Houston vs. BYU: Game Grades, Analysis for the BYU Cougars

BYU jumped out to a huge lead in its home opener behind the arm and legs of quarterback Taysom Hill, but after looking stellar for nearly the entire first half more or less sleepwalked through what became a far-too-close 33-25 win over Houston on Thursday night.

Hill gained 360 yards of total offense and was responsible for a pair of touchdowns, as BYU led 23-0 but then saw turnovers help keep Houston in the game. The Cougars (3-0) ran 96 plays and gained 523 yards, but were never able to put their opponent away in a game that could have done a lot to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Final stats from BYU's win can be found here.

Take a look at our grades and analysis of the Cougars' win below.

Position Unit	First-Half Grade	Final grade
Pass Offense	B	B
Run Offense	A	A
Pass Defense	C	C+
Run Defense	A	A
Special Teams	A	B
Coaching	B	B

BYU Cougars Game Analysis

Pass Offense: Taysom Hill looked a little overexcited to throw in front of the home crowd, especially early, as he was high and long on a lot of his passes. He finished with 200 yards on 21-of-34 passing, with one touchdown and two interceptions, but both picks were freak plays. One was tipped at the line and caught by a defensive lineman, the other torn out of receiver Mitchell Juergens' arms by a Houston defender.

USA TODAY Sports

Run Offense: BYU ran for 323 yards on 62 carries, scoring three touchdowns on the ground. Hill ran for 260 yards and a TD on 26 carries, while Jamaal Williams ran for 139 yards and two scores on 28 carries. While the Cougars threw a lot early, once presented with a lead to protect they churned it out on the ground and were effective all night.

Pass Defense: Houston's John O'Korn had a lot of time to throw all night, and most of his receivers seemed to have a great cushion to catch the ball. If not for a number of drops by those wideouts, O'Korn would have thrown for more than the 307 yards and three touchdowns that he accumulated. BYU's secondary hit hard when receivers went over the middle, but Houston kept throwing.

Run Defense: With Houston down a lot early, it abandoned the run. But before that it wasn't getting anywhere because of BYU's front seven, which held Houston to 10 yards on 13 carries. That includes a safety by Zac Stout for the game's first points, tackling Ryan Jackson for a four-yard loss.

Special Teams: Houston was completely responsible for missing two extra points and muffing a field goal, but where BYU was most successful on special teams was preventing Houston returner Demarcus Ayers from ever getting loose on kickoffs. BYU's one gaffe, though, was an odd one: faking a punt near midfield early in the second half and not even coming close to converting on a run by punter Scott Arellano.

Coaching: BYU's staff called a good game on offense, though it might need to convince Hill to throw the ball away more often instead of taking hits on short runs. Defensively, early pressure and blitz packages helped establish the lead, but after that the play-calling seemed more of the prevent nature.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.