cougars managed to score 10 points in the final five minutes to force overtime where they won a 33-27 double overtime thriller. Here were the 10 highest-graded players according to Pro Football Focus (minimum 10 snaps played).
On a night where BYU was without star linebacker Jack Kelly, Siale Esera played lights out. Esera accounted for a team-high seven stops. A stop is a tackle that constitutes a failure for the offense.
BYU needed a linebacker to step up and Esera did.
LJ Martin had a career high 162 rushing yards on 25 carries. Arizona had no answer for Martin’s physical running style. Martin had 110 yards after contact. He averaged 4.23 yards per carry after contact.
BYU veteran cornerback Mory Bamba played his best game of the season against Arizona. The Cougars were searching for answers in the secondary after two backups gave up long touchdown receptions. BYU’s response was to play Mamba alongside Tre Alexander and Evan Johnson. Bamba played well, especially in overtime.
Bamba had good coverage on a shot to the endzone in overtime, and he had a pair of back-to-back tackles to put Arizona behind the sticks. Those two plays led to BYU’s final stop.
Paker Kingston has turned into BYU’s undisputed WR2 behind Chase Roberts. Kingston had another 100-yard performance primarily driven by a 75-yard touchdown reception. Against a fast secondary like Arizona, BYU turned to Kingston in key moments. It was Kingston that had a pivotal fourth down conversion to keep the game alive in the fourth quarter.
He also changed the game with his punt return to setup BYU’s final drive, and that impact isn’t reflected in his grade.
Parker Kingston has been excellent the last three weeks.
On a night where the BYU offensive line was really good, Kyle Sfarcioc graded out the best. Sfarcioc also saved the game for BYU with a fumble recovery on the final drive.
Sfarcioc had a team-high 82.8 pass-block grade. He allowed zero quarterback pressures on 24 pass block snaps.
BYU cornerback Therrian Alexander played another good game for Jay Hill. Alexander was targeted four times and he only allowed one reception. He had a critical pass breakup in the second half. Alexander continues to get better and better in his true sophomore season.
BYU veteran safety Tanner Wall briefly left the game late with an injury. He returned shortly after and played an important role for BYU, especially since the Cougars were down starting safety Raider Damuni. Wall had the highest tackle grade with an 82.6.
BYU safety Faletau Satuala, like Tanner Wall, stepped into a major role when Raider Damuni left the game. Satuala responded well, tallying four defensive stops.
Another offensive lineman cracks the top 10. Andrew Gentry was third in pass-blocking among offensive lineman. He allowed just one pressure on 40 pass-blocking snaps.
Defensive tackle Justin Kirkland makes the top 10 for the first time. Kirkland had a team-high 74.8 run defense grade. Kirkland was thrust into a big role after Keanu Tanuvasa was ejected for targeting.
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